She was
born Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor. Throughout her life she would be known as Mrs.
Hilton, Mrs. Wilding, Mrs. Todd, Mrs. Fisher, Mrs. Burton (twice), Mrs. Warner
and Mrs. Fortensky. She died as Dame Elizabeth Taylor after being honored by
another famous Greykitten, her Queen. I have chosen Elizabeth Taylor, perhaps
the most beautiful face to grace screen and stage, as the Vintage Greykittens’
saint patron because she gave us a true example of what it means to live a full
life and a full old age.
She was a
goddess of beauty and lust, Aphrodite incarnated. And yet ill-health ravaged this
gorgeous creature. After menopause she fought an ungallant Battle of the Bulge,
had too much fondness for the bottle and perhaps other more toxic substances.
But she remained an object of veneration and adoration to zillions of people
throughout the world.
(The Mirror) |
I was
glancing at Elizabeth’s last photos, those taken before her death at age 79.
Her hair is dyed too dark for comfort, her flesh shows the ravages of skin
cancer, but those legendary violet eyes still sparkle with love for life and
people. No Botox or anti- aging serum can replace that sparkle once it goes. It
never left her. It followed her to her deathbed and probably beyond. After all,
she believed in the afterlife. In her old age, Dame Liz surrounded herself with
psychics who tried unsuccessfully to get in contact with her beloved Richard Burton.
It was
public knowledge that Elizabeth Taylor
was the loving kind, but recent biographies provide information that extends her list of lovers making it sound like the Who is Who in Hollywood and
American Politics. She started young, losing her virginity to teen actor John
Derek (yes, the one who created Bo Derek) at age12. If that is not shocking
enough, at 14 she almost broke up Mickey Rooney’s marriage after his wife
caught the young couple in a compromising position. Sometime along her teen
years, Elizabeth bedded Peter Lawford, and had her best friend Roddy McDowell photograph
her without a stitch on. That nude studio was kept under lock and key until Liz
gave it to Hubby Number Four, Mike Todd, as an engagement gift.
Peter Lawford was just one of the lovers in her passionate teen years |
But
Hollywood was not the only turf where Dame Liz hunted. In the 80s, she became
Senator John Warner’s wife. That was public history, but there was a secret
that was revealed only after her death. At age fifteen, she had a one night-stand
with future president, Ronald Reagan. And while he was in office, President John
Fitzgerald Kennedy apparently made a threesome with our Greykitten and Robert
Stack in Elliot Ness’ swimming pool. Besides
the star of “The Untouchables”, Elizabeth took to her bed some other TV icons
of the 60s such as Marshall ”Daktari”
Thompson and Richard Long of “Big Valley” fame.
Did Nancy knew about these two's past history? |
Years
before Queen Elizabeth “damed” the violet eye wonder, Liz had a tryst with
royalty. Her first husband was womanizer, alcoholic gambler Conrad “Connie”
Hilton”. The heir to a hotel fortune, he turned up to be also a wife-beater and
a brutal lover. Small wonder that in their honeymoon, the very young bride fled
to the arms of the, then single, Prince Rainier of Monaco.
Before Grace there was Liz |
All these
smut is necessary to understand that like the fae and other mythological creatures,
Dame Liz had mores of her own that set her above human codes of good and evil.
Yes, to get Eddie Fisher she didn’t mind breaking his wife (and her dear
friend) Debbie Reynolds’s heart. And then she dumped Eddie to go after much
married Richard Burton, the love of her life. Oh, and she tried to turn Francis
Albert into one of her husbands, using the old “you are going to be a Daddy!”tale.
Sinatra was too smart (or too caught up
in Ava’s web) to fall for it.
Frankie and Dame Liz (Harper's Bazaar) |
Heterosexual
men were potential lovers, but homosexuals were her friends. Long before the term was coined, Dame Liz was
a fag-hag. Aside from her long devotion
to Montgomery Clift, in her later years she surrounded herself with gay men.
One of them, her manager, Afro-American
Jason Winter, became the caretaker of her estate and (rumor has it) almost
married her. Indeed, Dame Liz adored and trusted him, and as a former “fag-hag”
myself, I can tell you that it´s marvelous to have an intelligent, kind
(cuteness can also be a bonus) man escorting you around listening to your problems
and flirting with you in the safest way.
Elizabeth
was a romantic. Each time she married, she thought it was for life. In the
bedroom or in the boudoir, she gave more than she took, and if we believe Colin
Farrell, she was not above a platonic affair. The Irish actor confessed
(publicly) to Ellen De Generes that for
almost three years prior to the diva’s death, he shared a passionate, ergo
sexless, romance with Dame Liz. It could be.
In matters of the heart, she was always unpredictable.
Dame Liz and her last love |
There was
another reason behind her lustiness. Her appetite for life was born out of her
constant brushes with death. Beautiful, talented, adored by men and women,
Elizabeth Taylor was also known for her perennial infirmities. If you think
that being sick rests attractiveness from you, read and think again. When watching “Cleopatra
“ look closely at the queen’s throat, you´ll see tiny scars. During the filming,
the diva contracted Asian flu, fell into a coma and had to undergo an urgent
tracheotomy. But this was just one of multiple
maladies that extraordinarily made her more endearing to men and fans alike.
She was one sick lovely Greykitten |
During the
shooting of “National Velvet, ” the young protagonist experienced a riding
accident. The back injury never healed and led her to a life of pain. Five
surgeries did little to alleviate the problem.
While married to Mike Todd, she sustained another back injury, this time
due to a yachting incident. Giving birth to her last biological child turned
out to be a life-threatening labor. Dame Liz had an appendectomy in 1957, an abscessed
tooth led to meningitis in 1960; in 1973 she underwent surgery for an ovarian
cyst, and while campaigning for her senator husband, she choked on a chicken
bone.
In her old age,
Elizabeth Taylor was afflicted with skin cancer, a benign brain tumor and a
stroke. Cognitive heart disease killed her eventually. On her last years, she
lived as a recluse plagued by osteoporosis.
Her bad health kept her from going out and making public appearances,
but she was no hermit. A social animal, she received friends constantly and had
an entourage of people serving and entertaining her. They were paid generously,
because Dame Liz was known for her largesse.
She was always
a party girl and fond of a cocktail or two, but her unexpected widowhood in
1958, led her to a regrettable affair with the bottle. Although she managed to
pull out from the dependency, she relapsed into alcoholism in the 70s. She had the
courage to publicly announce her addiction and her intention to rehabilitate
herself at the Betty Ford Center, being the first luminary to do it openly.
She went through years of sobriety, just to fall off the wagon after Richard Burton´s death.
Vanity Fair |
She went through years of sobriety, just to fall off the wagon after Richard Burton´s death.
When talking
about Dame Liz’ dipsomania it is common to speak about her “drug-addiction” as
if she smoked pot or shot heroin. The truth is that she was addicted to
prescription drugs and painkillers. In view of her aching existence, one should
not be surprised.
Another
aspect of her ill-health was the excess of weight she accumulated in the 70s that
spiraled onward until her death. It all started with her marriage to a future
senator. Being a politician’s wife she had to give up so much, her career, her
lifestyle, her friends. Confused and lonely, she found comfort in drinking.
1979, a large Elizabeth Taylor and husband John Warner |
After John
Warner’s election, he also became a workaholic and had not much time for his
glamorous spouse. Liz had to retort to the usual bored housewives’ activities.
Watching TV, reaching for the Jack Daniels shot, having hot dogs, fried chicken
and biscuits and gravy for lunch almost every day. The result was as expected;
the diva grew too big for her breeches. People noticed and some were quite
critical, quite public and quite cruel. John Belushi parodied Elizabeth after
her freak chicken bone accident, and Joan Rivers made her fortune poking fun at
the diva´s obesity.
Elizabeth Taylor at the fat farm (Vanity Fair) |
Rehab, returning
to work, devoting herself to philanthropy,
and even a stint at a Florida fat farm reduced her ballooning 180 pounds to a
120 but in her seventies, Dame Liz regained her weight back as it happens to
those who grow old. The prodigious thing was thatdrunk, drugged
,fat and almost on the verge of death,Liz could still enchant those around her.
Perhaps some resentful butler would call her “an old trampoline” and accuse her of turning him into a “sex slave.”.But in truth,
millions of people wanted to be the former Cleopatra´s slaves, sex or not.
So far, I
have dealt only with what may be construed as Elizabeth Taylor’s dark side. We
have yet to speak about her many virtues, those that inspired others to emulate
her and those that made her a Vintage Greykitten.
Bowie and Liz , two legends (The Irish Times) |
We know now
that midlife crisis struck Elizabeth Taylor in her days as a Washington wife. She
adopted some unhealthy habits like binging on food, overdrinking, and turning
into a couch potato. She paid with massive weight gain, but how she dealt with
her life after rehab? Well, this is where the Vintage Greykitten aura starts.
She reinvented herself. She went back to work but didn’t pretend time had not
passed. Instead of concentrating in a movie career, she found new venues to
express her talent.
Luke, Laura and Liz in "General Hospital |
She went on
the stage. First, getting accolades with The
Little Foxes in 1981, and then in 1984 with the highly publicized Private Lives. This Noel Coward comedy
reunited her with Dick Burton. She also
tried her hand at television starting with a publicized appearance as
villainess Helena Casadine in “General Hospital.” At the time, GH was the
hottest daytime drama and it was the perfect road to fame. Spotting her on
dates with the soap’s hunk Toy Geary didn’t hurt her reputation and brought recognition
by new fans. Dame Elizabeth began a long
affair with television. Starring in “Malice in Wonderland “as Louella Parsons
plus guest appearances in “The Simpsons “and “The Nanny” were ways of reminding
new generations of who was this goddess their elders talked so much about.
But
Elizabeth Taylor wasn’t contented with being an actress, she became an
entrepreneur, designing jewelry and launching perfumes like Passion, White
Diamonds, Violet Eyes and a homage to her favorite flower, White Gardenia.
Elizabeth
Taylor managed to revive aura and fame
through constant activity and reinvention, but her foremost activity and the one
that showed her true heart was becoming an AIDS advocate and activist. Until
her illness forced her to an indoor life, she worked incessant and aggressively
to promote awareness of the HIV virus in both the gay and the heterosexual
communities. She also campaigned to find a cure for the threat, and she convinced
former lover, now President, Ronald Reagan to speak publicly about AIDS, the first
POTUS to do so.
Many stars
have lent their faces and names to philanthropic causes, but Dame Liz went
further. She was personally involved in her war against an illness that had
afflicted so many of her dear friends and even her former daughter-in-law, oil heiress Aileen Getty.
(Huffington Post) |
The
catalyst that brought Liz close to the ravage of AIDS was Rock Hudson´s outing.
During the shooting of “Giant,” she had grown very close to her hunkish
co-star. They remained lifelong friends, but she was as shocked as all of us when
this dazzling man had to come out publicly about his sexual orientation and the
illness that would eventually kill him.
Her AIDS
activism had as logical consequence a companion campaign for gay rights. Liz
Taylor had always been a gay icon, but she was also open-minded and close to
homosexuals as her entourage showed. They say that her lack of prejudice came
from being married to three apparently bisexual men (Michael Wilding, Mike Todd
and Dick Burton). Some say it went beyond her sexual life, that her biological father,
Victor Cazalet, and her putative father Francis Len Taylor were lovers.
One of the most
romantic (and I don´t how platonic it was) friendships of Dame Liz was with Montgomery
Clift. She became a front to shield his private life from the public that
assumed they were lovers. Going further, he owed her his life. One night after
dining with Liz and her then husband , Michael Wilding, the actor left their
house in a state of intoxication. The concerned hostess followed him, witnessed
his car wreck, and found Monty in a ditch choking to death. While fending off paparazzi
(in her most florid language), Elizabeth pushed her fingers into the actor´s
mouth and pulled out a pair of molars he had swallowed.
Liz Taylor
was a giving woman, who would stand for her friends against all odds. Michael Jackson
is the classic case. She even loved animals, keeping pets throughout her life.
In her old age, she cherished the company
of Daisy, her old Maltese dog that she treated with the same love she treated
all humans she cared for.
Dame Liz and Daisy |
Here´s another
anecdote that illustrates her warmth. She met Richard Burton socially and
didn´t like him. She thought he was a boor, and was not mistaken. She changed
her mind after the Welsh Ham showed up, with a bad hangover, in the set of ”Cleopatra.”
She gave him coffee, listened to him, pampered him, fell in love. That was Dame
Liz; a goddess of lust, but also an incarnation
of Mother Nature, an earthy Madonna.
That brings
to mind one of least explored and yet significant aspects of her life. For
Hollywood standards, Elizabeth Taylor was an excellent mother. She had four children. In her marriage to
Michael Wilding she bore two sons: Christopher and Michael Jr. Liza Todd was
her last biological child. Unable to have more babies, Dame Liz adopted a
German little girl. Typical of her kooky lifestyle, she started the adoption
papers while married to Eddie Fisher, but ended up giving the child a certain Sir
Richard Burton for a father. Therefore, the child has lived as Maria Burton since her
adoption.
Elizabeth, Mike Todd and her three biological children |
Although
Hollywood and adoption equals stories of abuse and neglect, Liz Taylor was
anything but an absentee parent. She was never abusive as Joan Crawford was to
her adoptive brood or callously neglectful as Marlene Dietrich who when told by
her daughter that her governess had molested her, just spat: “You survived. Get over it!”
Dame Liz
was not big on discipline, but was always there for her kids, especially for
holidays and birthdays that ,true to her splendid nature, were grandiose
affairs.Unlike other Hollywood families, there is neither
tragedy nor major Sturm und Drang surrounding Dame Liz’ offspring. Her son Christopher
Wilding is a successful photographer. After a wild youth when he lead the
hippie lifestyle and fathered two daughters out of wedlock, Michael Jr .settled
down to a popular presence in daytime drama. For two years, he played Jackson Freemont in “ The Guiding Light.”
Dame Liz and her loving children |
It took
nine doctors to save the life of Elizabeth Taylor while giving birth to her only daughter. Before his
untimely death, Mike Todd stated that he wanted his Liza to grow up to be the
first female rabbi. Elizabeth Frances Todd did not become a rabbi, but neither
did she follow her mother´s steps. Too sensible to go to Hollywood, she has
been married for years to artist Hap Tivey. They live in a farm , surrounded by
sons and horses, where Liza pursues her
true calling: sculpture.
Maria
Burton became a talent agent. She was
always close to her adoptive mother. When her marriage collapsed , she ran off
to Mom´s arms, ensuing ugly press declarations from her ex husband who blamed Dame
Liz for being a mother-in-law from hell. Well, Elizabeth last film role was portraying
Fred´s meddling mother- in-law in “The Flintstones.” Jokes aside, Maria´s story
shows that her children could always count on Elizabeth.
The Burton-Taylor and Baby Maria |
Elizabeth
Taylor feared she was “a lousy mother” but swore she was doing her best. “The
best that Elizabeth Taylor can do.” And a bad job she did not do because they
loved her back. Her four children were there at her bedside. In his eulogy, her
first-born Michael spoke about how “she lived her life to the fullest.”.Most
important is that four of her grandchildren are now ambassadors of the
Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. This gorgeous lusty, spoiled and fouled-mouth goddess
left behind a legacy of good memories and good works. Most of it she achieved in her Golden Years
when she became the paramount Vintage Greykitten.