Early-1950s: Judy marries Sid in 1952 and a few months later she gives birth to her second child, Lorna. In 1953, Ethel dies in a parking lot after suffering a heart attack. Initially, Judy does not react to the news, having been estranged from her for years, but while filming "The Man That Got Away" sequence for A Star Is Born, her first film since MGM fired her, she misses her mark, and starts crying in her dressing room, not exactly sure if she is upset over Ethel's death. She receives an Academy Award nomination for her performance. However, shortly after the film's initial release, Sid is enraged to see some of their best scenes (and important ones too) have been cut under orders from distributors who felt the film was too long, thus killing both the flow of the story as well as its box office potential. In 1955, a day before the 27th Academy Awards, Judy gives birth to her third child, Joey, but on the night she loses the award to Grace Kelly, much to the shock and disappointment of her friends, and much of the film world.
Late-1950s: Judy is now struggling with debts, her weight has ballooned, and at this stage, her marriage to Sid is starting to crumble.
Early-1960s: After overcoming a life-threatening illness and slimming down, Judy tours America, the high point being a concert at Carnegie Hall. As her marriage to Sid continues to collapse, she wins custody of their children.
Mid-1960s: Judy gets her own television series, but she is forced to go on the road again after it is cancelled, due to low ratings, for playing in the same time slot as "Bonanza" and for critics at the studio complaining about her touching the other guests on the show, which was a strict taboo at that time on the networks.(SOURCE: Article on the "Judy Garland Show", plus the dialogue in the mini-series itself). Her tour of Australia starts off well, but her concert in Melbourne is a flop; she has trouble remembering the words to her songs, stumbles, and is heckled by the audience before being booed off stage. She later marries for a fourth time, this time to Mark Herron. This marriage lasts a mere five months as he turns out to be gay and is discovered in bed with a male pool cleaner, and she throws him out. Lorna begins to understand the connection between her mother's erratic behaviour and her medication. Judy reconciles with Sid, who books her at the Palace Theatre, this time with Lorna and Joey. He gives Lorna some instructions on how to take care of her mother. However, life with Judy (which included constantly-and secretly-moving from one place to another because of her inability to pay bills) and looking after her and Joey becomes too much for Lorna, who collapses from exhaustion. Fearing for his children's safety, Sid takes them to live with him in Los Angeles.
1969: Judy marries for a fifth and final time. Her new husband is Mickey Deans. They settle in London. Liza, Lorna, and Joey call her on her 47th birthday, and say they will come and spend the summer with her when school finishes in two weeks. Twelve days later, she dies from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. A hysterical Lorna sobs in Sid's arms. The film ends with Judy performing "Get Happy".
