Judy Garland, a renowned movie star who transitioned from a vaudeville performer to a celebrated adult actor on both stage and screen, left a lasting legacy despite her untimely death at the age of 47 in 1969.

While her career was illustrious, it is disheartening to discover that her reliance on drugs began when she was just a child.

During an era devoid of protective laws and union regulations for child performers, Judy Garland and other actors of her time, including the Wizard of Oz star, were administered stimulant pills to enable them to work tirelessly for extended hours without respite.

Garland once disclosed that she was given pills to sustain her through “72 hours in a row” of work, shedding light on the distressing reality she confronted as a young artist, which profoundly influenced her later life.

The use of pills commenced in Garland’s early years, before she even reached the age of 10.

According to sources such as the biography “Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland,” her mother, Ethel Marion Milne, initially provided her with pills to keep her awake and aid her sleep, all before she hit double digits.

This practice occurred prior to Garland’s contract with MGM when she was still performing alongside her elder sisters in vaudeville acts.

Upon signing with MGM at the age of 13, Garland starred in numerous films as a teenager alongside co-star Mickey Rooney, such as “Love Finds Andy Hardy,” “Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry,” and “Babes in Arms.”

She herself confirmed that both she and Rooney were supplied with pills during filming to sustain their demanding schedules.

In addition to being administered pills, Garland was subjected to stringent diets to maintain a slender figure during her teenage years as a star.

Reports suggest that she endured periods where her diet consisted solely of chicken soup, coffee, cigarettes, and appetite-suppressing pills.

Despite Garland’s assertions that she received pills under the directives of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer, her colleague Rooney presented a conflicting narrative, denying any involvement of the studio in providing drugs to Garland.

Regardless of the origins of the pills, Garland battled addiction throughout her life, ultimately succumbing to its grasp.

In her later years, she acknowledged the toll that prescription pills took on her nervous system, highlighting the detrimental effects they had despite being doctor-prescribed.