A young gay
man examines the legacy of Judy Garland with the PBS
American Masters Series production of Judy Garland: By Myself.
You think you know
the back story: Child prodigy impresses film execs; said
prodigy sings on the radio, stars inThe Wizard of Oz, and holds that last
note in "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" just long enough to
make the country fall in love with her.Then MGM starts
plugging her full ofpep pills to keep her
awake through project after project until the arc
of her rise and fall almost single-handedly
provides the boilerplate for a thousand episodes of E! True Hollywood Storyand VH1'sBehind the Music. That is exactly whenJudy Garland: By Myself—airing August 30
on PBS as part of theAmerican Mastersseries—starts to
get interesting.
Unlike any
self-respecting Friend of Dorothy, I lacked any
knowledge of Miss Judy before watching American Masters. I had always known
she was a gay icon (albeit a cliché one) for
the ages, and after two hours of PBS I think
I finally understand why.Judy Garland: By Myselfdoesn't state
unequivocally that Garland was a gay icon, but for those
who knew she was (i.e. everyone), the film breaks
down the myriad reasons why.For example, as the
voice-over narration puts it, "She was often drawn to
men who evoked memories of her father," who, we
learn, was probably gay. Surrounding herself with
this kind of personality (loves to shop; has a
girlfriend, but she lives in Canada, so you'll never
meet her, etc.) made Garland one of Hollywood's
most famous fag hags. This is tragic only
when you consider that these men were not just her
adoring fans, they were her father and one of her
husbands—the latter of whom cocreated
another gay icon, Liza Minnelli. The subtlety of the
documentary can be found in the revelation of her
father's probable homosexuality in a scene
juxtaposed against a shot of Judy singing the song "Have
Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," specifically
the line, "Make the yuletide gay."Nicely played, PBS.
Judy Garland: By Myselfis a thoughtful,
effective documentary thatreminds us that in many ways, Garland
was one of us.She was a woman of
strength and conviction who would nevertheless on
some days cancel her live performances because she was
suddenly feeling too delicate to go on. She lived a life
filled with irony, humor, camp, endless singing of
tragic torch songs, and lavish costumes.And in the final
analysis, watching her sing "Somewhere Over the
Rainbow" will still cause you to dab at your eye
with a tissue and unironically whisper to yourself, "She hadsucha tragic life."
Nearly 70 years later,Judy Garland: By Myselfshows us that it’s a pretty amazing feat
to be adored by all audiences, gay or otherwise. But
especially gay.
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Daniel Blau is a writer for America's Next
Top Model and a staff writer for Television
Without Pity. Photos courtesy PBS.