- Meyer, a pianist and playwright, died in mid-February due to complications after surgery, his niece Rachel Trousdale told PEOPLE
- Meyer and the Wizard of Oz star met in 1968 when Meyer was in his late 20s and Garland was 46
Musician John Meyer, who once dated Judy Garland after her fourth divorce, has died at age 86.
Meyer, a pianist and playwright, died in mid-February due to complications after surgery, his niece Rachel Trousdale told PEOPLE.
Meyer and the Wizard of Oz star met in 1968 when Meyer – not to be confused with American singer-songwriter John Mayor – was in his late 20s and Garland was 46.
‘She had a suitcase, a little black dress, a pair of fishnet stockings and a pair of heels,’ he told PEOPLE in 2019. ‘That was about it, and a mink.’
‘I became her manager, her agent, her lover, her companion, the shoulder that she could lean on,’ he said.
‘I became her manager, her agent, her lover, her companion, the shoulder that she could lean on,’ he said. ‘It was amazing. Her reality was that she would rely on the kindness of strangers.’
‘Her big overriding motivation was ‘love me.’
Musician John Meyer, who once dated Judy Garland after her fourth divorce, has died at 86 due to complications from surgery
Meyer attended Garland’s funeral, where he recalled thinking, ‘No more jokes, no more fun.’ Meyer was known to be a witty jokester himself – with countless stories to share of his adventurous life (Pictured: John Meyer and Judy Garland)
Meyer and the Wizard of Oz star met in 1968 when Meyer – not to be confused with American singer-songwriter John Mayor – was in his late 20’s and Garland was 46
The two last saw each other in January 1969, not long before her death in June 22, 1969, at the age of 47 from an accidental overdose.
Fondly recalling their relationship in the bedroom, Meyer told PEOPLE, ‘We did a lot of role playing. We’d do scenes back and forth and we’d make up our own improvs. She’d say ‘Tonight, you be the professor and I’ll be the student.’ It was a lot of fun. That was more important to her than the actual sex.’
‘She gave me a cursory kiss and said ‘So long Johnny,’ he told PEOPLE then.
Meyer attended Garland’s funeral, where he recalled thinking, ‘No more jokes, no more fun.’
‘She was the most marvelous fun,’ he had told PEOPLE. ‘That’s what nobody really speaks about.’
‘She thought her life was a gas, a ball,’ he added. ‘She didn’t think her life was painful. She was funny. She experienced joy. She loved sex. She didn’t love food. She loved to sing and she loved the attention.’
Meyer was known to be a witty jokester himself – with countless stories to share of his adventurous life, his niece recalled.
‘He was really generous in helping other artists make connections and find opportunities and he was always ready with a joke,’ Trousdale told PEOPLE.
‘He loved wine and traveling to France and had an encyclopedic knowledge of classic films and music of his era. Just whistle a bar of any tune, and he knew what it was.’
Meyer, a pianist and playwright, died in mid-February due to complications after surgery, his niece Rachel Trousdale told PEOPLE