October 14, 1961: - Elizabeth Taylor, 29, at the first anniversary celebration of Universal Studio’s 1960 historical epic, “Spartacus”…at the Grand Hotel in Rome, Italy where she was currently filming, “Cleopatra.” PHOTO ONE: - Elizabeth dances with the star of “Spartacus”, 44 year old Kirk Douglas. PHOTO TWO: - Elizabeth, Kirk and Richard Burton. Richard purposely seated himself next to Elizabeth in an attempt to get to know her better. Their affair was still three months away. PHOTO THREE/FOUR: - Elizabeth with her husband of two years, Eddie Fisher, whose job was to see to her every need. She did not seek this out in a husband but he was now delegated to the role of caretaker. PHOTO FIVE: -Elizabeth and Eddie are being introduced to 42 year old actor, Jack Palance (note actor Carroll O’Connor watching the exchange.) In 1982, Elizabeth’s son, Michael Jr, would marry Jack’s daughter, Brooke. - A month earlier, Elizabeth had arrived in Rome with her husband, 33 year old Eddie Fisher, her three children, her personal physician, and an entourage of eleven to start to second incarnation of 20th Century Fox’s, “Cleopatra.” Once secured in their fourteen room Appian Way villa (The Villa Papa), she started work at Cinecittà Studio. Her first order of business was to reacquaint herself with male co-star, 36 year old Richard Burton. Their paths had crossed over the past decade but there was never any conversation between them. In the autumn of 1952, Burton was new in America and was attending a poolside gather at the home of good friend, actor Stewart Granger and wife Jean Simmons. Elizabeth, who was married to Michael Wilding at the time and four months pregnant, was reading by the pool and watched Burton entertaining a crowd from afar…and thought that he was rather full of himself. She said, “He seemed to love hearing his own voice.” When he got around to introducing himself to her, she didn’t say much and barely took her eyes off the page that she was reading. About her, Burton later said, “I thought that she was dark. Very dark. She probably shaves.” By the time Burton was hired to replace actor Stephen Boyd in “Cleopatra,” Elizabeth was well aware of his reputation of having multiple affairs with his leading women while his wife, Sybil Burton (whom he married in 1949) looked the other way. One thing was for sure. She was not going to be another notch on his bedpost. At Cinecittà, when they met, Burton said to her, “Has anyone ever told you that you are a very pretty girl?” Elizabeth was stunned. Here was the great lover and he came to her with a line like…that? She said, “I just laughed. I couldn’t wait to get back to my dressing room to tell all the girls.” When Burton discovered that she was making fun of him, he made it a point by telling her on the set that, ‘though as pretty as she was, she was (also) a bit too fat.’ She stormed off to her dressing room telling him, “Everyone tells me what a brilliant actor…and womanizer that you are. I hope that we see more of the former and less of the latter.” In the autumn of 1961 Richard and Elizabeth actually had very little to do with one another as they were not (yet) doing scenes together. They got to watch each other from a distance. Richard thought it was quite revolting the way that Eddie Fisher seemed to fawn over Elizabeth. Eddie was on the 20th Century Fox payroll to be a ‘nursemaid.’ He had originally started out as a husband…then secretary but since her near death pneumonia (in March 1961) he was reduced to being a caretaker. His job was to see to her every need. He was to get her up in the morning, to the studio, keep her healthy and had her to bed at 9pm. Nothing else was required of him and she thought of his as an employed servant…though she desperately depended on him, as well. There was great ambiguity going on in her mind. She would not love him as a husband, yet, could not break from his caretaking. She looked towards Richard Burton, who was lively and vivacious on the set, for frivolity. He drank and carried on and was much larger than life. He was similar to Mike Todd that way and that attracted her. But Fisher would not allow Elizabeth out of his sight. He perceived Burton as being as a bad influence so purposely kept them apart. Fisher kept Elizabeth busy with projects outside the studio. They had recently adopted a baby girl in Germany and were preparing for her introduction into their lives. Fisher also bought a chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland where he wanted to spend the holidays. But Richard was intrigued with Elizabeth. At the “Spartacus” celebration, he arranged to sit next to Elizabeth and keep Fisher preoccupied… away from the table. As usual, Eddie tried to hover around Elizabeth but Burton kept sending into the kitchen. Promptly, at 9pm, Eddie announced that he and Elizabeth had to leave but she didn’t want to go. She was having a great time in Richard’s company. She asked for one more glass of champagne but Fisher said no. Burton, then, took Fisher aside and as he told him some story, he kept refilling Elizabeth’s glass of champagne for her when Fisher wasn’t looking. Elizabeth thought then, “I absolutely started to adore this man.” Richard started to spend more time on the set…to be near Elizabeth. He was brought into the film months before his scenes actually started so he had a lot of free time. He watched Elizabeth. He watched her every move but he knew that he had to break the bond she had formed with Eddie Fisher, whom he dubbed, ‘the errand boy.’ There scenes would begin after the 1961 holidays and he was quite certain that she would, indeed, become another notch on his bedpost. He had no idea, though, what chaos would ensue. About the ordeal to come, he told the press, “I knew that she was famous but I had NO idea just HOW famous. The woman knocks the Pope and the President of the United States off the front page!”
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 16:05:10 +0000
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