Garland's death from an accidental barbiturate overdose stunned fans worldwide; tens of thousands lined the streets of New York for her funeral. Her passing, coming just days before the Stonewall riots erupted in Greenwich Village, later took on symbolic resonance in LGBTQ history, with 'Friend of Dorothy' becoming coded slang partly rooted in her legacy as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
Judy Garland's life had long been a study in the gap between manufactured stardom and private suffering. Discovered as a teenager by MGM and pushed through a punishing studio system that fed her amphetamines to keep her thin and energetic for filming, she carried both immense talent and deep vulnerability into adulthood, evident in the tremor of her later performances.
She was found dead in the bathroom of her rented home in Chelsea, London, on June 22. The cause was ruled an accidental overdose of barbiturates after years of dependency.
Her death arrived just days before patrons at the Stonewall Inn, many of whom revered Garland as a queer icon for her association with resilience, camp glamour, and the yearning ballad 'Over the Rainbow,' rose up against a police raid on June 28. Some historians have speculated, without firm evidence, that grief over Garland's death contributed to the emotional charge of that night, cementing her posthumous place in LGBTQ cultural memory.
Key people: Judy Garland