NEW FILES POSTED TO THE YAHOO GROUP for the week of January 20, 2013

Homepage by Allen Morris

Here is the rundown of the new files posted to the Yahoo version of

The Judy Garland Experience.

You may notice that the Ella Fitzgerald fest has been carried over for another week. Hope you enjoy these ultra rare recordings by the First Lady Of Song.

To Access the files click HERE.

A JUDY MOMENT

Dedicated to Martin Luther King.

A MOMENT IN TIME

Martin Luther King, August 28, 1963.

DUET OF THE WEEK

Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis riff and improvise and reinvent Gershwin.

We'll have what they're having.

ENCORE

Ella meets Sondheim, again. This time at Stamford University, 1978.

FLOUNDER'S FOLLY

Ruth Brown live in Atlanta, 1959.

GIVING BACK AND PAYING FORWARD

Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby present Judy Garland

 (on behalf of the March Of Dimes), January 30, 1945.

HAPPY INAUGURATION DAY!

Judy sings of the glory of America. Dedicated to President Barack Obama.

HOLLYWOOD RECORDING SESSION

Raw material from Till The Clouds Roll By

recording sessions, October, 1945.

JUDY GARLAND IN CONCERT

Per a request, here is Judy's January 28, 1969 performance at London's Talk Of The Town. We usually don't post this night from the run because the sound quality is kind of funky, but it's still worth a listen because Judy's artistry manages to comes through in spades.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK

Nina Simone responds to John Lennon.

RADIO DAYS

Judy Garland appears on the Bob Hope show, March 7, 1939.

REQUESTS AND RARITIES

Anything and everything.

SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL

Ella Fitzgerald live in Holland, 1971.

WHERE JUDY PLAYED

Ella Fitzgerald at Carnegie Hall, 1978.

VINTAGE AD FOR THE WIZARD OF OZ

NEW FILES POSTED TO THE YAHOO GROUP for the week of December 30, 2012

Homepage by Allen Morris

Here is a rundown of the new audio files posted to the Yahoo version of 

The Judy Garland Experience. 

You might notice that this week we are throwing a casual salute to 

the original members of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack. 

If you root around in the folders you might find a rarity or two....or ten!

There is also a preview of an upcoming feature focussing on the music of Garland's MGM years. The preview folder contains a never heard before recording of Garland's daughter, Lorna Luft, singing one of her mother's hit songs from Andy Hardy Meets Debutante.

To access the files click HERE.

A JUDY MOMENT

That Judy, she sure was a sentimental sap.

A MOMENT IN TIME

The kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr, 1963.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Lorna Luft sings one of her mother's big hits from Andy Hardy Meets Debutante. This is part of an upcoming all star salute to Judy's MGM years.

DUET OF THE WEEK

Judyish Garland and Dean Martin have got it bad. Let's hope baby makes it home soon.

ENCORE

Judy sings one for Dean.

Recorded at the Friars Club salute to Dean Martin, 1959.

JUDY AND FRANK

Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra sit in for Danny Kaye on his Pabst Blue Ribbon show. Originally broadcast on October 5, 1945.

JUDY AND THE BOYS

Judy sings with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis.

JUDY GARLAND IN CONCERT

The Rat Pack Live In Long Beach '55. Judy Garland, Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Michael Romanoff, and more stars than there are in the heavens.

JUDY WITH FRANK AND DEAN: THE '62 SPECIAL

The complete and uncut audio track from the original local airing in Portland.

LADY ESTHER BLODGETT THEATER

Presents Rat Pack royalty, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, in Sailor Is A Wealthy Widow. Originally broadcast in 1951.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK

Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra had an impromptu reunion at the Manhattan Center in 1955, and WNEW was there to capture it.

REQUESTS AND RARITIES

Anything and everything.

SUNDAY MORNING SPECIAL

Dean Martin live in Chicago.

WHERE JUDY PLAYED

Frank Sinatra at the Newport Jazz Festival, July 4, 1965.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

David Price's PHOTO OF THE WEEK #46

Judy and Fred Astaire at M-G-M's 25th Anniversary Luncheon held at the studio ... February 13, 1949. Photo credit: Fink & Smith

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

David Price's PHOTO OF THE WEEK #45

An exquisite portrait by Virgil Apger taken during Judy's 

final formal portrait sitting at M-G-M ... March 23, 1950.                 

Serial number 2001.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

David Price's PHOTO OF THE WEEK #44

Judy Garland "Dorothy" doll, marketed by the Ideal Toy Company in 1939 ... in conjunction with the publicity campaign for THE WIZARD OF OZ.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

David Price's PHOTO OF THE WEEK #32

 School days at M-G-M ... in a publicity shot taken in 1937.

Photo Credit: Eric Carpenter -- Serial number MG65961

MGM ON PARADE

The stars return for MGM's golden anniversary.

Lily Mars In Profile

Casual portrait of Judy Garland taken on the set of Presenting Lily Mars (MGM, 1943).

PRESENTING JUDY GARLAND

Casual portrait taken on the set of Presenting Lily Mars.

DOWN TIME

Judy Garland relaxing in her dressing room

between takes during filming of Presenting Lily Mars.

The gown she is wearing can be seen in the Paging Mr. Greenbacks number.

RELICS #4 The Meet Me In St. Louis Party Dress

Charles Triplett, longtime member and friend of The Judy Garland Experience, has consented to periodically share special items from his collection in a journal here on The Experience. His extensive collection includes vintage materials of all kinds -- most notably costumes and accessories from Judy's M-G-M films, wardrobe from her CBS-TV series, and her personal couture.. Charles is a careful preservationist, and does not publicly exhibit these items out of concern for their care and longevity. In this series we will have an unprecedented view into many of the rare and wonderful things he has collected.

RELICS  --  The Meet Me In St Louis Party Dress

The Meet Me In St Louis party dress, designed by Irene Sharaff, has always been my favorite MGM Garland costume. Ever since the first time I saw Meet Me In St Louis in the early 1970's I was very taken with the costume and thought Judy looked so beautiful in it. For me it was the quintessential movie musical costume.

The Party Dress and scene in which Judy wore it was obviously considered to be an important part of the promotional campaign used to market Meet Me In St Louis. Images from this scene were used not only on the half-sheet poster and on one of the lobby cards, but also on numerous 8x10 stills from the party scene and cakewalk dance.

As I did more research and study of Judy Garland's career I became aware of the fact that this costume had been sold at the 1970 MGM auction and purchased by Debbie Reynolds. Many years later when I was helping her son, Todd Fisher, identify several Garland costumes I brought up the party dress and told him it was my favorite Garland costume. He replied that it was also his mother's favorite Garland costume and that he knew she would never part with it. With that statement I knew I would never even get a chance to own it although around 2007 she and Todd Fisher did offer it to a collector for $200,000.

In the intervening years Miss Reynolds' dream of a museum was never to be and in 2011 she decided to sell her collection. Movie fans and costume collectors all knew this would be the sale of the century.  The handful of Garland costume collectors knew of my interest in the piece and graciously allowed me to bid without any competition from them.

The auction took 12 hours and most of the prices were astronomical but luckily for me I was able to acquire the party dress for just slightly over the estimate. It was the "icing on the cake" for the Judy Garland Charles Triplett Collection. The 3 major Judy Garland costume collectors were, I think, just as thrilled as I was that I was able to get it.

The dress is made of wool crepe and has three elements: the jacket, blouse, and skirt. The silk blouse is attached to the skirt. The careful detailing on this garment is a great part of its charm ... it has not only some beautifully applied design elements, but also the over 300 original silk tassels. Each tassel is finished with a florette at the bottom instead of loose fringe, and all the original tassels remain on the garment. Miss Garland's name is inscribed inside both the jacket and the skirt.

Miss Reynolds had taken great care of the costume and it was in very nice stable condition. The bright blue color seen with the Technicolor camera had faded, however this is very common for bright blue dye that is 70 years old. The costume today still holds the magic and beauty that Irene Sharaff and Vincente Minnelli envisioned. So when you watch the movie please know that the costume is safe and sound in acid free storage in North Carolina.

I would like to publicly thank Daniel for asking me to do this series of articles on items from my collection. I hope he knows how much I sincerely appreciate his faith in me  He really felt I had something worthwhile and of interest to share.  . Also I would like to thank Tom Larro and David Price for their invaluable input on this 6 month project.   Because of limitations on my time I have decided to make this my final installment of Relics.  

Editor's Note: We at TJGE feel privileged that Charles Triplett agreed to share these looks into his legendary collection with us. His participation has made this blog a better one, and now that he has raised the bar for us we hope to meet it and exceed it as we go forward.

And although we knew the RELICS series was going to be a limited one, it is with a heavy heart that we publish it's final edition.

But no worries for the Charles Triplett fans, as Mr. Triplett will continue to share photos and occasional reportage on this blog. In fact, he recently approached your editor with an idea for a story and photo layout that will excite Garland an Oz fans alike.

We thank you, Charles Triplett, for what you have done, and for what you continue to do for The Judy Garland Experience and for the entire Judy Garland fan/collector community.