JUDY GARLAND
AS SEEN ON:
'Saturday Night Live'
AS PLAYED BY:
Kristen Wiig
Mike Myers
From TV Party:
Judy Garland didn't pretend to drink on her CBS series (1963-64), it was painfully obvious that she was occasionally drunk when she showed up for tapings.
This may or may not have been true of The Judy Garland Show's Christmas episode, guest-starring daughters Lorna Luft, Liza Minnelli, son Joey Luft, Mel Torme, and Jack Jones, but producers were minutes away from calling off the show because no one knew where the star was.
Behind the scenes production turmoil and mediocre ratings made Garland's Television City studio a tense place, or so it seems from what's been written - but the MGM vet still delivered more bang than any three stars could, even if she was a little edgy on the series' Christmas episode.
That's part of what makes this special a must see - Garland and her guests delivered electrifying performances.
This was the ultimate sixties Christmas special - the art direction was superb and you've got Mort Lindsey conducting his first rate, brassy orchestra. The tension on the set seemed to bring out the best in everyone as they maneuvered around the spacious multilevel living room set - singing and dancing like their lives depended on it.
You can read the rest of Billy Ingram's article on the "Judy Garland Christmas Show" at the TV Party website.....
BCnU!
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