Tag Archives: Dorothy Gale

Music Monday: August 26, 2024

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Blog image for 2024

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Yesterday marked the 85th anniversary of “The Wizard Of Oz” movie. It premiered on August 25, 1939 starring Judy Garland as Dorothy, Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow (and Hunk), Jack Haley as The Tin Man (and Hickory), Bert Lahr as The Cowardly Lion (and Zeke), Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch Of The West (and Miss Gulch), Frank Morgan as the Great & Powerful Oz (and Professor Marvel) and Billie Burke as Glinda The Good Witch.

Poster Wizard_of_oz_movie_poster

An online image that claims to be the original movie poster from 1939. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The first time I saw this movie I was maybe 6 or 7 and it just destroyed me. I could not understand why Dorothy wanted to leave her three beautiful friends. I got that she wanted to get back to her Aunt & Uncle, but since the chances of Dorothy catching another flying house to Oz were virtually zero, by leaving she was never going to see her friends again. I think I started sobbing when she told the Tin Man, “Don’t cry, you’ll rust so dreadfully”, and I never stopped.

After that my mother never let me watch it again and I was fine with that. Honestly I could not bear that pain again, plus the Munchkins freaked me out a little. Then when I was in high school I was babysitting for a few kids who wanted to watch the movie. This time I fell in love with the farm, the relationships between Dorothy and her friends both in and out of Oz, the exquisite beauty of Garland’s voice and Glinda’s dress and almost everything else (except the Munchkins who still creeped me out). I watch it whenever I can now and still appreciate the magic of the story which at its core for me is about Dorothy finding her people. I do not believe I will ever tire of it.

And I was today years old when I discovered there is an All Things Oz Museum in Chittenango, New York-the birthplace of L. Frank Baum-the author of all 14 Oz books which began with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900.

“If happy little blue birds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why oh why can’t I“.

wizard_of_oz with wizard
thewizardofoz-1
Glinda
wicked with and dorothy

Four iconic images from the film: One: An MGM official still of the main cast (L-R): Jack Haley as The Tin Man, Bert Lahr as The Cowardly Lion, Frank Morgan as the Great & Powerful Oz (with Toto the dog by his feet), Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale and Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow. Two: Haley, Garland, Bolger and Lahr in costume. Three: Billie Burke as Glinda The Good Witch. Four: Margaret Hamilton (L) as The Wicked Witch Of The West with Dorothy (Garland). (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Judy Garland: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” (1939, written by Harold Arlen and Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg).

Stay safe & well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 451

Posted in Music by

Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

June 2021 blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Tony Bennett has often said today’s singer was the best he ever heard. And in many ways she was. Judy Garland, born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922 in Minnesota, started singing with her sisters when she was a child. By age 13 she was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by studio president Louis B. Mayer.

She started in radio & eventually moved on to movies. Her career-making performance as Dorothy Gale in 1939’s “The Wizard Of Oz” when she was 16 turned her into a legend, a role every generation since has discovered her in. It was truly an iconic part and she was absolutely beautiful in it.

It may be hard to forget how young she was when she died (aged 47 in 1969) all her marriages, her battles with substance abuse and the fact that she was one of Hollywood’s first casualties. But her incomparable voice, her acting, her live performances & her incredible heart are what she gave us all. Nearly 100 years after her birth & more than 50 years after her death, Judy Garland is still one of the most beloved stars the world ever saw.

“If happy little blue birds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why oh why can’t I“.

Judy

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in 1939’s classic, “The Wizard Of Oz“. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Judy Garland: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” (1939, written by Harold Arlen and Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.