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Chicago – In 1963, Judy Garland had a CBS-TV variety series, and in December there was a Christmas episode featuring her kids … including Liza Minnelli. Playwright Desiree Burcum and the comedy troupe Famous In The Future have created (click link) ”A Judy Christmas” as a stage play. The show, presented by Famous In The Future productions, will have three performances the weekend before Christmas, December 20th, 21st and 22nd at the Den Theatre in Chicago.

On Friday December 6th, 1963, a mere 11 days after the assassination and funeral of John F. Kennedy – Judy Garland and JFK were friends – the singer and her children, with guest stars Jack Jones and Mel Tormé, gathered to film the Christmas special. It was part of the series “The Judy Garland Show,” which ran from 1963-64. With the heavy mourning of a nation over the proceedings, Ms. Garland managed to give them the old adage of “the show must go on.

Bobby Banas, who played Jets member Joyboy in 1961’s West Side Story, appeared in other film musicals and had a long career as a choreographer, died Monday. He was 90.

His official Instagram account posted the news but did not provide other details. “Fly on, Joyboy,” it read in part. “I know the dance party up above is going to be amazing.”

Born on September 22, 1933, in New York City, Banas performed as Kangaroo in the original 1954 Broadway production of Peter Pan before landing dancer roles in such film musicals as The King and I and Carousel and the early rock ‘n’ roll pic Rock Around the Clock, all in 1956. He went on to work in The Girl Most Likely, Damn Yankees, Li’l Abner and a TV production of Annie Get Your Gun later that decade.

His most famous role would come in the Best Picture Oscar-winning musical West Side Story, playing the Jets’ Joyboy.

Bobby Banas, the actor, dancer and choreographer who played Joyboy in West Side Story and worked in such other famed movie musicals as Bye Bye Birdie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Mary Poppins, has died. He was 90.

Banas died Monday of pneumonia at an assisted living facility in Encino, his son, director and photographer Eden Tyler Banas, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Banas received newfound attention when a clip of him leading five others in a dance number to the song “The Nitty Gritty” on a 1964 episode of CBS’ The Judy Garland Show found its way on YouTube. It has since been viewed many millions of times.

Banas’ Joyboy was a member of the Jets in West Side Story (1959). Later, the performer was bowled over by a kiss from Marilyn Monroe in Let’s Make Love (1960), played a chimney sweep in Mary Poppins (1964) and danced in a nightclub with Ann-Margret in Made in Paris...

The legendary Judy Garland, one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century, would have turned 100 on June 10, 2022. To celebrate her career, tour our photo gallery looking back at her greatest film performances.

Known as the little girl (she was only 4’11) with the big voice, Garland was a rare true triple threat, holding her own with such great dancers as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, twice receiving Oscar nominations in acting categories, as well as leaving behind a legacy of record-breaking concerts, a Grammy-winning gold album and recordings of iconic songs that no one else has ever been able to capture in quite the same way.

Born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids Minnesota, Garland was the youngest of three girls. They would eventually form the vaudeville act “The Gumm Sisters” when baby Frances was only two years old. After almost a decade of touring with her sisters,...

By the time the curtain rang down on CBS’ “The Judy Garland Show” on March 29, 1964, the musical variety show had, in just one season, three producers and three different formats. Despite good reviews from critics and Judy Garland’s devoted fan base, the series wasn’t felled by the mercurial Garland being difficult but by the Cartwrights — Ben, Little Joe, Adam, and Hoss — of NBC’s ratings powerhouse “Bonanza.”

Though “The Judy Garland Show” was cancelled after one season, it certainly has lived on over the past six decades. The show was included in TV Guide’s 2013 list of 60 series that were “Cancelled Too Soon.” It certainly was the series that got away. Not only was the mercurial Garland in top (and emotional) voice, but the show also featured a powerhouse of guest stars from her frequent leading man Mickey Rooney, Ray Bolger from “The Wizard of Oz” and newcomers such as Barbra Streisand.

Steve Lawrence, the singer who teamed with his wife Eydie Gormé to form one of the most popular nightclub and concert duos of their generation, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease today. He was 88.

His son, the composer and performer David Lawrence, said in a press statement, “My Dad was an inspiration to so many people. But, to me, he was just this charming, handsome, hysterically funny guy who sang a lot. Sometimes alone and sometimes with his insanely talented wife. I am so lucky to have had him as a father and so proud to be his son. My hope is that his contributions to the entertainment industry will be remembered for many years to come.”

Popularly know as Steve and Eydie, the couple achieved nationwide recognition in the mid-1950s after appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Steve Allen. They continued performing together until Gormé’s retirement...

Norman Jewison made movies that mattered.

“Timing is everything,” the director told me the one time we met. I’d been enlisted to host a long Q&a with Jewison at the American Cinematheque — and I was more than a little intimidated.

From “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” in 1966 to “Other People’s Money” in 1991, Jewison had an astonishing quarter-century run behind the camera, directing movies that impacted the culture when they came out (none more than “In the Heat of the Night”), a great many of which are still watched today. Turns out, this legendary talent couldn’t have been sweeter.

Jewison liked to tell the story of how he met Bobby Kennedy before making the landmark Sidney Poitier picture. He and Kennedy crossed paths while on vacation skiing, where both of their kids wound up in the hospital.

Still developing “In the Heat of the Night” at the time,...

Veteran director Norman Jewison, who was nominated for seven Academy Awards during his illustrious career, has passed away.

Per Variety, Jewison died at his Los Angeles home on Saturday. While a specific cause was not provided, the filmmaker is said to have died peacefully in his sleep. He was 97 years old.

Norman Frederick Jewison was born in Toronto on July 21, 1926. After serving in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II and graduating from Victoria College in 1949, Jewison began his career in show business. He started with stage work and children's television work in London before relocating back to Toronto to work for CBC Television in the early 1950s. He found his first big break as a filmmaker when he was hired by Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh to direct the 1962 comedy 40 Pounds of Trouble. Jewison followed this up by helming the Doris Day movies The Thrill of it All...

Barbra Streisand is getting candid about her relationship with the late Judy Garland in her new memoir, saying their rumored rivalry was nonexistent.

“People were looking for some sort of rivalry between us. And when they couldn’t find anything, they made it up,” Streisand writes in her tell-all book, “My Name Is Barbra,” via an excerpt from People magazine.

The two were often pitted against each other as titans of both the stage and screen, but Streisand says that she found Garland to be “completely generous” when she appeared on her self-titled talk show in 1963.

“We sang a medley of songs, taking turns, and she wasn’t just focused on herself. She watched me and responded to me,” Streisand writes in the excerpt. “She would reach out and brush back a strand of my hair, like a mother. And Judy’s own daughter, Liza Minnelli, says that her mother...

Barbra Streisand is sharing a warning her late friend and fellow actress Judy Garland gave to her about Hollywood in her new memoir, My Name Is Barbra.

In an excerpt, via People magazine, Streisand wrote, “Judy and I became friends. We spoke on the phone, and she came to one of the rare parties I gave at my New York apartment (four in thirty‑five years). I think she arrived late. And I remember her saying something I never quite understood: ‘Don’t let them do to you what they did to me.’ I should have asked her what she meant, but I didn’t want to appear too nosy.”

In the 2017 memoir about the late actress, Judy and I: My Life With Judy Garland, her ex-husband Sid Luft detailed the pressure Garland faced to maintain a certain weight and appearance, including studio executives telling her she had to watch her figure.

Barbra Streisand’s memoir My Name is Barbra released Tuesday, and among the stories shared throughout the book’s 992 pages are details of her friendship with fellow legend Judy Garland.

From 1963 to 1964, Garland had her own musical variety show that aired on CBS, and on one episode sang a duet with the Egot winner. In an excerpt shared with People, Streisand wrote, “Judy and I became friends. We spoke on the phone, and she came to one of the rare parties I gave at my New York apartment.” She recalled,...

In 1939, Judy Garland went over the rainbow, and the world would never be the same again. Garland, who'd first gained major fame singing, dancing, and acting alongside Mickey Rooney, was suddenly catapulted to superstardom. From her roots in vaudeville, Garland had been performing her whole life, and she eventually became one of the world's most beloved stars. Her singing voice is completely unmatched, and it was backed up with intensity, passion, and unparalleled charm. Though her personal history is not without difficulty -- and Rene Zellweger won an Oscar for portraying part of that history in "Judy" -- Garland is largely remembered as one of Hollywood's most beloved actresses.

Looking through Garland's career, it was her latter years that offered opportunities for rich experimentation. Though she still appeared in musicals, after her MGM contract expired, she boldly took risks, such as starring in an animated feature and an epic courtroom drama.

Renee Zellweger is poised to win her second Oscar on February 9 for uncannily transforming into Judy Garland for the biopic “Judy.” She notoriously never won an Academy Award, so Zellweger might be able to somewhat avenge that oversight. The film focuses on the final months in the life of the troubled multi-talent, as she performs to sold-out crowds in London in the winter of 1968. To celebrate, let’s take a look back at 20 of Garland’s greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest entertainer of the 20th century, Garland was indeed a triple threat. Known as the little girl (she was only 4’11) with the big voice, Garland also held her own with such great dancers as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire although she had no formal training in that area, and was Oscar-nominated twice in acting categories.

SEERenee Zellweger movies: 15 greatest films...

To riff off LL Cool J, don’t call it a comeback, she’s been with us for years. After a six year break from the big screen between 2010-2016, Renée Zellweger storms back into awards season with a tour de force turn as the tormented, but resilient, Judy Garland in the third act of her career in Roadside Attractions/Ld Entertainment’s Judy. It was 1968 and the Wizard of Oz actress was penniless, with no choice but to become the marquee act at London dinner theater Talk of the Town; her personal life coming apart at the seams and drugs and alcohol continuing to take their toll, even eating into her onstage performance. Zellweger disappeared into the part with the same granular nuance and pitch perfect detail she has delivered previously in her rounded repertoire of characters including her best supporting actress Oscar winning turn as Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain,...

It’s been exactly 50 years since Judy Garland’s death from an accidental drug overdose, an event so devastating for the gay community, legend tells it sparked the Stonewall riots. Now, in 2019, the beloved singer and show-woman known for her turbulent past is undergoing a long overdue reputation rehabilitation.

Time is a cruel mistress, even — especially — to legends. But just when pop culture had nearly forgotten about the little girl with the voice like raw honey, or the more mature force of nature with a silver-tongued wit, Hollywood has finally done right by Judy. This year has produced two tender and finely-tuned films worthy of bearing her name, each telling a version of the truth re Judy’s life, something even her own daughter admits she can never fully understand. Both films make her immense talent decadently clear, proudly proclaiming via glittering ruby marquee: They just don’t make ’em like they used to.

Two years ago, Barbra Streisand celebrated becoming the only artist to score #1 albums in six consecutive decades with a rare concert tour. The video version of that, “Barbra: The Music… The Mem’ries… The Magic!,” streamed on Netflix last fall and is a strong contender at the upcoming Emmys. Over the years, Streisand has headlined two Emmy-winning variety specials (as did Bob Hope) and she’d set a new record with another victory.

Among the highlights of the concert, which was filmed in Miami, is her soaring duet with fellow Oscar winner Jamie Foxx on “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” from “The Sound of Music.” There is a certain irony that Streisand chose to record this Rodgers & Hammerstein classic for her chart-topping 2016 album “Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway.” As a teenager, she’d auditioned to play eldest daughter Liesl in the national company of this Tony winner but couldn’t get past the casting director.

Actress Renée Zellweger isn't afraid of a challenge. So when she signed up to play Hollywood star Judy Garland in a film about the icon, she dove into the research. "There's so much material out there," Renée, 49, says of the movies, concerts, and interviews she studied. She thought about calling Judy's daughter Liza Minnelli for advice, but mostly she studied the star herself. "She's so comfortable," Renée says of watching the 1963-1964 The Judy Garland Show. "She's being herself. She was so funny and cool." Judy is set in 1968 as the legend arrived in London to perform a series of concerts. "It's 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz," says producers, "and yet Judy is fragile... She is exhausted. Will she have the strength to go on?" (Photo Credit: Getty Images) Judy, who worked from the time she was two, died of an accidental overdose...

Jerry Van Dyke, the younger brother of actor Dick Van Dyke best known for his role on Coach, has died at the age of 86, his rep confirms to People.

The actor passed Friday at his Arkansas ranch with wife Shirley by his side, TMZ reported. Shirley told the website that Jerry’s health had been deteriorating over the years, after a car accident they were involved in back in 2015.

He was last seen on the small screen on ABC’s The Middle, in the recurring role as Tag Spence — the father of Patricia Heaton‘s character. Jerry first appeared on...

Jerry Van Dyke, best known for his role as Asst. Coach Luther Van Dam on the ABC sitcom Coach, has died at the age of 86.

According to TMZ, Van Dyke died on Friday afternoon at his Arkansas ranch. Though an exact cause of death is unknown, the actor is said to have been involved in a car accident two years ago from which he never truly recovered.

RELATEDRose Marie, The Dick Van Dyke Show Star, Dead at 94

Van Dyke first became known to audiences in 1962 when he began a recurring role as Stacey Petrie in his brother Dick Van Dyke’s eponymous CBS sitcom.

Jerry Van Dyke, the famed younger brother of Dick Van Dyke, has died TMZ has learned. Jerry's wife, Shirley, tells us he died Friday afternoon at their Arkansas ranch with her by his side. She says they were involved in a car accident over 2 years ago and Jerry's health had deteriorated since. We're told Dick visited them at the ranch over the Christmas holiday. A beloved comedian just like his brother, Jerry pursued stand-up as a young man and performed at military bases around the world. He made his acting debut on "The Dick Van Dyke" show and followed that up with appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" before becoming a regular on "The Judy Garland Show." Jerry's best known for his role on "Coach," where he played Asst. Coach Luther Van Dam alongside Craig T. Nelson. He also had major roles on "Yes, Dear" and most recently, "The Middle." He was 86. RIP...

Renee Zellweger is currently hip-deep in research for her next role, playing Judy Garland in Judy, an upcoming biopic about the late singer.

"There's so much material out there," Zellweger, 48, tells THR. Her favorite find so far: a clip of Garland performing with Mickey Rooney on CBS' The Judy Garland Show, which ran in 1963 and 1964. "She's so comfortable," Zellweger marvels of Garland, who died of an accidental barbiturate overdose in 1969. "You could see she's being herself. She was so funny and cool."

Still, there is one key resource Zellweger hasn't yet tapped for the film (which starts...

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of '63 is just 3 days away. So it's time to get your votes in on the nominees that year. Readers, collectively, are the final panelist, so grade the nominees (only the ones you've seen) from 1 to 5 hearts. Your votes count toward the smackdown win!

Diane Cilento Tom Jones Edith Evans Tom Jones Joyce Redman Tom Jones

Margaret Rutherford The VIPs

Lilia Skala Lilies of the Field

Now that we're finally getting to this long delayed Smackdown. It's time to meet this month's talking heads...

The Panel

Seán McGovern and Brian Mullin

An Irishman and an American based in London, Seán McGovern and Brian Mullin are the hosts of Broad Appeal, the podcast that looks back at female-driven films from the not-so-distant past. Seán is a film festival programmer with Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest and has also worked for the BFI and the National Film and Television School.

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

On January 22, 1964, CBS announced the inevitable: The Judy Garland Show would be cancelled after just one season. Though the network stated that the cancellation was so that Judy could spend more time with her family, the subpar ratings and tumultuous backstage difficulties had made the show untenable for the studio. In fact, less than a month after the announcement - after Episode 22 was shot - Judy ended the longest artistic partnership she'd had on the show when she fired Mel Torme. Musical director replaced and show revamped for the fifth time, Judy still ended the series looking and singing like a million bucks.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 22

The Songwriters: Charlie Chaplin (original score), John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons

The Cast: Judy Garland, directed by Dean Whitmore

The Story: The style the show settled on was...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

Full disclosure: I am in the middle of finals hell, wherein I have to write roughly 45 pages and grade exactly 48 exams before I can finally collapse at home for the holidays. So this episode is an especially selfish choice on my part. Since it's been a rocky year, I thought the best choice would be to post the entire episode, so that we could come together over a warm Christmas computer and spend the holidays with Judy.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 15

The Songwriters: Various, arrangement by Mel Torme

The Cast: Judy Garland, Mel Torme, Liza Minnelli, directed by Dean Whitmore

The Story: Call me a sap (and I am), but I cannot watch Judy Garland sing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" while she and her children watch fake snow fall out of a studio set window.

 Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

So it may not look like it offhand, but today's episode marked another big shift in the rocky history of The Judy Garland Show. After producing seven episodes, firing most of the staff, kicking Jerry Van Dyke to the curb and reformatting the show, Norman Jewison exited as planned after the 13th taped episode. He would be replaced by Bill Colleran, a producer from Your Hit Parade.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 13

The Songwriters: Various, arrangement by Mel Torme

The Cast: Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, produced by Norman Jewison

The Story: (My favorite part is the surprise boas at 3:00.) Though Jewison wasn't able to improve the unsteady ratings of The Judy Garland Show, the episodes he produced would set the established characteristics of the show at its peak. More cinematic production, the movement away from sketch comedy,...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the simple things. This series (like Tfe as a whole) has been a classic cinephile sanctuary for me this year. As the outside world has spun out, sped up, slammed down, and generally tossed us around, I’ve really enjoyed sharing music and tidbits of trivia with you all this week, and reading your reactions/stories/controversies – even when I haven’t been able to reply myself. So briefly, before we get to this beautiful solo number, I just want to thank Nathaniel & you, the Tfe readers, for continuing to create a lively, loving community.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 12

The Songwriters: Johnny Mercer (lyrics), Henry Mancini (music)

The Cast: Judy Garland, Vic Damone, Zina Bethune, George Jessel directed by Norman Jewison

The Story: I just realized that this...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

Sometimes, surprises happen. And sometimes those surprises are planted. I'm referring in this case to both the reappearance of Episode 9 on this series, and the "unplanned" appearance of Ethel Merman on the already-iconic show guest-starring Barbra Streisand. Though Merman's big reveal was first suggested as a way to placate both the surprise guest and her not-so-gracious host. Judy may have originally balked at the idea of her Tea for Two guest skipping the tea for some titanic trilling, but when the producers roped Barbra into the skit as well, it went from a battle of egos to a mammoth moment in musical history.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 9

The Songwriters: Various, arranged by Mel Torme

The Cast: Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, The Smothers Brothers, surprise guest Ethel Merman directed by Norman Jewison

The Story: So,...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

Sometimes, magic happens. When the production team of The Judy Garland Show invited a budding Broadway star to film Episode 9, nobody could foresee the titanic future of the 21-year-old singer. With just one album under her belt - admittedly Billboard Top 10 album - she was perhaps slightly less famous than her co-guest stars, The Smothers Brothers. But when Barbra Streisand sat down to sing a duet with Judy Garland, it was impossible to ignore that something titanic was happening.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 9

The Songwriters: Various, arranged by Mel Torme

The Cast: Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, The Smothers Brothers, directed by Norman Jewison

The Story: Barbra Streisand was invited on the show just as her star was rising. Already a well-loved New York cabaret singer, Streisand had stopped the show playing a put-upon secretary in her Broadway debut,...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

Despite the upheaval caused by firing most of the crew only a few weeks before, change was slow to come to The Judy Garland Show. Producer Norman Jewison made incremental changes, first giving writers free reign to make jokes about Judy, then bumping up the presence of guests and side acts, before eventually dialing them back. This show was one of the last to feature Jerry Van Dyke, Dick Van Dyke's younger brother who had acted as comic relief for the first few episodes but was critically panned for poking fun at Garland. Already a third of the way through its eventual 26 episodes, The Judy Garland Show was still very much a work in progress.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 8

The Songwriters: Various, arranged by Mel Torme

The Cast: Judy Garland, Jerry Van Dyke,...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

On September 29th, 1963, The Judy Garland Show finally premiered. With a backlog of several episodes already in the can, CBS chose to start the show with the seventh filmed episode, which guest-starred Donald O'Connor. Reviews of Judy were favorable, though reviewers were less enamored of Jerry Van Dyke and the variety show format. But unfortunately the network's fears about Bonanza were realized: The Judy Garland Show garnered a miserable (for the time) 18 rating, compared to Bonanza's juggernaut 35 rating. As always, the network and the production team was left scrambling to make new changes.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 7

The Songwriters: Various, arranged by Mel Torme

The Cast: Judy Garland, Jerry Van Dyke, Donald O'Connor, directed by Bill Hobin

The Story: Despite some dismal Nielson ratings, the Donald O'Connor episode would prove to be a sweet...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

By episode 6, The Judy Garland Show was in trouble and it hadn’t even aired yet. CBS, still spooked by the Bonanza’s killer ratings, wanted The Judy Garland Show to be more, well, everything: More Hollywood glamour, more slapstick, more music, more ratings. With that in mind, after Tony Bennett fizzled and a planned episode with Nat King Cole fell through, the network fired most of the writers and producers by Episode 6. TV wunderkind Norman Jewison – who’d directed the original special – was brought on to save the show before it even got a chance to fail. Jewison’s first directives: More guests, more duets, and let’s knock Judy off that Hollywood high horse...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

If you watch the full Judy Garland Show from start to finish in the order in which it was filmed rather than the order in which it was broadcast - which is what we're doing in miniature - a few patterns emerge early on. First, there is the legendary talent that crowds the first episodes: besides Judy herself, we've seen Garland reunited with Mickey Rooney, swinging with Count Basie, introducing her daughter Liza, and now she's belting Lena Horne numbers to Lena Horne herself. For any midcentury music geek, this show is the gift that keeps on giving. However, if you push past the fabulous talent to watch the format itself, you'll notice something else: for a variety programme, The Judy Garland Show doesn't have much variety.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 4

The Songwriters: Various,...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

Episode 3 of The Judy Garland Show (which would eventually air in its eighth week) was an episode of personal importance for Judy. Her oldest daughter, Liza Minnelli, was joining her for a family-themed show. Liza was only 16 at the time, but she'd already begun building an entertainment resume. While in high school (or rather, while skipping high school) Liza appeared on a Gene Kelly TV special, The Jack Paar Program, Talent Scouts, her mother's London Palladium concert, and was in rehearsals for her Off-Broadway debut in Best Foot Forward. However, young Liza somehow found time in her every-busier schedule to put on a family act.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode 3

The Songwriters: Jule Styne (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics)

The Cast: Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, directed by Bill Hobin

The Story: Two observations stand out...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

Sometimes, something just flat out cool and unexpected pops up. Something like, say, a titan of jazz music popping up for the second episode of a TV show starring a titan of movie musicals. Though it wasn't reflected in ratings at the time (how good was Bonanza really?), this is one of those moments of pop culture kismet. Though it wouldn't be aired for almost seven weeks, in just the second episode of this small Sunday night variety program, Count Basie guest starred on an episode of The Judy Garland Show.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode #2

The Songwriter: Irving Berlin

The Cast: Judy Garland, Count Basie, Mel Torme

The Story: As TV intros go, it's pretty basic, but this gives audience and artists the chance to build momentum. What makes this clip so very great...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

The terribly tricky thing about early TV (or really any TV) history is that episodes are often filmed and aired in different orders. Because of the discrepancies in airing schedules, we will be following in the order in which they were shot. After the CBS lawsuit was settled with the agreement that Judy Garland should make a show for CBS, the question became what kind of show to do. It took two years for the usual contract negotiations, delays, and upheavals to settle enough for that question to be decided. On June 24, 1963, Judy Garland recorded the first episode of a variety show titled (unsurprisingly) The Judy Garland Show. 

The Show: The Judy Garland Show Episode #1

The Songwriter: Mel Torme (uncredited)

The Cast: Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Jerry Van Dyke

The Story: A musical variety show seemed to...

Anne Marie has been chronicling Judy Garland's career chronologically through musical numbers...

In 1957, a golden opportunity landed in Judy Garland's lap that looked, at first glance, like a lawsuit. In fact it was a lawsuit (and a counterlawsuit) concerning a contract she'd signed with CBS. Garland (on the advice of hubby Sidney Luft) had signed a $300,000 contract with CBS for three years of TV specials in 1955. However, only one special had ever aired. In 1957, Judy sued, which caused CBS to countersue. The result reads like something out of the rejected musical version of Adam's Rib: in 1961, Judy & CBS decided to put aside their differences (and lawsuits) to sign a new contract for two new specials. The first of these aired just a year later in 1962.

The Show: The Judy Garland Show (CBS, 1962)

The Songwriters: Lionel Rand (music), Ian Grant (lyrics)

The Cast: Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra,...

From the time it debuted, on CBS, in the fall of 1963, "The Judy Garland Show" featured guests of which Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel could only dream: Count Basie, Lena Horne, Bobby Darin, Peggy Lee. The series was, as evidenced by Garland's singing introduction of Barbara Streisand and The Smothers Brothers in the clip below, very much of its time, with swooning, sincere musical numbers and strained comic chatter, and it failed to measure up to NBC's unbeatable "Bonanza." "The Judy Garland Show" was cancelled in 1964, after just one season. Now, the iconic performer of "The Wizard of Oz," "Meet Me in St. Louis," and "A Star Is Born" is returning to television, in getTV's weekly block of classic variety and talk programming. On Monday nights beginning Oct. 12, the network will showcase both "The Judy Garland Show," long considered "lost," and "The Merv Griffin Show,"...

Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney has died at his Los Angeles home. He was 93. With a remarkable career that spanned 10 decades, Mickey Rooney was one of the last surviving artists to have witnessed the evolution of film – from his first onscreen role in the 1926 silent film Not To Be Trusted, to his appearance in 2011′s The Muppets, and beyond.

After first taking to the stage at the age of 15 months, as part of his parents’ Vaudeville act, Joseph Yule Jr. soon progressed to child stardom – appearing in almost 80 silent comedy shorts as the comic strip character, Mickey McGuire. It was this character that would provide the star’s new name, as his mother decided a change was needed. Joseph Yule Jr. became Mickey Rooney, and signed with MGM in 1934 – soon taking to the screen alongside legends such as Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy.

A Family Affair in 1937 – based on the Broadway...

1963 was a busy year for Barbra Streisand. She released her debut album to the world, Barbra Joan Streisand, and was readying the classic movie-musical Funny Girl. Yet, that year she joined another well known performer, Judy Garland, to perform two songs on her variety show, The Judy Garland Show, and to introduce the world to the seamless melding of Get Happy and Happy Days Are Here Again, a duet with Judy Garland. Of the epic performance, Vanity Fair reports Barbra elucidating Garland's feelings during the song.

Have a really big Judy Garland fan on your holiday shopping list? Have a spare $1 million or so kicking around? You might be interested in this.  The rights for Garland's variety series "The Judy Garland Show" are being put up for auction by The Royalty Exchange, the online auction house said Friday. Bidding, which begins at $1 million, will be open until Dec. 20. Also read: Esme Chandlee, Publicist to Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Dies at 94 The package includes the rights to all 26 episodes of the series, which ran on...

Frank Peppiatt, co-creator of Hee Haw and one of television’s top variety show producers during the 1960s and ’70s, has died. Peppiatt passed away Wednesday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, after battling bladder cancer, his family tells the La Times. He was 85. The Canadian-born Peppiatt and his writing partner and producer John Aylesworth were responsible for several memorable projects, including Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall, The Judy Garland Show, The ABC Comedy Hour and the teen dance show Hullabaloo. But their greatest success came with Hee Haw. The CBS show, developed as a country version of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, was co-hosted by Roy Clark and Buck Owens and showcased top country stars including Loretta Lynn, George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Hee Haw initially was scheduled as a summer replacement in 1969 for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, but it surged to the top of the ratings and was...

Oh, Marti Noxon, you had fun writing this one didn't you. The Buffy vet, who serves as a consulting producer on Glee this season, made her episodic writing debut with "Extraordinary Merry Christmas," a near-plotless throwback to The Judy Garland Show's boozy, high-as-a-kite holiday special (and old-timey variety specials in general). And why not? Last season, they turned Sue into the Grinch (literally) and gave Artie fake legs (literally). Why not deliver a holly-jolly Christmas by serving up some Yuletide chestnuts and the best of '60s TV (accents! corny jokes! canned laughter!)?

But in case you missed the story stuff, or forgot it, or blocked it, here's what you need to know: Mr. Schue picks Artie to direct a throwback Christmas special for Lima's cable-access station, which interferes with the glee club's promise to help Sue serve at a homeless shelter (this year, she's the anti-Grinch), but they show up anyway to sing.

Impressive retrospective of Judy Garland.s films will feature 31 titles including a presentation of seldom seen short films and rarities as well as a special .sing-along. screening of The Wizard Of Oz.

On the occasion of what would have been Judy Garland.s 89th birthday, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Paley Center have announced the details today for Fslc.s comprehensive retrospective of the peerless film icon.s work, All Singin., All Dancin., All Judy! which will screen at the Walter Reade Theater July 26 . August 9 and The Paley Center.s comprehensive retrospective of Garland.s television work,Judy Garland: The Television Years which will be presented July 20 . August 18.

With autumn marking the 75th anniversary of Judy Garland’s feature film debut (Pigskin Parade, 1936), the Film Society of Lincoln Center will screen 31 titles from July 26 . August 9, including each of her big-screen acting performances, to pay tribute to...

Canadian television writer, producer and actor John Aylesworth has died of pneumonia, aged 81.

Aylesworth passed away in Rancho Mirage, California on 28 July.

He performed on radio in his native Toronto as a child, and went on to find success on U.S. television.

Aylesworth was perhaps best known for co-creating 1970s American country music television variety show Hee Haw with Frank Peppiatt and Bernie Brillstein. The programme featured famous guests in country, gospel and bluegrass music, including Johnny Cash and Conway Twitty.

In addition, he served as a writer or producer on TV shows such as Your Hit Parade, The Kraft Music Hall, The Judy Garland Show and The Jonathan Winters Show.

He was also among the writers who shared an Emmy nomination for The Julie Andrews Hour in 1973 and The Sonny and Cher Show in 1976.

Aylesworth is survived by his fourth wife, Anita, two children from his first marriage, three from his second marriage, and one grandson.

The 'Stormy Weather' singer and activist died Sunday in New York.

By Gil Kaufman

Lena Horne

Photo: Yvonne Hemsey/ Getty Images

Singer, actress and civil-rights icon Lena Horne died on Sunday night in New York at the age of 92 of undisclosed causes. The jazz icon, whose signature song was "Stormy Weather," famously fought racist attitudes in Hollywood in her efforts to become the first black leading lady on the big screen. She died at New York-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, according to The New York Times.

Horne came to Hollywood in the 1940s and tried to break into the movies. Though she earned a contract with MGM, she was barely cast in her early career because of the color of her skin. Ironically, the paper noted, she was so light skinned as a girl that other black children accused her of having a "white daddy."

Early...

This week's TV on DVD offerings are a bit slow, unless you're a fan of 'The Hills,' which returns with part 2 of Season 5. Other rarities making their way to disc include the first season of Garry Shandling's Showtime series, 'It's Garry Shandling's Show,' the original and remake of the BBC show 'Survivors,' the 'I Love Lucy' movie and the fourth installment in a collection of episodes from 'The Judy Garland Show.' Also making it's first appearance on DVD is the recently canceled Lifetime comedy, 'Rita Rocks.'

'Rita Rocks' - The Complete Season 1 'Tales from the Darkside' - Season 1 - 3 'I Love Lucy': The Movie and Other Great Rarities 'Survivors': The Complete Original Series 1975 - 1977 'Survivors': Complete Seasons 1 & 2 'Sherri': The Complete Season 1 'G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero' - Season 2 'It's Garry Shandling's Show': The Complete First Season 'Marked' --...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

Sadly, you don’t get the 3-D experience of their recent theatrical re-release, but the high definition versions of Toy Story & Toy Story 2 (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 Srp each) are still an eye-popping treat that look and sound really, really good on your massive HDTV. Many of the bonus features are ported over from the most recent DVD special editions, including audio commentaries, featurettes,...

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

There are several different versions of the season 5 set for Lost being released this week, from a regular set (actually called an "Expanded Edition") and a Blu-ray version of that set, plus a "Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit" set in both regular format and in Blu-ray. Those sets have the extras you see in the pic above (deleted scenes, bloopers, interviews, etc), plus...a videotape! That's one of the cooler extras you'll find in a DVD set, eh?

Friday - Complete Series The Fugitive - Season 3, Vol. 2 Get Smart - Season 5 Highlander - Season 1 (Blu-ray) The Jerry Lewis Show - The Jerry Lewis Show The Judy Garland Show - Collection Lost - Season 5 McLeod's Daughters - Pilot Movie Perry Mason - Season 4, Vol. 2 Rescue Me - Season 5, Vol. 2 SpongeBob SquarePants - Season 6, Vol. 1

 

Filed under: TV on DVD, Reality-Free

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