Won Broadway's 1957 Tony Award as best actress in a musical for Bells Are Ringing, a role that she recreated in the film version of Bells Are Ringing (1960). Despite her image as a "dumb blond", she had an IQ of 172. She often said that it took a lot of smarts to convince people that her characters were stupid.
Not only is the film adapted beautifully, but Judy gives one of the best comedic performances of the classic era. She was not the first or last to play the smart dumb blonde archetype, but Judy's smart dumb blonde stands out from all the others, probably because Judy was an actual genius, having an IQ of 172.
Holliday's voice was naturally low, but she worked until she developed a roar that reached the back of the house. For this, her stage debut, she won the Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actress of 1945.
She returned to the stage in the straight play "Laurette" (Taylor) and the musical "Hot Spot" (1952). A heavy smoker, Holliday died of throat cancer in 1965 at the age of 43.
Short Life and Tragic Ending of Judy Holliday - Actress With The Highest IQs
What religion was Judy Holliday?
Her funeral services, conducted by the president of the Ethical Culture Society, were followed by a small private Jewish service at the Westchester Hills Cemetery, reflecting her mother's wishes. A brilliant comedian, Judy Holliday epitomized the duality of her American-Jewish heritage.
Young Holliday was considered very intelligent and excelled in his studies. In 1872 at the age of 20, Holliday received his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in Philadelphia.
Judy Holliday (1921-1965) was better known as a comedy actress, but she had a slight but nice singing voice. She made a few albums, and this recording she made in 1958.
Holliday died on June 7, 1965, at Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital from metastatic breast cancer. She was interred in the Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
There are minor discrepancies in the film's version of events (for example, Garland and Deans did not marry until March 1969, after her Christmas performances), but all in all, Judy paints a pretty accurate portrait of Garland's final months.
Bette Davis, Gloria Swanson, and Anne Baxter were all in the running. When the Academy Award for best actress was announced on March 29, 1951, however, the Oscar went to young comedian Judy Holliday, for her performance as Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday.
–DID YOU KNOW the role of the high-pitched Lina Lamont was written with Judy Holliday in mind? However, once she won the Oscar®, the filmmakers had to search elsewhere for another actress for the supporting role. Ironically, Jean Hagen – Holliday's Broadway understudy – ultimately won the part.
Her last film was the MGM production of Bells Are Ringing (1960) with Dean Martin and it was one of her best. Judy died two weeks before her 44th birthday in New York City on June 7, 1965.
Judy Holliday (born June 21, 1921, New York, New York, U.S.—died June 7, 1965, New York City) was an American actress noted for her distinctive voice and her warm, intelligent portrayal of funny and endearing “dumb blondes” onstage and in film.
Blaylock suffered from severe headaches and while in Tombstone, Arizona she became addicted to laudanum, a then-common opiate and pain killer. It is not known exactly when Earp and Blaylock ended their relationship.
All the mustaches in the movie were real except Jon Tenney's (Sheriff Behan) who had to be clean shaven for his prior project, and was thus the only fake mustache in the movie.
John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882), known as Johnny Ringo, was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County War in Texas during which he committed his first murder.
After filming The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956), she was off-screen for four years. Her last film was the MGM production of Bells Are Ringing (1960) with Dean Martin and it was one of her best. Judy died two weeks before her 44th birthday in New York City on June 7, 1965.
Her parents were vaudevillians who settled in Grand Rapids to run a movie theater that featured vaudeville acts. She was of Irish, English, Scottish, and French Huguenot ancestry, named after both of her parents and baptized at a local Episcopal church.
Now, a new book, C'mon, Get Happy: The Making of Summer Stock by Fantle and Tom Johnson, tells the story behind the film and shares new details of Judy and Gene's special friendship. Judy first laid eyes on Gene singing and dancing in Pal Joey, which debuted on Broadway in 1940. She was very impressed.
