LIZ by C. David Heymann

Author:C. David Heymann
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books

Chapter 18

On August 4, 1962, Roddy McDowall and John Valva arrived at Chalet Ariel, Elizabeth Taylor’s new residence in Gstaad. They had just celebrated the long-overdue completion of Cleopatra by visiting Sybil Burton in Céligny, a Swiss village sixty miles to the east. Richard and Sybil, Céligny’s best-known denizens, had purchased their old-fashioned alpine cottage in the mid-1950s.

At Elizabeth’s home, McDowall and Valva were greeted by an ill-at-ease Richard Burton. “Our presence unnerved him,” said Valva. “He felt embarrassed, especially because we’d all lived together in Rome before Elizabeth entered the picture. The day we appeared in Gstaad, Burton returned to Sybil. His departure upset Elizabeth. She became extremely tense and started drinking a great deal. Her tension had to do with the worrisome prospect of losing Richard; it was also related to the situation as a whole. Once again, she had cast herself in the antagonistic role of ‘the other woman.’ In the present instance, though, she happened to respect her rival. Elizabeth admired Sybil Burton and felt genuine concern, whereas Debbie Reynolds had primarily incurred her disdain.”

Elizabeth spent hours conferring with McDowall and Valva about Richard Burton. “She knew what she was up against,” said Valva. “She realized that Richard’s family and closest friends were all urging him to stick with Sybil. Philip Burton told him that if he left his wife, he would never speak to him again. The Welsh actor and playwright Emlyn Williams, one of Dick’s most intimate friends, disliked Taylor and everything she represented. He labeled her ‘a hopped-up chorus girl,’ before remembering that he had met his own wife in the chorus.

“Burton himself could also be deprecating when it came to Elizabeth. He constantly uttered negative remarks about her. She had an oversized bust (he referred to her as ‘Miss Tits’), wasn’t pretty, couldn’t act, didn’t speak the king’s English, had surgical scars on her back, terrible legs, etc., etc. He often made such comments in front of her, but in reality the insults had an affectionate undertone. Elizabeth’s physical appearance tended to intimidate people, and having Burton put her down in this manner only turned her on. Mike Todd had utilized a similar tactic.”

While alone with Dick Hanley and her children in Gstaad, Elizabeth attempted once more to steel herself against the ongoing attacks that filled the press. The British magazines and newspapers were particularly hostile toward her. A London tabloid, Tempo, called Liz “an avaricious vamp who destroys families and devours husbands.” The Daily Mirror described her in equally unflattering terms: “The lady is one long eruption of matrimonial agitation.” In the United States, Life magazine ran a feature story containing photographs of Liz’s children under the cruel heading “Please . . . Who’s My Daddy Now?”

According to John Valva, “Pouches of hate mail arrived daily at the Gstaad chalet. In addition, Liz received hundreds of ‘Queen for a Day’ letters, e.g., ‘I need $10,000—my husband’s dying of a brain tumor,’ and, ‘Please send me $50,000 because I have eight children and I can’t afford to feed them.

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