Editing Judy Garland (section)

===1928–1935: The Gumm/Garland Sisters===
In 1928, [[the Gumm Sisters]] enrolled in a dance school run by Ethel Meglin, proprietor of the [[Meglin Kiddies]] dance troupe. They appeared with the troupe at its annual Christmas show.{{sfn|Clarke|2001|pp=29–30}} Through the Meglin Kiddies, they made their film debut in a short subject called ''[[The Big Revue (film)|The Big Revue]]'' (1929), where they performed a song-and-dance number called "That's the Good Old Sunny South". This was followed by appearances in two [[Vitaphone]] shorts the following year: ''A Holiday in Storyland'' (featuring Garland's first on-screen solo) and ''The Wedding of Jack and Jill''. They next appeared together in ''[[Bubbles (film)|Bubbles]]'' (1930). Their final on-screen appearance was in an MGM [[Technicolor]] short entitled ''[[La Fiesta de Santa Barbara]]'' (1935).{{sfn|Finch|1975|pp=43–47, 76}}

The trio had toured the vaudeville circuit as "The Gumm Sisters" for many years by the time they performed in Chicago at the [[Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre|Oriental Theater]] with [[George Jessel (actor)|George Jessel]] in 1934. He encouraged the group to choose a more appealing name after "Gumm" was met with laughter from the audience. According to theater legend, their act was once erroneously billed at a Chicago theater as "The Glum Sisters".<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/04/09/specials/garland-obit.html |title=Judy Garland, 47, Found Dead |date=June 23, 1969 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=April 3, 2018 |quote=critics noted that her voice had lost some of its quality. At the same time they noted that her personality retained its full impact.}}</ref>[[File:The Gumm Sisters.jpg|thumb|The Gumm Sisters, also known as the Garland Sisters, c. 1935: Top row: Mary Jane and Dorothy Virginia Gumm; bottom: Frances Ethel (Judy Garland) Gumm]]

Several stories persist regarding the origin of their use of the name Garland. One is that it was originated by Jessel after [[Carole Lombard]]'s character Lily Garland in the film ''[[Twentieth Century (film)|Twentieth Century]]'' (1934), which was then playing at the [[Nederlander Theatre (Chicago)|Oriental]] in Chicago; another is that the girls chose the surname after drama critic Robert Garland.<ref>{{cite episode|title=Judy: Beyond the Rainbow|series=Biography|series-link=Biography (TV series)|air-date=January 1, 1999}}</ref> Garland's daughter [[Lorna Luft]] stated that her mother selected the name when Jessel announced that the trio "looked prettier than a garland of flowers".{{sfn|Luft|1999|p=26}} A TV special was filmed in Hollywood at the [[Pantages Theatre (Hollywood)|Pantages Theatre]] premiere of ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' on September 29, 1954, in which Jessel stated:

{{Blockquote|I think that I ought to tell the folks that it was I who named Judy Garland, "Judy Garland." Not that it would have made any difference{{spnd}}you couldn't have hid[den] that great talent if you'd called her "Tel Aviv Windsor Shell", you know, but her name when I first met her was Frances Gumm and it wasn't the kind of a name that so sensitive a great actress like that should have;&nbsp;... and so we called her Judy Garland and I think she's a combination of [[Helen Hayes]] and [[Al Jolson]] and maybe [[Jenny Lind]] and [[Sarah Bernhardt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Born-Disc-Special-DVD/dp/B00006L9X5|title=Pantages Premiere TV Special on disc 2 of A Star is Born DVD|author=Jessel, George|date=April 17, 2019 |publisher=Warner Home Video}}</ref>}}

A later explanation surfaced when Jessel was a guest on [[The Judy Garland Show|Garland's television show]] in 1963. He said that he had sent actress [[Judith Anderson]] a telegram containing the word "garland" and it stuck in his mind.<ref>{{cite episode|title=Episode 12|series=The Judy Garland Show|air-date=November 1, 1963|season=1|number=12}}</ref> However, Garland asked Jessel just moments later if this story was true and he blithely replied "No".{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

By late 1934, the Gumm Sisters had changed their name to the Garland Sisters.<ref>"Program of Comedy Due – Eddie Conrad Will Head Ebell Vaudeville". ''Los Angeles Times''. December 7, 1934. p. 15.</ref> Frances changed her name to "Judy" soon after, inspired by a popular [[Hoagy Carmichael]] song.{{sfn|Edwards|1975|p=27}} The group broke up by August 1935, when Mary Jane "Suzanne" Garland flew to [[Reno, Nevada]] and married musician Lee Kahn, a member of the Jimmy Davis orchestra playing at [[Cal Neva Lodge & Casino|Cal-Neva Lodge]], Lake Tahoe.<ref>"Nuptials Turn Trio to Duet – Cupid Robs Radio Team – Suzanne Garland Flies to Reno to Become Bride of Musician". ''Los Angeles Times''. August 15, 1935. p. A3.</ref>