Judy Garland wasn't the first choice to play Dorothy. Who was?

While Garland was the producers' favorite, MGM head Louis B. Mayer had his heart set on the #1 child star of the day: Shirley Temple. When she passed, the studio asked Deanna Durbin, who'd recently co-starred with Garland in Three Smart Girls (1936), but she passed too due to scheduling conflicts. Only then did they get down to Judy Garland's name on the list.

Asked by Susanna Henke · Last updated 5 years ago · 470.9K views · SOURCE