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Judy Garland Was Forced to Starve for movie roles at age 14

Garland had a long-running addiction to prescription drugs ( Image: Rex Features)

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Judy Garland Was Forced to Starve for movie roles at age 14

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Judy Garland was one of Hollywood’s brightest and most tragic movie performers during the Golden Era. She was a well-liked figure who delighted audiences with her warmth, enthusiasm, and rich, enthusiastic voice.

Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm in Minnesota on June 10, 1922. She was the youngest child of Ethel Marion and Francis Avent Gumm.

Marion had a premonition that Garland would become the biggest star in the world. As a result, she removed her from the act and took her on excursions around the United States. Garland performed alone at nightclubs, motels, lounges, and theaters throughout these visits.

In September 1935, the family had a ray of hope when Louis B. Mayer of Metro Goldwyn Mayer signed Garland after she wowed him in a personal audition.

She was just 13 years old at the time. Mayer and his stooges began molding Garland into the type of star they wanted her to be soon after signing her.

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in “The Wizard of Oz” circa 1939 | Photo: Getty Images

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“Pigskin Parade,” her first feature film, was a musical comedy about college football. But MGM’s producers were not thrilled with her performance in the picture, telling her she looked like a “fat little pig with pigtails.”

Soon after, they put her on a strict diet and began closely monitoring her eating to the point that food was taken from her just as she was about to eat it.

Garland was often hungry as a result of this, and she dreamt about being able to eat chocolate sundaes. The producers, however, did not stop there.

Garland had her teeth capped and had to wear rubber discs that affected the curve of her nose. Despite all of this, and despite her outstanding performances, MGM producers mocked her for being overweight.

 

 

 

Judy Garland’s daughter discusses her mother’s battle with addiction

Jun 22, 2017

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 19: Lorna Luft attends 2017 Tribeca Film Festival – “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives” World Premiere – Opening Night at Radio City Music Hall on April 19, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

 

Judy Garland’s daughter inherited her mother’s singing and acting abilities, as well as her battle with drug addiction.

Lorna spoke about Judy’s drug and alcohol abuse in a new interview with Studio 10, which led to her death in June 1969. “The highs were incredibly high, but the lows were devastating,” Lorna, Judy’s third husband Sidney Luft’s daughter, stated. “I learned about the disease of addiction.”

Lorna, who went on to become an actress and singer in her own right, grew up knowing about Judy’s addiction, stating that she would substitute sugar for her mother’s prescription pills.

‘I was taught how to do that by my dad. When you have a parent who’s teaching you how to take care of your other parent, that’s what you do’, Lorna told the Channel 10 show.

4th November 1960: American film star, Judy Garland (1922 – 1969) with her husband, film producer, Sid Luft and their children, Liza (14), Lorna (7) and Joe (5) at their home in Chelsea, London. (Photo by Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images)

While the 64-year-old said her family’s house was usually full with celebrities when she was a kid, she recounts calling Frank Sinatra her “uncle” and not thinking much of it.

“Everybody was a movie star. But I didn’t know that. I just knew they were friends of my parents. I didn’t think anything of Frank Sinatra, or Humphrey Bogart, or Dean Martin or Sammy Davis or anything – they were just my uncle Frank, you know, that’s who they were,” she admitted.

Lorna also discussed her tumultuous connection with half-sister Liza in the honest conversation.

“We’re sisters, we’re going to have different opinions on different things,” she said, adding, “My sister and I always find our way back to one another no matter what comes into being.”

Lorna’s own life has been a roller coaster, with her own addiction forcing her to seek treatment at the Betty Ford Center.

She remembered using cocaine and thought it wasn’t the same circumstance as Garland’s.

“Somebody came up to me and said, ‘Do you not think that maybe you’re doing the same that your mom did?’ And I said, ‘Oh, no no no. She had a problem. I only do it at night,’ ” she admitted. “Stupid.”

Luft began to embrace her mother’s legacy, singing the songs Garland made famous whenever Luft was on tour, after years of avoiding “any song that had the word ‘rainbow.'”

Luft said of her mother, “She is on my shoulder every single day, watching over me.”

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