Q: "Where was Judy Holliday born?"

A: Same place she died...New York, New York.


Q: "When was Judy born?"

A: June 21, 1921. The year 1922 (or sometimes 1923) is commonly published as her birthdate, but that was a false date that Judy manufactured. Her tombstone (see below) and her birth certificate that is on file at the New York Department of Health support 1921.


Q: "What nationality was Judy?"

A: She was of Russian-Jewish descent.


Q: "Was Holliday her real last name?"

A: No, she was born Judith Tuvim.


Q: Is there any significance to the name Holliday?

A: The name "Tuvim" is derived from the Hebrew word "tovim" which means "good", and the phrase "Yom tovim" loosely translates into "holiday". That's why Judy choose that for her stage name. It was decided that she should spell her name with two L's to help avoid any confusion with the legendary singer (and one of Judy's favorites) Billie Holiday.


Q: "Was Judy a lesbian?"

A: As far as I know, she had only one sexual relationship with a woman, and that occured when she was very young. It appears that as she matured, she was exclusively attracted to men.


Q: "Were Judy and baseball star Jimmie Foxx lovers?"

A: In an article entitled "Beauty and the Beast", excerpts of "love letters" written between the two did appear in the "Philadelphia Weekly" in July of 1996. However, in January of 1997 the Editor of the "Philadelphia Weekly", Tim Whitaker, admitted that the story was a complete hoax.


Q: "Was Judy married to jazz musician Gerry Mulligan?"

A: No. They had a terrific relationship that lasted up to the time of her death, but they never married. Judy was married to a musician at one time though, a clarinetist named David Oppenheim. The marriage lasted for 9 years.


Q: "Did Judy ever have children?"

A: Yes, she had a son named Jonathan with husband, David.


Q: "Was she really a "genius" or was that a fabrication of some studio publicity department?"

A: No fabrication needed! She was in fact tested and found to have an I.Q. measurement of 172. That would be your "genius" level.


Q: "Was Judy a Communist?"

A: I'll let Judy answer that one. Here is the prepared statement she gave when called before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee on March 26, 1952. She also made other statements about this subject which can be found in the "FBI Files" section of this site.


Q: "What major awards did she win?"

A: She won a Oscar, a Tony, and a Golden Globe. She also won several other awards. You can find information on those in the "Chronology" section.


Q: "Are there any filmed recordings of Judy's theatre performances?"

A: I do not know of any off-hand, but given the fact that just between "Born Yesterday" and "Bells Are Ringing", she gave about 2,500 performances...someone had to capture at least one on film. If any do exist, I would love to see them.


Q: "Did Judy ever appear on television?"

A: Yes, but not a lot. Because of the practice of "blacklisting", she was denied of many opportunities. She never had her own series, but did make guest appearances, usually on variety shows. You can track down VHS copies of these at various sites on the internet that specialize in vintage television shows.


Q: "What was the cause of Judy's death?"

A: At the time of her death, the cause was reported to be throat cancer because the real cause, breast cancer, was not considered a "socially acceptable" cause of death.


Q: "Where is Judy buried?"

A: Her body is buried at the Westchester Hills Cemetery in New York. The Find-A-Grave internet site has posted 2 pictures of her grave site. Note that the birth date on her tombstone says "1921". Judy Holliday's Grave



Q: "Does Judy have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?"

A: Yes she does. And here it is. Her "neighbors" include: Wayne Newton, Julie Andrews, Greta Garbo, Buster Crabbe, John Travolta, and Olivia Newton-John.



Q: "Since Judy could not attend the Oscar ceremony in person, who accepted the award for her?"

A: Ethel Barrymore.



Q: "Did Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe ever meet?"

A: Yes they did. You can read about one of those meetings in the "Articles" section of this site. It also contains a photo of them together.



Q: "Didn't Judy live in the building where John Lennon was murdered?"

A: Yes, she was a resident of the famed "Dakota" apartments in New York city for many years. Many celebrities have called the Dakota home including Lauren Bacall, Boris Karloff, Leonard Bernstein, Judy Garland and Jose Ferrer.



Q: "Was Judy connected with a project called "The Family Way" and what was it?"

A: "The Family Way" was the original title of her last film for Columbia Pictures. It was released in 1956 as "Full Of Life".



Q: "Did Judy do any product endorsements?"

A: She appeared in print ads for Lux Soap and Purolator Oil Filters among others. As far as I know, she only made one TV commercial, that was for Rheingold beer in 1958.



Q: "Do you know where I can find an original set of Judy Holliday paper dolls?"

A: I would say that your best chance of finding them would be at one of the on-line auctions such as eBay. Because they are such a collector's item, be prepared to pay a lot for them.



Q: "Whatever became of Judy's son, Jonathan?"

A: He is a film editor based in New York. His credits include the following documentaries: "Paris Is Burning", "Streetwise", "Lives In Hazard", "A Matter of Trust: Billy Joel in the USSR", "Arguing the World", "Hookers, Hustlers, Pimps and Their Johns" and "Paving the Way". He was also an Assistant Editor on the Dudley Moore film "Arthur". Here is an essay he wrote about what it was like to work on "Arguing the World".




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