In July of 1967, Judy Garland swept back onto the stage of New York’s Palace Theatre like a sequined boomerang. The “Wizard of Oz” star was older now, wearier, but still capable of igniting a sold-out crowd with one belt of “The Man That Got Away.” For 27 nights, the Palace was hers. Until the IRS allegedly showed up on closing night and asked for its cut.
Accounts confirm that revenue agents collected most of the night’s earnings, a dramatic conclusion to a financial struggle almost as compelling as her performances.
Tax Troubles Take Center Stage
Garland’s tax troubles didn’t start in the ‘60s; they stretched back to 1951 and 1952, years when she was supposed to be raking it in. They stemmed largely from mismanagement and alleged embezzlement by her agents and managers, leaving her with significant back tax debts to the IRS.
This financial strain forced her into smaller venues and led her to sell her belongings, contributing to the difficulties that plagued her final years. By the time her CBS television show “The Judy Garland Show” premiered in 1963, she was counting on that $24 million deal to wipe the slate clean.
It didn’t.
Poor management, suspect accounting, and a talent for trusting the wrong people meant that even as the ratings dipped, Garland’s liabilities continued to climb. Her managers were changed more frequently than her costumes, and each promised to get her out of the red. None succeeded.
The Lien Scene
Eventually, the IRS stopped waiting for a payment plan and started filing liens as if it were their full-time job. They went after Garland’s recording income, her residuals and, most painfully, her home in the star-studded neighborhood of Brentwood, California. It was sold under pressure and at a significant discount to its value.
She kept performing because she had to. And everywhere she went, the taxman trailed like a very grumpy fan club. According to biographers, her creditors were more familiar with her tour schedule than her publicist.
A Comeback, Then a Collection
By all accounts, the 1967 Palace Theatre run was a comeback in capital letters. The reviews were glowing. The crowds were rabid. But even that couldn’t buy Garland a reprieve: The feds allegedly seized the closing night earnings.
It’s a deeply Judy moment, really: climbing back onstage, giving everything you have, and then watching your paycheck walk off with someone in a polyester suit.
A Final Curtain Call
Garland died just two years later, in 1969, at the age of 47. Her death, ruled an accidental overdose, came after years of bouncing between hotels, living out of suitcases, and watching her legacy being pawned off to pay for what applause never could.
Friends and family helped settle the debts she left behind, auctioning off mementos of a life that burned bright and fast. Ultimately, even in her absence, the echoes of her financial struggles persisted, a stark reminder of the often-unseen costs of fame.
