- Baltimore Civic
Center -
Goodman Asks Review After Judy's Show
Baltimore Evening Sun
The Chairman of the Civic
Center Commission today called for a review of performances such as Judy
Garland's last night.
"I certainly feel that events
of this sort - unfortunate as they are - tend to hurt the image of the
Civic Center," Philip H. Goodman , the chairman said.
Miss Garland was unable to
complete most of her songs on last night's program with Woody Allen and
Tony Bennett.
Sat on Floor
She sat on the stage floor
and tried to sing. Her conductor who travels with her, had to help
her up; she couldn't rise on her own. He also had to help her onto
a stool.
Mr. Bennett supported her
as he led her on stage for the final act of the night at 10 P.M.
She walked with her legs spread far apart, her shoulders back.
Before she had finished performing,
one third of the audience had walked out, women were crying, Mr. Bennett
was wincing and hundreds of her fans had approached the stage to giver
her long-stemmed roses and touch her hands.
When she failed to finish
her first few numbers, a patron in the back row booed.
"I don't feel so well, so
if you feel that way," she said thickly, "I'm going to go off."
She returned and tried to
sing as fans approached the stage.
To other boos, she asked
"Did you say 'boo' or 'who?'"
"I'm not the drunk you read
about," she told the audience of 9,000. "I've had food poisoning."
After several more false
starts - when her voice cracked - she was able to sing through "Swanee."
Can't See
"I can't see the stage in
front of me," she said at one point.
"The vast majority of customers
were not angry," Mr. Goodman, who was in the audience said, "They felt
sorry for her."
"Apparently Miss Garland
was not in the position to perform," he said. "It was just very sad
and very touching."
"She entertained rather pathetically."
he said.
Miss Garland was unavailable
for comment today.
Not Accepting Calls
"I have received instructions
she is not accepting any calls," the operator at the Statler Hilton Hotel
said after noting that Miss Garland's line was busy.
Asked if there were any plans
to refund money to those who attended, Sanford G. Jacobson, one of the
show's promoters, asked why there should be any.
"The audience paid to see
three performers. They saw three performers." he said.
Refund Demanded
A crowd flocked to the closed
box office window at the center during and after the show to demand their
money back, but received no response.
Mr Jacobson said that he
had heard of no demands refunds on tickets, which cost from $5 to $15 each.
Mr. Goodman said that the
commission now assumes no responsibility for private promoters who rent
the center. He said the commission, at its meeting Friday, will discuss
"What our responsibility would be, if any."
"We had a good show," said
Mr. Jacobson, who was in the audience.
Flocked to stage
Several thousand members
of the audience, he added, flocked to the stage "in a trance-like state"
to be close to Miss Garland.
Mr. Jacobson said that he
and his brother Edward had been first-time promoters of last night's show.
He said they plan future shows, but had no details.
Miss Garland wore a white
beaded pants suit and make-up.
She constantly talked with
her audience. And she finally made it through several songs.
"I think the crowd would
have been happy just to have heard the other two performers, "Mr. Goodman
said.
But Fans Still Adore Her
Judy's Singing Falters
By Ray Murdock - Baltimore
News American
The hundreds of spectators
who walked out of the Civic Center Last night weren't as much angry at
the fading Judy Garland, whose unfitness to perform was obvious, as they
were trying to preserve the memory of the wide-eyed little girl who had
once filled their hearts with song.
A less than full house, which
management claimed held 9,000, waited until 10 P.M. to see if the singer,
whose emotional storms have filled columns of print, would appear at all.
It would have been better if she hadn't.
Led on stage by her costar,
Tony Bennett, Miss Garland opened by informing her audience that she doesn't
drink as much as newspapers report she does and then proceeded to demonstrate
how accurate the newspapers are.
She tripped over the mike
wire, had to be assisted up from a sitting position on the stage, sang
off key, couldn't find the tune, forgot some of the words and on more than
one occasion, stopped the orchestra with "It doesn't sound right."
Despite the ticket prices
which were peddled from a top of $15 down, the audience showed very little
rancor at being exposed to a travesty of the singer who once had everybody
humming "Over the Rainbow."
The enormous fund of good
will which awaited her appearance prevented total disaster, and a large
segment of her fans were eager to accept her explanation that she was sick
from food poisoning.
The public is much in Miss
Garland's debt for the pleasure and thrilling performances she has given
in the past. How much of her large bank account filled with public
esteem she recklessly squandered on the stage of the Civic Center last
night can never be measured.
There was no doubt, however,
from the cluster of adoring fans who pressed close to the stage to be nearer
the troubled star that if some producer is willing to take a wild gamble,
and if Judy Garland takes a hard look at herself, Baltamoreans are ready
and willing to open their hearts as well as their pocketbooks to her again
any time she wants them to.
Singer Tony Bennett and comedian
Woody Allen prevented the evening from being written off as a total loss.
Bennett was in top form, and Allen paraded some of his best material.
Only One Boo in Baltimore Almost Ends
Judy's Act
But Garland Cultists Win Out
By Lou Cedrone - Variety
02/19/68
Judy Garland made it to the
Civic Center her and gave the audience a performance they'll not likely
forget for a while. Actually it was more of a spectacle than a performance
and the audience knew things were going to be "Different" when Tony Bennett,
who along with Woody Allen appeared with Miss Garland on the bill, led
Miss Garland on stage.
She seemed unsteady, and
when Bennett left her on her own, it was obvious Miss Garland was shaky.
She started her first song, got half way through when she started over
again.
It was a pattern to be repeated
during a one-hour turn on stage with the orchestra and conductor managing
to keep pace with the star who was booed, shortly after she began, by a
man in the rear of the center.
"I agree," said Miss Garland.
Then she said, "did he say 'boo' or 'fool?'" When someone said the man
had said "boo" Miss Garland said, "I don't feel so well, so if you feel
that way I'm going to go off."
That started the Cultists
who assured her that they "loved" her and would defend her against all
booers who, after all, had no right in the Center. Sympathy was with Miss
Garland, even from the non-cultists who were obviously appalled by the
display of cruelty.
Shortly after Miss Garland
came on she said, "I'm not the drunk you read about. I've had food poisoning."
Food poisoning or no, the
Garland cultists didn't care. After she made her way through several
numbers, they gathered around the short runway, touching Miss Garland,
shaking her hands and telling her they "loved, loved, loved" her.
Some did it from the rear of the center which is proof of the strong affection
they have for her.
Miss Garland sang for about
30 minutes or so, then began a series of exits and returns, each time encouraging
her admirers to "come up on stage" with her. They didn't do that
because the guards wouldn't let them, but they did hand her roses.
When she came back, she sang
"Swanee" and as the love affair between star and followers continued, someone
apparently suggested curtain be drawn to end it all, Miss Garland said,
"don't you do it." And when someone in the audience said "you don't need
the orchestra, Judy," she said, "Yes I do."
During the first half hour,
Miss Garland also told a story, or tried to. It was something about
her mike wire facing a short at an appearance at the Hollywood Bowl, but
she didn't finish the story because the orchestra began playing and Miss
Garland joined them.
After more of the audience
left the Center and the faithful had gathered nearer to the stage, Miss
Garland, in answer to requests, sat-fell to the stage. "Who built
this stage?" she said. Then it was "Over the Rainbow" and when Miss
Garland finished she said "I think I finally made it."
Bennett did about 45 minutes
and Woody Allen about 30 minutes for the first act. A half hour intermission
followed, and Miss Garland came out.
Letters to the Editor
Where's the Rainbow?
Here is one final blast at
Sunday's Civic Center exhibition.
Most of the critics went
overboard to be kind to Judy Garland, Lord knows why! One commentator
summed it up best when he said, "Why beat a half dead horse to death!"
As for those emotionally
disturbed fans (?) who crowded the stage, they either all had free passes,
or else they were let out of Spring Grove for the night.
I awoke Monday morning with
food poisoning just from staying the entire time to see Judy perform.
The only trouble was, my wife diagnosed it as a hangover.
HERB WEBB
The first time I've seen
people walk out on a show at the Civic Center and try to get their money
back was last Sunday during Judy Garland's performance.
The sad part was the children
and the service men from Vietnam who were there. Some of those men
were unable to walk, but they left anyway.
I think it will be a very
tough job getting a producer to take a chance on her again. He should
have taken her off the stage five minutes after she went on.
The people who stayed, including
daughter and myself, just felt sorry for her. Just by watching Judy
Garland you can tell she is a very sad person.
MURIEL HUNT
Judy Garland proved Sunday
to be one of the greatest has beens in today's theater.
What a loss of time and money
to be insulted by her complete disrespect for us, her fellow performers,
theater owners, her own agent and most of all her children, as imagine
how they feel when this thing happens over and over, all over the world.
She had better wise up and
take a cure for her "food poisoning" or get out of the show business world,
as she is an utter disgrace to the industry.
This has happened many times
in the past.
Judy Garland does not belong
in the public theater for everyone to view.
AN EX-GARLAND FAN
I wish to commend the accurate
report made by News American staff writer Ray Murdock on Judy Garland's
disgusting appearance and lack of performance at the Civic Center last
Sunday.
His statement that she "...proceeded
to demonstrate how accurate the newspapers are," in reference to how much
she drinks, stimulated me to write to another Baltimore newspaper whose
columnist never even ventured a guess as to why she behaved as she did
and was exceedingly kind in his brief and uninformative description of
her behavior.
How is one to believe what
is written in the newspapers about Vietnam and other important issues unless
an event seen by the reader is known to be described accurately.
GAIL K. SAMUEL |
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The Baltimore News American
Letter to the Editor
by Sonny Gallagher 03/03/68
As an impartial observer
but one qualified to offer an opinion on the recent Judy Garland concert
controversy in Baltimore, I would like to note that during 1967 Miss Garland
gave a total of 77 concerts in 15 major U.S. cities.
Of the 77 concerts none were
as unsatisfactory as the Civic Center's fiasco,
although admittedly two
of them may have come relatively close.
As a long time Garland follower,
I certainly can't condone appearances such as the recent one in Baltimore.
I also find the Garland "cult" personally disgusting, but it should be
noted that Judy encourages them to react as they do.
The pity of it all is that
Judy could appear in Baltimore tonight and give the performance of the
year. I know this, and those close to Judy know it. It was
for this reason that Baltimore critics were "kind" to her in their reviews.
No one can predict what will
happen in advance. Meanwhile, those of us who believe in Judy's basic
artistic integrity - and the fact that the record of great performances
she has given will justify her place in the permanent annals of the theater
- rejoice when she garners notices such as she received this past summer
at the Palace and grit our teeth over public disgraces such as Baltimore.
However, I still feel that
the former occasions justify her continuance in our contemporary theater.
FRANCIS GALLAGHER,
US Representative,
International Judy Garland
Club.
My Recollection of
the Baltimore Concert
By Barbara
Dezmon
I read the newspaper stories
about the Judy Garland concert in Baltimore in 1968 and wanted to comment.
I had come to Baltimore from New York, and the concert was scheduled during
my visit. I had just seen Ms. Garland at the Palace in the summer
of 1967. She was a magnetic, enthralling entertainer. I had
heard from my relatives that she had already come to the Baltimore area
in 1967, to the Merriweather Post Pavilion. They told me that on
one night she had kept the audience waiting in the rain for an hour.
But the show she gave that night compensated for the wait.
In Baltimore, on a cold night,
it was very exciting to drive up to the arena and see all of the people
hustling in. My dad commented that this was a special evening for
Baltimore; he had never seen a turn out like this. Anticipation was
thick in the air. Many people were hurrying little children by the
hand into the Center. Tony Bennett and Woody Allen, who appeared
first, were great. Three big stars on the same bill. Mr. Bennett
even commented at one point that they had brought a girl singer with them.
The audience applauded.
As I remember, there was
an intermission and then Ms. Garland's overture. Afterwards, Mr.
Bennett came on stage with his arm around her. When he let her go
and as he was walking off stage, it became apparent that something was
wrong -- as she staggered backwards and forwards trying to maintain her
footing. She hesitated, talked some, and then began to sing.
She was forgetting the words. At one point, she asked the conductor
to help her with the words to "Zing Went the Strings." Then she made
a comment that she was dragging a microphone "like Cleopatra's asp."
She had said "asp." But with the sound system of a civic arena and
her slurred voice, it sounded like she had said "Cleopatra's ass."
That's when some people in
the audience did begin leaving, especially those with children. I
commented to the person beside me that this must be very sad for those
who brought their children. Still, Ms. Garland was struggling to
perform. Many in the audience were cheering her on. But,
these were not cultists. They were simply caring people who were
showing some humanity to another person, who just happened to be a star.
Also, they were cheering her on, not to continue a spectacle, but everyone
apparently believed that she could comeback with their support and give
a dynamite show. As for Ms. Garland, she was in a very awkward position.
She evidently was in no shape to perform, but could not leave the stage
gracefully. She apologized to the audience frequently and offered
to leave the stage. She was very humble, and not arrogant at all.
I feel she would have left if the audience had let her. When the
crowd shouted that they wanted her to stay, she kept performing.
As for the "boo." It
came about two-thirds into the program. Ms. Garland came down the
runway which jutted into the audience and knelt. She sang "How Insensitive."
She seemed to be getting herself together. Her rendition of the song was
better than the one I had observed at the Palace. there was more
feeling, and every note was on the mark. However, at the end of the
song, when she sang the words "when a love affair is over," on the
word "over" while there was only her voice holding the note for an extended
time, a long "boooooooo" came from a man who was in the audience.
It was an embarrassing moment for everybody, especially Ms. Garland.
She even offered some kind of humble response again.
At one point in the show,
someone backstage decided that the huge curtains should be closed.
But Ms. Garland was still on center stage. She did not know what was happening.
At that moment, pandemonium broke out. People in the orchestra section
charged the stage while people in the mezzanine and upper stands stood
and began yelling for the curtain not to close. It was not because
they were cultists, but they did not want to see a star humiliated.
The people reacted to what they thought was an indignity that should not
be forced on a star of her magnitude and who had such a history in entertainment.
If the stage hands had not reopened that curtain, there would have been
a riot.
Ms. Garland sang "Swanee,
" thanked the audience, and said something like "I made it, " and left
the stage to a standing ovation. For a person who was not in shape
to perform, she was on stage for a little over an hour. That in itself
was a super human feat. Whether it was the money or whatever,
she should not have been allowed to perform that evening. It was
clear that she was doing only what she knew, and that was to take the stage.
As for the newspaper article. Yes, the mayor did take her to task
for the show. However, I was informed by relatives in Baltimore,
that the citizens complained about his commenting that she should not come
back to Baltimore, and that he withdrew the original statement.
That's all that I remember
of the evening. I saw a star struggling against all odds, and in
a way beating them. No, she was not at her best. Yes, she did
oblige the audience. In fact, I learned much about her relationship
with the audience that night. I saw how she would try to please them
at all costs. As for me, her other performances had shown me a lesson
in great entertainment. That night, I had a lesson in humanity. |
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02/18
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