Fred Otash was determined to take Judy Garland to the other side of the rainbow.
That’s the claim made in a new biography about Tinseltown’s most notorious private detective. “The Fixer: Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars and Marilyn.” It contains startling revelations from his never-before-seen investigation files.
Manfred Westphal, the book’s co-author, 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.
Authors Josh Young and Manfred Westphal have written a new book called “The Fixer” about the late private investigator Fred Otash. (Grand Central Publishing)
Otash, a Marine and World War II veteran, died in 1992 at age 70.
Westphal alleged to Fox News Digital that Otash helped “Wizard of Oz” Star In short, calm down.
“When Judy Garland filed for divorce from her third husband, Sid Luft, she was afraid to be alone in her own home,” Westphall explained. “She feared Sid might kidnap the children. So her lawyer, Jerry Geisler, hired Otash to be her bodyguard.”
Judy Garland with her husband, Sidney Luft, circa 1957. (Edward Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)
“He turned out to be her fixer,” Westphal said.
Life wasn’t always dramatic for Garland. In 1935, the performer then known as Frances Ethel Gumm caught the attention of MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer. The 13-year-old signed a long-term contract and earned a salary of $100 a week, or $2,200 in today’s money.
Judy Garland is seen here in 1945. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
But 15 years after being discovered by Hollywood, Garland was kicked out by the star factory. As a child, she was put on extreme diets to please studio executives who scrutinized her weight very closely. She worked very long hours on set, using stimulants or “pep pills” when necessary to keep her performing. An overbearing stage mother made sure those pills were taken. And as an adult, Garland was unlucky in love.
Click here to sign up for the Entertainment newsletter
Judy Garland dressed as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939. (MGM Studios/MGM Studios/Getty Images)
Mayer, whom she considered a father figure, eventually broke off relations with Garland. The actress, who had been addicted to drugs and alcohol before she was 30, suffered a nervous breakdown, was admitted to a private sanitarium, attempted suicide, and underwent electroconvulsive therapy to combat depression, The book claimedOne of Hollywood’s most bankable stars was pushed to the sidelines.
Judy Garland filed for divorce from Sid Luft after less than four years of marriage, alleging mental cruelty. (Getty Images)
Garland married Luft in 1952, but their third marriage was not as rosy. Less than four years later, she filed for divorce, alleging mental cruelty. Geisler felt Otash would prove a reliable companion for his troubled client.
At first, Otash was horrified to become a babysitter for a declining movie star. But Garland would pay $500 a day, or $6,300 in today’s money. She thought it was “easy money,” the book claims.
When Judy Garland was having marital troubles with Sid Luft, Fred Otash was hired to help her. (Getty Images)
And Otash was no newbie.
According to the authors, Otash was the son of a Lebanese rug merchant whose life was filled with tragedy.
He lost his father and only brother during the Great Depression, which led him to drop out of high school at age 16 and join the Civil Conservation Corps to help support his mother and sisters. He went on to volunteer for the Marine Corps and fought in the South Pacific at the start of World War II.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Fred Otash was reportedly appointed by Judy Garland’s attorney to look after her. (© Otash/Hawk Archives)
Otash landed Los Angeles (In 1945 he signed on with the LAPD. There he made a name for himself as an insurgent police officer who outpaced his contemporaries because of his access to emerging technology before starting his own detective bureau in 1955.) He worked as a freelancer for the LA tabloid Confidential.
Westphal said the lonely Garland “demanded” that Otash come to live with her.
“Fred Otash moved in with her,” Westphal said. “And when he came, he quickly discovered that she was addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs. So, he took the situation into his own hands. Judy was so upset, she locked all the alcohol in her garage and flushed all of her pills down the toilet. She was struggling with addiction.”
Judy Garland kept Fred Otash up many nights as she struggled with drug addiction. (Keystone/Getty Images)
“She spent many nights without sleep,” Westphal added. “She would demand or force Fred to stay with her every night until the early hours of the morning. They would just sit in her living room, and he would patiently listen to her talk about all the troubles and tribulations she had gone through in her life. He knew it would be good for her to tell him everything.”
According to the book, Otash describes Garland as “a crazy, confused child living inside a woman’s body, afraid to live while killing herself with self-doubt, alcohol, and those nasty little pills.” Since Garland was sedated a lot, the book alleges that Otash was grateful to have a nanny look after her three younger children: Liza Minnelli, 12; Lorna Luft, 5; and Joey Luft, 3.
The book claims that Otash found bullets scattered everywhere in Garland’s home, including upper bullets, lower bullets, and “some bullets he couldn’t identify.”
What do you like to read? Click here for more entertainment news
According to “The Fixer,” Fred Otash helped Judy Garland stay sober for a while. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
But Westphal claimed the late-night rituals were a success.
“It was really beneficial,” he said. “When the 30-day period was over, she was clean. And her work helped her rebuild her marriage to Sid Luft. And they became good friends throughout the process. Fred was very fond of her. He became very attached to her children as well.”
According to the book, Otash later recounted: “One day, a very shy Liza, who was caught in an awkward position between a little girl and a young woman, came to the back of the house where I was washing my car, and thanked me for helping her mother.”
Judy Garland is seen with Sid Luft and their three children: Liza, Lorna and Joe. (Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images)
Garland’s victory was brief. The book states that she got married to LuftGarland’s longest relationship of her life ended in 1965 when she filed for divorce for the last time. Garland was granted full custody of her children.
Judy Garland, once Hollywood royalty, suffered a tragically public downfall. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
There were other ups and downs in her life. After her marriage to husband No. 4 broke down in 1969, Garland owed the Internal Revenue Service several million dollars after discovering her agent had embezzled most of her earnings. As she struggled with addiction to barbiturates and amphetamines, the one-time Hollywood royal was described as “homeless,” spending much of her life visiting friends’ homes.
Judy Garland poses with her future fifth husband Mickey Deans 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 went to London for a five-week concert series intended to be a triumphant comeback, but the star later died of a barbiturate overdose. She was 47.
Wiretap by private investigator confirms relationship between Marilyn Monroe and JFK, book claims
Judy Garland died of a barbiturate overdose. (Getty Images)
The book reports that Otash remembered Garland “with great sadness”.
“But for a while at least, Judy … poor Judy, looked like the kid who went over the rainbow,” he said later.
