I have seen most of the 'greats' on stage such as Tina Turner, Cher, Bette Midler, Sinatra, Streisand, even Al Jolsen (come on I was a baby!), Sammy Davis, Jr., Lena Horne and so on but the best entertainer, the one who gave the most to the audience, made them laugh one moment and shed a tear a minute later, who literally held the crowds in her hand and had a love affair with them as no other entertainer ever had and that is JUDY GARLAND!!!



As a gay man, for some reason, it is a given that I would like her BUT it wasn't only gay men who bought her albums, sold her shows out, went to her movies! On anyone's list of great entertainers if she isn't number 1 she will always be in the top 5 of whoever saw her.

In her first 14 years at M-G-M she made 25 movies and amassed a group of fans while in competition with Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Liz Taylor, etc., that would be devoted to her for her entire career and after.

She could make you laugh--watch her scene in "Easter Parade" when Fred Astaire makes her walk down the street to see if men will look back at her. She could dance with the best such as Gene Kelley, Fred Astaire and keep up with them. She could make you cry singing "By Myself" or feel pure joy as she sings "Get Happy".

If you ever saw her on talk shows with Johnny Carson, Jack Paar and others you could see her wicked sense of humor.

Just watch her "Born In A Trunk" number in "A Star Is Born" to see the complete artist. Catch her in the movies breaking your heart in "A Child Is Waiting" and "Judgment At Nuremberg".

Should you be too old or, for whatever reason, never saw her last movie "I Could Go On Singing" rent the DVD and see Judy the actress and Judy the person. Get the DVD of her television shows and watch her loving and being loved by the best in the business and singing each song with al the words conveyed. Hear/see her sing "Over The Rainbow" for the millionith time as if it was the first! Judy was not only Dorothy in "The Wizard Of Oz"--she was a mother, a wife, a woman with problems, a singer, dancer, actress, comedienne but THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER OF THEM ALL!!! If you have never seen her is person you missed just that!

Judy would have been 86 today but, unfortunately, she died way before her time. She died in June and is believed that her death and funeral is what sparked the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and is celebrated all over the world today..