After Kelley’s death, Elizabeth was very kind and affectionate toward me. She let time soothe my pain and then called me. “Why don’t you visit sometime and introduce me to your daughter Rhea Bianca?” she asked. Elizabeth had wanted to be Rhea’s godmother, but Kelley had demurred, fearing the media pressure. I agreed to visit, of course. But when we arrived at her Bel Air home she was with a Chinese doctor, right in the middle of an acupuncture session.
“Come on in,” she called, while Rhea stood timidly at the door, absorbing the rather curious scene: Elizabeth stretched out flat, almost naked, a dozen needles stuck in her body while her white-coated acupuncturist stood beside her. “Don’t be scared, Rhea Bianca,” she said. “Come closer.”
I was standing close behind Rhea when the conversation suddenly got a lot more complicated.
“You’re so beautiful,” said Elizabeth. “You look exactly like your mother. And your dad tells me you are also as smart as she was.”
“Thank you,” Rhea replied.
“Listen, my dear. Your father is now a widower, and I am single . . . So now we’ll get married and we can keep each other company.”
At this, Rhea flashed back without a moment’s hesitation: “No!! My dad is my dad!!” She then spun round and left without another word.
It was a surreal situation, but whatever it meant, it ended like that and I kept my memory of that weird day to myself, sure it would remain our own little secret forever.
Then Elizabeth died, and people started calling, swarms of agencies wanting to know about something that had never happened. The Chinese doctor, it seems, had talked. A CBS journalist was the first to ask: “So, you’re the one that got away, right?” I didn’t get what he meant at first. But the story was already out. “Well, you refused to marry Elizabeth when she proposed to you; otherwise you’d have been her ninth husband.”
I was tempted to explain that the person who’d actually turned down Elizabeth’s proposal had been my daughter Rhea. But I knew that wasn’t entirely true, so I kept my peace, a half smile on my face, musing on the acupuncturist who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
However, as I’ve promised, I’d like to try to explain my own idea of why Elizabeth chose me that day long ago in Africa. But in order to do so, I have one last story to tell.
My relationship with paparazzi and journalists has always been very peculiar, to say the least, because in a way I belonged to their group, while at the same time I belonged to Elizabeth’s. I was more than just her personal photographer, and for that reason I represented a potential gold mine of information for anyone wanting to know about her—which was often half the world. I’ve always respected the fact that paparazzi are just doing their job. But I’ve also always protected everyone’s privacy. Which is why, on many occasions, I’ve been reluctant to answer certain questions. For example, I’ve been asked so often to describe just how tumultuous Elizabeth and Richard’s relationship really was. My answer has always been the same: silence, accompanied by a small smile. Finally, I decided to end the questions and answer once and for all: “How could I possibly know how tumultuous their relationship was? I never spent any time in their bedroom.”
Giulia Fanchin Bozzacchi. I am happily married to this beautiful creature, and as Elizabeth might say, I’m a “pain in the ass” to her every day!
Respect has always been of paramount importance to me. Elizabeth, my dear Baby Boobs, I really believe you chose me when I was still a nobody because you looked deep into my eyes and saw not only my talent but my moral integrity.
It was an honor to photograph her, always so genuine, joyful, and sexy, with a sensuality that I like to believe was emphasized by my trustworthy presence. Looking back at those photos today, reliving those moments, I’m even more convinced that, in trying to draw out her sensuality, I witnessed her light up in photo after photo until, in the end, she opened like a flower. And in the process, while taking my photos, always following my instinct, I grew too, picture by picture.
So long, Elizabeth “Liz” Rosemond Taylor, my darling Baby Boobs. I’ve always loved you and will always love you for the rest of my life.
There is a postscript to my story of that young Japanese American couple I photographed on the Pincio, the girl and boy to whom I had so naively given my Leica, the companion of my entire career. They returned my camera, asking only that I sign the photos I had taken. I was very happy—the camera had been a gift from Elizabeth.
My eyes, and my camera, will always see the world in black and white. But now, for the first time, my life is in color. Photos like these are how I express myself today.
Index
The index that appeared in the print version of this title was intentionally removed from the eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below
Abbey Road (album)
Agfa Pioneer (camera)
Agusta, Giovanna
Albert (prince of Monaco)
Alexandre (Louis Alexandre Raimon)
Amarcord (film)
Anne of the Thousand Days (film)
Antonioni, Michelangelo
Ash Wednesday (film)
Assassination of Trotsky, The (film)
Aulin, Ewa
Austria
Baldieri, Pupa
Bandini, Lorenzo
Bardot, Brigitte
Battle of Sutjeska, The (film)
Bautzer, Greg
Beatles (band)
Beatty, Warren
Beny, Roloff
Berkeley, Ron
Bisset, Jacqueline
Blow-Up (film)
Bluebeard (film)
Boom! (film)
Bozzacchi, Bianca
Bozzacchi, Bruno
Catholic Church
death
meets Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in France
military service
parents
Pathology of the Book Institute
photography
relationship with Gianni Bozzacchi
Bozzacchi, Giampiero
Bozzacchi, Gianni: Anne of the Thousand Days
Michelangelo Antonioni
appearance
Ash Wednesday
The Assassination of Trotsky
automobile accidents
automobiles
Brigitte Bardot
The Battle of Sutjeska
birth
Blow-Up
Bluebeard
Boom!
Bullitt
Candy
childhood
China 9 and Liberty 37
Cleopatra
The Comedians
death of Bruno Bozzacchi
death of Elizabeth Taylor
director
dissatisfaction with photography
Divorce His, Divorce Hers
fame
fatherhood
A Fistful of Dollars
Forum Press Services
The Graduate
grandparents
honeymoon with Claudye Ettori-Bozzacchi
illnesses
I Love N.Y.
insecurity
The Last Days of Mussolini
Le Mans
marriage to Claudye Ettori-Bozzacchi
Massacre in Rome
meets arms dealer
meets and dates Claudye Ettori-Bozzacchi
meets private investigator
military service
The Missouri Breaks
movie-watching
newspaper delivery
Night Watch
Les Novices
Once Upon a Time in America
The Only Game in Town
as personal photographer to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
photographs Elizabeth Taylor’s parents
photography of Richard Burton
photography of Elizabeth Taylor
photography
of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s family
photography style and technique
producer
relationship with Bruno Bozzacchi
relationship with Richard Burton
relationship with Elizabeth Taylor
retirement
Roma Bene
saves Elizabeth Taylor from kidnapping
saves Elizabeth Taylor’s dog
saves Elizabeth Taylor from Frank La Rue
saves Richard Burton from drowning
school
Secret Ceremony
separation from Claudye Ettori-Bozzacchi
sexuality
special photographer
street kid
Together
transports Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry
traveling with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
Under Milk Wood
wedding to Claudye Ettori-Bozzacchi
We Were Not Just Bicycle Thieves: Neorealism
Where Eagles Dare
work stress
The World by Night (film)
X, Y & Zee
Bozzacchi, Giulia Fanchin
Bozzacchi, Ofelia
Bozzacchi, Paola
Bozzacchi, Renato
Bozzacchi, Rhea
Bozzacchi, Vanessa
Brando, Marlon
Brega, Mario
Bridges, Beau
Broz, Jovanka
Budapest, Hungary
Bullitt (film)
Burton, Maria
Burton, Richard: alcohol use
Anne of the Thousand Days
Ash Wednesday
The Assassination of Trotsky
The Battle of Sutjeska
Bluebeard
Candy
Cleopatra
The Comedians
Divorce His, Divorce Hers
dogs
hires Gianni Bozzacchi as personal photographer
Massacre in Rome
Oxford University
paparazzi
photographed by Gianni Bozzacchi
poem inspired by Gianni Bozzacchi photograph of Elizabeth Taylor
relationship with Gianni Bozzacchi
saved from drowning by Gianni Bozzacchi
Staircase
talent for theater
Under Milk Wood
The Voyage
Wales
Raquel Welch
Where Eagles Dare
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Yugoslavia and Tito
Caine, Michael
Candy (film)
Cardinale, Claudia
Caroline (princess of Monaco)
Catholic Church
Chakiris, George
Chanel, Coco
China 9 and Liberty 37 (film)
Christie, Julie
Cinecittà Studios
Cleopatra (film)
Conversation Piece (film)
Comedians, The (film)
Comencini, Luigi
Cosmatos, George Pan
Cotonou, Dahomey (Benin)
Dean, James
Delon, Alain
Delon, Nathalie
De Rossi, Alberto
De Sica, Vittorio
Divorce His, Divorce Hers (film)
Dmytryk, Edward
Dunn, Michael
Dunne, Dominick
East of Eden (film)
Eastwood, Clint
Elizabeth (queen of Yugoslavia)
entourage
Epoca (magazine)
Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, Soraya (princess of Iran)
Ettori-Bozzacchi, Claudye: death
honeymoon with Gianni Bozzacchi
marriage to Gianni Bozzacchi
meets and dates Gianni Bozzacchi
miscarriage
pregnancies
separation from Gianni Bozzacchi
traveling with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
wedding to Gianni Bozzacchi
Everybody Go Home (film)
Farewell, My Lovely (film)
Farrow, Mia
Fellini, Federico
Ferréol, Andréa
Fistful of Dollars, A (film)
Fonda, Henry
Fonda, Jane
Freeland, Diane
Galella, Ron
Galileo Galilei
German Army
Giant (film)
Graduate, The (film)
Gstaad, Switzerland
Guerra, Tonino
Guinness, Alec
Guttuso, Renato
Haggiag, Robert
Hammersmith Is Out (film)
Harrison, Rex
Harvey, Laurence
Hasselblad (camera)
Heatherton, Joey
Hellman, Monte
Hemmings, David
Hepburn, Audrey
Heyman, John
High Noon (film)
Hoffman, Dustin
How to Murder Your Wife (film)
Hudson, Rock
Hughes, Howard
Huston, John
Hutton, Brian
Identification of a Woman (film)
Identikit (film)
Il Consulente RE (magazine)
I Love N.Y. (film)
Intervista (film)
Iran
Islam
Italian Army
Jagger, Mick
jet set
Jet Set (film, unfinished)
John Paul II (pope)
Julius Caesar (play)
Kalizma (boat)
Kastner, Elliott
Kelly, Grace (princess of Monaco)
Kennedy, Robert
Kelly’s Heroes (film)
Kinski, Klaus
Kodak Instamatic (camera)
Kurosawa, Akira
La Dolce Vita (film)
Lari, Emilio
La Rue, Frank
Last Days of Mussolini, The (film)
Las Vegas
L’avventura (film)
Leica (camera)
Le Mans (film)
Leonardo Da Vinci
Leone, Sergio
Lettieri, Al
Life (magazine)
Lisi, Virna
Little Red Book (Mao Tse-tung)
Lizzani, Carlo
London
Look (magazine)
Loren, Sophia
Los Angeles
Losey, Joseph
magazine and newspaper industry
Magnani, Anna
Mangini, Luigi
Mao Tse-tung
Marquand, Christian
Marsani, Claudia
Massacre in Rome (film)
Mastroianni, Marcello
McQueen, Steve
Melville, Jean-Pierre
Milchan, Arnon
Missouri Breaks, The (film)
Mitchum, Robert
Monaco
Moncada, Johnny
Mussolini, Benito
Nazzari, Amadeo
Nero, Franco
New York
Nice, France
Nichols, Mike
Nicholson, Jack
Night Watch (film)
Nikon
1960s
Novices, Les (film)
Olympus (camera)
Once Upon a Time in America (film)
Once Upon a Time in the West (film)
Only Game in Town, The (film)
Osbourne, Jean
O’Sullivan, Maureen
O’Toole, Peter
Oxford University
Pacino, Al
Pahlavi, Ali-Reza (prince of Iran)
Pahlavi, Farah Diba (empress of Iran)
Pahlavi, Farahnaz (princess of Iran)
Pahlavi, Leila (princess of Iran)
Pahlavi, Mohammad Reza (shah of Iran)
Pahlavi, Reza (crown prince of Iran)
Painter, Jack
Pam, Jerry
paparazzi
Paris
&nbs
p; Paris Match (magazine)
Parker, “Colonel” Tom
Pasolini, Pier Paolo
Pathology of the Book Institute
Peerce, Larry
Penn, Arthur
Penn, Bob
Pentax Asahi (camera)
Peploe, Mark
Picasso, Pablo
Place in the Sun, A (film)
Playboy (magazine)
Polanski, Roman
Ponti, Carlo
Praturlon, Pierluigi
Presley, Elvis
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Queen Margot (film)
Rainier III (prince of Monaco)
Rebel without a Cause (film)
Red Circle, The (film)
Renaissance, The (film, incomplete)
Rocky (film)
Rolleicord (camera)
Rolleiflex (camera)
Rolling Stones (band)
Rome: Bozzacchi childhood
Hollywood and international film industry
the 1960s
Parioli
postwar
Via Margutta
Via Veneto
World War II
Rosemary’s Baby (film)
Rothschild, Marie Elaine de
Rusconi, Giuseppe
Salkind, Ilya
Sardinia, Italy
Schulz, Charles
Scorsese, Martin
Secret Ceremony (film)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (album)
Sinatra, Frank
Somebody Up There Likes Me (film)
Staircase (film)
Stallone, Sylvester
Starr, Ringo
Steiger, Rod
Stephanie (princess of Monaco)
Stern (magazine)
Stevens, George
Strizzi, Sergio
Tarzan (film series)
Taylor, Elizabeth: AIDS activism
alcohol
Anne of the Thousand Days
Ash Wednesday
attacked by Frank La Rue
Boom!
Budapest
Cleopatra
The Comedians
death
Divorce His, Divorce Hers
doctors
dogs
drawn by Renato Guttuso
fortieth birthday party
Giant
Identikit
jewelry
kidnapping attempt in Sardinia
Sophia Loren
marriage proposal from Howard Hughes
marriages
Night Watch
The Only Game in Town
parents
photographed by Gianni Bozzacchi
photographed by Ron Galella
relationship with Gianni Bozzacchi
Secret Ceremony
sense of humor
Under Milk Wood
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
X, Y & Zee
Yugoslavia and Tito
—AND RICHARD BURTON: arguments
Cleopatra
divorce
entourage
fame
family life
My Life in Focus Page 27