Synopses & Reviews
Judy Garland on Judy Garland is the closest we will come to experiencing and exploring the legends planned autobiography. Collecting and presenting the most important Garland interviews and encounters that took place between 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 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 in her own words. Finally, 45 years after her death, here it is.
Review
“Who was the ‘real Judy Garland—the diminutive woman who lived a life away from the camera? Judy Garland on Judy Garland is an intriguing and seductive look at the icon through the eyes of the fragile woman who lived in the shadow of her own stardom. At last, we can read what Judy Garland thought of her talents, her struggles, her achievements, and her life. This is the true story of an international superstar whom the public never really knew. Flirtatious, defiant, sympathetic, contradictory, funny, sad, and charming—Judy Garland.” —Michael Gregg Michaud, author of Sal Mineo: A Biography
Review
“The Holy Grail for fans of Judy Garland! Randy L. Schmidt is the Indiana Jones of Garland archeology. Never before has Judy been given such a laser-focused spotlight to speak for herself—and like her greatest musical performances, she takes center stage and wows us with every phrase. Careening from the hilarious to the gut-wrenching, Judy will charm your socks off! This book is not just over the rainbow, its out of the world!” —Sam Irvin, author of Kay Thompson: From Funny Face to Eloise
Review
"[A] heart-rending biography . . . The author relates Karens story in writing as fluid and affectless as her singing . . . As Schmidt details Karens unstoppable fall, Little Girl Blue becomes one of the saddest tales in pop . . . This compassionate book gives a tortured waif the third dimension she deserved." —New York Times Book Review
Review
“Heartbreaking. . . . Schmidt succeeds in bringing a gifted, troubled musician to vivid life.” —People
Review
Told with compassion and understanding, this poignant and richly fascinating story of Karen Carpenter reads more like a novel you cant put down than the extensively and impeccably researched biography it actually is.” David Kaufman, author of Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door
Synopsis
Judy Garland on Judy Garland is the closest we will come to experiencing and exploring the legend's planned autobiography. Collecting and presenting the most important Garland interviews and encounters that took place between 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 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 in her own words. Finally, 45 years after her death, here it is.
About the Author
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 lives in Denton, Texas.