The Judy Garland Show: Judy in Concert with Guest Vic Damone (episode 24, aired 15th March 1964)

If we are looking for a theme for this instalment of Judy’s ‘concert’ episodes then I think ‘Judy sings love’ would be a suitable moniker. Two of the first three songs – ‘Lucky Day’ and ‘Do I Love You?’ – are taken from her beautiful 1958 LP Judy in Love and a good first half of the concert feature love songs until she switches mood with ‘Never Will I Marry’!

It is when watching Judy in concert like this that one wonders at the television producers’ idea of putting such a big star on the box each week when a show such as this would suffice as a once-a-year-event! Talk about the goose that laid the golden egg… How lucky we are to have these performances on tape.

This episode sees a welcome return once again for Judy’s favourite male guest, Vic Damone. The second of his songs is very apt. ‘I’m Gonna Miss You’ he sings.

*****

This episode starts in much the same way as the other concert episodes. After a short overture Judy walks before the orchestra looking extremely chic in a slim dark skirt and matching cape over a top encrusted with sparkling beads. Her other gown in this show is the one she had worn previously for ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ in episode 7 and once again in episode 11.

Apart from the aforementioned songs, the rest of Judy’s set list includes:

‘Sweet Danger’

‘I Love You’

‘When Your Lover Has Gone’

‘Down With Love’

‘Old Devil Moon’

‘Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home’

and concert favourite ‘Chicago’.

Vic Damone also sings ‘Who Are You Now?’

His duet with Garland scores a hat trick. The collection of Kismet songs in show 24 is the third of their Broadway medleys. Damone had starred in Arthur Freed/Vincente Minnelli’s 1955 film version. Although this was not one of MGM’s most successful screen musicals, ‘Stranger in Paradise’ will always be associated with Vic Damone because of the film. A hilarious outtake of this medley shows Judy making an error and exclaiming, “mother blew it!” Coyne Steven Sanders reveals that Jazz musician Bobby Cole wrote this medley (1992: 351). He had replaced Mel Tormé as writer of special material for the show. Cole would appear in the next episode.

For Born in a Trunk Judy sings only one song, ‘Lost in the Stars’. The wistful tune hits a raw nerve. Or is this because we are nearing the end of the series?…

During the curtain calls, Judy invites Damone back on to the stage to share in the applause. What a generous host.

Further reading:

Sanders, Coyne Steven, 1992, Rainbow’s End, The Judy Garland Show, New York: Zebra Books

The Judy Garland Show, Judy in Concert: Music from the Movies, (episode 23, aired 8th March 1964)

Many years ago one of the first Judy Garland recordings I bought was a set of two cassettes from Woolworths of Judy singing ‘live’. Like many bargain price Garland records that have been released over the past few decades the tracks were taken from her television series. (I hope some of the profits from these albums went back to her estate!) Songs from episode 23 of The Judy Garland Show including ‘If I Had a Talking Picture of You’, ‘Love of My Life’ and ‘I’m Always Chasing Rainbows’ were part of the track listing on the cassettes. The dialogue that introduces ‘Love of My Life’ was included on the tape. It was lovely to see these performances come to life when the episodes were given a DVD release, and now of course, they are widely available on YouTube.

This is the second concert episode that is a ‘just Judy’ show. There are no guests. As the title explains this concert features songs that are most well known for being associated with films. Some, but not all of them are from Judy’s movies.

Judy’s main costume from this show is one of her most famous outfits of the 1960s. She wears it on the sleeve photos for Judy and Liza ‘Live’ at the London Palladium LP and it was also her wedding dress for the marriage to Mark Herron. The shape is similar to some of the other Aghayan gowns in the series as the top fits rather like a cape at the back. This, and the clown costume she wears at the end of the programme are the only costumes she wears in Show 23. The change of costume – and persona – means we get two Judy’s for the price of one!

Judy removes her jacket

The opening of ‘Once in a Lifetime’ is somewhat incongruous here. In a show inspired by film music it seems odd to include a song from Anthony Newley’s West End and Broadway stage musical Stop the World, I Want to Get Off. Judy also reprises ‘I Feel a Song Coming On’ from episode 1 (the Rooney show). The final few episodes of The Judy Garland Show utilise some songs that had already been performed in earlier instalments, sometimes by Judy’s guests, rather than Garland herself.

The next medley is inspired by the early days of the ‘talkies’. Judy sings ‘If I Had a Talking Picture of You’ and then sings two songs made famous by Al Jolson (the first star of movie musicals), ‘Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye’ and ‘Dirty Hands Dirty Face’ from The Jazz Singer (1927). Garland was often compared to Jolson and one wonders, had he lived long enough, would he have been invited to join her on her weekly television series? She had appeared on the radio with Jolie earlier in her career after all.

The other songs that aren’t from Judy’s films in this episode are ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’ and ‘You’re Nearer’, although the latter song from the Lucille Ball/Eddie Bracken film Too Many Girls (1940) had become a staple of her concerts.

‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’

‘You’re Nearer’

 

The rest of the set are Garland classics:

‘Love of My Life’ and ‘Be a Clown’ from The Pirate (1948)

‘The Boy Next Door’ from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

‘On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe’ from The Harvey Girls (1946)

‘I’m Always Chasing Rainbows’ from Ziegfeld Girl (1941)

 

‘I’m Always Chasing Rainbows’

‘I’m Nobody’s Baby’ from Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)

Judy throws her mic lead over her shoulder

 

and ‘The Man That Got Away’ from A Star is Born (1954)

‘The Man That Got Away’

Although Judy’s portable dressing room screen is used on stage for her transformation into the clown costume, we only see a short clip of her changing during some raucous intro music from Mort Lindsey’s orchestra. We meet her at the point at which she paints on her mouth and pulls her gloves on. Her hat and make-up here are not dissimilar to Manuela’s clown at the end of The Pirate. Judy retraces some dance steps from the MGM film and is bopped on the head each time she steps to the wings of the stage. At the end of the song the stage is littered with Indian clubs.

The show ends with a reprise of ‘Once in a Lifetime’. Judy sits at the edge of the stage to sing it, just as she performed ‘Over the Rainbow’ in her concerts. The next episode would be another concert, but Judy would be joined one more time by Vic Damone, one of her favourite guests of the series.

The Judy Garland Show with Ray Bolger and Jane Powell (episode 10, aired 1st March 1964)

This late airing of Show 10 creates something of an anomaly in the latter part of the series, returning as it does to an earlier format after the recent introduction of the concert-style episodes. This was Jerry Van Dyke’s final appearance too. A comedy sketch between Jane, Judy and Jerry towards the end of the show is Van Dyke’s swan song. Mr Van Dyke lip-syncs to the voices of male leads from MGM musicals such as Chevalier, Keel and Damone and duets with his female co-stars. Judy mimes to Jane’s voice in Deep in my Heart (1954). It is a simple idea, but one of Jerry’s most charming moments in the series.

Including, as it does, two musical stars who had either appeared with Judy at MGM, or had been at the studio at the same time, there is bound to be some nostalgia in this episode as well as a thankful emphasis on music. The only non-musical scene in this episode is Tea for Two. In this instalment Bolger and Judy chat about The Wizard of Oz, the deletion of the film’s ‘Jitterbug’ number, and sing ‘If I Only Had a Brain’. Judy looks absolutely delighted to be chatting with her old co-star!

At the opening, Judy sings ‘A Lot of Living to Do’, the final lines of which introduce Powell and Bolger. When they join their host for Be My Guest, Jane teases Judy about MGM’s Royal Wedding (1951):

Jane: “Judy you really are a gem…”

Judy: “Be my guest, be my guest…”

Jane: “Considering that it was I who took your place at MGM!”

Judy: “Be my guest, be my guest!!”

Ray Bolger says he wants to do something other than his old songs… but doesn’t know any. Judy jests that she once tried to avoid singing ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘The Trolley Song’ and ‘The Man that Got Away’ but as a result got no work!

Next up is Judy singing a sweet and gentle ‘That’s All’. The British entertainer Larry Grayson whose trademark prop was a chair that he would lean on during his monologues used to sing ‘That’s All’ in some of his performances. He was an enthusiastic Garland fan and honorary member of her club. One wonders if his chair prop and Judy’s similar use of it in this scene was merely coincidence…

The ‘One for my Baby’ that follows is a comedy routine rather than a straight performance, in a similar vein to ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’ in Show 19. The song – and Judy – take second place to the bar room shenanigans going on around her. If only the clientele had paid more attention to the charming lady singing at the bar! At the end of this scene there is an unexpected transition into some concert footage – familiar from the already-broadcast Show 14. Judy sings ‘Hello Bluebird’, ‘If Love Were All’ and ‘Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart’.

Back in the Be My Guest setting, Judy introduces Mr Bolger… Ray does a solo song and dance routine that demonstrates his long-legged flexibility. Much more enjoyable however is the following short dance to Judy’s ‘Sunny Side of the Street’.

Jane Powell’s musical number is a heart-rending ‘Dear Friend’ and waltz. Jane was a pretty neat dancer as well as singer as evidenced in Royal Wedding and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). The scene ends with a close up of Jane holding a rose, her bottom lip trembling with emotion.

Judy, Jane and Ray all join forces for ‘The Jitterbug’. This has got to be one of the better of the big show pieces of the series that includes all of Judy’s guests. (Compare notes with ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ from Show 4 and the medley of ‘holiday songs’ from Show 12, and you’ll see what I mean). It is well-rehearsed, acted and danced. It also means that one of Judy’s ‘lost’ numbers is finally recorded on tape. All participants appear to be having the time of their lives during the scene, including the chorus dancers who invoke spontaneous applause from the studio audience.

In the Born In a Trunk segment Judy pulls a bundle of old love letters out of one of the trunk’s drawers which inspires her to sing ‘When Your Lover Has Gone’. The ballad is followed by a belting ‘Some People’. Miss Garland is certainly not living life in a living room!

‘Maybe I’ll Come Back’ makes a revival here and the cousin happens to be the cameraman filming Judy’s close-up! Garland is joined by a pet pooch during the end credits. The applause goes on for an eternity as if the audience don’t want to go home. Judy smothers the dog with kisses and helps it to conduct the music.

Although this episode’s charms seem a little diluted by the recycled footage from Show 14 it arguably has many jewels. The show seems so packed with treasures would anyone have noticed it were shorter had the concert scene not been included?!

 

Garland’s Gowns (by Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie):

There are 5 costume changes for Miss Garland in Show 10, but one of them is during the concert footage from Show 14. Seen below:

Judy wears a simple V- neck dress in the opening scene.

During Be My Guest and ‘That’s All’ Judy wears a white dress with lace top layered over the top. The outfit is finished off very nicely with a string of pearls.

For ‘The Jitterbug’ Judy and Jane Powell wear matching outfits of flared skirts and stripy waistcoats over short-sleeved shirts.

The rehearsal costume of white turtleneck and slacks are worn in the Trunk scene.

The Judy Garland Show with Jack Jones and Ken Murray (episode 22, aired 23rd February 1964)

In the previous blog post from The Judy Garland Project I wrote that episode 21 of The Judy Garland Show had provided television audiences with an opportunity to see much of Garland’s material from her early 1960s concert tours. This has subsequently enabled future generations to get some feeling for what it would have been like to see Judy on stage in the last decade of her career.

 

Show 22 is a sequel of sorts to episode 21 in that it too features several songs from the Carnegie Hall LP:

‘Swanee’

‘Almost Like Being in Love/This Can’t Be Love’

‘Just You, Just Me’

‘A Foggy Day’ (seated with Mort Lindsey at the piano stool)

and ‘If Love Were All’

Although some of the songs in this episode had already been sung by Judy in previous episodes, it is refreshing to hear her sing them again in a concert-format show, uninterrupted by other business.

‘Just in Time’ (sung previously on Show 9) makes a return here. Judy seems incredibly relaxed in this performance. The Pioneer Artists DVD includes two takes. In the second take of the song she nails it.

Years before her film outtake from In The Good Old Summertime (1949) was archived as a DVD extra by Warner Home Video, ‘Last Night When We Were Young’ TV audiences got a rare chance to see Judy sing this song in this week’s episode.

Another treat from Show 22 is the ‘Judy at the Palace Medley’ (from the Miss Showbusiness LP and her Palace Show of 1951). Garland Introduces the medley by reminding the audience that it was the goal of all vaudeville performers to play at the Palace. Something which Judy achieved three times throughout her career.

Judy’s guests this week are Jack Jones and Ken Murray. Jones sings ‘Love With the Proper Stranger’ and ‘Wives and Lovers’ standing in front of a setting that looks like multiple Connect 4 games! It is a welcome return for Mr Jones which gives the series a sense of consistency. The same effect is given by the repeated appearances of Vic Damone).

The version of Ken Murray’s scene on the Pioneer Artists DVD looks like it has been rescued from a kinescope recording. This weeks clips are mostly from Hollywoods silent era. There are some priceless shots of Charles Laughton pretending to hide behind a car. Footage of stars such as Gloria Swanson, Gary Cooper and Jean Harlow arriving for the premiere of King of Kings in 1927 looks like the opening scene of Singin’ in the Rain (1952).

 

Judy joins Jack for a Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy themed medley. They sing

‘Will You Remember’, ‘Rosalie’, ‘I’ll See You Again’, and ‘Lover Come Back to Me’.

Jack informs Judy that he was born the night that his father recorded ‘The Donkey Serenade’ from The Firefly (1938). “Oh I love that song!” Exclaims Judy. They end the set by duetting with this number – Allan Jones’s biggest hit.

Show 22 ends with only one song during the Trunk segment, ‘When the Sun Comes Out’ which Judy had first sung on Show 1. This episode is undoubtedly another concert to treasure. The following week would see an unusually placed return to an earlier format…

Garland’s Gowns (by Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie):

There are three costume changes in this show. Judy wears the twin set with bow at the neck during the Ken Murray scene that she had worn in Show 21 during her duet with Mel Torme. During the MacDonald/Eddy duet she wears the dress with a lattice design worn previously in episode 19 (with the Kirby Stone Four).

The most memorable outfit from this show however is the zebra-striped dress she wears during the concert scenes. In Show 18 she had worn a long zebra skirt with a plain top and a cape. In Show 22 we get the full zebra effect. Another Aghayan success!

 

The Judy Garland Show with Mel Tormé and special guest Diahann Carroll (episode 21, aired 16th February 1964)

This episode is the second of Judy’s ‘concert’ format shows. However, it differs slightly to the previous week’s in that she is joined by two guests. Her first is Mel Tormé. He had actually been contracted to appear as a guest six times as well as acting as her writer of special material. As the show neared its end, however, it became clear that this was never going to happen. Tormé reveals in his book The Other Side of the Rainbow (1970) that he originally took production company Kingsrow to court to sue for the money he would have made by making the two extra appearances that never materialised. Luckily for Judy he backed out. Unluckily for Judy he ended up being one of the first biographers to write a ‘kiss-and-tell’ book about Garland after her passing, and has been scorned by many a Garland fan ever since!

In show 21 Judy introduces his solo performance of ‘Blues in the Night’ by saying that it has been “written by a very good friend of mine…” meaning Tormé. It is oddly staged with phantom women appearing and disappearing around him. The ghosts of those who had once encircled him in ‘Comin’ Home Baby’ in Show 11. Judy joins him afterwards to duet on ‘The Trolley Song’ in which Tormé attempts to redress the balance of the lyrics by singing from ‘the boy next door’s’ point of view. The funniest aspect of the song is Judy’s looped last note that goes on for an eternity!

Of more special note in this episode are the two routines with Judy’s other guest, Diahann Carroll. Ms Carroll is a revelation on this show. Her appearance being yet another highlight of the series. Elegant and sophisticated, she looks like a beautiful bird in her Aghayan/Mackie creation in a setting that does not look unlike an illuminated birdcage. She sings ‘Quiet Nights’ and ‘Goody Goody’ solo, and then later on joins Judy for a wonderful duet with Carroll singing songs by Richard Rogers and Garland singing Harold Arlen. It highlights how gimmicky the Jourdan/Garland duet was in Show 19 and is almost on a par with the Garland/Streisand singing in Show 9 for sophistication. Coyne Steven Sanders remarks that this is one of the best medleys of the series – and who could disagree?! (Sanders, 1992: 333).

Judy’s concert performance in the first part of the show is of special note. In Show 21 and also Show 22 the following week she sings a substantial part of her repertoire from the Carnegie Hall concert. Shows 21 and 22 therefore serve as an authentic record of Judy-in-concert from the early 1960s and – alongside some of the Frank and Dean Special – the nearest thing to a video of the celebrated concert of 23^rd April 1961.

Judy wears a striking dress covered in sequinned poppies. The set list of songs are:

‘Hey Look Me Over’

‘Smile’

‘I Can’t Give You Anything But Love Baby’

‘After You’ve Gone’

‘Alone Together’

‘Come Rain or Come Shine’

After her duet with Diahann Carroll Judy sings ‘Don’t Ever Leave Me’ and ‘Great Day’ in the Trunk spot.

This is a belter of a show!

 Garland’s Gown’s (by Ray Aghayan and Bob Mackie):

Three costume changes. As well as the sequinned poppy dress, Judy wears an unusual striped twin set with a large, white bow at the neck during her duet with Tormé. During her duet with Diahann Carroll she wears a long sparkling white dress. Although the poppy dress looks amazing in black and white, colour photos of it reveal its full effect!

Further reading:

Sanders, Coyne Steven, 1992, Rainbow’s End, The Judy Garland Show, New York: Zebra Books.

Tormé, Mel, 1970, The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol, New York: Galahad Books.