We can say with one hundred percent certainty that if this happened today it would end with a lawsuit. Judy Garland was only sixteen years old when she played the part, and at the beginning of her career. She was also full of the vibrancy and immaturity of youth, as we all were once. Director Victor Fleming didn't have any appreciation or time for this, though.
Garland was struggling to get through a scene with the cowardly lion whilst keeping a straight face, finding something funny every time and causing filming to be stopped while she recomposed herself. Fleming tired of this, pulling her aside and telling her she needed to take the process more seriously. To drive the message home, he slapped her in the face! Fleming was the fourth director appointed to the movie, which endured a troubled time of production, and had been briefed to straighten the movie out and get it finished.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.