Judy Garland

John Fleck is rehearsing in a tiny Los Feliz theater, and he's utterly naked. Not naked like he was in the Reagan era, when he was leaping onto Silver Lake bars, dropping his drawers and belting out "There's No Penis Like Show Penis" to a roomful of rough-trade guys and spiky-haired punkettes. Or naked in the way that made Fleck and his fellow performance artists Karen Finley, Tim Miller and Holly Hughes (a.k.a. "The NEA 4") into Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of Jesse Helms and other wardens of public morality, sparking a 1990s culture-war skirmish involving the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mort Lindsey, a conductor, arranger and composer best known as the music director for Judy Garland in the 1960s and for his more than two decades as music director for "The Merv Griffin Show," has died. He was 89. Lindsey, who was in declining health since breaking his hip six months ago, died May 4 at his home in Malibu, said his son Trevor. A pianist and a former staff conductor for CBS and ABC in New York in the 1950s, Lindsey was music director for Garland at her historic Carnegie Hall concert on April 23, 1961.

A Bel-Air house that actress and singer Judy Garland once called home has come on the market at $5.5 million. The 1938 two-story house, with dormer windows and white columns set against a red-brick clad veranda, was designed by Wallace Neff for Garland and her mother, who lived there until the early 1940s, according to the Movieland Directory. On more than 2.5 acres, the 5,500-square-foot house has five bedrooms and 61/2 bathrooms. A swimming pool, cabanas and a writer's cottage sit in the backyard.

NEW YORK - Judy Garland, often drunk and occasionally disheveled, in Peter Quilter's biographical drama "End of the Rainbow," is rummaging for booze in her suite at the Ritz hotel. She's wired, and not simply because of the pills she can't seem to wean herself off of. As embodied by the astonishing British actress Tracie Bennett in a tour de force at the Belasco Theatre that has Broadway abuzz, Garland is amid a five-week London cabaret gig that's been arranged to steady her shaky finances.

Mort Lindsey, a conductor, arranger and composer best known as the music director for Judy Garland in the 1960s and for his more than two decades as music director for "The Merv Griffin Show," has died. He was 89. Lindsey, who was in declining health since breaking his hip six months ago, died May 4 at his home in Malibu, said his son Trevor. A pianist and a former staff conductor for CBS and ABC in New York in the 1950s, Lindsey was music director for Garland at her historic Carnegie Hall concert on April 23, 1961.

Update: A childhood home of Oscar-winning actress and singer Judy Garland, who played Dorothy in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," has sold in Bel-Air for $5.2 million. The 1938 two-story house, with dormer windows and white columns set against a red-brick clad veranda, was designed by Wallace Neff. It went into escrow a week after coming on the market at $5.5 million and closed in two weeks. On more than 21/2 acres, the 5,500-square-foot house has five bedrooms and 61/2 bathrooms.

Judy Garland's hometown honored the late actress Saturday with a parade that featured 13 Munchkins from the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz" and drew thousands of people. Garland, who died in 1969, would have been 68 today.

NEW YORK - Judy Garland, often drunk and occasionally disheveled, in Peter Quilter's biographical drama "End of the Rainbow," is rummaging for booze in her suite at the Ritz hotel. She's wired, and not simply because of the pills she can't seem to wean herself off of. As embodied by the astonishing British actress Tracie Bennett in a tour de force at the Belasco Theatre that has Broadway abuzz, Garland is amid a five-week London cabaret gig that's been arranged to steady her shaky finances.

Judy Garland's life was a classic illustration of the joys, the perils and, ultimately, the tragedy of a life lived in the spotlight glare of the entertainment world. On stage from the time she was barely old enough to walk, she spent the balance of her years in one entertainment venue or another until her premature death in 1969 at the age of 47. "The Last Days of Judy Garland: The E!

The first words that may come to mind for those unfamiliar with the actual performances of Jim Bailey are probably "impersonator" or "impressionist." Some might even make reference to the far more visible work of such cross-dressers as RuPaul. But Bailey's art reaches far beyond those categories. His description of what he does is "character acting," and that's a lot more accurate, as is the even more precise term "illusionist."

Her Kansas home in "The Wizard of Oz" flew through the air. Now a Bel-Air house that was home to a young Judy Garland has flipped, selling for the second time since last year for $6,772,669. The Wallace Neff-designed house sold in 2011 for $5.2 million and was then updated and renovated. The two-story traditional, built in 1938, sits on about 2.5 acres. The 5,513-square-foot house features dormer and bay windows, white columns, French doors, five bedrooms and 61/2 bathrooms.

A Bel-Air house that was home to a young Judy Garland, in the days of her star turn as Dorothy in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," is back on the market at $7.1 million, roughly a year after its previous sale. Updated and renovated, the two-story traditional sits on about 2.5 acres. Designed by Wallace Neff and built in 1938, the house features dormer and bay windows, white columns, a red-brick clad veranda and French doors. The 5,500-plus-square-foot house has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and two half-baths.

Ray Aghayan, an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated costume designer whose credits included more than a dozen Oscar shows and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, has died. He was 83. Aghayan, the lifetime partner of costume designer Bob Mackie, died Monday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, said a spokeswoman for the Costume Designers Guild. In a career that spanned television, film and Broadway, the Iranian-born Aghayan designed costumes for such stars as Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Dinah Shore, Julie Andrews, Carol Channing and Doris Day. "He was a darling man, and I loved working with him on my films," Day said Thursday in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

Some of Tinseltown's famed costumes and props are on display at the venerable Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The "Hollywood Legends Collection," on exhibit through October in the theater lobby, features 1,000 props and costumes from both the big and small screens including Marilyn Monroe's gold gown from 1953's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and Judy Garland's blue and white gingham pinafore and blouse from 1939's "The Wizard of Oz. " The exhibit...

A Malibu beach house owned by actress Judy Garland when she was married to film and stage director Vincente Minnelli has sold for $1,475,000. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom, Cape Cod-style home of 1,300 square feet is on Las Tunas Beach. There are expansive decks overlooking the ocean, high ceilings and hardwood floors. The living room and master bedroom have wood-burning fireplaces. The property also has a courtyard and direct beach access. The grant deed shows that Judy Garland Minnelli purchased the then newly built house in November 1947.

Neither the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. nor Jerry Lewis have said why they parted ways this month, but the move doesn't appear to be hindering the group's plans for its annual Labor Day telethon. The MDA announced Thursday that Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Antebellum, Richie Sambora and Jordin Sparks are among the celebrities who will appear on the Sept. 4 telecast. "While we deeply appreciate everything that Jerry Lewis has done and his enduring legacy for MDA, our show will go on," a spokesman for the Arizona-based organization said.

Fans of the late Judy Garland will be able to follow the yellow brick road for real as her hometown, Grand Rapids, Minn., marks her birthday. Residents of the north-central Minnesota town, where Garland was born in 1922 as Frances Gumm, have celebrated the performer's June 10 birthday for about 15 years.

Sixty years after Judy Garland won a special Oscar for playing Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sued a memorabilia dealer on Friday to get the statuette back. The academy claims in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that a Los Angeles memorabilia shop called Star Wares cannot sell the Oscar--even though it was consigned there by Garland's ex-husband--because of an agreement the late actress signed in 1958.

John Fleck is rehearsing in a tiny Los Feliz theater, and he's utterly naked. Not naked like he was in the Reagan era, when he was leaping onto Silver Lake bars, dropping his drawers and belting out "There's No Penis Like Show Penis" to a roomful of rough-trade guys and spiky-haired punkettes. Or naked in the way that made Fleck and his fellow performance artists Karen Finley, Tim Miller and Holly Hughes (a.k.a. "The NEA 4") into Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of Jesse Helms and other wardens of public morality, sparking a 1990s culture-war skirmish involving the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hugh Martin Jr., a composer, lyricist and arranger who created the enduring standards "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Trolley Song" sung by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical "Meet Me in St. Louis," has died. He was 96. Martin, who collaborated in an unusual partnership with Ralph Blane on Broadway and in film, died of natural causes Friday at home in Encinitas, north of San Diego, said his niece Suzanne Hanners. The two men shared songwriting credits for "Meet Me in St. Louis," which is set at the turn of the 20th century and follows a Midwestern family on the verge of moving to New York City.