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The 1950s
- On September 29, 1950, Judy Garland was
released from her M-G-M contract.
- On April 9, 1951, Judy began a series
of legendary live appearances at The London Palladium, later touring
the provinces for two months.
- From 1951 to 1952, she played New York's
Palace Theatre for a record-breaking nineteen weeks, receiving
a special Tony Award for her revival of vaudeville-styled entertainment.
- On June 8, 1952, Judy married producer
Sid Luft (divorced 1965). They had two children, Lorna and Joey.
- In 1954, after a four year absence, she
returned to films in A STAR IS BORN, which is considered by many
to be her best dramatic performance, and for which she received
a Best Actress Academy Award nomination.
- In 1955, the best selling album, MISS
SHOW BUSINESS, was the first release of her ten-year association
with Capitol Records.
- Other albums released in the '50s included:
JUDY (1956), ALONE (1957), JUDY IN LOVE (1958), GARLAND AT THE
GROVE (1959), and THE LETTER (1959).
- Also in 1955, Judy made her television
debut as the star of "Four Star Jubilee," which won the highest
ratings to that date for a special on CBS.
- Judy made her Las Vegas debut in July
1956 at The New Frontier at the highest salary ever paid to a
star in the desert up until that time.
- On September 26, 1956, Judy reclaimed
the Palace Theatre for a 17-week Broadway engagement.
- Her other 1950s theatrical engagements
included a return to London for a four-week season at The Dominion
and a Royal Variety Show at The Palladium; stints at The Greek
Theatre and Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles; and further triumphs
in Las Vegas, and cross-country from Dallas to Detroit, Chicago,
and Miami, among other cities.
- In an unprecedented one-week stand in
1959, Judy Garland was the first American popular singer to appear
at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. Her elaborate revue also
toured to Baltimore, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
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