by Sid Luft
I consider Freddie Fields and David Begelman responsible for Judy’s death as well. It’s an interesting study of Hollywood behavior when you think of this: Freddie Fields became the president of MGM, and David Begelman the president of Columbia Pictures. Columbia chose Begelman to head the studio in 1973, but just a few years later, in 1977, it was revealed that he was under some sort of investigation. It came as no surprise to me when, after seven weeks of looking into Begelman’s files, Price Waterhouse came back with a report that he’d been caught stealing from the studio. David had obviously cut his teeth on this kind of scam with Judy. He was just stepping it up when he did it at Columbia. He went from stealing hundreds of thousands from Judy to millions from Columbia.
Surprisingly, the Columbia board of directors decided they could live with that, and they launched a plan to cover Begelman’s tracks. They covered up for him just like Fields did in Judy’s case. In fact, there was a list a mile long of people who’d covered up for Begelman. He was finally let go from Columbia anyway. Begelman ran amok, and he finally ran out of gas. He couldn’t live with himself. Eventually he blew his brains out. When a friend called me and said that the bastard had shot himself, I said, “Well, he sure as hell shot the right guy.”
Our family never recovered from what Freddie Fields and David Begelman did to us. My life and the lives of Lorna and Joey were never the same. The only person who recovered financially was Liza. Emotionally, none of us ever overcame it. It wasn’t just an accidental overdose; Freddie Fields killed Judy Garland, and David Begelman was his accomplice that did the shooting.
Leopold and Loeb may have gotten away with it, but Freddie still had to live with it. He wiped the blood off his hands and went into hiding. No one heard much more about him after Judy’s death; it was over for him in Hollywood. His wife tried to keep him afloat, and he was hiding behind her. Everybody who knew anything about Freddie Fields came to despise him. He’s just as guilty as the other one who put a bullet in his head.
Judy was only forty-seven when she died, but she looked much older. The years of abuse had taken their toll on her tiny, frail body. Her death made international front-page headlines, and more than twenty-two thousand mourners filed past her glass-covered coffin at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home on Madison Avenue. James Mason, Judy’s costar in A Star Is Born, gave the eulogy at her funeral on June 27, which I attended with the children. “I traveled in her orbit only for a while, but it was an exciting while and one during which it seemed that the joys in her life outbalanced the miseries,” Mason said in that magnificent voice of his. “Her special talent was this: she could sing so that it would break your heart. What is a tough audience? A tough audience is a group of high-income-bracket cynics at a Hollywood party. Judy’s gift to them was to wring tears from men with hearts of rock.”
Judy Garland was a very rare mix of shattered nerves and insecurity, self-doubt, self-destructiveness, and suicidal tendencies—but also true genius. She was, to me, the greatest talent who ever lived.
I found it so easy to separate Judy the artist from Judy the person. The latter always came first, because she was so special as a person, so loving, especially to me. She really was truly in love with me, and I knew it. Every move I made, she wanted to know where I was. And she missed the sound of my voice, just like I missed hers. At least when she was herself.
Despite whatever bad things happened between us, I could never fall out of love with Judy. If anyone tried to save a woman who was breaking apart, I did. I know that I did the best I could do, and it still wasn’t enough.
People used to say that Sid Luft was this Svengali who took over Judy Garland’s life, but that’s a lot of crap. I was no more a Svengali than any other husband. I was just a husband who loved his wife and tried to do what was best for her. That’s all I was. I didn’t tell her what to do or what not to do; Judy was always an independent woman who knew what she wanted and went after it. I invented things for her, though. And she respected my notions and thoughts about show business. I had proven myself to her by the things that I had done for her career. I was in love with her, she was in love with me, and that’s the way it was.
Index
A
A-20 bombers, 102, 116, 127, 135–139
Academy Awards, 297, 301–302, 401
Aerophonics Electronics Corporation
company formation, 372
interested parties, 382, 386, 389–390, 424–425
Luft’s involvement, 389, 397, 404, 424
Agins, Bob, 3, 29, 157, 198
Albee, Edward, 11
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), 284, 294, 306–307
Alexander, Shana, 401–402
Allen, Fred, 203
Allen, Gracie, 69, 73, 260
Allen, Herb, 416
Allen, Peter, 439
Alperson, Eddie, 201, 209–210, 233, 372
Alsop, Carlton, 7–8, 18, 19, 21, 164, 228
Alton, Bob, 20, 409
Alvarado, Ann. See Warner, Ann
Alves, Vern, 218, 293, 352
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (film), 5
Annie Get Your Gun (film), 16, 19–20
aquacades, 79–80
Arbick, Harry, 118–119
Arlen, Harold, 285
Armour Villa Park, 39, 43
Arnaz, Desi, 13, 295
ATC (aircraft delivery company), 120, 121, 122–124
Auberge du Père Bise, 384–385
Aubrey, James, 65
Austria, 72–73
Avedon, Richard, 288, 321–322
B
Bacall, Lauren (a.k.a. Betty Bogart), 258, 278–279, 280, 301, 309, 314
Bad Gastein, Austria, 72
Baker, Josephine, 24
Ball, Lucille, 152, 295
Bankhead, Tallulah, 205
Bantam (car), 98
Bari, Lynn
career, 95, 134, 144–145, 149
and child support, 163, 349–350
death of baby, 147
and Luft’s career, 25, 133, 146, 149
Luft’s divorce from, 175, 201, 219, 234
relationship with Luft, 15, 132–133, 142, 146, 147–148, 149, 151
Barker, Lex, 258–259
Baruch, Bernard, 206
Begelman, David
abandonment of JG, 437
at Columbia Pictures, 447
death, 447
financial management, 415–416, 417–419, 420, 421–424
gambling habits, 415–416
and JG’s career, 395–397, 402, 415
and JG’s work schedule, 404–405
lawsuit against, 437–438, 444
offer to Luft, 425–426
reconciliation ploy, 414–415
relationship with JG, 411–412, 419
Bellamy, Ralph, 203
Bennett, Tony, 429
Benny, Jack, 69, 73, 205, 260, 261
Benny, Mary, 69, 73, 260
Benzedrine, 215
Bergen, Polly, 392
Berkeley, Busby “Buzz,” 19–20, 228
Berkson, Eleanor Lambert, 25–26, 256
Berkson, Seymour, 25–26
Berlin, Irving, 19, 205, 217, 259
Beverly Hills, California, 90
Billingsley, Sherman, 24
Bir Hakeim (horse), 167–170
Bishop, Joey, 280
Bishop, Lee, 137
Björling, Jussi, 364–365
Blangsted, Folmar, 298
Bogarde, Dirk, 380, 408
Bogart, Betty (a.k.a. Lauren Bacall), 258, 278–279, 280, 301, 309, 314
Bogart, Humphrey, 258, 278–280, 309, 314, 331
Bokum, Richard, 65
Bolling, Jim, 62, 63
“Born in a Trunk” (Gershe), 285–286, 295, 346
Born in Wedlock (film project), 332, 334–335
Boston Common show, 443
Bounty Hunter, The (film), 255
Breese, Vance, 140
Bremer, Lucille, 144, 332
; Brice, Fanny, 171–172, 173–174
British tours
Dominion engagement, 344, 345
London Palladium, 171–172, 174, 178–181, 191, 345, 387
Manchester, 388–389
raising funds for, 341–342, 343
Royal Variety Gala, 391
Scotland/Ireland, 185–187, 189–190
Broadway Melody of 1938, 5, 27, 91, 96
Bronxville, New York, 33–34, 52–53
Bubbles, John, 367
Burnett, W. R., 3
Burns, George, 69, 73, 261
Burton, Richard, 279, 381, 398
Bushkin, Joey, 322
By Myself (Bacall), 280
C
Caesars Palace, 443
California Country Club, 129
Callas, Maria, 366
Camp Jened, 54–56
Capucine, 280, 314
Carnegie Hall, 398–399
Carroll, Harrison, 150
Cassini, Igor, 224
Cathcart, Jack, 217
Cawthray, Johnny, 80, 81–84
Cerdan, Marcel, 28
Chasen, Dave, 101
Chasin, George, 264
Chastain, Tommy, 127–128
Chevalier, Maurice, 267
Child Is Waiting, A (film), 404
CinemaScope, 281
Circle M stud farm, 265, 267
City of Hope (charity), 367
Clift, Montgomery, 205
Clover Field, 101, 102, 109
CMA (Creative Management Associates), 395, 419, 421, 437, 444. See also Begelman, David; Fields, Freddie
Cocoanut Grove, 360–361
Cohen, Pony Boy, 84
Coleman, Lester, 324, 406
Columbia Pictures, 447
Condolli, Joe, 81, 84
Coogan, Jackie, 148, 153–154
Coogan Act, 148
Cooper, Gary, 306
Cooper, Grant, 405, 417, 418, 421
Cooper, Jackie, 148, 152, 421
Copenhagen, Denmark, 446
Cornero, Tony, 96, 99–100
Corrigan, Doug “Wrong Way,” 49, 126–127, 129
Coward, Noël, 190–191, 314, 380
Crawford, Joan, 205
Crosby, Bing, 144, 258
Cuba, 92
Cukor, George, 283–284, 298, 302
Curran Theatre, 235
Cushing, Charlie, 206, 208
Custom Motors, 97–100, 101, 103
D
Damone, Vic, 429
Dandolos, Nick “the Greek,” 305–306
Dane, Pat, 94
Danker, Lorena, 282
Davis, Bette, 95
Davis, Sammy, Jr., 238, 280
Deans, Mickey, 445, 446
“Dear Mr. Gable” lead-in, 96–97, 286
Desjardins, Pete, 79
DeSylva, Buddy, 130
Dexamyl, 306
DiCicco, Pat, 95, 149
Dietrich, Marlene, 205
Dietz, Jack, 149
Dodge, Horace, 313
Dominion performances, 341, 349
Donahue, Jimmy, 75
Donahue, Willie, 75
Donat, Robert, 181–183
Douglas, Donald, 139–140
Douglas, Kirk, 306
Douglas Aircraft, 124–125, 126
Driller (horse), 347–348
Dru, Joanne, 93
drug use. See Garland, Judy, drug use
Du Pont, Nick, 65, 121, 343
Duber, Clyde, 411
Durante, Jimmy, 203
Durbin, Deanna, 388
Dusenberg (car), 98
E
Ebbins, Milt, 397
Eddy, Nelson, 97
Edens, Roger, 197
influence on JG, 13, 217
and JG’s Palladium act, 174
on JG’s performance, 398
music written for JG, 27, 285–286, 367
Edinburgh, Scotland, 188–189
Edmonton, Ontario, 113
electroshock therapy, 20, 273
Evans, Roy, 98
Every Sunday (film), 82
F
Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr., 382
Falk, Peter, 280
Falkoner Centret show, 446
Feldman, Charlie, 280, 314
Field, Sid, 191
Fields, Freddie, 331
abandonment of JG, 437
financial management by, 415–416, 417–419, 420, 421–424, 448
and JG’s career, 395–396, 402, 415
and JG’s work schedule, 404–405
lawsuit against, 437–438, 444
at MGM, 447
offer to Luft, 399–400, 425–426
reconciliation ploy, 414–415
talent agency, 390–392
Finklehoffe, Freddie, 309
Garland and, 6–7, 8–9, 10, 175–176, 208
and horse racing, 175, 318–320
in London, 379–380
screenplay concept, 189
fires, 274, 357
Fisher, Eddie, 380–381, 405–406
Fisher, John, 132
Fisher, Marjorie Schuyler. See Bari, Lynn
Flamingo Hotel, 351
Fleishman, Lou, 78, 323
Florence House (horse), 190, 215
Flynn, Errol, 102, 246
Ford, Anne, 333
Ford, Glenn, 429–430
Ford, Henry, II, 225, 332, 333–335
Ford Star Jubilee (TV special), 315–316
Foulds, Bert, 129–130
Foy, Brynie, 145–146
France, 190, 288–290
Freddie Fields Associates, 391–392
Freed, Arthur, 27
French Leave (film), 154
Friars Club, 236
Froman, Jane, 203
G
Gable, Clark, 95, 96, 306
Garland, Judy
appearance, 8, 9–10, 23, 158
childhood, 33, 160–161, 244–246, 361–362
death, 446–447
dependence on others, 161, 230, 253, 409, 445
fear of flying, 177, 289, 294, 389
financial problems, 29, 161, 222, 310, 341–342, 349, 420, 427–428, 436–437, 440–441
in France, 288–290, 292–293
move to London, 378–380, 386
personality, 22–23, 27, 158, 312
pregnancies, 198–199, 235, 238
private nature, 17, 207, 308, 318
storytelling ability, 159, 260, 260–261, 266–267, 382–383
suicide attempts, 4, 18–19, 231, 253–254, 342–343, 435
Garland, Judy, career
award nominations, 226, 297, 301–302, 401
childhood performances, 160–161, 245, 251, 361–362
development of, 82, 171–172, 193–194, 209, 300, 330–331, 395–396, 401–402, 415
final performance, 446
health restrictions on, 370–371, 373, 386–387
intensity of performances, 180, 205
live audiences, 179–180, 186, 205, 345, 402–403
London Palladium, 171–172, 174, 178–181, 345, 387
Metropolitan Opera House, 366–368
MGM audition, 249–250
name change, 69, 245
Palace Theatre, 203–207, 208, 213–214, 220–221
presentation to Queen, 178, 391
public image, 5, 9, 158, 181, 207, 209, 222, 229, 433
return to work, 386–387, 388, 401–402
reviews, 180, 206, 297, 368, 446
talent, 4, 5, 7, 173–174, 278, 313, 448
venue choices, 309–310, 342, 349, 351, 388
voice, 22, 23, 69, 229
Garland, Judy, drug use
addiction, 248, 252–253, 270–271, 273–276, 326, 336, 410, 435
admission of dependency, 8, 275, 306
alcohol abuse, 306, 352, 354
benders, 310–311, 325–326, 337, 341, 358
clinic visits, 211, 293, 313, 326, 359
desire to quit, 284, 294, 306–307, 353<
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drug connections, 326, 352–353, 354
during A Child Is Waiting, 404
during Washington/Philadelphia tour, 342–343
effect on performances, 270, 317, 322, 336–339, 433, 443
hostile behavior, 353, 355, 356, 434–435
hysterical episodes, 269–270, 289
inability to care for children, 406, 434–435, 444
long-term effects, 448
overdoses, 400, 409, 433, 435, 446–447
pressure from studios, 20, 215, 228
Ritalin, 366, 408
sober periods, 284, 322, 381, 389
tolerance, 338, 447
for weight control, 8, 20, 172, 276, 277, 315
withdrawal cycle, 338–339, 356, 410
Garland, Judy, health issues
anxiety attacks, 16, 19–21, 214, 398
depression, 214, 247–248, 252–254, 273, 317, 337, 355
hospitalization, 21–22, 211, 400–401
liver disease, 369–373, 389
mental illness, 435, 448
migraines, 20, 240, 273, 293, 310, 336
numbness, 241
PMS, 214, 242, 273, 325
shock treatments, 20, 273
weight control, 17, 172, 173, 181, 194, 197, 211, 212–213, 240, 276, 277, 315, 322, 330, 331, 362–364
weight loss, 173, 437, 445
Garland, Judy, relationships
with Begelman, 411, 419
with children, 190, 226, 238, 247, 301, 350–351
custody of children, 407–408, 423, 434–435
divorce from Luft, 401, 405, 410–411, 414, 435
divorce from Minnelli, 175, 198, 223
family background, 243–245, 309
letters to Luft, 320, 327, 339, 353, 377–378, 414
with Luft, 12, 15–16, 161–167, 197–198, 219, 327, 356–358, 374, 380, 396, 407, 413–414, 420, 442, 444, 448–449
marriage to Luft, 235–236
marriage to Minnelli, 13–14, 15
with mother, 18, 173, 230–232, 249, 251–252, 257–258, 361–362
sense of family, 217–218, 324
social life, 207–208, 235, 238, 260–261, 278, 280, 309, 319
