The Life & Loves of Elizabeth Taylor | “Mike’s Dead and I’m Alive” | 2
Even the Rich
Wondery
4.3 • 11.5K Ratings
🗓️ 20 July 2021
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1958, Elizabeth Taylor loses the life of her life. The entire world mourns with her; her grief is their grief. She's the most beloved woman in America. Six months later, she’s the most hated. So what happened? Two words: Eddie Fisher.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to even the rich ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. |
| 0:06.0 | A note to our listeners, this episode contains descriptions of alcohol and drug abuse. |
| 0:11.0 | We're also going to curse and talk about sex. Lots of it. |
| 0:15.0 | Please don't be mad, Mom. But things are going to get a bit dirty around here. |
| 0:19.0 | It's 118 AM and Elizabeth Taylor can't sleep. She's wide awake, alone in her king-size bed. |
| 0:36.0 | She watches the reflection of car headlights from the street below, swing across her bedroom walls, and then disappear. |
| 0:44.0 | Her fever's broken, and now she feels so cold she's shivering. |
| 0:50.0 | She keeps thinking about a moment from her wedding, just 13 months before. |
| 0:55.0 | It was the end of the night. Ties were loose and voices were horse. |
| 1:01.0 | She and Mike Todd had just climbed a hill to watch the fireworks show they'd arranged for the grand finale. |
| 1:07.0 | Imagine, kaleidoscopic explosions of red and green. They're beautiful. But instead of ooling and eye, Elizabeth bursts into tears. |
| 1:20.0 | Oh no, what did Mike do? He didn't leave her alone all night to pick up women, did he? |
| 1:25.0 | No, he's been wonderful. Totally completely wonderful. And it fills her with this icy panic. |
| 1:34.0 | Because this is the love she's always wanted. Now that she's found it, she's so scared of living without it. |
| 1:42.0 | So she ugly cries into Mike's shoulder, and Mike strokes her hair. |
| 1:47.0 | Between sobs, she looks up at him and says, |
| 1:51.0 | Promise me, Mike, that we'll never spend a night apart. That we'll always be together. Mike keeps petting her hair. He whispers to her, I promise. |
| 2:05.0 | Finally, a romance she deserves. |
| 2:08.0 | Yes. But that's not why Elizabeth is thinking about that moment. |
| 2:12.0 | All night, she's felt this growing coldness in her chest she couldn't place. But it's that same feeling, the same dread she felt on her wedding night. |
| 2:23.0 | And tonight, Mike isn't here to calm her down. He's on his private jet flying to New York for a Lifetime Achievement Award. |
| 2:31.0 | Elizabeth stayed behind, nursing a fever. She wanted to go, but she knew MGM would kill her if she jetted off to New York. |
... |
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