Marmar: The South Bank Show- Elizabeth Taylor: 1981 Interview

Source:Marmar- Hollywood Goddess Dame Elizabeth Taylor in 1981. 

"Elizabeth Taylor interview [1981]"

From Marmar

The term genius gets thrown out a lot and generally thrown badly and for a lot of incomplete passes ( to use a football analogy ) and gets thrown around by a lot of people who certainly aren't geniuses and if anything are lazy mentally. And they use it to talk about people who impress them and these people tend to get impressed easily. The word is misused a lot similar to how the word awesome is misused today and done for pop culture reasons. But Elizabeth Taylor's case, I believe genius fits her perfectly and not just because she's a great actress, but because of every other characteristic that comes with being a genius.

A genius: "Very great and rare natural ability or skill, especially in a particular area such as science or art, or a person who has this:

According to Cambridge Dictionary

A genius is someone who is very great and possesses rare natural ability or skill especially in a particular area such as science or art. We all know or know of people that could be accurately labeled as geniuses who are different and standout in other areas and perhaps not as well as they do with their craft.

Anyone who is familiar with the filmmaker and aviator Howard Hughes knows that he was great at his business, but struggled to get close to anyone emotionally and preferred to be left alone. Richard Nixon, in a lot of ways was a brilliant man when it came to public policy especially as it related to foreign affairs and national security, but struggled to socialize with people and didn't like even shaking hands with other people.

Liz Taylor, was a genius in another way as an actress. Someone who was great at playing her parts so well that she made you believe that she was exactly the person that she was playing, but struggled in other areas of her personal life and could even come off as an idiot as far as how she lived her personal life. All the marriages and the different men in her life, the obesity, followed by alcoholism.

Liz, was great at doing the things that made her famous in life which was her ability to act and had a very sharp intelligent wit and could sum up things very well and accurately and do it in a humorous way, but struggled to make deep connections with people and relate to them positively and keep relationships with people she cared about and loved. Things that normal people, ( not to be insulting ) but people who aren't geniuses, but otherwise intelligent and talented do well in their everyday lives everyday.  

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Elizabeth Taylor: 'Just Do It'

Source:Heartfelt Quotes- Hollywood Goddess Elizabeth Taylor, with some commonsense.

“You just do it. You force yourself to get up. You force yourself to put one foot in front of the other, and God damn it, you refuse to let it get to you. You fight. You cry. You curse. Then you go about the business of living. That’s how I’ve done it. There’s no other way. ~Elizabeth Taylor” 

From Heartfelt Quotes 

I think one of the reasons why Elizabeth Taylor was such a great survivor, was because she had a great sense of humor. I would have paid anything to hear her private conversations with Richard Burton. Who could be a Little Dick (pun intended) when talking to Liz.

I think listening to Dick and Liz talk to each other would be like being at a great two-person comedy show. Like watching the Rat Pack, Abbott and Costello, only funnier.

If you’re familiar with the movie Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (That is not a question, but a movie) It is one of the most dramatic movies you’ll ever see. But Liz and Richard turn it into a comedy, because a lot as far as how the couple communicates with each other in that movie, is how Burton and Liz, communicated in real-life.

Without her sense of humor, I don’t think Liz makes it to 79. I mean think about all the bullshit she went through in real-life and that is not talking about her movies, but her own life.

I mean boredom alone could have killed her when she was married to Senator John Warner when they were married in the late 1970s and early 80s. She loses husband Michael Todd, to a plane crash. She survives what seven divorces, but manages to hang on to all her wealth that she earned after each divorce. She survives cancer and again makes a better life for herself afterwords.

Liz Taylor is sort of the Bill Clinton of Hollywood: she shoots one of her toes off, but grows a bigger healthier toe after losing the original toe. You don’t live the life that she did without being able to make fun of people effectively. Especially yourself and all of your screw ups.

As far as Liz’s advice on life, that is the roadmap she lived by to get through her 79 years. What choice do you have when you’re consistently knocked down. Especially from walking into doors, because you’re not paying attention. You either first realize how stupid you were, or how badly someone screwed you and either learn from your mistakes and get back up, or you lay down and claim life is not fair and wait to die.

It is not a question of whether someone gets knocked down in life, or not. And getting knocked down in life by itself is not a bad thing. Getting knocked down in life is a reminder that you’re not perfect and you’re only human which is all you should want to be anyway. It’s the aftermath that is key. Do you learn from experience and adjust appropriately and get back up as a better person. Or do you just stay on the ground and rot away.

Liz Taylor’s message on life, was one foot forward after another. Figure out where you’re going and then ultimately get there. You’re going to take wrong turns at some point as we all do, but the key is to recognize them and then correct your course as a better person. Not lie on the floor and bitch about how unfair life is, or yell at your GPS for giving you wrong directions.

But instead figure out what is not working especially your own mistakes and fix the issues and move forward. Get to wherever which is the best place for you. Knowing you’re going to screw up again, but the more you learn about yourself and where you come up short, the better you’ll be able correct your own shortcomings. And make fewer mistakes in the future.  

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Barbara Walters Special: Elizabeth Taylor (1999)

Source:Valley Taylor Burton- Hollywood Goddess Elizabeth Taylor, being interviewed by ABC News's Barbara Walters, in 1999.

"Elizabeth Taylor: Barbara Walters Interview."

From Valley Taylor Burton

This photo is from another Barbara Walters Special that Liz Taylor did with (guess who) but I don’t know what year it’s from. The video that this photo is from, is not currently available online right now.

Source:The Daily Review- Hollywood Goddess Elizabeth Taylor.

I think survivor or perhaps the Silent Generation’s version of the drama queen as far as someone who really has lived the life of a Hollywood character. With all the ups and downs that she’s gone through in her life and gotten through all of that and perhaps came out stronger each time. All of the failed marriages, the alcoholism, the obesity, the tragic deaths of close people in her life. The life that she’s lived looks very similar to that of Ava Garner. Another Hollywood Goddess who lived her own life and lived her life her way, there was even a song made about that.

Liz Taylor, lived a life that you would think anyway could have only had been written by a very good Hollywood screenwriter. Perhaps writing the script that made them the star. Similar to Ava Gardner, I think what made Liz Taylor such a great actress is that she in many cases lived the life of a Hollywood star. She didn’t have to play roles and parts, because those parts in many cases were very similar to how she was in real-life. She was born to so soap operas and would have had a great career there has soaps not been too small of a stage for her.

Butterfield 8, which she did with Laurence Harvey in 1960, where she plays a model whose not really working, but goes from man to man and not sure who is the real man for her and not really committed to anyone. But relies on several different people to help her get through, is a pretty good example of what I’m talking about here. I believe she was such a great actress, arguably the best ever and the best of her generation, because she was a great actress, with a keen wit and intelligence, but she played women who were very similar to who she was in real-life. 

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Lifetime: Intimate Portrait- Elizabeth Taylor

Source:Lifetime- Hollywood Babydoll Elizabeth Taylor being profiled by Lifetime in 2002.

"A made-for-television documentary hosted by Peter Lawford in discussions with close friends, family and colleagues of Elizabeth Taylor about her life and career and featuring clips from her films and archive footage from her personal life."  

From IMDB 

Liz Taylor is the Jim Brown, John Unitas, Babe Ruth, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Frank Sinatra, the person in her profession that everyone who comes after her his judged by. The greatest at what she does. Are you as good as Elizabeth Taylor as an actress? If you are, well now you’re the best, but if you’re anything close to her even light years from her you know you’ve made it. If you’re in her class, or just a few classes back from Liz Taylor you’ve made it. You’re not just a successful actress, but you’re a great actress. 

I’ve gone back and forth between Liz and Lauren Bacall when I try to decide who’s the best actress of all-time, because you could make a great case for either and I’m blogging now about Liz, so I’m going to make her case.

But I’ve just don’t know of another actress whose funnier, one of the funniest people who has ever come out of Hollywood. As she said she’s an instinctive and if you’re a great instinctive actress you are also a great improv actress, because you go off of feel about who you’re playing and where the role and the movie, or show is going. That is Liz Taylor. 

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Which isn’t a question, but a movie) Is a perfect example of that where she’s playing a woman whose losing her mind and going crazy if not already there. Its is a very serious role and movie and yet she and Richard Burton are very funny in that. And maybe that’s just because they were working with each other and the chemistry they had. But they made that movie a great movie by themselves.

When it comes to dramatic actress’s I don’t know of a better actress. Again Virginia Woolf, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Butterfield 8, The V.I.P.’s again with Burton and The Sandpiper again with Burton. She’s great at making very serious roles in serious movies seem very entertaining and even funny. 

Virginia Woolf, is a very serious graphic even movie with this couple that looks like they’re getting ready to divorce, because of how they argue and the clean shots that they throw and land at each other. And of course with Liz’s character going insane as the movie moves along and yet they were both hysterically funny together in this movie. She might be the best improvisational actress of all-time as well and Lauren Bacall does very well in this area as well.

Liz Taylor very similar to Ava Gardner took charge of her life and lived her life exactly the way she wanted. And essentially said the hell with the future and the consequences and lived her life her way. I think that’s how a woman is married 6-7 times, or whatever it was and drinks and eats too much. 

Liz lived a roller coaster life including all the tragedies that she suffered around her husband Mike Todd dying and other loved one around her dying. But with all the ups and downs that she had in her life she lived a great 79 years that has millions of people who love her and will always love her. And we’re also talking about one of the two best actress’s ever. 

And when you live a life-like that and enjoy so much and have so much success with so many people who love you, what do you have to complain about. She lived a great life and had a great roller coaster ride. 

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