The American singer and actress Judy Garland was born on this date in 1922, not “Over the Rainbow” but in Grand Rapids, Minn. Originally named Frances Gumm, she made her debut at the New Grand Theatre in Grand Rapids, which was operated by her parents. She was a singing sensation by the age of 10, receiving her first rave review from the entertainment news magazine Variety. In 1934, she adopted the last name of Garland, shortly thereafter choosing the first name Judy. Garland was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) – the world’s largest motion-picture studio – in 1935, without a screen test.
In an obituary announcing her death in 1969, the New York Times wrote that her “successes on stage and screen were later overshadowed by the pathos of her personal life,” which “often seemed a fruitless search for the happiness promised in ‘Over the Rainbow.’” You can read the obituary here in the Times’ archives.
