Furious Love (69 page)

married life, 89, 161, 162, 181–83, 202, 204, 221–22, 236, 281, 282, 306, 319, 395

meeting in Switzerland, 40–42

meeting on set of
Cleopatra
, 2, 18

movie-set lunches, 53–54, 169, 351

paparazzi and press, 27–28, 29, 34, 36–38, 56, 111, 153, 170–71, 214, 247, 373, 382–83, 399, 412

passion for each other, ix, 38, 40, 42, 47–48, 87–88, 97, 107, 155, 185, 193, 204, 220, 227–28, 235, 253–54, 255, 262, 270, 284, 300, 354–55, 389–90, 411–12, 424–25, 430, 437

Porto Santo Stefano villa and, 28

production companies, 59, 113, 114, 193–94, 401

in Puerto Vallarta, 76–88, 112, 126, 174, 193, 194, 237, 243, 261–62, 281–82, 283–84, 294, 376, 381, 407

reconciliations, 362, 372–76, 380–82, 389–91

Reflections in a Golden Eye
filming and, 189–92

refusal to work apart, 250

remarriage, October, 1975, 391–94

reunion, New York, 1982, 411–12

reuniting in
Private Lives
, 1983, 413–24

sense of abandoning himself and, 60

substance abuse and disintegration of relationship, 271, 281–85, 292, 317, 337–43, 344–57, 380–85

taxes and, 212, 225, 240, 242, 267, 349

Taylor on Richard Burton, vii, 1, 38, 154–55, 185, 427

travel and vagabond life, 109–12, 129, 135, 154, 179–80, 222, 227, 241–42, 267, 276, 281, 304 (
see also
Kalizma (yacht)

trips to Wales, 125, 271, 274–75

wealth, 212–13, 252, 267, 277–78, 288, 292, 335

wedding (1964), 99–100

yacht leased and publicity, 236–37

Taylor, Francis, 5, 40–41, 61, 127, 254, 255, 379

Taylor, Howard, 3, 61, 142, 215, 227, 267, 303, 304, 332, 376, 424

Taylor, Mara, 225, 227

Taylor, Rod, 47, 53, 54

Taylor, Sara Sothern, 3, 4, 40–41, 61, 62–63, 64, 254, 257, 267, 293, 332

Taylor-Burton (Cartier) diamond, 257, 273–77, 278, 290–91, 339, 404–5

These Old Broads
(TV film), 436

Thomas, Dylan, 66, 120, 147, 169, 202, 313, 314, 315, 316, 412

Time Remembered
(play), 122–23

Timon/Altra Films International, 313

Tito, Marshal, 320, 321, 322, 345

Tobruk
(film), 297

Todd, Elizabeth Frances “Liza,” 6, 25, 79, 80, 81, 115, 129–30, 154, 171, 195, 208, 240–41, 247, 268, 282, 299, 322, 323, 332, 339, 411, 424, 433

Todd, Michael “Mike,” 5–7, 11, 14, 19, 24, 26, 37–38, 54, 59, 107, 118, 129, 173–74, 215, 283, 309, 322, 368, 376, 379, 403, 423

Todd-AO, 11

Tracy, Spencer, 4, 338–39

“Travelling with Elizabeth, by Her Husband Who Loves Her in Spite of It” (Burton), 109–10

True Grit
(film), 289, 297–98

Trumbo, Dalton, 113, 116

Tunder, Pat, 24, 29

20th Century-Fox, 10, 25, 33–34, 45–46, 80, 208, 250, 269, 287, 292

Tynan, Kenneth, 59, 64, 73, 90, 91, 94, 190, 237

Tyson, Cecily, 197, 388

 

Under Milk Wood

film, 313–16, 323

reading (1982), 411, 412–13

Under the Volcano
(film), 423

Universal Pictures, 287, 297

Universal-World Film Services, 216

Unsinkable Molly Brown
(film), 118–19

Ustinov, Peter, 196, 228, 316

 

Vatican, vii, 36, 153

Vidal, Gore, 234, 369

Vienna, Austria, 343

cast dinner for
Wagner
in, 410

Viertel, Peter, 82

Vignale, Raymond, 232, 322, 358, 371

Villain
(film), 300–301, 305, 317–18

V.I.P.s, The
(film), 42–45, 55–56, 136, 198, 225, 263, 339, 374

Burton-Taylor affair and, 47, 50–51

casting, 53, 168

costumes, 45

director Asquith, 45, 53–54

drinking on set of, 52, 53

Elizabeth's beauty in, 55

Elizabeth's jewelry in, 45

reviews, 112, 113

screenplay, 43

Voight, Jon, 289

Voyage, The
(film), 367, 377

 

Wagner
(TV film), 409–10, 420, 421

Wales, 69–70, 71, 125, 133–34.
See also
Pontrhydyfen; Port Talbot

Burton-Taylor trips to, 125, 271, 274–75

hiraeth
, 120, 146

self-identity as underdogs, 173

singing, 179

“the black dog,” 120

“Welsh hours,” 203, 279

Walker, Kathryn, 422

“Walk with Destiny, A” or “The Gathering Storm” (TV biopic), 387–88

Wallis, Hal, 73, 260

Wanger, Walter, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 26, 28, 29, 31, 35–36, 46

Warhol, Andy, 44, 134, 136, 325, 326, 375

Warner, Francis, 332, 343

Warner, Jack, 138, 150, 151, 190

Warner, John, Jr., 402–5, 410, 411

Warner, Mary, 411

Warner, Virginia, 411

Warner Bros. Studios, 137, 140, 141, 149, 151, 190, 269, 401

Waterbury, Ruth, 35, 164

Waters, John, 239

Wayne, John, 250, 289, 290, 291, 292, 297

Weintraub, Bernard, 305–6

Welch, Raquel, 329, 330, 332, 341

Welles, Orson, 47, 225

Werner, Oskar, 176

West, Mae, 369

Wexler, Haskell, 140–41

Where Eagles Dare
(film), 235, 241, 250, 252, 255, 272, 298, 320, 387

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
(film), 129, 136–52, 157, 185, 205, 243, 266, 269, 271, 436

Academy Awards, 152, 177, 205–7

Burton as George, 133, 138–39, 142–49, 152, 205–6

Burton-Taylor relationship reflected in, 107, 162

cinematographer, 140–41

costs of, 142

gifts after completion, 149–50

location, 141, 148–49

Nichols as director, 139–49, 173

payments to Burton and Taylor, 139

premiere, reviews, awards, 151–52, 205

reviews, 177

screenwriter, 137–38

Taylor as Martha, 136–38, 141–49, 152, 162, 168, 218

“Why This Marriage Can't Be Saved” (
Ladies Home Journal
), 378

Wild Geese, The
(film), 406

Wilding, Beth Clutter, 301, 319, 324

Wilding, Christopher, 5, 40, 79, 82, 115, 129–30, 171, 195, 225–26, 227, 304, 332, 376, 412, 424, 433

Wilding, Layla, 319, 324

Wilding, Michael, 2, 5, 6, 37, 81, 89, 157, 301, 304, 332, 376

Wilding, Michael Howard, 5, 79, 82, 115, 129–30, 171, 195, 225–26, 319–20, 324, 332, 376, 412, 424, 433

marriage of, 301, 303–4

Williams, Alan, 334–35

Williams, Brook, 118, 247, 248, 291, 298, 334, 359, 394, 396, 399, 402, 416, 417, 421, 428, 431

Williams, Emlyn, 19, 42, 66, 75, 98, 106, 118, 134, 162, 178, 249, 334, 399

Williams, Tennessee, 7, 76, 77, 82, 113, 211–12, 213, 214, 216, 234, 239–40, 264, 414, 436

Wilson, Michael, 113

Wilson, Robert “Bob,” 98, 100, 105, 115, 119, 141, 167, 187, 200, 208, 220, 267, 337, 344

Wilson, Sally, 141, 167

Windsor, Duke and Duchess of, vii–viii, 167, 180, 252–53, 325, 326, 327

“Prince of Wales” brooch, 252–53

Woodfall Film Productions, 241

Wyler, William, 114

Wynberg, Henry, 370–71, 374, 380–81, 385, 386–87, 388, 389, 400, 402

 

X, Y, and Zee
or
Zee & Co.
(film), 301, 305, 310–12, 319

 

York, Michael, 120, 168, 171–72

York, Susannah, 310–12

Young, Howard, 61

Young, Terence, 383

 

Zahedi, Ardeshir, 402

Zanuck, Darryl F., 31, 46, 251

Zeckendorf, William, 45–46

Zeffirelli, Franco, 120, 165, 181, 232, 249, 359–60

Zinnemann, Fred, 139, 206, 207

F
irst of all, we must thank Dame Elizabeth, whom “Age cannot wither, not custom stale,” as Shakespeare described Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile.

When we first embarked on this venture, we happened to mention our proposed book on “the Taylor-Burton romance” to a young theater major who had recently graduated from college. Her response stunned us: “I never knew Elizabeth Taylor was married to Tim Burton!” It also stunned Dame Elizabeth when the story was told to her. Concerned that Richard Burton's name and legacy were in danger of being forgotten, she agreed to work with us, behind the scenes as it were, by making available a trove of some forty letters and notes written to her by Richard Burton. She also allowed us to see parts of her 1965 autobiography,
Elizabeth Taylor
, that she had suppressed for fear that they might hurt various people or disappoint her fans. As she has always refused to speak publicly about her affair with and marriage to Richard, we feel that this book is the closest we'll come to her thoughts and feelings on the “great love and tumultuous passion,” in Burton's words, that first shook the world in 1962.

We must also express our gratitude to those closest to Elizabeth Taylor. We are respecting their wishes to remain unnamed, but their help and encouragement truly made this book possible. We salute
your generosity of spirit, your insights, your wisdom, your impeccable hospitality.

We also want to thank Sally Hay Burton, Richard's widow, for her continued graciousness and many kindnesses to us. We are truly grateful for her permission to quote from Burton's published and unpublished works, including his diaries, letters, two poems, and several short stories and essays: “A Christmas Story,” “Meeting Mrs. Jenkins,” and “Traveling with Elizabeth.” We also thank Elisabeth Bennett, archivist at the Swansea University Library, for her advice and guidance, and Melvyn Bragg, for his masterful life of Richard Burton and for permission, through Sally Hay Burton, to quote from Burton's diaries published in
Rich: The Life of Richard Burton
.

We also extend our thanks to Kate Burton, who gave us her blessing, and to many who met with us and allowed themselves to be interviewed, including those who helped us during the research and writing of “A First Class Affair,” an article about the making of the Burtons' second film together,
The V.I.P.s
, which originally appeared in
Vanity Fair
magazine. They are Gianni Bozzacchi, Sally Burton, Gabriel Byrne, Linda Christianson, John Cullum, Denis Ferrara, David Frost, Henry Grossman, Robert “Tim” Hardy, John Heyman, Waris Hussein, Gavin Lambert, Brenda Maddox, Christopher Mankiewicz, Keith McDermott, Peter Medak, Mike Nichols, Tony Palmer, Liz Smith, Victor Spinetti, Richard L. Sterne, Rod Taylor, Gore Vidal, Elisabeth Woodthorpe, Michael York, and Franco Zeffirelli.

A particularly deep bow to the most gracious of men, Graydon Carter, for the pleasure of his friendship and the privilege of working for him at
Vanity Fair
; the incomparable Doug Stumpf, patient friend and editor nonpareil at
Vanity Fair
; and his indispensable editorial assistant, Christopher Bateman. To Ann Schneider, high priestess of photography at
Vanity Fair
and for this book, our deep admiration for your grace under pressure. To Chris Garrett, David Friend, and Beth Kseniak at
Vanity Fair
, for their wisdom and many kindness.
To our friend Dick Guttmann, who makes all things possible, we are forever in your debt.

Finally, where would we be without our indefatigable agents, Justin Manask in Hollywood and David Kuhn in New York, as well as David's able assistant, Billy Kingsland? Or our brilliant researcher, Eva Burch, and our transcriber, the poet Richard Lucyshyn? And our deepest gratitude to our editor, Rakesh Satyal, who brought his own considerable gifts to our effort, and to Jonathan Burnham, publisher of HarperCollins and a true prince of the city. Our book would have been much diminished without their enthusiasm and encouragement. It was a privilege to work with HarperCollins.

“I don't care what you write about me,” Dame Elizabeth told us. “God knows, I've heard it all, just as long as you honor Richard.” We hope that in telling their story, we have honored them both.