For the American actress Judy Holliday, the image of "silly blondes" was entrenched in the cinema, but in life she was distinguished by high intelligence. She brilliantly performed comedic main roles, having played only nine films in her short life, but her talent was marked by one Oscar and a Golden Globe. Judy Halliday, along with filming a movie, took part in comedy productions on Broadway.
Judy Halliday's childhood and education
Actress Judy Holliday, real name Judith Tuwim, was born on June 21, 1921 in New York. She is the only daughter of Abraham Tuwim, a journalist and fundraiser to help Jews and social organizations. The girl's mother, Helen Gollomb, worked as a piano teacher. Both parents had Russian Jewish roots.
When Judy was 6 years old, her parents divorced.
Since childhood, the girl was distinguished by high intelligence and described herself as "one of those intolerable children who read War and Peace, Arthur Schnitzler, Moliere."
After graduating from Julia Richman School in New York in 1938, Judith hoped to go to Yale Drama School, but due to her very young age she was turned down.
In the summer of the same year, Judy got a job as a telephone operator at the independent repertory theater founded by Orson Welles, The Mercury Theater.
Later that year, Max Gordon, owner and founder of Greenwich Village Jazz Club, spotted Judy and offered to showcase his talent as a screenwriter and lyricist.
Judy Holliday and The Revuers
Tuvim joined a group of performers she met on a spa vacation called The Six and Company. Among them were the then unknown pianist Leonard Bernstein, screenwriter Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The band renamed themselves "The Revuers".
As contemporaries of the actress later recalled: "With her huge eyes and combed brown hair, Judy fit perfectly into the comedic image."
The Revuers appeared on radio programs for 32 weeks.
Judy Tuwim's career began to develop, and the girl decided to take for herself the creative consonant pseudonym "Judy Holliday", translating her Jewish surname into an American way.
In 1943, The Revuers arrived in Hollywood, but to their great disappointment, the famous film studios were only interested in a girl with a natural comedic talent.
Career as an actress in cinema and theater
Judy Holliday's creative career in the cinema took a long time.
Twentieth Century Fox signed a seven-year contract with the aspiring actress in 1944. However, Judy insisted that The Revuers appear in her first film, Greenwich Village. The film turned out to be a failure. Unhappy with a bad start, Judy broke her contract, left Hollywood and moved to New York.
In March 1945, Holliday appeared on Broadway in Kiss Them for Me, playing the role of a silly girl. The performance of the aspiring actress brought Judy her first award for Best Supporting Actor.
In February 1946, the theater actress Jean Arthur due to illness was unable to participate in the comedy play Born Yesterday. Her role was handed over to the inexperienced Judy Holliday, who had to learn the role of Billy Dawn in three days. The premiere was successful, critics wrote enthusiastically about the game of the young blonde. Judy Holliday took part in the production of this play for the next three years.
In 1948, Columbia Pictures acquired the film rights to the theatrical production, and two years later, Judy Holliday starred in the film version of Born Yesterday. For a superbly executed image, the actress was awarded the first Oscar of her career. Screenwriter Garson Kanin called Judy someone with "a rare combination of intelligence and intuition."
In 1949, the comedy drama Adam's Rib was released. Holliday's colleagues on the set were the legendary actors of old Hollywood, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Judy played the role of Dorris Ettinger - the mistress of the main character's husband, who finds the infidels at home. In addition to betrayal of spouses, their work is shared, both are lawyers, but in court they have to defend different parties.
In the film career of the actress there are only 9 films, however, thanks to her talented acting skills, Judy Holliday always received the main female roles, which she brilliantly performed. The actress has appeared on two TV series, The Ford Theater Hour and The Goodyear Television Theater.
In 1952, she starred in the melodrama Saving a Marriage, a story about a married couple whose marriage began to burst at the seams. For her role in this motion picture, Holliday received a huge fee at that time in the amount of 200 thousand dollars.
Among the works of the actress are two joint films with the Hollywood comedian Jack Lemmon "Phi" and "This has to happen to you."
The last film work of the actress was the 1960 romantic comedy "The Bells Are Ringing". Judy Holliday was nominated for a Golden Globe for her talented portrayal of the character. The actress played on Broadway for several more years.
Judy Holliday's personal life
Judy Halliday married David Oppenheim in 1948. The marriage lasted 10 years. The couple had their only child in 1952.
After the divorce, Judy Holliday began dating American saxophonist and jazz musician Jerry Mulligan. When the actress found out that she was diagnosed with cancer, Holliday stopped acting in films and started writing songs for her common-law husband.
The actress died on June 7, 1965 in New York.
