'Wizard of Oz' star Judy Garland fought crippling drug addiction with private investigator's help, book claims
The story of ex-Marine turned LAPD vice cop Fred Otash is being told in a new biography, 'The Fixer: Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars and Marilyn'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fred Otash was determined to get Judy Garland to the other side of the rainbow.
The claim was made in a new biography about Tinseltown’s most notorious private detective, "The Fixer: Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars and Marilyn." It delves into shocking revelations from his never-before-seen investigative files.
For the book, co-author Manfred Westphal was given access to Otash’s archives with the blessing of his daughter, Colleen. Westphal, who first met Colleen at Otash’s funeral, developed a close friendship with her over the years.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authors Josh Young and Manfred Westphal have written a new book on late private investigator Fred Otash titled "The Fixer." (Grand Central Publishing)
Otash, a World War II Marine veteran, died in 1992 at age 70.
Westphal alleged to Fox News Digital that Otash helped the "Wizard of Oz" star briefly get sober.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When Judy Garland filed for divorce from her third husband, Sid Luft, she was afraid to be in her home alone," Westphal explained. "She feared that Sid might kidnap the children. So her attorney, Jerry Giesler, hired Otash to serve as her bodyguard."
Judy Garland with her husband Sidney Luft, circa 1957. (Edward Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)
"He turned out to be her fixer," Westphal added.
Life for Garland wasn’t always marked by drama. In 1935, the performer known as Frances Ethel Gumm caught the eye of MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer. The 13-year-old signed a long-term contract and earned a Depression-defying salary of $100 a week, or $2,200 today.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Judy Garland is seen here in 1945. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
But 15 years after she was discovered by Hollywood, Garland was spat out by the star factory. As a child, she was put on extreme diets to please studio executives who would heavily scrutinize her weight. She worked excruciatingly long hours on set, using stimulants, or "pep pills," to keep her performing when needed. A domineering stage mother ensured those pills were taken. And as an adult, Garland was unlucky in love.
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Judy Garland dressed as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz," circa 1939. (MGM Studios/MGM Studios/Getty Images)
Mayer, whom she considered a father figure, eventually severed ties with Garland. The actress, who was a drug addict and alcoholic before turning 30, suffered a nervous breakdown, was admitted to a private sanitorium, attempted suicide and underwent electroconvulsive therapy to battle depression, the book claimed. One of Hollywood’s most bankable stars was kicked to the curb.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Judy Garland filed for divorce less than four years after she married Sid Luft, alleging mental cruelty. (Getty Images)
In 1952, Garland married Luft, but the third time wasn’t the charm when it came to her marriages. Less than four years later, she filed for divorce, alleging mental cruelty. Giesler felt Otash would be a trusted keeper for his troubled client.
At first, Otash was wary of being a babysitter to a fallen movie star. But Garland would be paying $500 a day, or $6,300 today. To him, it sounded like "easy money," the book claimed.
Judy Garland was having marital troubles with Sid Luft when Fred Otash was hired to help her. (Getty Images)
And Otash was no rookie.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the authors, Otash was the son of Lebanese rug merchants whose life was marked by tragedy.
He lost his father and only brother during the Great Depression, prompting him to drop out of high school at age 16 to join the Civil Conservation Corps to support his mother and sisters. He went on to volunteer for the Marine Corps and, at the outset of World War II, fought in the South Pacific.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fred Otash was allegedly hired by Judy Garland's attorney to look after her. (© the Otash/Houck Archives)
Otash landed in Los Angeles in 1945, where he signed up for the LAPD. There, he made a name for himself as a renegade cop before launching his own detective bureau in 1955, which, thanks to his access to emerging technology, eclipsed his contemporaries. He served as a freelancer for the L.A. tabloid Confidential.
Westphal said that a lonely Garland "demanded" that Otash move in with her.
"Fred Otash moved in," Westphal explained. "And when he did, he soon discovered her addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. So, he took charge of the situation. Much to Judy’s chagrin, he locked up all the booze in her garage and flushed all her pills down the toilet. She struggled with withdrawal."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}For many a sleepless night, Judy Garland kept Fred Otash awake as she struggled with withdrawal. (Keystone/Getty Images)
"She had many, many sleepless nights," Westphal continued. "She pretty much demanded or forced Fred to stay up every night with her into the wee hours of the morning. They would just sit in her living room, and he would patiently listen to her talk about all the trials and tribulations that she went through in her life. He knew that it would be good for her to get it all out."
According to the book, Otash described Garland as "a crazy mixed-up kid inside a woman’s body, scared to death of living while killing herself with self-doubt, booze and those sh---y little pills." As Garland was heavily sedated, the book alleged that Otash was thankful a nanny watched over her three young children: Liza Minnelli, 12; Lorna Luft, 5; and Joey Luft, 3.
The book claimed that Otash found pills scattered all over Garland’s home, including uppers, downers and "some pills he didn’t recognize."
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According to "The Fixer," Fred Otash helped Judy Garland get sober briefly. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
But the late-night rituals paid off, Westphal claimed.
"It truly was beneficial," he said. "When that 30-day period was over, she was clean. And his work helped reconcile her marriage to Sid Luft. And they became good friends throughout the process. Fred had a great affection for her. He had even become quite attached to her children."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the book, Otash later recalled: "One day, a terribly shy Liza, caught in that awkward stage between a little girl and a young lady, came out to the back of the house where I was washing my car, and she thanked me for helping her mother."
Judy Garland is seen with Sid Luft and her three children: Liza, Lorna and Joe. (Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images)
Garland’s victory was brief. The book noted that her marriage to Luft, the longest of her life, came to an end in 1965 when she filed for divorce for the last time. Garland was awarded full custody of her children.
Judy Garland, once Hollywood royalty, suffered a tragic public downfall. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Her life further spiraled. After her marriage to husband No. 4 ended in 1969, Garland found herself owing the Internal Revenue Service several million dollars after her agent embezzled most of her earnings. As she struggled with a crippling addiction to barbiturates and amphetamines, the one-time Hollywood royal was described as being "homeless," crashing at friends' houses as she hung on.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Judy Garland poses with her new fifth husband-to-be Mickey Deans at home on the morning of their wedding at Chelsea Register Office in London on March 15, 1969. (R. Powell/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
That same year, she married her fifth and final husband, nightclub manager Mickey Deans. Garland traveled to London for a five-week concert series, which was meant to be a triumphant comeback, but the star later died from a barbiturate overdose. She was 47.
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Judy Garland died from a barbiturate overdose. (Getty Images)
The book described how Otash remembered Garland "with great melancholy."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"But for a while at least, Judy… poor Judy, looked like the kid who went over the rainbow," he later said.