Judy Garland on Judy Garland (27 page)

So much for my larger beliefs. All our lives we wonder about these things but we'll have to wait for that afterlife in which I believe to find the answers. However, there are some things we all seek—success, love, and friendships, about which an actress can speak up boldly, since every one of us tries to achieve these things.

I believe that success is fun, but can be a burden if it is not handled right. If success is won along one line, that automatically requires the successful person to achieve it along other lines.

Successful people are often very versatile. Vincente Minnelli, my husband, for instance, besides being a fine director, paints exquisitely. Of course, I may be prejudiced, but I wish you could see the painting which Vincente did of a set he designed for Beatrice Lillie's play,
At Home Abroad.
That painting hangs in my dressing room, and captures an atmosphere which is just as authentic as the family atmosphere captured by Vincente in
Meet Me in St. Louis.
Of all the pictures I have ever made, I think
Meet Me in St. Louis
is my favorite, because I felt that was the nicest family I ever met in pictures. They all fought together and had disagreements, but you knew that in time of trouble they would all stick to one another. I've been very lucky in my family life, I must say, both on and off the screen!

The man or woman who achieves a successful career must be successful also in his handling of his own mentality and ego. Being an actress is the most grueling test for the ego, for the success of being an actress floods you. When you are a success in some other line, your intimates know about it and the people in that line, but the world as a whole doesn't necessarily make a fuss about you. An Einstein, whose success is actually much greater and whose work is much more important than that of any actor, isn't followed by crowds of admiring fans. The success of an actress is seen. Her work is constantly exhibited. So if she loses her sense of perspective, she may begin thinking how great she is, when actually her success may be just a matter of luck and a few pretty close-ups. But that kind of success doesn't begin life as a member of a family; you go on as a member of a family; then eventually, if you're lucky, you have a chance to start your own family. The kind of person you are throughout your whole life depends to a large extent upon the kind of person you are as member of a family group. In a family you learn selfishness or unselfishness,
consideration for others or lack of consideration—why, your whole future is mapped out by the way you treat your family and the way they treat you. That, I believe, is our American way of life.

We learn in our own families to see the other fellow's point of view. In
Meet Me in St. Louis
the
Smiths
were all upset at first when
Alonzo Smith,
the father, decided on a move to New York. To be sure, he was just trying to make things nice for the family, but they began to think he was just a selfish tyrant, because they had so many ties in St. Louis.
Esther
didn't want to leave her beau;
Rose
was afraid she wouldn't make friends in New York;
Tootie
couldn't bear to leave her snowmen. It was selfish in a way, but it was all so natural. There was a lot to be said for
Mr. Smith's
point of view, and a lot to be said for his family's.

After a while, they began to realize he wasn't being a monster of selfishness, and peace reigned again in the family. Then, after they understood his point of view, he began to grasp theirs. And so he called the whole family down into the dining room, and told them he had decided to stay in St. Louis after all.

It's significant, I think, that in the Fascist countries, where the family unit was not considered important, where the state was all-important, cruelty and brutality crept in. So let's be thankful we live in a country where we can be sentimental about our families. And let's be thankful, too, we live in a country where we can achieve success through our individual efforts and not through regimentation.

However, no matter how wonderful your family is, no matter how much success you achieve in your career, you won't be a really happy person unless you also achieve success as a woman. And for most women, that includes a happy marriage.

I believe that it is possible for a woman to have a successful career and a happy marriage, too. In the case of a career woman, marriage requires more patience, thought, and understanding. But it can be done, as witness the case of Helen Hayes who is one of our finest actresses, and a great success as a wife and mother, too.

I imagine that it's hard for a man to be married to an actress. He can't feel, as most men like to feel, that everything depends upon him. He knows his wife is financially independent. She must therefore make
him feel that even though she can stand on her own feet financially, she is emotionally dependent on him, that everything else in her life—even her work—revolves around him. I believe that she shouldn't keep any part of her life to herself. Since she can't give her husband the satisfaction of feeling that she needs him financially, she must make him feel needed and wanted in every other way, and in no way shut out from her life.

I think women get themselves mixed up by making too many promises. There is something so romantic about promising your heart forever and ever to a person. Men are more honest about those things. Women often wind up with guilty consciences because they have made too many promises to the men they love. They get carried away with themselves.

It's always better to promise less and do more. So I believe in making as few promises as possible, even to myself. I'd rather do this than wind up with a guilty conscience because I hadn't carried out all my plans. Make plans, certainly, but don't be upset if something happens to make it impossible to carry them out.

We hear a great deal about love at first sight, but I believe that a person is safer if love develops gradually. If people marry after knowing each other only a short time, they have to make all their adjustments afterwards. In the case of people who have known each other for some time, many of the adjustments can be made before they marry.

We knew that a great many hasty war marriages have taken place, and often mistakes, then forget the past. That you should live not for yesterday, but for today and tomorrow. Old people, they say, live too much in the past. So if you don't want to get old before your time, don't dwell on your past mistakes.

We all want friends. No matter whether you want one good friend or many friends, you must be willing to give your time and sympathies to them. Some people who think they want friends really just want to use them—to cry on their shoulders and to have someone in whom to confide. Real friendships are a matter of give and take. You must not merely want to cry on their shoulders but be ready to listen to their troubles when they want to cry on yours.

Sometime the best of friends grow apart through acquiring different interests or because events in their lives are not synchronized. When that
happens, you mustn't feel too badly. You must learn to let go and accept what is happening now, rather than try to cling to outworn interests. I don't mean that you should ever just drop old friends, but if you do grow apart in your interests, you mustn't grieve about it. Change is inevitable; and if you change in one direction and a friend changes in another, your interests sometimes do grow far apart. It may not be the fault of either one of you, just the pattern of events.

I believe that if you are lonely sometimes, you should accept it, without feeling that life has treated you badly. There are lonely moments in all lives. Even when you are in a crowd, a feeling of loneliness can wash over you. Remember that other people in the same crowd may be feeling the same way. If you're a wife with a husband in the service, remember other wives with husbands overseas know the same loneliness you feel.

To sum up my beliefs: I believe that no matter what happens to you in life, if you retain a sense of perspective, both about yourself, and life in general, you'll be able to meet situations gallantly and wisely. It won't be easy, ever, to face real tragedy, but as time goes on a sense of perspective can help.

Easter Parade
paired Judy with Fred Astaire, who was summoned from his retirement when planned costar Gene Kelly broke his ankle. “Judy Garland dances as if she had been Fred Astaire's partner all her life,” announced the
Hollywood Reporter.
“On her own, she sings and performs with irresistible Garland charm. The exquisite Technicolor shows off her fresh, youthful beauty.”
Easter Parade,
“Metro's finest musical of the year,” was released in July 1948, and this interview was conducted shortly thereafter.

This should settle once and for all the incorrect impressions that have arisen about Judy

No star has been the subject of so many rumors as Judy Garland, so to get the truth about this wonderfully clever little star, I subjected her to our lowdown treatment. The answers to the questions should settle once and for all the incorrect impressions that have arisen about Judy.

Me:
You're not as interested in your career now as you once were?

Judy:
More so than ever. And with each new year I find an increasing interest.

Me:
You would prefer, for variety, to do some nonsinging, straight dramatic roles?

Judy:
Not at all. After all, dramatic roles do not mean that the parts have to be nonsinging.

Me:
You never like yourself on the screen and are very critical of your work?

Judy:
I'm terribly critical, but sometimes I have liked myself. Not very often, but occasionally I like myself in my husband's pictures—and I kind of liked
Easter Parade.

Me:
Your favorite picture was
Easter Parade?

Judy:
No. One of my favorites. My pet was
Meet Me in St. Louis.

Me:
You were very frightened when you had to do the first dance with Fred Astaire?

Judy:
No. He put me completely at my ease. He is a gentleman and he is lots of fun to work with.

Me:
You drive yourself too hard when you're working?

Judy: Yes. I have a tendency to never let down during a picture. This is stimulating but can be very fatiguing.

Me:
You carry your working problems home with you?

Judy:
Naturally—and I discuss them all with my husband. We are partners in our home and in our work whether or not we are actually making a picture together. We share all problems with one another.

Me:
You're an extremely nervous person?

Judy:
So I've heard. I have moments of relaxation. The tension I'm under when I work at times makes for nerves.

Me:
You have a hot temper and fly off the handle easily?

Judy:
Not easily. It takes me a long time—but when I do explode there is no stopping me.

Me:
You're inclined to dwell on your troubles?

Judy:
I don't think so. I don't enjoy my troubles that much to dwell on them.

Me:
You seldom find time for any relaxation and have no favorite way of relaxing?

Judy:
That's right, except perhaps to read. I am an inveterate reader.

Me:
You work with your husband well on a picture?

Judy:
Yes. Extremely well. I have the highest regard for his talent and his integrity. I respect him.

Me:
You have no idea what you would like to do if you were not an actress?

Judy:
Not the slightest!

Me:
You have no habits that annoy or tease your husband?

Judy:
Well, he hasn't told me about them if I have.

Me:
You're not, as a rule, a domestically inclined person?

Judy:
No!

Me:
Your health has been a subject of much batting about by columnists—and you're really very well?

Judy:
Extremely well. And extremely strong. And the subject of my health has become a boring one.

Me:
Your life is centered mostly on Liza?

Judy:
On Liza and Vincente.

Me:
You would like her to be an actress when she grows up?

Judy:
Very much, if she wants to be.

Me:
Since you began your career at the ripe old age of three, you'd have no objections if Liza got her start with the same difficulties you encountered?

Judy:
I prefer that Liza wait until she is of an age where she can make a sound choice for herself.

Me:
You're collecting things for Liza for when she grows up?

Judy:
Yes. Linens, silver, certain pieces of jewelry, china, and various kinds of records.

Me:
Your friends are mainly connected with the musical world?

Judy:
No, not at all. Our friends are in all professions.

Me:
There is nothing you do that could spoil Liza?

Judy:
I'm not so sure. We'll have to wait for a while to see. If adoring her can spoil her, she's going to be spoiled.

Me:
You like jewelry?

Judy:
Yes, I do indeed. However, only antique jewelry. I now have a fine collection, what with the pieces my husband has given me.

Me:
You're extravagant in many ways?

Judy:
Not at all extravagant. In fact, I drive a 1941 Ford because it is so broken in, practically
broken down,
from my own particular style of driving!

Me:
You're inclined to trust people too much and have, therefore, been hurt?