My obsession with Wizard of Oz, and by extension, Judy Garland, is well documented. I don't know exactly why I have this love of everything Wizard-related. I could probably give a dozen reasons, all of them truer than the last. I liked the movie because of the songs. I like exploring the history and trivia surrounding the movie. I like thinking about how long ago 1939 was.
I liked reading L.Frank Baum's thirteen sequels. I like the Wizard of Oz story and characters as a parable for life. I like the way the story is constantly re-interpreted and re-envisioned. I like Judy Garland's rags to riches story. I like Judy Garland's voice. I cheered for her life highs and felt pained at her (many) lows. I like that her original name was Frances Ethel Gumm. There's a good chance I'm partial to brunettes and throaty voices because of Judy. Who knows?
It's nice to have random obsessions. Without them, what would give your life meaning? Certainly not life itself right? Here's an awesome Wizard of Oz related story, "Who Stole the Ruby Slippers?"
"Throughout her famously up-and-down career, which ended Elvis-style in 1969 -- an accidental overdose of sleeping pills, rigor mortis in a London bathroom -- Garland was particularly admired by gay men. She was less guarded than most stars, and they were drawn to this brassy candor. After all, being unguarded wasn't an option for gay men in Garland's day; they could only long, like Dorothy, to live in Technicolor. They secretly referred to themselves as 'Friends of Dorothy,' and took solace in Garland's apparent sympathy -- not least, perhaps, because two of her five husbands turned out to be gay. 'If you're afraid to love, if you're afraid to feel emotion, you can't know Judy Garland,' one fan tells me.
-Who Stole the Ruby Slippers?-
