Celebrity Name : Judy Garland

Celebrity Real Name : Frances Gumm

Date of Birth : June 10, 1922

Birth Location : Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Biography of Frances Gumm :
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American film actress considered by many to be one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era of musical film. Garland’s singing voice had a natural vibrato, which she was able to maintain at extremely low volume. The effects which she was able to project enabled her to convey a wide range of emotion when she interpreted a song. The American Film Institute named Garland among the Greatest Female Stars of All Time, ranking at No. 8.

Honors :

Song of the Century :
Garland’s rendition of “Over the Rainbow” was placed as number 1 in the Songs of the Century project, by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). According to RIAA, the list was put together for young people to “help further appreciation for the music development process, including songwriting, musicianship, recording, performing, distributing and the development of distribution and cultural values.”
The song was also chosen by the American Film Institute as the #1 movie song of all time, as part of their “100 Years…100 Songs” list. Four more Garland songs were also featured on the list: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” from Meet Me In St. Louis (#76), “Get Happy” from Summer Stock (#61), “The Trolley Song,” also from Meet Me In St. Louis (#26), and “The Man That Got Away” from A Star Is Born (#11).

Grammy Hall of Fame Awards :
Several of Garland’s many recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame Some of these include:
* Dear Mr. Gable (You Made Me Love You) (single) - inducted 1998
* Judy at Carnegie Hall (album) - inducted 1998
* Meet Me In St. Louis - Soundtrack (album) - inducted 2005
* Over the Rainbow (single) - inducted 1981
* The Wizard of Oz - Musical and Dramatic Selections Recorded Directly from the Soundtrack of MGM’s Technicolor Film (album) - inducted 2006

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award :
Garland was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously, in 1998.

Judy Garland Day :
For 31 years, her home state of Minnesota has held a yearlyJudy Garland Festival around June 22, in memory of her legacy. The ongoing tribute festival is held at Garland’s birthplace of Grand Rapids. At the 2006 occasion, Minnesota proclaimed June 22, as a temporary Minnesota “Judy Garland Day” recognizing and honoring Judy Garland for her dedication and exemplary achievements and to salute her as an outstanding citizen and patron of the Arts. In June of 2006, the festival was visited by her children Lorna and Joey Luft and a decision to change the Festival dates to a permanent Garland Festival date change: Fri.-Sun. nearest Judy’s birthday. 2007 dates are June 8, 9 & 10″
The United States Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring Garland in the Legends of Hollywood series.[5] The stamp depicts Garland from the “A Star is Born” era and was painted by illustrator, Tim O’Brien. The first day ceremony for this stamp was on June 10, 2006, on what would have been Garland’s 84th birthday, in New York City with nationwide availability on June 12. The ceremony at New York’s Carnegie Hall featured her daughter, Lorna Luft, Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne, Dick Cavett, Michael Feinstein, Rufus Wainwright, Terrence McNally, and Garland’s MGM colleagues Jane Powell and Margaret O’Brien. Garland’s daughter Liza Minnelli taped a special greeting exclusively for the ceremony.

1989 US Postage Stamp Honor :
In 1989, the United States Postal Service issued a series of Classic Films postage stamps, to honor the 50th anniversary of films made in the United States in 1939 that were nominated for Academy Awards. These 25¢ stamps featured four films: The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Stagecoach, and Beau Geste. The stamp featuring Garland as “Dorothy”, with her dog Toto, is popular among collectors.

Hollywood Walk of Fame :
Judy Garland is one of the few stars to have been recognized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with two stars; one for her contributions to American motion pictures and one for her contributions as a recording artist.

The Judy Garland Rose :
A new breed of roses was introduced in 1991, dedicated to Garland. The rose is still available (as of 2006).[wikipedia]