JUDY GARLAND - DOCUMENT SIGNED 01/26/1961 CO-SIGNED BY: MRS. J. DAVID NICHOLS - HFSID 160704

JUDY GARLAND and MRS. J. DAVID NICHOLS
Judy Garland and Mrs. J. David Nichols sign a document agreeing that Judy Garland will perform at the Houston City Auditorium, on February 23, 1961.
Typed Document Signed: "Mrs. J. David Nichols" under "Agreed to and accepted" and "Judy Garland" for Kingsrow Enterprises, Inc., 1p, 8½x11. No place, but likely New York City, 1961 January 26. Garland contracts for a performance at the Houston City Auditorium on February 23, 1961. Begins: "Agreement made this date between J. DAVID NICHOLS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, Fidelity Union Life Building, Dallas, Texas, hereinafter called Sponsor, and KINGSROW ENTERPRISES, INC., c/o Freddie Fields Associates, Ltd., 410 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y., hereinafter called Artist." In part: "Sponsor hereby warrants that he is the operator herein at the present time and for the duration of this contract, and engages Artist, and Artist hereby accepts said agreement, to present her act for a single performance at the Houston City Auditorium, Houston, Texas, on February 23rd, 1961, for which Sponsor agrees to pay Artist, and which Artist agrees to accept a full payment, the sum of Nine Thousand, Five Hundred Dollars ($9,500.00)...." Lightly creased. Two file holes at upper blank edge. Staple holes at upper left blank corners. Fine condition. Accompanied by, 1p, 8½x11, listing equipment needed for the performance. The sheet lists a piano tuned to 440 pitch with pianist, five saxophones, three trumpets, three trombones, an electric guitar, a bass, six violins, two violas, two cellos, one drum and one percussion for a total of 27 instruments. Lightly creased. Two file holes at upper blank edge. Staple holes at upper left blank corners. Fine condition. This show was part of a 31-city tour in 1961, beginning in Miami in January and ending in Washington, D.C. in December. Judy Garland (1922-1969) sang on stage with her sisters in the late 1920s and appeared on records and films from 1936, but her breakthrough to superstardom came with her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939), singing her signature song, "Over the Rainbow". A competent actress and superbly gifted singer, Garland won an Oscar (with 2 more nominations), three Grammys (plus 6 of her recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame), a Tony, and at least three Emmy nominations during her legendary career. By the late 1940s, her film career was suffering as a result of personal problems, including struggles with alcohol and the barbiturates that finally killed her, but she made a dazzling comeback in concert tours of the 1960s, especially Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961). Garland is the mother of actress Liza Minnelli and screenwriter/producer Lorna Luft. Two items.