Coming Soon: Documentary 'Sid & Judy' on Judy Garland and Husband Sid Luft

Director Stephen Kijak says Luft, third of Garland's five husbands, 'was probably the straightest guy she ever married'

Hot on the high heels (or ruby slippers) of the Judy biopic on Judy Garland comes a new documentary about the singer and her third husband, Sid Luft. Sid & Judy, from director Stephen Kijak, debuts on Showtime October 18.

"It's an intimate story, it's a story of a relationship, really from the inside," Kijak told Nonfictionfilm.com at Outfest in Los Angeles, where the film played over the summer. Sid & Judy premiered at Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, in June. 

Showtime calls the film "a revealing new look at legendary entertainer Judy Garland fifty years after her tragic, untimely death... fusing the unpublished recollections of producer, manager and third husband, Sid Luft, with film clips, rare concert footage and Judy's own inimitable words."

The cable network adds, "What emerges is a complex portrait of a woman whose vulnerabilities were exploited by an industry she helped to build but whose resilience and extraordinary talent made her the quintessential icon."

We have a lot of rare stuff that you really haven't seen or heard before.

--Sid & Judy director Stephen Kijak on the content of his new documentary 

Garland and Luft were married from 1952-1965, the longest lasting of the singer's five marital unions. Luft was an amateur boxer before he came to Hollywood. While with Garland he produced her film A Star Is Born, which earned her an Academy Award nomination. Kijak jokes Luft "was probably the straightest guy [Garland] ever married."

​Kijak promises Sid & Judy will offer audiences something special.

"We have a lot of rare stuff that you really haven't seen or heard before," he says. "The fans are in for a treat." 

In my interview with Kijak, he addressed whether Lorna Luft (Garland's daughter by Sid Luft) or Liza Minnelli (Judy's daughter by director Vicente Minnelli) were involved in the documentary. Watch below.