Judy Garland

by David Shipman

This is the most revealing and controversial biography ever published about Judy Garland. There have been many books about her, but you have never met the real Judy until now. In the hearts and minds of millions, she will always be Dorothy, the girl next door who traveled over the rainbow. But Judy's life behind the cameras and beyond the gaze of her fans was often filled with suffering. The ungainly daughter of mismatched parents - an ambitious mother and a gentle gay father - Frances Gumm and her sisters did the vaudeville circuit all over the country, and her voice eventually got her a movie contract. Judy Garland (as she was renamed) won fame serenading Clark Gable - then she went on to win everyone's heart in The Wizard of Oz. Judy was MGM's greatest asset. With a voice unparalleled in show business, she hoofed with the best of them and also showed enormous talent and sensitivity as an actress. To protect their prize star the studio advised Judy to take pills - diet pills to keep