Judy Garland: A Portrait in Art and Anecdote FROM THE PUBLISHER
Historian John Fricke presents hundreds of rare and previously unpublished photographs, studio memorabilia, and personal mementos from the family archives, along with scores of anecdotes from interviews with her professional colleagues, friends, family, and Judy herself. Decade by decade, her incomparable accomplishments in film, television, radio, and recordings are lovingly illustrated and remembered by those who knew her best and - as a result - loved her most.
FROM THE CRITICS
- Playbill
The Boswell of Oz and Judy Garland, John Fricke, has struck again, just when
you thought his well might be dry. Mais non! It turns out he has hundreds of
rarely seen or previously unpublished pix, studio memorabilia, and personal
mementos from the family vaults, and he lavishes them all on Bulfinch Press's
Judy Garland: A Portrait in Art and Anecdote. It is that, boy! Lorna Luft did
the foreword.
METRO SOURCE - September/October/November 2003
Clear off the coffee table, pour yourself a glass of champagne, and cozy up
to what will undoubtedly be THE book to own for all you Garland fans. Judy
Garland: A Portrait in Art and Anecdote is John Fricke's valentine to the
legendary singer and actress. It even has an Art Direction and Design credit
on the title page, deservedly so, for Ranse Ransone, who has pulled off one
of the delights of the fall book season. Divided into chapters by decade,
beginning with the 1920s and continuing until her tragic death in the 1960s,
Garland is simply a fireworks display of photographs and reminiscences
between two covers, and it will set the standard for all celebrity
celebrations to come. Lorna Luft has contributed a loving introduction. So
reinforce the Christmas stockings, fellas, this is one for the record books.
Publishers Weekly
Fricke nicely balances his tribute to Garland, placing a positive spin on her at times self-destructive behavior yet still accurately portraying her frailties. Garland's daughter Lorna Luft establishes a loving tone with her touching introduction, proclaiming Garland a wonderful parent. Fricke (The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History) chronologically covers the star's radio, film, TV and stage history (from the 1920s through the '60s) via superb, previously unpublished photographs, illuminating vignettes and blurbs from affectionate interviews. There she is at age two, sporting an adorable pixie haircut; another shot shows her performing in one of hundreds of vaudeville shows she appeared in through age 13. Fricke meticulously analyzes The Wizard of Oz and the increasing pressure that resulted in Garland's drug addiction. Brief references to unhappy affairs with Joseph Mankiewicz, Tyrone Power and Artie Shaw are secondary to Fricke's thesis: that Garland was not about tragedy, but about talent and an ability to survive any obstacle. Glamorous b&w images of Garland belting out a tune from Meet Me in St. Louis in 1944 give way to more garish shots of Garland at home with daughter Liza Minnelli in 1960. Fricke glosses over some harsher truths and only shows dark hints of Garland's instability, as in orchestrator Gordon Jenkins's statement, "Judy, like all great stars, is inclined towards moodiness." But he successfully shows readers why the star remains an immortal, cherished icon, and his comprehensive volume belongs on the shelf of everyone who loves Garland and the musical genre. (Oct. 13) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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