Judy Garland on Judy Garland by Randy L. Schmidt Read Free Book Online

use her—get her away from here!’
    â€œThen one day, after this had been going on for some time, my agent called me and said he wanted to take me to the M-G-M studio. For once, for the only time in my life, my mother wasn’t home to go with me. My father went with us. Well, I just thought, oh, another old studio! I had on a pair of old slacks and an old polo shirt and I just went the way I was.
    â€œWell, we got to M-G-M and I sang a song for Roger Edens, the musical director. I sang “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart.” My first surprise, not to say shock, was when he didn’t sort of sink back like he felt sick and sort of groan: ‘Get her away from here.’ No, he called Mrs. Koverman who is a Very Important Person (put that in capitals, please) in this studio. I sang “Dinah” for her. And she didn’t say ‘get her away from here.’ No, she called Mr. Mayer and asked him to come and hear me. Well then, Mr. Mayer, Mr.
Louis B.
Mayer, came in. He was in a Dark Mood and had a ‘get her away from here’ look on his face. So then I sang “Eli, Eli” for Mr. Mayer. He didn’t seem to be looking at me. I couldn’t tell whether he was listening or not. It was just like a big lull flew in. I thought, so what? Now I can go home and roller-skate some more. The next day I got my contract.
The very next day. *
    â€œThat’s how I see Hollywood, too, as a place where Anything Can Happen, one big Surprise Package.
    â€œSo that was one of the Big Thrills (all the Thrills should be written capitals, I think, Miss Hall). But then, after that, nothing happened. They had Deanna Durbin under contract—at the time. Then after a while she wasn’t there anymore. It looked like the fourteen-year-old girls were going back to the mothballs. I was doing radio broadcasts and things and I got so discouraged. I never get too discouraged, though, because I’m not the discouragable kind. I never mope or have Moods or interesting things like tantrums and all.” Judy’s mother says that the child has such a good disposition that she doesn’t really remember her as a small child because she never Made Scenes. “Anyway,” Judy added, “I did get kind ofdiscouraged about my Career. I’d think, when I was on the stage I used to
accomplish
something.
    â€œThen Mummie and I went to New York for a holiday and also because I’d never been to New York. There I had another Big Thrill. We went to Coney Island and it was wonderful. But while I was in New York M-G-M sent for me to come back. Which is one of Hollywood’s peculiar characteristics, as I see it. When you are right here they don’t seem to want you and the minute you go away, they do want you. I thought, At Last! But when I got back I found that they wanted me to make a
short,
a short with Deanna Durbin called
Every Sunday.
    â€œDeanna and I saw quite a lot of each other then but we haven’t seen each other much lately. She is always busy. I guess she works harder than I do.
    â€œThen I got loaned out to 20th Century Fox and played in
Pigskin Parade.
I hated myself in that. They wouldn’t let me see the rushes which was too bad because if I had seen them I could have improved myself. I didn’t wear any makeup and I sure looked it. I was afraid my freckles would show. Of course they didn’t but I was conscious of them. But I have now got over my freckle-fear since I have observed that Myrna Loy and Katharine Hepburn and Joan Crawford also have freckles.
    â€œWell, after a while Deanna made
Three Smart Girls
and then the motion picture industry rubbed its eyes and awoke to the fact that there are such things as fourteen-year-old girls and that they can be very smart girls, too, and what is known as Box Office. In the meantime, though, I went to Junior High School for a year, to public school which I had never been to before because I had always had