Thirty years ago this Friday evening on March 22, 1985, PBS premiered the Great Performances program, Judy Garland: The Concert Years. That 88-minute show hosted by Judy’s daughter Lorna Luft was a colossal success. Judy Garland is on PBS again on this anniversary date. Tonight, Friday March 20 at 9 pm, the Emmy Award-winning American Masters – Judy Garland: By Myself receives its national encore (check local station listings, as the broadcast date and time can vary). Now that’s a coincidence Judy Garland fans can “Get Happy” about!
Great Performances – Judy Garland: The Concert Years earned an Emmy nomination and several international television awards. The Boston Globe called the program “a towering posthumous triumph”; The New York Times heralded its “uncommon abundance of thrilling moments.” It was produced by Joan Kramer and David Heeley; directed by Heeley; written by John L. Miller, and edited by John Zieman.
Joan Kramer and David Heely are esteemed biographers of Hollywood’s Golden Age stars, producing acclaimed PBS specials and documentaries about Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, and more. Their memoir about their careers documenting celebrities is called In the Company of Legends, and will be published on April 16 by Beaufort Books.