Elizabeth Taylor - The Lost Tapes
Things You Didn't Know About Liz...
This post is based on an article I found ABC’s Australian site.
Elizabeth Taylor was a powerhouse presence in the entertainment industry for nearly 60 years.
Even though she was one of the most famous people on the planet, for a large portion of her life, I found her to be quite level headed.
Especially, in her middle years and beyond.
Below is a short clip where she discusses her attitude toward being a beautiful woman.
The documentary entitled “Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes” was directed by Nanette Burstein premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May of this year (2024).
The film was nominated for The Documentary Prize.
It draws on Taylor's personal archive of recordings, as well as, a series of interviews she did before she passed away in 2011.
The Highlights
Her parents didn’t want her to be an actress…
Taylor first appeared on screen in 1942's There's One Born Every Minute.
She was just nine years old.
Her father was an art dealer, Francis Lenn Taylor and her mother was a stage actress; Sara Sothern.
When asked if her parent pushed to be an actress Taylor said this;
"Oh absolutely not, If anything they didn't want me to be an actress," Taylor tells Meryman.
"My father particularly, my mother was more understanding because she was an actress herself, but I was the one that pushed."
Below are pictures of Elizabeth Taylor and her parents…
Liz says her first marriage in 1950 to Conrad ‘Nick’ Hilton (who would become Paris Hilton’s father), was a ‘horrendous’ mistake.
He was 24. She was just 18.
Here’s Taylor’s quote on her first marriage;
"I was not prepared to be an adult, I had been sheltered, protected and the repercussions were that I made horrendous mistakes…”
“The wedding was lovely, but then came disillusionment and also a couple of split lips.”
"I had left because Nick was always in a temper … I couldn't really go back to that life of such mental and physical abuse ..."
Yikes. That was a tough lesson to learn.
Her second husband to fellow actor Michael Wilding didn’t last long either, just 5 years. It was long enough to produce to sons. See pictures below.
Then along came the “love of her life;” Mike Todd.
Todd was an Academy Award-winning producer who was 25 years older than Taylor.
He’s also the only one of her husbands she didn't divorce. Sadly, he died too soon.
On Her First Meeting With Mike Todd
Taylor remembers when Todd demanded a meeting with her just days after her split from second husband Michael Wilding.
He’s what she had to say;
"Mike charged in, we went to a deserted office, and he plunked me down, turned a chair around and started on a spiel saying that he loved me and there was no question about it we were going to be married."
Wow. Mike had it bad for Liz.
She goes on to say;
"I always had a feeling of inadequacy as a student and as a human being, with Mike, I learned to enjoy life much more and not feel ashamed of not knowing something."
Both Taylor and Todd had a premonition…
She says;
"It was funny, I had a feeling and so did Mike all through our marriage that something was going to happen.
It was too good to be true and when it did happen I was so unprepared. The death of the person I had put all my trust in, it was really more than I could handle."
Todd and Taylor were married for just 13 and a half months. Todd died in an unexpected plane crash.
They had one child together. Todd passed just six months after the birth of their daughter Liza.
To top it off, just two weeks after Todd's death, Taylor was back at work filming Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Below are pictures of Liz Taylor and Mike Todd…
Eddie and Debbie
Debbie Reynolds has spoken of visiting Taylor after Todd's death to find her nearly catatonic.
It was in fact, Reynolds, who told her husband at the time, Eddie Fisher, to stay with Taylor while she (Reynolds) looked after Taylor's children.
** Remember, Eddie Fisher was a close friend of Mike Todd’s who was his best man at Todd’s marriage to Taylor. Fisher was married to Debbie Reynolds at the time. They all knew each other and were friends.**
Taylor, Fisher and Reynolds with Todd before his death…
Taylor, Fisher and Reynolds after Todd’s death…
Taylor was in a state of shock for months after Todd’s death.
Here is was she says;
"There was a trance-like thing about me after Mike's death … it seemed almost certain that I was heading to disaster and I could not stop myself."
Todd’s death was in March of 1958.
Fisher and Taylor began an affair quite soon after his death.
They were left alone together for long stretches. They were both hurting.
Taylor the death of her spouse and Fisher the death of his closest friend.
Debbie Reynolds must be the most generous and forgiving lady on the planet.
Afterall, she was the one who encouraged Fisher to spend time with Taylor in the wake of the tragedy while she took care of Taylor’s children, as well as, her own.
The affair between Taylor and Fisher grew to become an ill-fated marriage in 1959 after Fisher divorced Reynolds just 3 hours earlier.
This is what Taylor had to say about Fisher;
"I was keeping Mike alive while talking to Eddie. I never loved Eddie, I liked him, I felt sorry for him and I liked talking to him about Mike."
Sadly, the public mostly blamed Taylor for the breakup between Fisher and the infinitely loveable Debbie Reynolds.
To protect her, Fisher isolated Taylor.
It drove Taylor to the brink of suicide.
She says this of their marriage;
"We never went out … it was like being locked up. I started to sleep 14,15 hours at once."
Even more tragic was Taylor’s confession of attempted suicide.
At one point in her marriage to Fisher, it got so bad for her that Liz attempted suicide by taking a large quantity of sleeping pills.
She says it went down like this;
"I did it deliberately, calmly … I was fed up with living. I would rather be dead than face another divorce."
Liz later expressed regret over the suicide attempt and the consequences her death would have had on her children (at the time).
Liz Taylor lived an exceptional life. There was much more to her than what we know.
I hope this article has given you some insight in this amazing lady as it did for me.
Have a sensual day, Dyann
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Thank you for your interest in The Body House brand.
Dyann Bridges is a writer, voiceover performer and life coach
Contact Dyann at: thebodyhouse.biz@gmail.com
ALL Links – https://linktr.ee/bodyhouse1
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