Reflections of a Life-Long Elizabeth Taylor Fan

Elizabeth Taylor: The face that launched a thousand headlines.

 

Elizabeth Taylor’s star shines on like a crazy diamond, 10 years after her death at 79, in all her facets. ET’s fierceness and fabulousness, contradictions and flaws, inspired both love and hate from the public, occasionally at the same time!

When I read the news that Elizabeth Taylor had passed away on March 23, 2011, I had been terribly sick with bronchitis for two weeks. I had to sleep upright on a sofa, or my coughing spells would worsen. Elizabeth would have proud of the way I hacked away, just like dying Sissy Goforth in Boom! I was living in a Portland, OR communal house and nearly all my roommates were straight. As one roomie put it, he thought of Liz Taylor as the movie star with that “crazy Grandma hair,” who was pals with Michael Jackson.

Elizabeth Taylor was the rare film star who looked just as beautiful off-camera.

Well, Elizabeth Taylor was much more than that. I'll say it right here: this is a tribute to Taylor, not a roast. I like to remember late, great family members, friends, and favorite stars at their best, not their worst. Over the next weeks, I pulled out some of ET's greatest hits on DVD to watch with my roomies, and she’s been on my mind since her Feb. 27^th birthday. 

 

Elizabeth Taylor was game as a guest on "Here's Lucy" with Richard Burton.

Funny Lady We started with Here's Lucy, with the legendary "Lucy Meets the Burtons" episode. This was one of Lucy's highest rated shows, and I love this appearance because it shows off Elizabeth Taylor's flair for comedy. I thought it was a shame that ET didn't do more movie comedies in her heyday, perhaps with George Segal, Jack Lemmon, or Walter Matthau. Most Lucy fans remember this episode as the one where she gets Liz' million dollar diamond stuck on her digit. Not only does Taylor splendidly send up her image, Richard Burton even more so, in the bigger role. The scene where Lucy's milk-white arm appears from behind a curtain, pretending to be tanned Taylor’s, is still a hoot.

"Lucy Meets The Burtons" gave Ms. Ball one of her highest-rated shows.

Gutsy Gal We then watched Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, where my most alpha male roommate commented that he would do ET. Aside from that classy comment, the roomies watching agreed that Liz and Paul still made this movie sizzle, despite the censorship. A major point of admiration for me: Elizabeth did some of her best work under great duress, but this may have been her most challenging. Two weeks into filming, adored hubby Mike Todd was killed in a plane crash. Several weeks later, ET was back on the set. Imagine this happening today. Though only 26 at the time, Elizabeth Taylor had already led several lives worth of drama!

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" was a challenge for Elizabeth Taylor, on-screen & off.

Screen Diva My closest roommate and I then commandeered the house owner's big screen TV and watched the restored version of Cleopatra. He was a bit leery because of its length and reputation as a bomb. I hadn't watched it in ages and only on TV stations’ faded, commercial-laden viewings. While Cleo's not a classic, we were both surprised by how watchable and truly epic some of the scenes were—especially Cleopatra's entrance into Rome. We both marveled that, in the age of CGI, that a cast of thousands were watching the most famous woman in the world make this grand entrance upon a huge statue, a wow moment. We liked Cleopatra so much that we watched the making of disc, and were even more impressed that a decent film even came out of such chaotic circumstances. My then-roomie admitted that Elizabeth Taylor was at her peak of beauty. He now "got" why everyone made a fuss over that older star with crazy grandma hair!

Both Cleopatra and Elizabeth Taylor knew how to make an entrance!

Feisty Female I think the film role closest to the real Elizabeth Taylor was Leslie Benedict in Giant. Like Leslie, Elizabeth was womanly and wise, but also not afraid to speak her mind. Off-screen and on, Elizabeth was forward thinking and not concerned about what others thought. The moments when Elizabeth as Leslie stands up to Rock Hudson’s rancher husband ring so true. Particularly, the scene where Taylor scolds the ranchers over "men talk" reminded me of her Republican wife years, where she sparred with John Warner publicly or later, unafraid to challenge those who thought AIDS wasn't "their" problem. 

As Leslie in "Giant," Elizabeth Taylor knew how to give a hubby a piece of her mind!

Daring Diva I admired that ET never backed away from a challenge, whether it was personal or professional, and her greatest acting one was when, at 33, she played 52-year-old Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? While there are still some naysayers, most agree she hit a home run. And 55 years later, she and Burton are still instantly associated with this groundbreaking work. Aside from her lack of vanity as a great beauty, I admire that Elizabeth wasn't afraid to show a side of her that wasn't particularly flattering. I was well enough to see Virginia Woolf at a Taylor tribute with a friend, then a bartender, who noted the Burtons were very believable as battling drunks! I was amused at younger audience members who gasped at the insults hurled throughout the movie. As for frequent criticism of her voice, I've listened to audio of her big scenes and there's a subtlety in her readings that some greater actresses didn't achieve playing Martha. With almost 25 years of film experience under her belt, ET knew how to play for the camera.

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton let fly in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

Movie Star Mensch Elizabeth Taylor's great generosity has always been a buffer to her tabloid image, but when I watched A Place in the Sun recently, I was struck by how tender and maternal she was with Montgomery Clift. This is even more notable, since he was almost 30, and she was just 17. In one of ET's greatest acts of personal generosity, over 17 years later, the studio making Reflections in a Golden Eye didn't want now-erratic Montgomery Clift as her co-star, citing him as uninsurable. Taylor, who had been considered uninsurable after the Cleopatra scandal, offered her million dollar salary as collateral for his insurance. Clift was stunned, but sadly died at age 46, just before filming started. I can't think of another Hollywood star that has made such a generous gesture.

Elizabeth Taylor & Monty Clift on the set of "Raintree County."

 

Baby Diva:  To see Elizabeth Taylor in her early roles, before her breakout role as National Velvet, is to be startled by her assurance and astoundingly mature beauty. This is especially true in Lassie, Come Home, when you see Taylor in color for the first time. A friend of mine once said it was like somebody took the adult ET's head and stuck it on a little girl's body. Not exactly poetic, but on-point. In Jane Eyre, as the title character's doomed orphanage friend, Elizabeth and Peggy Ann Garner are genuinely affecting. Filmed in Orson Welles favorite noir-ish black and white, Taylor's beauty and presence is eerie.

Elizabeth Taylor at 10, in "Lassie Come Home."

Mature Diva: ET never seemed like a girl, even when she was, which made it difficult to cast Taylor as a juvenile. When audiences were wowed by Elizabeth at 16 in A Date with Judy, she started playing romantic leads, often with men 10 or 20 years older than her. And ET never went the route of "playing young," like Joan or Lana. Often she was cast in mature roles, like A Place in the Sun or Giant, where she aged 25 years. She's probably the youngest major actress to play Maggie the Cat, a role most actresses don't touch till they're 40-ish. Elizabeth played Virginia Woolf’s Martha at 33. In Ash Wednesday, Taylor was 41 when she played the 60-ish wife of Henry Fonda, who undergoes full-on plastic surgery to win him back. Later, during her plump political wife era, ET spoofed her weight gain in The Mirror Crack'd, as an aging actress making a comeback. Her greatest act of dropping the vanity veil was personal, when she was the first major celebrity to go public as she entered the Betty Ford Clinic at age 51.

Elizabeth Taylor after her stint at Betty Ford. Here with Carol Burnett,
who co-starred with ET just before she sought treatment for her addictions.

Final Curtain I've been a lifelong fan of Elizabeth Taylor. But I've never cared about her diamonds or husbands (with the exceptions of Mike Todd and Richard Burton). I was struck by her beauty as a kid, when her big hits played on the afternoon movies. I was fascinated by the extreme reactions about her from grownups. Everybody talked about Liz like she was their next door neighbor.

I especially admired Taylor when she reinvented herself and attempted to change serious bad habits that plagued most of her adult life: substance abuse, weight issues, and dealing with ill health. I felt her personal life interested her more than her professional one, which made her unique among Hollywood divas. The work Taylor did for AIDS activism and keeping the cash flowing as a savvy business woman with her perfume line was a testament to ET knowing her brand.

I had mixed feelings about Elizabeth Taylor seen as an aging woman, instead of the legendary film goddess who was like She who walked through the flames, only to come back immortal once more. ET was frank about her personal mistakes, addictions, illnesses, and finally, growing old. How many actresses can you think of who celebrated each major birthday with a Life magazine cover? Who else but Elizabeth Taylor would pose with a shaved head after brain tumor surgery? 

Elizabeth Taylor's last performance was in a wheelchair, for a 2007 reading of
"Love Letters" with James Earl Jones.

Taylor’s last public appearances were in a wheelchair, which she long fought. Elizabeth’s voice, always soft (how did she smoke all those cigarettes and not sound like Lucy or Lauren Bacall?) was now a whisper. But she was there, usually for AIDS or her perfume. The Sondheim song "I'm Still Here" has been sung by many legends, but Taylor lived it.

When Elizabeth Taylor passed away, I feared there would be a slew of “tell all” books. Surprisingly, there was little Taylor tittle-tattle, a testament to the loyalty she received from family, friends, and associates. I worried that ET would be forgotten, since she didn't die young like Marilyn or Judy. Elizabeth Taylor has left her impact on film and in life, still a frame of reference for a larger than life star and great beauty. Finally, flaws and all, Elizabeth Taylor the woman should be remembered as a most genuine human being.

I've written over a dozen pieces on Elizabeth Taylor. Go to my blog's main page to see more on all about Liz!

ET in Dylan Thomas' "Under Milkwood." Death & near-death was a dramatic part
of Elizabeth Taylor's life.

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