Judy Garland on the Jack Paar program November 25, 1964

On November 25, 1964 Judy taped a guest appearance for the NBC TV show "The Jack Paar Program" at the Prince Charles Theater, Fielding's Music Hall, London, England. The taping took place at 8:45 p.m. Judy sang "Never Will I Marry" and "What Now, My Love?" The show aired on December 11, 1964.
Per Scott Schechter's book "The Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Legend": "Unfortunately, Judy was not in top form, appearing somewhat medicated in her delivery - although incredibly funny - and the airing on December 11, 1964 had the opposite effect of the Carnegie Hall concert and album. Thus, many people were actually turned off of Judy Garland. It was something that would happen frequently when she appeared on television during her last few years. It was becoming increasingly difficult to find her in good voice, appearing in good form, and looking lovely all at the same time..."

[@rlmack5]

For all the fact that this appearance does indeed follow the awful experiences Judy endured in Australia and, subsequently, in Hong Kong, and the damage done to her vocal chords at that same time ... her appearance and performance in this interview with Paar -- who clearly adored her -- somehow stands out as fascinatingly exceptional.She 'improves' by the second, here ... truly. And her gifts for mimicry, self-deprecation, and parody are superb. as is (as ever) her generosity of spirit (e.g., in actually listening with genuine interest and laughter to Paar's own extended anecdote about Burton, etc.). She is astoundingly self-aware (e.g., "things happen to me ... or I bring them about ... I couldn''t care less") and simply FUNNY (re: Dietrich's age: "... She brings hers down, and I try to retain my ... at any rate ...". There is something quintessentially Judy in all this that insists that I return to it again and again and again. Good Lord, but she was one of a kind!

[@davidvanhouten5576]

I'm so glad you pointed out her quality of actually listening with genuine interest to Jack Parr's extended anecdote about Burton. Another remarkable ability to her greatness.

[@nudnikjeff]

Judy is SOOO funny! The audience eats her up!

[@Davidalp1]

I think she's really funny here! I always crack up when I hear the "Marlene/Album" story; and also the story of her in the car being "Driven round lots of blocks, and then having to wave again; in front of the same people!" LOL! Hilarious. What is sad though, is that one can't comprehend that it is the same year [1964] as her earlier work on "The Judy Garland Show". Such fine singing only 8 months earlier, and yet her voice was beginning to fade slightly here. The power was still unbelievable; but the range was beginning to shift. What is poignant on this interview is that we can see 2 Judy's. We can see the "Early Sixties" Judy, with the big hair, the high heels, the amazing dress, the beautiful face, the funny stories and only a slight slurring of speech.... And yet we can also begin to see the "Late Sixties" Judy just beginning to show her face; i.e, slurred delivery and a "medicated" persona. ("Garland on Cavett 1968" probably being the worst example.) But here, we still have Judy in fine form, and what is also nice is that she was putting on a bit of weight, which was much needed. In 1965 she was to put on even more weight, and give a fantastic "Hollywood Palace" appearance.

[@gymnastix]

I think perhaps the late great operatic divas Maria Callas, Beverly Sills and Joan Sutherland might take exception to your classification of Judy Garland as "the greatest female singer of all time, " as would perhaps the late popular songstresses Marian Anderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Peggy Lee and Dusty Springfield. among other deceased female singers considered among the greatest And, for sure, the currently living opera divas Roberta Peters and Leontyne Price, as well popular singers Julie Andrews, Ronnie Spector, Aretha Franklin, Agnetha Fältskog (of ᗅᗺᗷᗅ), and Jackie Evancho, among others, might also have something to say challenging Garland as "the greatest" among women singers. Not only was Garland not "the greatest," she was not even among the top 10 greatest female singers of all-time. Technically, one must always include the greatest opera sopranos at the very top of the list. But even from a popular music perspective, Garland's pipes and range were lacking. In fact, combined with her pathetic bathos, Garland was actually annoying for many to listen to and watch performing, the last decade or so of her career especially. At her prime, Garland was certainly a triple threat with her abilities to act, dance and sing proficiently. But she would never have been considered "the greatest" in any of those entertainment fields individually, as there were better actresses (Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and Geraldine Page, among others)and better dancers (in ballet certainly Margot Fonteyn and Anna Pavlova, and in musical-comedy Ann Miller and Gwen Verdon, among others), as well teh aforementioned better female singers. What made a healthy Garland somewhat more valuable were her multi-faceted entertainment skills. But by the end of the studio system and with the virtual death of big screen musicals, those skills were no longer in as much demand. To be fair, CBS could have tried offering Garland another evening for her musical variety show, as she faced tough competition from NBC's "Bonanza" on Sundays in her single season on the so-called "Tiffany Network." By the mid-season CBS should have tried a shift to another weekday, which may have boosted Garland's Nielsen ratings enough to warrant renewal for a second full season. But CBS President James Aubrey made it clear he had no such intention, and allowed Garland to fail. He was appalled at all the bowing and scraping toward overpaid entertainers, who he viewed as just one segment of hired help in the entertainment business. That CBS Television City actually painted a yellow-brick road to Garland's dressing room-trailer was symptomatic of what Aubrey must have thought wrong about show business, in the ego-stroking of entertainers. By the way, the former president of the CBS Television network was James Aubrey. not "Aubery." And he did, indeed, seem to take a sadistic pleasure in insulting those he considered to be overpaid and overpraised icons of entertainment, cutting such persons down to size when these persons were beyond their prime and Aubrey could justify the firings and snubbings. Another performer Aubrey took pleasure in hurting was the generally well-liked Jack Benny, whose talents made millions for CBS (Radio and TV divisions). But by 1963-64 Benny's weekly TV series fell from the top 10, though still a great rating (at #12) by any reasonable standard. So when Benny returned to NBC (his original broadcast home 1932-48) after Aubrey gave Benny the ax in the spring of 1963, he only lasted one season at the Peacock Network, but remained there for semi-annual special broadcasts until 1974 (the year of his death). In fairness, it was also during Aubrey's reign at CBS Black Rock that such iconic and well-written series' as "The Andy Griffith Show," "Perry Mason," "Route 66" and "The Twilight Zone" were green-lighted, as well the popular sitcoms "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Dennis the Menace" and "Mister ED," among others.

[@RealPete]

The end of the TV series was really the beginning of the end for Judy. Hong Kong before and after..

[@robertgold3868]

I think you offer a great analysis of Judy's medicated persona coming through. I agree with everything you said, especially the comment about her appearance with Dick Cavett. Ironically, on that show, her memory is so sharp and accurate especially about those songs about the Japanese soldiers.

[@deuxjournalistes2993]

this is for gymnastic’s comment: You are incorrect. Judy Garland is in the top 10 of greatest female singers. I don’t think you know much about the metrics of greatness in singing- technically or artistically. Ask Julie Andrews what she thinks of Judy Garland. Her answer might surprise you.

[@betsystewart9786]

Judy Garland had a Great natural sense of humor 😂😅

[@jonathankieranwriter]

Wow. The voice really had gone through significant damage by this point. She’s way off her game. At least, the first song was NOT the best choice at all, given the state of her voice at that juncture. Would have sounded better with a less demanding tune. Second song was better. She looks pretty, though, and has lost none of her gifts as a raconteur. Even Judy says, when Paar suggests one of them sing: “It had better be you after that last note I hit.”