Mickey Deans

Mickey Deans
Deans with Judy Garland on their wedding day in 1969
Born	Michael DeVinko Jr. (1934-09-24)September 24, 1934 Garfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	July 11, 2003(2003-07-11) (aged 68) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart failure
Occupation	Musician, entrepreneur
Spouse(s)	Judy Garland (m. 1969; d. 1969)

Mickey Deans (September 24, 1934 – July 11, 2003) was an American musician and entrepreneur, and the fifth and last husband of actress Judy Garland.

Born Michael DeVinko in Garfield, New Jersey on September 24, 1934, Deans was the youngest of three children of Mary and Michael DeVinko. He grew up in a musical family, playing the piano and accordion. "My parents encouraged him to be a musician, " recalls his sister, Caroline Tassely. "He was very talented and played popular music in clubs in the fifties and sixties."

He played the piano at "Jilly's", a Manhattan nightclub, later working as the manager of the popular discothèque "Arthur". In 1966, according to Deans' book "Weep No More, My Lady," he met actress and singer Judy Garland at her hotel in New York. A mutual friend of theirs asked Deans to deliver a package of stimulant tablets to Garland. Deans recalled that she seemed cordial but disoriented. Because Garland's two youngest children were present, Deans felt it appropriate to introduce himself as a doctor. After three years of intermittent dating, Deans proposed and they were married on March 15, 1969, in London. Deans worked to promote Garland's career toward the end of her life, but found it impossible to control her excessive use of prescription drugs. Deans discovered Garland dead on the morning of June 22, 1969. Although many obituaries at the time stated Garland was found on the floor of their bathroom, Deans stated that he found her seated on the toilet. The coroner's autopsy later determined she died from an accidental, incautious overdose of barbiturates.

Following Garland's death, Deans co-authored Weep No More, My Lady, a biography of Garland written with Ann Pinchot. The book includes autobiographical elements of Deans' pre-Garland life and their time together. The book was published in 1972 by Hawthorn Books with paperback editions issued by Pyramid Books.

Deans later moved to Cleveland, Ohio and became a producer of police fundraising events. In 1985, he bought the Franklin Castle, a historic four-story stone mansion on Franklin Boulevard in Cleveland's Ohio City for $93,000 and had it restored. Deans donated a feather boa that had belonged to Garland to a charity auction. He then placed the highest bid in order to maintain ownership of it. After selling Franklin Castle in 1999, Deans lived in Northfield, Ohio.