βItβs going to be one hell of a greatβeverlastingly greatβbook with humor, tears, fun, emotion, and love,β Judy Garland said of her plans to tell her life story, but she died at the age of forty-seven before seeing it through. Judy Garland on Judy Garland is the closest we will likely come to experiencing and exploring the legendβs abandoned autobiography. Collecting and presenting the most important Garland interviews and encounters that took place between the years 1935 and 1969, this work opens with her first radio appearance under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and concludes with her last known interview, one taped for Radio Denmark just months before her death. What makes this collection unique and distinguishes it from the plethora of Garland biographies is that it places Judy in the role of storyteller. She wrote a number of essays for various publications and sat for countless print, radio, and television interviews. These and other autobiographical efforts she made are proof that Judy Garland wanted her story told, and wanted it told in her own words. Finally, forty-five years after her death, here it is.
Randy L. Schmidt is the author of the acclaimed bestselling biography Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter and the editor of Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters Reader. He has also written articles for the Advocate and the Observer. He teaches music in Denton, Texas.