In Nanette Burstein's documentary 'Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes', the 'Cleopatra' actress reveals how her father was against their relationship with her co-star.
- August 5, 2024
AceShowbiz - Elizabeth Taylor opened up about the struggle she experienced for having an affair with Richard Burton. In Nanette Burstein's documentary "Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes", Taylor revealed how her father was against their relationship.
"My father called me a whore," the two-time Oscar winner said in one of the taped conversations. It was recorded from 1964 through 1965 with the late journalist Richard Meryman.
Taylor shared that she "met such opposition from everyone" over her decision to leave her fourth husband, Eddie Fisher for Burton, who was married to Sybil Christopher at the time. In addition to her parents, Francis Taylor and Sara Sothern, Taylor's lifelong friend and "Lassie Come Home" co-star Roddy McDowall disapproved of her affair.
Taylor first met Burton on the set of "Cleopatra". The pair faced public scrutiny when their on-set love affair was exposed in 1962, following Fisher's 1959 separation from Debbie Reynolds to marry Taylor.
"The Vatican newspaper had come out with an item saying that I was so despicable," Taylor shared in the documentary, "that my own children should be taken away from me, an attack that really - well, it made me vomit."
The actress admitted to having "really a horrendous week" because she started getting threats of violence. "Somebody was at the studio trying to blow me up with a bomb. So the Italian FBI were out there for five days," she recalled.
When asked if she felt guilty for dumping Fisher for Burton and causing such scandal, Taylor responded, "Oh, yes. Especially about Richard's children. We both do, having inflicted such awful pain." Burton shared daughters Kate and Jessica with Christopher. Taylor and Burton also went on to adopt daughter Maria.
The journalist later asked Taylor if she feared retribution in hell for her mistakes. To the question, she replied, "I think we must pay on this earth. We should do our penance now."
Elizabeth and Burton split in 1974 after 10 years of marriage only. They gave their relationship another try in 1975 only to call it quits a year later.
