What do you think?
Rate this book
Judy: The Life, Legend, and Tragedy of an American Icon
The tumultuous life story of Judy Garland, based on more than two hundred interviews and authorized access to her private papers, by the New York Times–bestselling biographer.
Gerold Frank met with legendary singer and actress Judy Garland to collaborate on her autobiography—but he completed the project alone after her fatal overdose in 1969. Drawn from more than two hundred interviews and full access to her personal records and pictures, Frank delves into the superstar’s troubled life, assisted by the cooperation of her family, her doctors, and her friends in Hollywood.
Still vivid in our memory thanks to films like The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, and A Star Is Born, Judy Garland was an incomparable figure whose outsized talent made her an American icon—and her life story, an American tragedy.
“[A] messy and insatiably involving story. . . . Somehow beyond all the mythology of how a star was born and a cult created, Judy’s consuming presence remains—the insecure charm, the mischievous humor, the guts—all programmed on self-destruct.” —Kirkus Reviews
“When [Frank] digs into the roots of her behavior, he makes more sense than anybody else I have read. He is the perfect Dante for this trip into the underworld, the biographer Judy Garland deserves.” —The New York Times
Includes photographs
Gerold Frank met with legendary singer and actress Judy Garland to collaborate on her autobiography—but he completed the project alone after her fatal overdose in 1969. Drawn from more than two hundred interviews and full access to her personal records and pictures, Frank delves into the superstar’s troubled life, assisted by the cooperation of her family, her doctors, and her friends in Hollywood.
Still vivid in our memory thanks to films like The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, and A Star Is Born, Judy Garland was an incomparable figure whose outsized talent made her an American icon—and her life story, an American tragedy.
“[A] messy and insatiably involving story. . . . Somehow beyond all the mythology of how a star was born and a cult created, Judy’s consuming presence remains—the insecure charm, the mischievous humor, the guts—all programmed on self-destruct.” —Kirkus Reviews
“When [Frank] digs into the roots of her behavior, he makes more sense than anybody else I have read. He is the perfect Dante for this trip into the underworld, the biographer Judy Garland deserves.” —The New York Times
Includes photographs
645 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1975
62 people are currently reading
655 people want to read
About the author
Gerold Frank
17 books7 followersGerold Frank was an American author and ghostwriter. He wrote several celebrity memoirs and was considered a pioneer of the "as told to" form of (auto)biography. His two best-known books,[citation needed] however, are The Boston Strangler (1966), which was adapted as the 1968 movie starring Tony Curtis and Henry Fonda, and An American Death (1972), about the assassination of Martin Luther King.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 22, 2017
This is a pretty comprehensive biography at 700ish pages. It was written in 1975, so the author was able to interview many friends and family members of Judy's before they, too, passed on. I don't follow Hollywood news, so I learned a lot here. It's amazing how she never had music or acting lessons; she never had to work for her talent. This is a very rare thing.
Judy was someone who thrived on drama, and when there wasn't enough going on, she'd invent her own. This meant she often made up stories or exaggerated events. The author includes all the various accounts if there are contradictions. While he tries to understand and explain Judy, he remains objective throughout, never condemning her actions or that of others. He avoids unconfirmed rumors and gossip. There are tons of people mentioned, and it was impossible to remember them all.
The author uses a lot of parenthetical phrases, often set off by dashes. He also likes long introductory clauses. It's not a bad style, but it gets wearying after 500+ pages. I think more recent biographers have gotten a lot better at writing biographies that are more casual and smooth.
Judy was someone who thrived on drama, and when there wasn't enough going on, she'd invent her own. This meant she often made up stories or exaggerated events. The author includes all the various accounts if there are contradictions. While he tries to understand and explain Judy, he remains objective throughout, never condemning her actions or that of others. He avoids unconfirmed rumors and gossip. There are tons of people mentioned, and it was impossible to remember them all.
The author uses a lot of parenthetical phrases, often set off by dashes. He also likes long introductory clauses. It's not a bad style, but it gets wearying after 500+ pages. I think more recent biographers have gotten a lot better at writing biographies that are more casual and smooth.
February 18, 2022
This book was a painstakingly-researched, labor of love that went into great detail about the life of a human being who was so beautifully talented -- and who suffered from more psychological and emotional issues than many of us knew about; certainly than I knew about.
It's easy to hold Hollywood responsible for what low self-esteem Judy Garland had from her earliest ages as a child performer; certainly, they facilitated her and other child stars' access to drugs that she would remain addicted to (and more) until she died. But there was far more to it than that, and this book goes into much of it.
I was enthralled by the stories, both of Judy Garland herself and her family, and of old Hollywood and all the amazing stars from back then. At the same time, however, I found the writing overdramatic at times and, in many cases, unnecessarily verbose at 704 pages. But if you are/were a fan of Judy Garland, this is definitely worth a read.
It's easy to hold Hollywood responsible for what low self-esteem Judy Garland had from her earliest ages as a child performer; certainly, they facilitated her and other child stars' access to drugs that she would remain addicted to (and more) until she died. But there was far more to it than that, and this book goes into much of it.
I was enthralled by the stories, both of Judy Garland herself and her family, and of old Hollywood and all the amazing stars from back then. At the same time, however, I found the writing overdramatic at times and, in many cases, unnecessarily verbose at 704 pages. But if you are/were a fan of Judy Garland, this is definitely worth a read.
January 9, 2011
This was a gigantic biography of Judy Garland - at roughly 650 large pages, small print, it took a while to get through. That's okay though. I loved it. It was the type of book you can pick up and put down, while reading other books in between. Judy was based on thousands of interviews and was very detailed, at times it could have been edited better, but overall, it was a fascinating read and really gave insight on Judy Garland, her life, her ups and downs, the people in her world, and ultimately her demise. I had no idea when I embarked on this journey how sad of a life she lead, and how intriguing of a person, and personality, she was. When I neared the end of the book, at one point, I noticed how close I was to finishing, and thought, "oh no - she's about to die.." - obviously I knew that would be the ending, but Judy really dragged you into her world in a way that I felt like I was in her personal space with her, was one of her fans and friends. There was some good old Hollywood stories, but really, it was Judy Garland, from her birth as Frances Gumm in a small town, to her grandiose life and death. I think as the reader, you can gain as much insight as possible from reading Judy - when in reality, Judy Garland herself was somewhat of a fictional character in her own mind. Having been written in the 1970's, there was some wording that was a bit shocking to read - I found it both amusing and horrifying. Overall, highly recommended - just be aware that you're taking on somewhat of a bear of a book.
February 14, 2015
Excellent book by an excellent author. Although I didn't like this book when I first read it, it is probably the most complete and accurate book on Garland. Authorized by family members who cooperated by giving interviews, the book tells some true inside stories with insight given by those who were there. It is not a gossip book.
April 5, 2025
First of all this book tells all. We learn everything about Judy. Her powerful singing that could pull an audience together. Her many husbands and 3 kids.
The reason I give three stars instead of five is after reading all 637 pages, I have to admit the last 1/2 of the book was basically reading successes, failures, drugs, breakdowns, bad behavior then repeat, repeat, repeat. She really had a way to get what she wanted. People just kept trusting her to perform to do acting, and then in the later years of her life (in her 40s as she only lived to 47) letting down everyone that invested time and money in her. She could cancel shows or not come out of her trailer on sets, totally unpredictably. She definitely had mental problems and off and on was treated for them.
I’d read this book 30+ years ago but thought I remembered her husband’s taking advantage of her, making bad investments and gambling away her money. I was very wrong. They did all they could to help her. Sid Luft who she had two kids with went to great lengths to make her happy. No matter how terrible she treated him he would come back to help her when she called. Even after they divorced. He was a saint. She married once more for 6 months before she died of taking pills and they think she was confused and took a bunch more. (She had attempted suicide a few times over the years but it seemed it was just to get attention)
There was alway talk about how badly she was treated at MGM but according to this greatly researched book—-they did a lot to help her.
It was Judy that was her own worst enemy. Everyone around her struggled to be there for her 24-7. They were practically her slaves. She was constantly relocating her home/apartment/Hotel rooms, that it was mind boggling. She uprooted poor Liza her oldest child 16 times before she was out of high school. It was all like a bad dream with moments of magical happiness tossed in.
If this book had been edited at all, it would of been a fantastic 350 pages. But as it is at 637 pages it’s magnificently bloated beyond comprehension. I finished it out of sheer force of will. The first half is fine starting with Francis Gumm and her sisters performing the vaudeville circuit. Her mother playing piano and opening doors for Judy to be the big star.
Judy loved her father and basically endured her mother who pushed her.
The book has some nice photos and flows nicely even though it got way too detailed, distracted with day to day activities, thousands of names to follow. I’d call it too much research.
The reason I give three stars instead of five is after reading all 637 pages, I have to admit the last 1/2 of the book was basically reading successes, failures, drugs, breakdowns, bad behavior then repeat, repeat, repeat. She really had a way to get what she wanted. People just kept trusting her to perform to do acting, and then in the later years of her life (in her 40s as she only lived to 47) letting down everyone that invested time and money in her. She could cancel shows or not come out of her trailer on sets, totally unpredictably. She definitely had mental problems and off and on was treated for them.
I’d read this book 30+ years ago but thought I remembered her husband’s taking advantage of her, making bad investments and gambling away her money. I was very wrong. They did all they could to help her. Sid Luft who she had two kids with went to great lengths to make her happy. No matter how terrible she treated him he would come back to help her when she called. Even after they divorced. He was a saint. She married once more for 6 months before she died of taking pills and they think she was confused and took a bunch more. (She had attempted suicide a few times over the years but it seemed it was just to get attention)
There was alway talk about how badly she was treated at MGM but according to this greatly researched book—-they did a lot to help her.
It was Judy that was her own worst enemy. Everyone around her struggled to be there for her 24-7. They were practically her slaves. She was constantly relocating her home/apartment/Hotel rooms, that it was mind boggling. She uprooted poor Liza her oldest child 16 times before she was out of high school. It was all like a bad dream with moments of magical happiness tossed in.
If this book had been edited at all, it would of been a fantastic 350 pages. But as it is at 637 pages it’s magnificently bloated beyond comprehension. I finished it out of sheer force of will. The first half is fine starting with Francis Gumm and her sisters performing the vaudeville circuit. Her mother playing piano and opening doors for Judy to be the big star.
Judy loved her father and basically endured her mother who pushed her.
The book has some nice photos and flows nicely even though it got way too detailed, distracted with day to day activities, thousands of names to follow. I’d call it too much research.
Read
January 24, 2022Judy Garland behind the voice, the charm, wit, and star quality.
Author Gerold Frank was very fortunate in his access to Judy's family, friends and associates. Her children and husband Sid Luft in particular spoke with detail and even introspection. During their days after Judy's death their accounts are serious tearjerkers.
Her children grew up with a mother who loved them deeply, but even so, they had to deal carefully with a woman who never became an adult. Spoiled from her cradle, she never learned to deal with adversity. Whatever she wanted, if someone didn't provide it for her immediately, she was being mistreated beyond the sufferings of anyone else. I would expect at least one man to say to Judy, "You are the most high-maintenance woman I ever knew," but if one did, author Frank never learned of it. Juggling conflicting upper and downer pills and alcohol, she was emotionally unstable with sudden, frightening rages.
Her childhood, being controlled by contracts with adults who profited by her performances, set her up to have a love-hate relationship with performing. Her audiences were her best source of love and adulation, but she saw her contracts as imprisonment, and fought against them by cancelling many shows, citing physical and mental woes. Surely these days we would be able to deal more effectively with her anxiety attacks, but she would still be unable to benefit from her psychiatrists because of her compulsive lying. I'm amazed that her husbands each stuck to her as long as they did.
This took me a long time to read, but I never felt the desire to give up on it completely. Frank's analysis is very dark but accurate and deep.
Author Gerold Frank was very fortunate in his access to Judy's family, friends and associates. Her children and husband Sid Luft in particular spoke with detail and even introspection. During their days after Judy's death their accounts are serious tearjerkers.
Her children grew up with a mother who loved them deeply, but even so, they had to deal carefully with a woman who never became an adult. Spoiled from her cradle, she never learned to deal with adversity. Whatever she wanted, if someone didn't provide it for her immediately, she was being mistreated beyond the sufferings of anyone else. I would expect at least one man to say to Judy, "You are the most high-maintenance woman I ever knew," but if one did, author Frank never learned of it. Juggling conflicting upper and downer pills and alcohol, she was emotionally unstable with sudden, frightening rages.
Her childhood, being controlled by contracts with adults who profited by her performances, set her up to have a love-hate relationship with performing. Her audiences were her best source of love and adulation, but she saw her contracts as imprisonment, and fought against them by cancelling many shows, citing physical and mental woes. Surely these days we would be able to deal more effectively with her anxiety attacks, but she would still be unable to benefit from her psychiatrists because of her compulsive lying. I'm amazed that her husbands each stuck to her as long as they did.
This took me a long time to read, but I never felt the desire to give up on it completely. Frank's analysis is very dark but accurate and deep.
June 25, 2020
I'm giving up on Judy (the book, not the person). The first chapters were interesting - learning how a nowhere kid from a nowhere Minnesota town becomes the biggest thing to hit Hollywood since Deanna Durban is quite a story. It's just that once she gets signed by MGM, she makes one more movie, then endures by one more tragic love affair followed by another movie followed by one more awful marriage. And Gerold Frank gives himself a lot of leeway - he doesn't bother to tell us where he gets his information, there's no footnotes, he manages to record conversations from 1939 with razor sharp accuracy, and I'm starting to feel like I'm reading a True Confessions magazine from 1948. The book is becoming a big yawn. There must be more to Judy Garland than this.
October 4, 2025
Exhaustive (and exhausting) and probably hard to find, but lots of fun and very much worth tracking down. It might not all be true and it does go on, but it does a great job of capturing both the myth and the human being.
October 29, 2016
Best biography ever!
The story of Judy Garland's life will take readers far beyond her rainbow, exploring the many dimensions of her personality and life. So complex, yet honest and simple, Judy's life touched the hearts of millions. A must read for any serious fan of this incredibly talented woman.
The story of Judy Garland's life will take readers far beyond her rainbow, exploring the many dimensions of her personality and life. So complex, yet honest and simple, Judy's life touched the hearts of millions. A must read for any serious fan of this incredibly talented woman.
October 16, 2023
The best Judy biography out of all the ones I read this year (4!)
November 12, 2023
<3 ugh <3 <3
May 31, 2025
Would have loved some photos
It made good reading by covering the highs and lows of her life in a ver
y clear fashion. One of the best written biographies I have ever read.
It made good reading by covering the highs and lows of her life in a ver
y clear fashion. One of the best written biographies I have ever read.
January 27, 2015
I think we can all agree that Judy Garland was enormously talented. She was also arguably the most manipulative, self-centered, immature, soul-sucking person I have ever heard of. She elevated self pity to an art form. She spend her whole life manipulating everyone near her so they would give her sympathy, take care of her, tell her how wonderful she was...baby coddling her every minute. She threw tantrums like a two-year-old. Staged suicide attempts to see if people still cared...many of them had rushed over so many times that it became The Girl Who Cried Wolf. She just upped the drama to test them.
The book is well written, but frankly, became repetitive in the second half. This was not the author's fault...Judy did the same destructive things so many times that it became mind numbing. Judy is fat...Judy is on pills...Judy goes through rehab. She's good as new! She's broke...they have to close this deal. She needs money, but REFUSES to talk about it or keep a budget. She rehearses like crazy for the big show. A triumph! Judy starts flaking out. Judy's back on pills. Now she's emaciated. Judy throws a tantrum on the floor. Pretends to slit her wrists. Repeat. Yawn.
Generally well-written and certainly thoroughly researched, but the author was obviously enamored with her and/or her legend. He consistently lets her off the hook with "that was just Judy being Judy!" He imbues her with supernatural powers of healing, motherhood, performing, intuition, on and on. He claims she was in some ways "unparalleled as a mother" because she sat at her children's bedsides crying while they were sick. Gimme a break, her mothering skills would be laughable if they weren't so tragic.
All in all a good read, but I was so fed up and disgusted with her most of the time that it was occasionally hard to keep going.
The book is well written, but frankly, became repetitive in the second half. This was not the author's fault...Judy did the same destructive things so many times that it became mind numbing. Judy is fat...Judy is on pills...Judy goes through rehab. She's good as new! She's broke...they have to close this deal. She needs money, but REFUSES to talk about it or keep a budget. She rehearses like crazy for the big show. A triumph! Judy starts flaking out. Judy's back on pills. Now she's emaciated. Judy throws a tantrum on the floor. Pretends to slit her wrists. Repeat. Yawn.
Generally well-written and certainly thoroughly researched, but the author was obviously enamored with her and/or her legend. He consistently lets her off the hook with "that was just Judy being Judy!" He imbues her with supernatural powers of healing, motherhood, performing, intuition, on and on. He claims she was in some ways "unparalleled as a mother" because she sat at her children's bedsides crying while they were sick. Gimme a break, her mothering skills would be laughable if they weren't so tragic.
All in all a good read, but I was so fed up and disgusted with her most of the time that it was occasionally hard to keep going.
March 10, 2009
This is a whopper of a biography coming in at 637 pages, but so far it's good. Very good. Gerome Frank doesn't bog you down with borish details as did Mae West's biographer, Simon Louvish. However, he does cover the necessary details as well as just good storytelling.
He gets to her passions, especially those regarding her men, in a way that doesn't portray her as needy/pathetic (as probably a tireseomely dull feministic critic might) but more as an idealistic romantic:
"She was never to have very many intimates among women . . . She was happiest in her relationships with men, and only completely happy when she was in love. But her relationships with men were always fraught with peril because of her deep-seated doubt of her desirability, and her need, therefore, to test them, to be wanted by them with a hunger, a devotion and a knightliness no man could be capable of. By her imagination, by the power of her yearning that it should be so, she invested them with qualities of her yearning that it should be so, she invested them with qualities out of her world of make-believe; she made princes of each one, sometimes indeed princes of paupers . . . . And since these were such qualities as they could never live up to, that even her imagination could not sustain for long, in the end it was, it had to be disillusionment. And then, incurable and obsessive romantic that she was, she would begin again."
Sigh. That's right, Judy. Never give up the good fight. Tireless romantic that she was, I love her, and so does/did many others.
He gets to her passions, especially those regarding her men, in a way that doesn't portray her as needy/pathetic (as probably a tireseomely dull feministic critic might) but more as an idealistic romantic:
"She was never to have very many intimates among women . . . She was happiest in her relationships with men, and only completely happy when she was in love. But her relationships with men were always fraught with peril because of her deep-seated doubt of her desirability, and her need, therefore, to test them, to be wanted by them with a hunger, a devotion and a knightliness no man could be capable of. By her imagination, by the power of her yearning that it should be so, she invested them with qualities of her yearning that it should be so, she invested them with qualities out of her world of make-believe; she made princes of each one, sometimes indeed princes of paupers . . . . And since these were such qualities as they could never live up to, that even her imagination could not sustain for long, in the end it was, it had to be disillusionment. And then, incurable and obsessive romantic that she was, she would begin again."
Sigh. That's right, Judy. Never give up the good fight. Tireless romantic that she was, I love her, and so does/did many others.
August 17, 2016
I spent three months reading this book. What a waste. I don't feel like I know anything good about Judy Garland than I did before. It was a long, depressing, and very shallow vagrancy through someone's terrible drug addiction. If you've seen the movies The Rose or The Doors or followed any number of other celebrity treks, then you certainly don't need to read Judy. The names and locations are different, but the sad story is just the same. I would have preferred to remember her as Dorothy.
June 21, 2012
What a life!!! Gerold Frank writes it as though he was there and makes you live it with Judy. I was in awe of her strength and endurance one minute and then disgusted by her selfishness the next. But all the way through you can't help but love her and her great big voice!!! I highly recommend this book - very good read!!!!
February 4, 2020
Excellent and extensive biography of the legend Judy Garland. This one, according to a sentence in Lorna Luft's book about the making of A Star Is Born, is the only book in which family members actually participated. There are some well known facts about Ms. Garland's father that were overlooked. Nevertheless, it is well worth reading.
October 24, 2008
Oh my gosh, I finished it last night & I cried like a baby! It was an incredible biography and one of the most riveting stories I've ever read. I would have paid enormous amounts of money to have seen/heard her perform!
November 30, 2007
In-depth exploration of the brilliant, talented, infuriating legend who was Judy Garland. Well written and remarkably detailed, and a very quick read despite its rather intimidating page count.
November 7, 2008
The best, most intelligently written life of that incredible legend, Judy Garland. If you read no other biography of her (and there are some you shouldn't), don't pass this by. Incredibly good.
January 13, 2009
The author does a thorough and entertaining job of telling the story of Judy's life. If you have any interest in Judy Garland, this is definitely worth reading!
Want to read
September 11, 2016I'm just not making time to read these days, and I feel bad about it! Having too much fun buying presents!
February 29, 2016
A massive book, both in page size and length – certainly not portable, but fascinating. It started off my interest in reading celebrity auto/biographies.
July 19, 2016
A crazy life with a girl that had a stage mother in Grand Rapids that kept pushing her. Certainly she had lots of talent but I think she had a rough time...
March 29, 2025
A wonderful book. Everything I wanted to know about Judy.
Read
January 24, 2019This is my favorite biography of JG.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews