About this episode

The episode discusses the tragic death of Judy Garland at the age of 47 and the circumstances surrounding her life and career.

# Judy Garland's Tragic Final Curtain Call - June 10, 1969 On June 10, 1969, the world lost one of its most luminous stars when Judy Garland was found dead in the bathroom of her rented mews house in Chelsea, London. She was just 47 years old. The woman who had enchanted millions as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" met a heartbreakingly lonely end. Her fifth husband, Mickey Deans—a discotheque manager she'd married just three months earlier—discovered her body in the early morning hours. The coroner would later rule that she died from an accidental barbiturate overdose, the culmination of years of dependency on pills that had begun when MGM Studios started giving them to her as a teenager to control her weight and energy levels. The tragic irony wasn't lost on anyone: the girl who had sung "Over the Rainbow" with such hope and yearning had never quite found her own place of peace and happiness. Garland's life had been a devastating spiral in her final years. She was essentially broke despite decades of stardom, owed enormous sums in back taxes, and had been performing in London nightclubs just to make ends meet. Her voice, once crystal-clear and powerful, had become raspy and…

Topics covered

• celebrity death
• Judy Garland
• Hollywood history
• addiction
• comeback
• tragedy

Keywords

• Judy Garland
• tragic death
• Mickey Deans
• barbiturate overdose
• The Wizard of Oz
• Hollywood
• addiction
• comeback

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MGM Studios

Books & works: The Wizard of Oz

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