What follows is a chronology of Judy Holliday's life and career. It is a timeline of important dates and events that I have pieced together from a variety of sources. This chronology is exclusive to this web site. It cannot be found in any Judy Holliday biography or magazine.
If an exact date is not known, a rough estimate of that event's time period is given, or the word "unknown" has been temporarily substituted. While this is a very comprehensive work, it is far from complete. Over time, I will attempt to fill in as many of the gaps as possible and expound more on the already existing entries.
Consider this a constant "work in progress". Dates that appear in RED are the most recent entries.
1921
JUNE 21: Judith Tuvim is born in New York City, New York to parents Abe and Helen who reside in the Sunnyside community of the Queens area.
1926
FALL: Judy starts attending school at P.S. 125 in Sunnyside.
1927
UNKNOWN: Judy's mother and father separate.
1929
DECEMBER: At the age of eight, Judy writes and stars in a school play called "Tuckers' Christmas".
1933
SUMMER: At the age of 12, Judy wins a citywide essay competition sponsored by the State Chamber of Commerce. As a result, Judy's picture appears in all the New York daily newspapers.
1938
JUNE: Judy graduates from Julia Richman High School and applies to Yale's drama school. Her application is denied because she does not meet their minimum age requirement.
JUNE: Judy takes a position as switchboard operator for The Mercury Theatre.
AUGUST: Judy meets Adolph Green while vacationing with her mother.
FALL: Judy makes her professional debut in a nightclub act at The Village Vanguard. Her partners include Adolph Green, Betty Comden, John Frank, and Alvin Hammer. The group would come to be known as "The Revuers".
1940
MARCH: The Revuers are given their own half-hour radio program on NBC's "blue network". The weekly show, called "Fun With The Revuers", runs for 16 weeks.
OCTOBER: The Revuers begin an extended engagement at New York's Radio City Music Hall. They performed a short revue entitled "The Magazine Rack" between the Rockettes and the feature film. The run lasts 10 weeks.
1942
MARCH 3: The Revuers open in a play called "My Dear Public". The play begins "tryout" performances in New Haven, CT, moves to Boston, MA and closes a few weeks later in Philadelphia, PA.
1943
SUMMER: John Frank leaves The Revuers due to health problems. He dies in 1946 from Leukemia.
DECEMBER: The Revuers perform on CBS's Christmas Program. The 2 hour radio broadcast also features Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Lena Horne and Carmen Miranda.
1944
UNKNOWN: Judy and the other 3 remaining members of The Revuers move to Hollywood, CA and sign separate movie contracts with 20th Century Fox. They are cast in the film "Greenwich Village", but most of their material is deleted from the final print.
UNKNOWN: After almost 6 years together, The Revuers break up. Judy remains in Hollywood to finish out her 3 picture contract for Fox. She is given a studio makeover and adopts the stage name "Judy Holliday".
UNKNOWN: Judy plays a minor role in the film "Something For The Boys" and a supporting role in "Winged Victory", before leaving Hollywood and returning to New York.
1945
MARCH 21: Judy makes her Broadway debut in a supporting role in the play "Kiss Them For Me". The play opens at the Belasco Theater.
JUNE 23: "Kiss Them For Me" closes after 111 performances.
FALL: Judy wins the Clarence Derwent award for Best Supporting Player of the 1944-45 season.
1946
JANUARY: Three days before the play "Born Yesterday" is scheduled to open in Philadelphia, Judy permanently replaces Jean Arthur in the lead role of "Billie Dawn".
FEBRUARY 4: "Born Yesterday" moves to New York and opens on Broadway at the Belasco Theater. The supporting cast includes Paul Douglas and Gary Merrill.
MAY: Judy appears on the cover of "Stage Pictorial" Magazine.
DECEMBER 30: Judy is picked by Mademoiselle magazine as one of their "10 Young Women of the Year".
1948
JANUARY 4: Judy marries David Oppenheim, a clarinetist with the New York Symphony.
MARCH 14: Judy, Eddie Albert and Paul Douglas perform the radio play "She Loves Me Not" on ABC's "Theater Guild On The Air". Click here to view the original
contract, signed by Judy, for this performance. Since the contract is over 50 years old, the print from the typewritter
has faded a little and doesn't scan well. If you want to read what the contract says click here for a text version.
DECEMBER: Judy appears in the Christmas issue of "Glamour" magazine as part of a pictorial entitled "The Dress I've Had The Most Fun In". Judy is wearing a gown from the stage version of "Born Yesterday". The other celebrities who took part in the pictorial are Deborah Kerr, Dinah Shore and Gypsy Rose Lee.
1949
MAY 24: After 3 years, Judy gives her final Broadway performance as "Billie Dawn". She leaves the play "Born Yesterday" to make the film "Adam's Rib".
DECEMBER: MGM releases the film "Adam's Rib" with Judy in the supporting role of "Doris Attinger". Other cast members include Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Tom Ewell and David Wayne.
1950
JANUARY: Judy wins a New York Critics Circle award for her work in the film "Adam's Rib".
JANUARY 11: Judy signs a 7 picture film contract with Columbia Pictures. The terms of the contract are: 1 picture a year for 7 years. $30,000 for the first film and a salary increase of $10,000 each year.
JUNE: The anti-Communist book "Red Channels" is published. It lists 151 names of people in the entertainment field who allegedly have ties to the Communist party or it's "front" organizations. Amongst the many names listed is the name Judy Holliday.
JUNE 14: The FBI launches a secret investigation into the activities of Judy Holliday to determine if she is a Communist.
AUGUST 11: Judy finishes shooting her first film for Columbia, "Born Yesterday". She returns home to New York on the 24th.
AUGUST 15: A report filed with the FBI officially links Judy to certain Communist "front" organizations.
SEPTEMBER 8: Another FBI report was filed on the subject of Judy Holliday. It states that their most recent investigation "revealed no positive evidence of membership in the Communist Party." The investigation is concluded.
DECEMBER: Judy appears as "Billie Dawn" on the cover of "International Photographer" magazine.
DECEMBER 26: Columbia releases the film version of "Born Yesterday" with Judy starring as "Billie Dawn". The supporting cast includes William Holden and Broderick Crawford.
UNKNOWN: Game show producer Mark Goodson attempts to book Judy on his new show "What's My Line?", but CBS forbids him to use her because her name appears in the "Red Channels" report.
1951
JANUARY: Judy wins a Golden Globe award as the "Best Motion Picture Actress In A Musical Or Comedy" for "Born Yesterday".
JANUARY 21: Judy makes her first guest appearance on the NBC radio program "The Big Show", hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. Other guests include: Fred Allen, Portland Hoffa, Eddie Cantor, Vaughn Monroe, Gypsy Rose Lee and Patrice Munsel.
FEBRUARY 4: Judy makes her 2nd guest appearance on the NBC radio program "The Big Show", hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. Other guests include: Robert Cummings, Leo Durocher, Laraine Day, Frankie Laine, Fred Allen, Jimmy Durante, Portland Hoffa and Jane Pickens.
FEBRUARY 19: Judy appears on the cover of "Quick" magazine. Inside is a story about Judy's career up through "Born Yesterday".
FEBRUARY 25: Judy makes her 3rd guest appearance on the NBC radio program "The Big Show", hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. Other guests include: Jack Haley, Uta Hagen, Monty Wooley, Robert Merrill and Paul Kelly.
MARCH 25: Judy makes her 4th guest appearance on the NBC radio program "The Big Show", hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. Other guests include: Don Cornell, Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer, Carmen Miranda, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Jackson and Jackie Miles .
MARCH 29: Judy wins the Best Actress Academy Award for her role as "Billie Dawn" in "Born Yesterday". Unable to attend the ceremonies in California, She listens to them via a live radio hook up in New York City.
APRIL: Judy appears on the cover of "New Liberty" Magazine.
APRIL: Judy is dropped from a scheduled appearance on the Bob Hope show due to pressure from it's sponsor, Chesterfield cigarettes. NBC also drops plans to cast Judy in her own weekly television series, citing the "Red Channels" report.
APRIL 13: Judy appears on a special radio broadcast called "The Cancer Show". Other performers include: Jimmy Durante, Joan Crawford, Eddie Jackson, Garry Moore and Mindy Carson.
APRIL 22: Judy makes her 5th guest appearance on the NBC radio program "The Big Show", hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. Other guests include: Fred Allen, Joan Davis, Portland Hoffa, Dennis King, Lisa Kirk, Fran Warren and Herb Shriner.
MAY 9: "Dream Girl" premieres at New York's City Center. Judy co-stars with Don De Fore in this limited-run play.
Judy signs a sworn statement saying she is anti-Communist and explaining her connection with Communist fronts.
AUGUST: Judy begins filming her first post-Oscar movie called "The Marrying Kind". It's her second film for Columbia.
NOVEMBER 4: Judy makes her 6th and final guest appearance on the NBC radio program "The Big Show", hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. Other guests include: Groucho Marx, Joan Davis, George Sanders and Evelyn Knight.
NOVEMBER: Judy wraps up shooting on the film "The Marrying Kind".
Go to the years 1952-1965
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