Judy Holliday(1921-1965)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Judy Holliday was born Judith Tuvim in New York City on June 21, 1921.
Her mother, a piano teacher, was attending a play when she went into
labor and made it to the hospital just in time. Judy was an only child.
By the age of four, her mother had her enrolled in ballet school which
fostered a life-long interest in show business. Two years later her
parents divorced. In high school, Judy began to develop an interest in
theater. She appeared in several high school plays. After graduation,
she got a job in the Orson Welles Mercury Theater as a switchboard
operator. Judy worked her way on the stage with appearance in Boston,
Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York City. Judy toured on the
nightclub circuit with a group called "The Revuers" founded by
Betty Comden and
Adolph Green. She went to Hollywood to make
her first foray into the film world in
Montmartre à New York (1944). Most
of her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. Disappointed, but not
discouraged, Judy earned two more roles that year in
Something for the Boys (1944)
and La victoire des ailes (1944). In the
latter, Judy had a few lines of dialogue. Judy returned to New York to
continue her stage career. She returned to Hollywood after five years
to appear in Madame porte la culotte (1949) as
Doris Attinger opposite screen greats
Katharine Hepburn,
Spencer Tracy and
Tom Ewell. With her success in that role, Judy
was signed to play Billie Dawn in
Comment l'esprit vient aux femmes (1950), a role
which she originated on Broadway. She was nominated for and won the
best actress Oscar for her performance. After filming
Je retourne chez maman (1952), Judy
was summoned before the Un-American Activities Committee to testify
about her political affiliations. Fortunately for her, she was not
blacklisted as were many of her counterparts, but damage was done. Her
film career was curtailed somewhat, but rebounded. She continued with
her stage and musical efforts, but with limited time on the screen.
After filming
Une cadillac en or massif (1956),
she was off-screen for four years. Her last film was the MGM production
of Un numéro du tonnerre (1960)
with Dean Martin and it was one of
her best. Judy died two weeks before her 44th birthday in New York
City on June 7, 1965.
