Ball, whose best-known song might have been written for the occasion - 'Love Me and the Topping the bill that night was one of the era's most popular singers, Ernest There the festivities continued in a box Ethel's father had reserved at Duluth's leading Louis River to the neighboring city of Duluth, Minnesota. Temperatures that hovered just a few degrees above zero-winter was a serious affair in that Her maid of honor, while Alfred Street Jr., who was often seen at the Superior theaters, stoodĪfter the bridal dinner, the little wedding party bundled up against biting winds and Standing before a newly ordainedĮpiscopal priest, they exchanged vows in the parlor of the Milnes' house on Banks Avenue.Įthel wore a gown of ivory silk and carried a bouquet of roses. But at 5 o'clock on the afternoon of Thursday, JanuaryĢ2, 1914, their roller-coaster courtship ended at last. Reluctance to take the final step, however, and Frank carried that weighty document around in Issued a marriage license by the Douglas County clerk. This time Frank did not bolt, and on December 31, the last day of 1913, they were Parlor Theater, she played the piano at the Lyric, which was across Tower Avenue, and they When he returned many months later, in the late summer or fall of 1913.

It died when he suddenly upped and left, then unexpectedly sprang to life again In Tennessee, he rented a room from her parents, John and Eva Milne, and romanceīlossomed. Frank sang the songs of the day while the reels were being changed. Read a review of 'Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland'Įthel pounded out the background music for the films that flickered on the Orpheum's Wooden sidewalks of its main street, Tower Avenue, were crowded with people just like them,Īll eager to break into the big-time world of vaudeville.

Still retained much of its frontier exuberance, boasted many such places, and the creaky Superior, Wisconsin, a rowdy, lively port at the western end of Lake Superior. They had grown up to the sound of applause, and they met, in late 1911 or at the beginning of 1912, at the Orpheum Theater - a 'picture house,' as it was then called - in It was a simple wooden platform, and it could be anywhere, any size, any shape: no stage was ever too mean or insignificant for Frank and Ethel Gumm.

Home of the heart was neither north nor south, nor in any other direction the compass pointed. In the far North, and her eyes, so dark that they were almostīlack, were as sharp as winter's wind. He came from a little town in the South, and his smile was as This excerpt gives background on Garland's parents and how they met. While Garland brought joy to so many, her own happiness was elusive. (CNN) - Gerald Clarke's 'Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland' details the family life and career of this complex actress. Excerpt: 'Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland'

Get happy gerald clarke