This year marks 50 years since the death of beloved showbiz icon, Judy Garland. The life of the actress and singer was cut short back in 1969 due to a drug overdose, but her memory lives on a half a century later as two filmmakers helm odes to her life ridden in troubles, amidst her glitzy stardom. Following early Oscar buzz about Renée Zellweger’s performance in Judy, a Showtime documentary titled Sid & Judy is set to premiere, Friday.
The 95-minute doc about Judy Garland will offer an additional look at the life of The Wizard of Oz star, namely through the lens of rare recordings of Garland’s voice and passages from Sidney Luft, her third husband. Luft’s words come from his memoir and will be read by Mad Men’s Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Sid & Judy touches upon topics such as Garland’s troubling up-bringing, history with addiction and life in the spotlight through an additional lens, just as Rupert Goold’s Judy gains momentum with audiences.
In the new documentary, interviews of Judy Garland opening up about growing up with a “stage mother” who would threaten her to go out and sing of she’d wrap her around a bedpost, a USA Today reports ahead of the television premiere. She also calls being famous “lonesome”, comparing herself to the Statue of Liberty.
Sid & Judy will also feature footage from a celebration of the star in Hollywood Forever Cemetary in 2017 when her remains were transferred there. Her arrival brought in a swarm of fans dressed in Dorothy’s checkered blue dress were interviewed. They call her “timeless”, “the epitome of hope” and touched upon her status as a gay icon.
Fans of Judy Garland certainly have no shortage of content surrounding the late singer on the year on this 50th anniversary. Or to those who have always wondered about who Judy Garland was, Sid & Nancy looks like it will delve deeply into her life. Sid & Judy follows the biopic starring Renée Zellweger, which also tracks many accurate happenings in her life as the narrative tracks her on her last tour in London as she deals with her addiction and losing custody to her young children.
While Judy places the spotlight on her fifth husband Mickey Deans (played by Finn Wittrock), Sid & Judy will offer up some perspective from her third husband. Her and Sidney had two children together, Lorna and Joey. Lufts was her longest marriage, they were husband and wife for 13 years between 1952 and 1965 before they divorced, Garland accusing him of being an alcoholic and abusing her.
Renée Zellweger incredible transformation as Judy Garland is certainly expected to be in conversation as award season begins to take shape. Check out our exclusive interviews with the cast of Judy, see it in theaters & check out Sid & Judy premiering on Showtime Friday, October 18.