I somehow feel sad that Liz has died. It’s amazing she was only 79; I thought she had to be older. She’d been on her deathbed on so many occasions it’s like she had nine lives. (Well, do eight husbands count? Counting Richard Burton twice.)
Richard Burton was my favorite out of all her husbands. The two just WERE Hollywood royalty, between their selfish affairs and divorces, boozing, extravagant spending, fighting, yelling, partying, etc. They just exuded passion….enough to try marriage again after they were first divorced, although it didn’t last long. Two powerful, loud personalities, each refusing to give in, each loving themselves first above all, and yet, they had something magical that kept drawing them together. And kept drawing us, her fans, in.
Perhaps they were birds of a feather…their lifestyle choices certainly were shared willingly. Although Richard may have been the better actor, Liz was by far the more popular and adored.
Even as she trashed other people’s lives and marriages, barreling ahead full force into marriage after marriage, and leaving them seemingly upon whim, Liz was a mega-star. Certainly she was terribly beautiful and her looks alone mesmerized. She could command a room just by her presence. She was used to self-indulgence, getting her way, and not apologizing.
That certain chutzpah, or whatever you want to call it, seemed to keep her fans fascinated. Whereas if she were the lady next door, you’d probably be jealous and hateful of her because of her beauty and her less-than-moral actions, since she was a STAR, she shined anyway.
She obviously had some good qualities, her several children speak well of her. Also, her charities do as well….she seemed to be compassionate in the AIDS fight, as well as in befriending Wacko Jacko (Michael Jackson, may he RIP as well….). She cared enough about herself to get herself into treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic for alcohol and pills.
But then, her judgment, even while ostensibly sober and dried out, took a horrible turn. She married Larry Fortino, or whatever his last name was. Truck driver, long, Farrah Fawcett-like blond hair, rude and proud of it, he met her at the Betty Ford. For some reason she had to have him. Was it his poverty, or his truck, or his wavy (pre-Fabio) hair? Or the fact that apparently she and he were passionately in love, for whatever reason, and that was enough. Who knew the mind of Liz Taylor? Thankfully, Larry was soon shown the door.
Anyway, just wanted to recognize this talented actor and star for her decades of antics, fascinations, acting, of course, and entertainment (both on screen and off). Whatever she was, she was never boring. She was a force of nature and she’ll certainly be missed.
