10 Surprising Myths About Judy Garland and ‘The Wizard of Oz’—Debunked by an Expert (EXCLUSIVE)

For decades, Judy Garland’s life and her defining role as Dorothy Gale have been surrounded by rumors, exaggerations and flat-out inventions. Few people are better equipped to address those misconceptions than John Fricke, the preeminent historian of The Wizard of Oz and an archivist of the land of Oz and Garland’s legacy. Across decades of research, interviews, and personal interaction with people who worked with Garland — including 20 of the original Munchkin cast — Fricke has spent his career separating fact from folklore.

Here, he corrects 10 of the most widely repeated myths about Garland and the making — and aftermath — of The Wizard of Oz.

Myth #1: Judy Garland resented talking about ‘The Wizard of Oz’

Reality: Garland regularly told Oz stories, sometimes with great warmth and humor.

Fricke points to her early appearances on The Jack Paar Show, where she shared anecdotes “with great humor and great charm and great élan.” One example involved rumors that her co-stars tried to push her out of frame during the “Yellow Brick Road” dance. As Fricke recalls her saying: “We’d be walking down the Yellow Brick Road and they would close in… and I would be in back of them dancing. The three of them would shut me out. And [director] Victor Fleming would say, ‘Hold it, you three dirty hams. Let that little girl in there.’” Garland didn’t present these with bitterness; she told them as jokes

Myth #2: Garland was bitter towards her ‘Oz’ co-stars

Reality: She remained affectionate toward them for the rest of her life.

Fricke emphasizes that the oft-repeated idea that she resented Ray Bolger, Jack Haley or Bert Lahr is “misquoted” and based on later writers trying to inject conflict where it didn’t exist. On Paar, for example, she joked lightly about them, saying “They’re my friends now,” but it was delivered in a playful way.

Her interactions with them later in life underscored the warmth: she reunited with Bolger on her TV series The Judy Garland Show, and Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West) surprised her on The Merv Griffin Show. Garland’s response was immediate and affectionate: “You’re my favorite witch.” No tension or resentment, just camaraderie.

Myth #3: Garland disliked the song ‘Over the Rainbow’

Reality: She considered it essential — even on nights when singing was physically difficult.

Fricke recounts multiple performances demonstrating Garland’s determination to honor the song. In Chicago, her voice was strained, and she warned the audience: “I’m going to have to talk it.” She spoke much of the song—until the final eight bars. Then, Fricke says, “she hits them all, she sustains them and, boy, did she save it.”

She may have struggled, but she protected the song. Fricke also cites her 1969 appearance on The Mike Douglas Show, where she performed “Over the Rainbow” in a lower key due to the pianist’s error. She delivered it “beautifully,” and Fricke describes the performance as a message: “She’s telling people, ‘Yes, I’m going to make it over the rainbow. I will still get there.'”

Myth #4: Judy’s nose was altered to make her look less attractive

Reality: MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) did experiment with cosmetic putty on The Wizard of Oz, but it never made it on film and Garland joked about it herself.

During an appearance at London’s National Film Theatre, Garland recounted the studio’s early makeup tests: “They thought my nose dipped in too much, so they put putty on it. I looked like I could pick locks with that nose.” Obviously told tongue-in-cheek.

Myth #5: Garland was addicted to pills during the making of ‘Oz’

Reality: Her dependency on medications like barbiturates developed years later; it was not an Oz-era phenomenon.

Fricke is unequivocal: “She became dependent on uppers and downers in the ’40s, no question. But no, that had nothing to do with The Wizard of Oz.” Studio practices of the late 1930s were harsh and controlling, but the extreme dependency that shaped her later career developed later and not during the 1938–39 production.

Myth #6: The Munchkins actors were all badly behaved on set

Reality: A small number of the 124 little people caused problems, but MGM fired them. Garland exaggerated the story for laughs.

Garland famously joked on Jack Paar that the Munchkins “were drunks,” prompting decades of tabloid-style misinterpretation. Fricke clarifies, “It was all very good humored.”

Behind-the-scenes accounts back her up in a limited way: cast member Wallace Worsley recalled that some “came stumbling out of the car… they hadn’t been to bed.” But, as Fricke stresses, “It’s not all of the Munchkins.” Only a handful caused issues and those who became violent or disorderly were removed from the picture. He adds, “I knew 20 of the Munchkins personally,” and the majority were hardworking professionals unfairly smeared by later journalists.

Myth #7: Judy Garland died from alcoholism

Reality: The coroner explicitly stated there was no alcohol in her system and no cirrhosis.

This is one of the most persistent myths surrounding her death. Fricke recounts the British coroner’s findings, which he insisted be made public: “There is no question of alcoholism. There was no alcohol in her system. There were no signs of cirrhosis.”

Her death came from accidentally taking too many prescription sleeping pills — a dosage she was accustomed to, but deadly given her frail weight and lack of food intake.

Myth #8: Garland was an unreliable performer in her last decade

Reality: Even during periods of struggle, she could deliver astonishing performances.

Fricke witnessed Garland at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago when she struggled with voice issues throughout the evening. But when she needed power, “when she belted, it was all there.” Even when she had to “half talk, half sing,” she brought the audience with her—and would often end songs with unexpected strength. Her aforementioned 1969 Mike Douglas rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” in a drastically lowered key, was so strong that the musicians gave her a standing ovation.

Myth #9: Judy’s later audiences pitied her

Reality: She remained a beloved figure until the end — and her crowded funeral proved it.

Fricke recounts how, in the days following her death, initial news coverage leaned negative, but public reaction forced the narrative to change. As he notes: “There were 22,000 people who waited in line to see Judy Garland in state.”

Variety captured the sentiment: “This was not somebody pitied. This was somebody loved.” Her audience did not abandon her, they held onto her and have never let go.

Myth #10: It was downhill from Oz for Judy Garland’s career

Reality: Her later work—concerts, television, films—defined her as one of the greatest entertainers of the century.

Fricke cites a Copenhagen review from her final complete concert, in March 1969, where she sat on the stage floor and sang “Over the Rainbow” with disarming simplicity. The critic wrote, “It was as though she sang it for the first time… it was so lovely, the tears came to one’s eyes… she had a great triumph.”

Fricke used that same line — she had a great triumph — to close the obituary he wrote for her in The Baum Bugle. For him, it encapsulates Garland’s entire life: the resilience, the artistic brilliance and the emotional connection she maintained with audiences for more than three decades.