The Judy Garland Show is an American musical variety television series that aired for 26 episodes on CBS on Sunday nights during the 1963-1964 television season. Despite a sometimes stormy relationship with Judy Garland, CBS had found success with several television specials featuring the star. Garland, who for years had been reluctant to commit to a weekly series, saw the show as her best chance to pull herself out of severe financial difficulties

    Production difficulties beset the series almost from the beginning. The series had three different producers in the course of its 26 episodes and went through a number of other key personnel changes. With the change in producers also came changes to the show's format, which started as comedy/variety but switched to an almost purely concert format.

    While Garland herself was popular with critics, the initial variety format and her co-star, Jerry Van Dyke, were not. The show competed with Bonanza, then the fourth most popular program on television, and consistently performed poorly in the ratings. Although fans rallied in an attempt to save the show, CBS cancelled it after a single season.

    Thumbnail of George Schlatter

    George Schlatter on how he came to produce The Judy Garland Show

    02:32
    Thumbnail of George Schlatter

    George Schlatter on producing The Judy Garland Show

    04:39
    Thumbnail of George Sunga

    George Sunga on being Production Supervisor on The Judy Garland Show

    06:34
    Thumbnail of George Sunga

    George Sunga on working on The Judy Garland Show at the time of JFK's assassination

    02:41
    Thumbnail of Ret Turner

    Ret Turner on troubleshooting wardrobe on The Judy Garland Show

    01:42
    Thumbnail of Perry Lafferty

    Perry Lafferty on the format of The Danny Kaye Show and on The Judy Garland Show

    06:16

    Ray Aghayan

    Ray Aghayan on costume design for The Judy Garland Show

    01:08

    Ray Aghayan on costume design for The Judy Garland Show and Bob Mackie becoming his assistant

    18:57

    Shelley Berman

    Shelley Berman on working on The Judy Garland Show; on her singing en emotional rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" on the show

    06:37

    Sam Denoff

    Sam Denoff on being offered a job on The Judy Garland Show, with executive producer George Schlatter

    02:25

    Charles S. Dubin

    Charles S. Dubin on directing "Judy and Her Guests, Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet," the 1963 special that served as the pilot for The Judy Garland Show

    01:38

    Greg Garrison

    Greg Garrison on working with Hubbell Robinson and Jim Aubrey, and on making a deal to direct The Judy Garland Show and The Keefe Brasselle Show

    07:41

    Perry Lafferty

    Perry Lafferty on the format of The Danny Kaye Show and on The Judy Garland Show

    06:16

    Sam Lovullo

    Sam Lovullo on handling business affairs for The Judy Garland Show

    01:32

    Bob Mackie

    Bob Mackie on assisting Ray Aghayan on The Judy Garland Show

    03:06

    Bob Mackie on Judy Garland and The Judy Garland Show

    07:31

    Barry Manilow

    Barry Manilow on early television he watched, including The Judy Garland Show

    01:22

    Anne Nelson

    Anne Nelson on negotiating contracts for CBS in the 1960s, including for The Judy Garland Show and The Carol Burnett Show

    05:26

    Mickey Rooney

    Mickey Rooney on appearing on the premiere episode of The Judy Garland Show

    00:59

    George Schlatter

    George Schlatter on how he came to produce The Judy Garland Show

    02:32

    George Schlatter on producing The Judy Garland Show

    04:39

    Gary Smith

    Gary Smith on going to do art direction for The Judy Garland Show

    01:31

    Gary Smith on the challenges of acting as art director for The Judy Garland Show, and on becoming the producer of the show

    04:21

    Gary Smith on Judy Garland's personal struggles during the run of The Judy Garland Show, and on Garland's friendship with then-President John F. Kennedy

    03:07

    Gary Smith on dealing with the assassination of John F. Kennedy while producing The Judy Garland Show

    03:38

    Gary Smith on the art direction of The Judy Garland Show and on Jerry Van Dyke leaving the show

    02:48

    Gary Smith on favorite moments of The Judy Garland Show, and on being fired from the show

    04:51

    Gary Smith on how people dealt with Judy Garland's volatility on the set of The Judy Garland Show and on working with Mel Tormé on the show

    02:32

    George Sunga

    George Sunga on the various stages at CBS Television City and becoming a Production Supervisor

    04:48

    George Sunga on being Production Supervisor on The Judy Garland Show

    06:34

    George Sunga on working on The Judy Garland Show at the time of JFK's assassination

    02:41

    Ret Turner

    Ret Turner on troubleshooting wardrobe on The Judy Garland Show

    01:42

    Ben Wolf

    Ben Wolf on shooting The Judy Garland Show

    05:49

    Ben Wolf on shooting The Judy Garland Show

    02:13

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