Mary Jane Gumm

Mary Jane Gumm was born on September 24, 1915 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She had two younger sisters - Virginia and Frances. Their parents, Frank and Ethel Gumm, owned a local theater. Frank was gay and the couple had an unhappy marriage.

Virginia, her second sister, had a daughter, Judy Gail "Judaline," with her husband, musician Bobby Sherwood. The name "Judaline" means "little Judy" in Jewish and was originally given to Virginia's youngest sister Francis Ethel (Judy Garland), the endearing nickname given to Judy (Francis Ethel Gumm) Garland by one of her directors when "Baby Francis" was a child vaudeville performer. The name "Judaline" was subsequently used by the family to differentiate between "BIG - Judy" and "LITTLE - Judaline." Judaline Gail loved the name so much she had it made legal when she grew up. Judy Gail was born in May 1938, and was named after her aunt, actress Judy Garland. After Virginia's divorce from Bobby Sherwood, she was married to Johnny Thompson. Virginia Susanne Gumm was born on July 4, 1917 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, as Dorothy Virginia Gumm. She was an actress, known for "La Fiesta de Santa Barbara" (1935), "The Wedding of Jack and Jill" (1930) and "The Harvey Girls" (1946). She died on May 27, 1977 in Dallas, Texas.

In 1926 they were forced to move to Lancaster, California after Frank was accused of hitting on several boys. The three talented sisters formed a singing group called The Gumm Sisters. They toured the country and became a very popular vaudeville act.

Moved from her home in Grand Rapids, Minnesota to a desert community called Lancaster in 1927 at the age of 12 before leaving with her mother and sisters for Down Town Los Angeles in 1933 at the age of 18.

The Gumm Sisters made their film debut in the 1929 short The Big Revue. They also appeared in the shorts Bubbles and The Wedding Of Jack And Jill. Eventually the group changed their name to The Garland Sisters.

Mary Jane changed her name to Suzanne and married orchestra leader Lee Kahn in August of 1935. Just a few months later her father died suddenly from a heart attack. Meanwhile her baby sister, now known as Judy Garland, was signed by MGM and quickly became a star. Suzanne occasionally performed with Lee's orchestra in Lake Tahoe. After getting some bad reviews she decided to quit singing.

She had bit parts in Broadway Melody of 1940 and Babes On Broadway.

Suzanne divorced Lee and married musician Jack Cathcart in 1941. She got a job in the mail room at MGM while Jack worked as Judy's musical conductor. The couple later moved to Las Vegas. Unfortunately she developed a serious drinking problem and became estranged from her famous sister.

She was heartbroken when Jack divorced her for another woman in 1963. That same year she was hospitalized after overdosing on sleeping pills.