Judy Garland: Splendor and Downfall of a Legend

Judy Garland was a child star, a global musical legend, and a shining talent blighted by addiction. Journalist Tessier’s (Jean-Pierre Melville) biography carefully charts Garland’s career and her decline, and it explains how Garland’s life was shaped when first given drugs to help her to lose weight and then to help her sleep. Garland was born Frances Gumm in 1922 in Grand Rapids, MN, into a family of musicians and performers. In 1926, the family headed to California, where the movie industry was in full swing. With her mother as manager, the gifted Garland earned a contract at MGM in 1937, and two years later, The Wizard of Oz made her a star. Though some readers may find parts of the book’s translation to be ungainly, the author effectively describes Garland’s yearning for love and validation, her shattered relationships, and her continuous need to work, mainly just to keep afloat financially. The squandering of a redoubtable performer with remarkable talent threads throughout Tessier’s narrative.