The Little-Known Truth About Judy Garland’s Ties To These Infamous Gangsters

It’s the Swinging Sixties, and Hollywood legend Judy Garland is dancing in a London nightclub. Little does she know that she’ll soon be privately serenading a big fan with a rendition of the song that made her famous. And that devotee is connected to two of the best-known faces of the day – who just happen to be notorious gangsters.

Garland’s first blockbuster film, The Wizard of Oz, had brought her huge fame while still in her teens. But her life would not quite be untroubled, and it featured plenty of parties, drama and generally overdoing things. Her storied life also featured several of the era’s bad boys, with whom she had no qualms about associating.

Garland’s path through life had brought her to London, specifically Chelsea, the epicenter of swingingness in the capital of cool. There she’d party with Pink Floyd, hang with the Rolling Stones and even boogie – apparently minus her panties – in The Beatles’ most-loved night-time haunt. All in all, it was a long way from Kansas.

Of course, with apologies to Dorothy, the star’s life journey had actually begun not in Kansas but in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Frances Gumm – her real name – had started as a performer at kindergarten age. Soon she was part of the family song and dance act, which her parents took to California in search of fame and fortune. And it wasn’t long before Garland found it, signing up with MGM in her first year as a teenager.

The studio poured effort into molding Garland into a star. This had an effect on the youngster, leaving her with troubles with drugs that lasted her whole life and a fight for health in both body and mind. Famously, the hardworking starlet had to celebrate her 16th birthday two months before the real date because she was so busy.