Frances ethel gumm biography of william hill

Judy Garland's life was marked with tragedy from beginning to end. Even before she traveled down the yellow brick road in The Wizard of Oz, she had to confront a difficult family life—including a driven stage mother—and a studio system that thought nothing of giving a young girl pills to lose weight and to keep her working long hours.

We look back at her turbulent youth and how it impacted her life as an adult, ultimately shaping her into an artist who would touch audiences for generations.

Her parents thought about terminating the pregnancy

When Ethel Milne Gumm learned she was pregnant in the fall of 1921, it wasn't happy news.

In fact, her husband, Frank Gumm, contacted his friend Marcus Rabwin, who was a medical student at the University of Minnesota, to ask for advice about terminating the pregnancy.

Abortion wasn't permitted at the time, and Rabwin informed Frank that an illegal procedure could put his wife at risk.

Rabwin also ur