Judy Garland as gay icon
American actress and songstress Judy Garland is a gay icon. She rose to iconic status in the 1950s. At that time, gays admired her talent as a performer, and her value as a camp figure. She was often parodied in drag revues. Her struggles with drugs, alcohol, and personal relationships during her adulthood mirrored similar struggles among urban closeted gays during the same era. Garland's role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz may be the foundation stone of her iconic status.  Following her death in 1969 and the Stonewall riots, Garland's status as a gay icon began to slip. Young gay men embraced their sexual orientation with pride rather than shame, and could or would not identify with Garland's melodramatic victimhood and emotionalism.