- His brother George (ten years Busby's senior) graduated from Culver Military Academy where he was an accomplished athlete and captain of the Culver Black Horse Troop. Years later, as a result of drug abuse, George was found dead on a park bench in Plattsburgh, NY.
- The Gumm Sisters appeared during the 1934 Chicago World's Fair Exposition midway and at the Chicago Oriental Theater. Frances Gumm, , age 12, was featured as a solo act, a single entertainer on an eastern Vaudeville circuit with headliner George Jessel acting as an emcee. Jessel encouraged their mother Ethel to choose a more appealing name after "Gumm" was met with laughter from the audience. According to theater legend, their act was once erroneously billed at the Chicago Oriental Theater as "The Glum Sisters." Several stories persist regarding the origin of the name "Garland". One is that it was originated by Jessel after Carole Lombard's character Lily Garland in Twentieth Century (1934). which was then playing at the Chicago Oriental Theater; another is that the girls chose the surname after drama critic Robert Garland. Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft stated that their mother Ethel selected the name "Garland" when Jessel announced that the trio of sisters "looked prettier than a garland of flowers." Frances changed her name to Judy soon afterwards, after changing their headline vaudeville family's last name to the "Garland Sisters." In the early spring of 1935 MGM chief Louis B. Mayer asked songwriter Burton Lane and choreographer Busby Berkeley to go to the downtown Los Angeles's movie-vaudeville Broadway main street Orpheum Theater to watch the Garland Sisters' act and to report back to him. A few days later the sisters--Mary Jane Gumm (aka "Suzy/Suzanne", born in 1915), Virginia Gumm (aka Dorothy Virginia "Jimmie", born in 1917) and Francis Ethel "Judy" (born in 1922)--were brought for an impromptu audition at MGM's Culver City Studios. Judy Garland (13) performed solo "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and "Eli, Eli," a Yiddish song written in 1896, very popular in the sisters' vaudeville repertoire. The Garland Sisters' final on-screen appearance came in 1935, in an MGM short entitled La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935). The Gumm Sisters' screen credit now was listed as The Garland Sisters. The sister act broke up in August 1935 when Mary Jane (at age 20), flew to Reno, NV, and married musician Lee Kahn, a member of the Jimmie Davis Orchestra playing at Cal-Neva Lodge, Lake Tahoe. Mayer's instructions were that Berkeley supervise and stage any production number devised for Judy and Mickey Rooney in their film appearances.
- On his way home from a party thrown by William Koenig to celebrate the completion of In Caliente (1935), Berkeley hit two vehicles, killing three people in the second car: William von Brieson, his mother and sister-in-law. Tried for murder, Berkeley--represented by Jerry Giesler--was acquitted in a third trial after the previous two ended in hung juries.
- At age 12 he enrolled in the Mohegan Lake Military Academy near Peekskill, NY. He graduated in 1914.
- He was not the first person who used the famous overhead shot, a shot that looks like you're looking through a kaleidoscope, with the dancers in a circle(s) in interesting patterns (a minor example of this technique precedes his work in Dancing Lady (1933)). However, he did make the grandiose, kaleidoscopic overhead-shooting of musical extravaganzas his own unmistakable artistic style by expanding the concept to its limits and then beyond affordability.
- His parents were members of the Tim Frawley Repertory Company. His father was the director. He was named after two people in the Tim Frawley Repetory Company: Amy Busby (a young English soubret who later became prominent on the London stage) and William Gillette, who went on to become a Broadway star, performing in a Sherlock Holmes play he had written.
- In his early days he worked for a shoe company in Athol, MA, for three years. In his spare time he played semi-pro baseball, organized a dance band and played in local shows.
- While under contract to Warner Bros., Berkeley purchased a gated Spanish residence estate at 1800 Angelo Dr., facing Jack L. Warner's gated estate (located across the street) in Beverly Hills, CA. Nestled behind private gates in a prime location, north of Sunset Blvd., the Spanish-style estate was designed by one of Old Hollywood's most famous architects, Wallace Neff. Built in 1926, the estate showcased Neffs unique blend of Spanish and Mexican architecture, which came to define the California style for which he became most famous. The home's subtle detailing included red Spanish Saltillo tile, hardwood floors, wrought iron railings, curved archways and classic tiling that echo from another era. Adding to the romantic architecture, the house is built against a hillside reminiscent of an Italian villa on the Amalfi coast. The interior features an expansive wood beam living room with a fireplace and a lounge with an abundance of natural light. A substantial and sleek chef's kitchen opens to a breakfast area and an indoor dining room with a patio. A private outdoor dining area with a BBQ grill and a fountain make it an entertainer's dream! The luxurious master suite, with sitting area and fireplace, opens to one of five private outdoor terraces. Natural light spills into a cozy family/media room. Three additional bedrooms complete the upstairs with individual access to a plant-lined walkway and patio. All of the closet interiors have been finished. Beyond the main residence, park-like gardens with fountains and pathways intricately weave around the property, providing intimate local lookouts and unimpeded views of the gorgeous Hollywood Hills. Further amenities include a swimmers pool with cabana, an oasis spa with a waterfall, an art studio, and a two-car garage and one-car motor court. The 1,778-sq.-ft. property was listed in June 2016 at $7,980,000.00. It had been sold on October 8, 2002. for $2.9 million (at $646 per sq. ft), on March 6, 1998, for $1.33 million (at $296 sq.ft.). In 2015 the property tax was $38,276.00 at an assessment of $3,495,964.00; the 2014 property tax was $38,276.00 on an assessment of $3,427,484.00; the 2004 property tax was $32.524.00 on an assessment of $2,955,160.00.
- Son of actress Gertrude Berkeley.
- Inspired the song "Busby Berkeley Dreams" by The Magnetic Fields.
- Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 23-28. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
- Ex-brother-in-law of Lois James.
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