Judy Garland, The Hollywood Darling With A Secret, Tragic Life
Wikimedia CommonsLike many famous dead celebrities, Judy Garland’s demise was hastened by an excessive drinking and drug habit, which she allegedly developed during childhood.
The death of Judy Garland is a prime example of how Tinseltown might sparkle on the surface, but roil with trauma just below.
Garland was a child actor-turned-Hollywood songbird who found fame through films like The Wizard of Oz, For Me and My Gal, and A Star is Born. But her tenure in Hollywood was a double-edged sword, as with the fame came a lifetime of judgment and abuse on behalf of cutthroat Hollywood executives.
But performing was in Garland’s blood, as she was born into a vaudeville family. Her mother, Ethel, was a classic stage actress herself who was demanding and critical of Garland. Indeed, the burgeoning actress took her first pill at 10 years old on the insistence of her mother who wanted to give her performance some pep.
Getty ImagesThe famous dead celebrity toward the end of her life.
As a result, Garland’s drug habit intensified as she grew older. When she became the “It Girl” of MGM Studios in her 20s, film executives actually fed her amphetamines in order to keep her intense performances lively. They also encouraged her to develop a severe diet and to smoke more often in order to suppress her appetite.
One studio executive allegedly told the beloved screen star, “You look like a hunchback. We love you but you’re so fat you look like a monster.” Of course, her fast-paced life from such a young age coupled with the emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother and her handlers, led Garland to multiple nervous breakdowns.
“I’m always being painted a more tragic figure than I am. Actually, I get awfully bored with myself as a tragic figure.”
Like many famous dead people nearing their tragic end, Judy Garland’s fast and unhealthy lifestyle ate away at her and her money, and the actress was forced to move to London in a bid to regain her reputation and make back some of the cash she blew on drugs.
But Garland’s drinking and drug habits were hard to shake. They affected her performances and frequently caused her to drop work engagements out of the blue. During one show in London, the audience pelted her with bread and glasses after she had kept them waiting for an hour.
While in London, Garland met musician Mickey Deans who then became her fifth husband. Their marriage was notoriously toxic — an unsurprising turn given their first encounter had been while Deans was delivering drugs to her hotel.
Getty ImagesThe casket of famous dead celebrity Judy Garland is placed into a hearse in 1969.
Their marriage and Judy Garland’s life came to an abrupt end on June 22, 1969, when the 47-year-old actress was found dead at their Belgravia home. Deans had broken into the locked bathroom and found Garland slumped on the toilet with her hands still holding up her head.
The autopsy of the famous dead celebrity confirmed that the cause of Judy Garland’s death was “barbiturate poisoning (quinalbarbitone) incautious self-overdosage. Accidental.” The coroner also found traces of cirrhosis in her liver, a condition during which the liver is scarred likely due to her excessive drinking.
But as her daughter, actress Liza Minnelli, later put it, the cause of the actress’s famous death went beyond substance abuse.
“She didn’t die from an overdose. I think she just got tired,” Minnelli said. “She lived like a taut wire. I don’t think she ever looked for real happiness because she always thought happiness would mean the end.”
