Judy Garland: The Legend of a Legend | 275

Even the Rich

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.3 • 11.5K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Almost 60 years after Judy Garland’s tragic death, she still remains one of Hollywood’s most fascinating (and heartbreaking) talents. As a girl, her powerful voice catches the attention of legendary movie producer, Louis B. Mayer, and she’s on her way. Thanks to her iconic role in “The Wizard of Oz,” Judy cements herself as one of the world’s biggest and brightest stars. But a steady cocktail of uppers and downers as a youngster - prescribed by doctors at MGM - will haunt the “Over the Rainbow” singer for the rest of her way-too-short life. But despite her untimely death, Judy’s legacy lives on.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wonderie Plus subscribers can binge the newest season of Even the Rich before anyone else.
0:04.4	Join Wonderly Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:08.4	Heads up, Richies.
0:09.4	In today's episode, we discuss suicide.
0:11.6	Please be advised.
0:19.3	Okay, Eresia, what do you think of when you hear the word legend?
0:24.3	I mean, so many people. There's like legends performers. There's legendary other people.
0:33.6	The list goes on and on. Well, today's subject is a legend in every sense of the word.
0:39.7	She grew up in the studio system of Hollywood's Golden Age and rocketed to stardom at just 17.
0:45.0	She endured years of public scrutiny about her body, her addictions, and her relationships.
0:50.0	But despite it all, she delivered hit after hit at the box office and on the stage with magnetic performances and a booming voice.
0:57.9	She died way too soon, long before she could tell us her story in her own words.
1:03.2	So we're basing today's episode on what we've been able to piece together from countless, sometimes contradictory anecdotes and personal accounts.
1:11.5	What is fact and what is legend is open to interpretation.
1:15.0	But one thing is not.
1:16.4	Today's subject, Judy Garland is about to embark on her own personal second act.
1:38.4	It's barely been six months since she parted ways with MGM, the studio that not only made her a star, but also ran her into the
1:45.0	ground, nearly destroying her. Now, she's overseas, ready to take the stage at the world-renowned
1:51.0	London Palladium. Judy hasn't performed solo for an audience in eight years, and she's terrified.
1:58.3	As she begins her walk onto the Palladium stage, she has no clue that she's about to embark on a transformative and redemptive showbiz journey that will not only reconnect her with her fan base, it will redefine her career entirely.
2:11.1	The industry hasn't seen the last of Judy Garland. In fact, this dynamo is just getting started.
2:23.7	Life-changing.
	...

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