This spirited, intelligent actress of stage and screen played variations of the squeaky-voiced 'dumb blonde' role in a number of breezy comedies of the 1940s and 50s. Under her own name, Judith Tuvim, she formed a comedy troupe called "The Revuers", with Betty Comden and Adolph Green. This led to bits in the films "Winged Victory" and "Greenwich Village" (both 1944) and "Something for the Boys" (1945). But it took two Broadway shows, "Kiss Them for Me" and, notably, as the intellectually ambitious moll in "Born Yesterday", to make the newly-renamed Judy Holliday a star.
She returned to films with a memorable supporting role in the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn comedy, "Adam's Rib" (1949), then vaulted to stardom the following year when she recreated her stage triumph of "Born Yesterday" in George Cukor's film adaptation. As the airheaded mistress of a shady and rather dull-witted tycoon who turns the tables on him once she's educated, Holliday won an Oscar as Best Actress of 1950 (beating out Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard" and Bette Davis and Anne Baxter in "All About Eve").
For the rest of the 50s, signed with Columbia, Holliday made a handful of films, delighting audiences as ditzy but surprisingly shrewd types in "The Marrying Kind" (1952), the delightful media satire "It Should Happen to You" and "Phfft!" (both 1953), "The Solid Gold Cadillac" and "Full of Life" (both 1956). Holliday's last film was recreating her stage role in the musical "Bells Are Ringing" (1960). She returned to the stage in the straight play "Laurette" (Taylor) and the musical "Hot Spot" (1952). A heavy smoker, Holliday died of throat cancer in 1965 at the age of 43.
Family
FATHER: Abraham Tuvim. Fundraiser. Divorced from Holliday's mother c. 1928.
MOTHER: Helen Tuvim. Music teacher. Divorced from Holliday's father c. 1928.
SON: Jonathan Oppenheim. Editor. Born on November 10, 1952; edited films like "Paris Is Burning", "Streetwise" and others.
Companion
HUSBAND: David Oppenheim. Musician, educator. Married on January 5, 1948; filed for divorce in 1957; divorced on March 1, 1958; for a number of years was the dean of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University; left in the early 1990s.
COMPANION: Sydney Chaplin. Actor, singer. Involved in 1956.
COMPANION: Gerry Mulligan. Jazz musician, composer. Involved in early 1960s.
Milestone
Raised by mother in NYC
1938: Rejected by Yale; went to work for Mercury Theater as a switchboard operator
1940: Co-founded, made stage acting debut with "The Revuers" cabaret group, featuring Adolph Green and Betty Comden, Al Hammer and John Frank
Performed in Greenwich Village nightclubs with the Revuers and appeared on the radio in a half-hour program on NBC called "Fun with the Revuers"
1944: The Revuers moved to L.A.
1944: Began in feature films with roles in "Greenwich Village", "Something for the Boys" and "Winged Victory"
1945: Broadway debut, "Kiss Them for Me", playing the first of her signature "dumb blonde" roles
1946: Breakthrough stage role replacing Jean Arthur as Billie Dawn in "Born Yesterday"
1949: Returned to films to play a supporting role in "Adam's Rib"
1950: First starring role in films, "Born Yesterday"; won Best Actress Oscar
1951: Starred in "Dream Girl" on Broadway
1952 - 1956: Signed with Columbia
1952: Called to testify before HUAC
1954: Co-starred with Jack Lemmon in "It Should Happen to You"
1956: Returned to Broadway as the lead in the musical "Bells Are Ringing"; won Tony Award
1956: Starred in "The Solid Gold Cadillac"
1960: Last film, recreating stage role in "Bells Are Ringing"
1962: Final Broadway show, "Hot Spot"
Bibliography
"Judy Holliday" Will Holtzman
"Judy Holliday: An Intimate Life Story" Gary Carey 1982
Discography
"Holliday With Mulligan" - Judy Holliday and Gerry Mulligan - AMG - 1980 - recorded in 1963
David
She Always Made Me Laugh.
She always entertained me with her witt, and her wonderful acting acting. I especialy loved her comedic talents. P.S. i ...
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charlotte
A outstanding movie
I would love to see more of Judy Holiday films.Just watching Born Yesterday for the first time Her skills was ...
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