Elizabeth and Michael

by Donald Bogle

  Like everyone else, Elizabeth endured the endless media stories about his death. Pictures turned up of the deceased Michael lying on a hospital gurney—violating him now in death. On August 27, the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office had ruled that Michael’s death was a homicide due to “acute propofol intoxication with benzodiazepine effect.” Charged with involuntary manslaughter in February 2010, Dr. Murray went on trial in the fall of 2011 and was found guilty on November 7. He was sentenced to four years in prison. AEG was also sued by Katherine Jackson, but she lost the suit.

  Some controversy sprang up about Michael’s will, dated July 7, 2002. Earlier versions of his will had essentially specified the same disbursements. A Michael Jackson Family Trust had been established to control funds of Michael’s estate. Twenty percent of his estate was to go to charity. The remainder of his estate was to be divided equally between a lifetime trust for his mother, Katherine, and a trust to be divided among Michael’s three children. Upon the death of Katherine, any remaining funds from her portion would revert to Michael’s children. Katherine was also designated to be the guardian of Michael’s children. Should Katherine not survive, then Diana Ross was nominated as the children’s guardian. He stipulated in the will: “I have intentionally omitted to provide for my former wife Deborah Jean Rowe Jackson.” Named as the coexecutors of the estate were John Branca and John McClain. Originally, Barry Siegel had also been a coexecutor, but he had resigned as a cotrustee.

  Not mentioned in the will was Joseph Jackson or any of Michael’s siblings. Katherine Jackson objected to the appointment of Branca and McClain as coexecutors. But later she accepted them. As it had been pointed out, why raise any issues about a will in which she was named a chief beneficiary? But Joseph and Randy Jackson were not satisfied. Joseph challenged the will. In court in 2009, Judge Mitchell Beckloff stated emphatically: “Joseph Jackson takes none of this estate.” He added: “This is a decision his son made.” In time, Joseph and Randy, as well as others, had to accept the terms of the will. Creditors stepped in for payment of debts of over $400 million. Still a part of Michael’s estate was his share of the Sony/ATV catalog, which in time would be worth about $2 billion. Branca and McClain were able to refinance Jackson’s debts. They also generated new income, new projects. In time, a $250 million recording contract was sealed. A joint venture endeavor was established between the estate and Cirque du Soleil for a spectacular Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour. Michael would be represented onstage performing. The Soleil troupe would also entertain. In the first part of 2012, the show grossed $75 million. The film Michael Jackson’s This Is It, a record of Michael in rehearsal for his tour directed by Kenny Ortega, was released, and became a hit that grossed $261 million.

  Stories again focused on the biological parenthood of Michael’s three children. Mark Lester’s name came up again as the father. Dermatologist Arnold Klein joined in the fray with suggestions that he was possibly the father of the first two children.

  On October 6, Elizabeth returned to the hospital for a heart procedure that she announced on her Twitter account. Now she seemed to prefer Twitter as a direct, controlled way of communicating that could not be distorted or sensationalized by the media.

  In her wheelchair, she made a visit to Universal Studios with Michael’s children and their nanny, Grace, as well as Miko Brando, and Michael’s nephews, including TJ.

  Once Elizabeth had seen This Is It, she took to Twitter to praise the film, to praise Ortega, and again to praise Michael.

  She continued to protect and defend Michael. In May 2010, Elizabeth took to Twitter to express her feelings about dermatologist Klein’s assertion that Michael had a homosexual affair with someone from his office.

  Dr. Arnie Klein declared on May 2 that he did not betray Michael Jackson by saying publicly that he had a homosexual relationship.

  With someone in “Arnie’s” office. It seems he supplies not only women (Debbie Rowe), but men too . . . how convenient.

  Just what we want in our doctors. And then to say he did not betray Michael’s confidence. No wonder he has death threats.

  I thought doctors, like priests took an oath of confidentiality. May God have mercy on his soul.

  Elizabeth’s days now were long.

  Still, she never lost her interest in life and in the lives of others. When her assistant Tim Mendelson’s mother was dying of liver cancer, the biographer Sam Kashner reported, “Elizabeth virtually turned part of her home into a hospice for her.” She had once done the same for her assistant Chen Sam. She had not lost her passion for new experiences and for travel. Accompanied by a nurse or friends and in her wheelchair, she sometimes went to a gay bar in West Hollywood called the Abbey. She got to know its owner and sometimes enjoyed conversations with patrons. She had also traveled to the Hawaiian home of her friends Jason Winters and Erik Sterling. Their personal-management company Sterling Winters Management represented her as well as Janet Jackson, Kathy Ireland, and others. Later she described the African American Winters as her dearest friend. There had even been rumors that she and Winters would marry, which both Elizabeth and Winters denied. While in Hawaii in 2006, the seventy-four-year-old Elizabeth, dressed in a bathing suit with a T-shirt on top, had herself lowered in a Plexiglas cage into the Pacific Ocean so she could swim with the sharks. No one seemed eager to watch her do so. She was also advised to remove some of her jewelry that might catch the eyes of the sharks, but she reportedly answered, “Isn’t that the fucking point!” In 2007, she performed, seated in a wheelchair, with actor James Earl Jones in a special stage presentation of A. R. Gurney’s play Love Letters. It was a charity event to raise money for mobile AIDS units for patients. The audience gave her a standing ovation for her performance.

  In 2010, she had a photo shoot with Firooz Zahedi, the cousin of former Iranian ambassador Ardeshir Zahedi. She had known Firooz for twenty-five years. Reportedly, she had almost backed out of the photo session at her home. But after she was shown a rare photograph of Burton that Firooz had brought as a gift, she decided to move ahead with the shoot.

  Shortly afterward, she made another trip. With her children and Tim Mendelson, she flew to London where, as a guest of Prince Charles, she attended a ceremony honoring Burton at Buckingham Palace. The Richard Burton Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales, had been established. During her time in London, she stayed at the Dorchester, where she and Burton had resided in the heady, delirious years of their marriage. It was also where she and her mother had stayed upon her return to London in 1948. Other occasions had been spent there. It was a kind of second home for her. And, of course, she was back in her beloved England, the country she had never been able to leave behind. Had those childhood years in England truly been her happiest? This visit proved to be her last stay at the Dorchester and her last trip to England.

  • • •

  Back in Bel Air, her condition worsened. Family and friends saw her further steady physical decline. “I think the last few years didn’t bring her as much joy because her body was failing. And she wasn’t. Her spirit wasn’t,” Carole Bayer Sager remembered. “But her body was. It had lived a lot and suffered a lot.” Elizabeth had “fractured both of her knees, and literally had to be carried out of the wheelchair and hospital bed. She couldn’t do the things she had. She was so brave. Most of her life she endured chronic back pain and she brought all this light and love and generosity to this world despite the fact, often, she was in pain.”

  Perhaps believing the worst just might happen, she held her seventy-ninth birthday party early, in January. Her family and friends celebrated with her. In February, she entered Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Her congestive heart failure had weakened her even more. Daily, family and friends gathered by her bedside. Press releases seemed to indicate she was progressing well but slowly. But several weeks after entering the hospital, Elizabeth took a turn for the worse. Carole Bayer Sager visited “to say goodbye and I knew sh
e was going and I hated that she’d been in hospital for seven weeks, but she wasn’t in pain . . . and she wasn’t really conscious when I saw her. I was there with Liza and Maria, her two daughters, and I was able to say goodbye.” On March 23, 2011, Elizabeth Taylor, surrounded by her four children, died.

  Newspapers around the country ran front-page stories on her. Nightly news shows opened with accounts of her extraordinary life and death. Online social media went into overtime drive with an outpouring of grief and tributes. Said TJ Jackson, Michael’s nephew: “RIP, Elizabeth, I’ll never forget the love and support you gave my Uncle and our family. Your heart was good.” La Toya described Elizabeth “as an incredible friend to my brother, at his side through some of his most difficult times, and, of course loved by his children and our family.” She added: “She will live on in our hearts forever.”

  Later, news came of the fortune she had left. It was estimated at $1 billion. Reportedly, each of her children would receive $100 million. Money was also left to AIDS research. An auction at Christie’s of her belongings and notably of her world-famous jewels shattered records. The sale of her jewels alone brought in $116 million.

  Within forty-eight hours of her death, her funeral was held at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery, where Michael had been interred almost two years earlier. Colin Farrell, whom Elizabeth had befriended, read Gerard Manley Hopkins’s poem “The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo.” As family and friends had gathered to say good-bye, they realized the service had been delayed. According to Elizabeth’s specifications, her casket was to arrive fifteen minutes late. Ah, late for her own funeral.

  After Richard Burton’s death, she had said she wished to be buried next to him in Celigny, Switzerland. But that she realized might cause long-standing and unresolved complications. At the end, she had requested to be buried close to Michael in the Great Mausoleum in Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery.

  • • •

  Theirs had been a friendship we might never really understand. These were large talents and large personalities who occupied a world all of their own, both individually and when together.

  They had met at just the right time, as if their meeting had been decreed by destiny. At the peak of his fame, Michael had been searching for someone to open up to, confide in, laugh with; someone who would not judge him, who he could trust, and who would understand him. From those early years as a kid who missed his mother as he traversed the world on tour with his brothers, when his tutor Rose Fine had comforted him during those airline flights that frightened him, who would have warm milk for him and read to him in the evenings, and who would tell him the door was open, this was yet another aspect of childhood he truly hoped to recapture; someone who helped ward off his fears, his loneliness, his demons. He had looked for someone who would glance into his eyes and be ready to reassure him everything would be all right. He had had other friendships with other stars he had adored, and in the case of Diana Ross, he’d had a friendship not only with someone he could learn from but have fun with too; a star with a blazing talent and a bold sense of style and glamour. But still his search was on. Gazing at Elizabeth from afar, he had sensed that Elizabeth might be someone he could connect to and someone different from other stars, a survivor who had endured, living by her own rules, reaching out to help others. Thus he had invited her to see him in concert; when he knew he would be at his best, at his most confident, and perhaps at his most appealing. Then after she had left the concert before it ended, he had been in a panic and had called her and cried. He had opened himself up to her completely at that point, revealing his vulnerabilities and insecurities, putting them front and center, not holding back. And then as he opened up to her, she had neither mocked nor dismissed his vulnerability or his tears.

  For Elizabeth, Michael had come at the right time. Her children were grown. She had lost Richard Burton. Though she still had a flourishing career, she didn’t feel as challenged by it as in the past. She also battled addictions. She stood at an unacknowledged crossroads in her life as she too still searched—in her case, for something larger than herself. Then she saw him in concert and then she had heard him on the phone and then he had showed up at her home with his chimp Bubbles by his side. Almost nothing had to be said. But as she was quick to reveal, they told each other everything.

  Perhaps she was saying in her heart to him those lines she had said to Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun: “Tell Mama. Tell Mama all.” For Elizabeth, he probably was like Monty in many ways: extraordinarily talented, heartbreakingly sensitive, and in need of someone who understood his torment and his search. Away from one another, each had families, careers, obligations, commitments, demanding schedules, and other important relationships. But when they were together, each moment had its magic.

  Their private times together would remain private. But then there were their forays into the outside world that fascinated the public as the two navigated their way through Hollywood, Las Vegas, New York, London, and even Singapore in the midst of such tribulations. These were days of adventure and fun. Jaunts to the racetrack. Appearances at award shows and tributes. Afternoons at the movies. Trips to Neverland where for Elizabeth, there was the joy of having Michael show her this other realm he resided in. For Michael, there was the joy of seeing Elizabeth on the carousel or Elizabeth sitting in the gazebo or Elizabeth refusing to go on the scary rides or Elizabeth presenting Michael with Gypsy, the elephant, with Elizabeth herself dressed like a gypsy. It was great fun for two who had missed such times during childhood. Then came the dark days when Elizabeth defended Michael, when she saw that Michael was injured in a way from which there would never be a full recovery. He never forgot though that she had stood by him. It had deepened their relationship.

  Loving Michael seemed to have given Elizabeth another chance in life and in turn, it gave her life another dimension. Loving Elizabeth had given Michael a chance to be a kid again and also a man of the world.

  And so now all of that had ended, the magical times, the maddening times. Their experiences together were now all a memory, glorious and otherwise, links to each of their powerful legends.

  Now both were at rest in Forest Lawn.

  Elizabeth and Michael together again.

  Early stardom as children working—with full responsibilities—in professional adult worlds: Elizabeth Taylor in her breakthrough role in National Velvet.

  Michael Jackson with Ed Sullivan at the time of his historic performance with the Jackson 5 on The Ed Sullivan Show.

  Family ties, family complications: Elizabeth with her reserved art dealer father, Francis, and her assertive mother, Sara, who managed her career.

  Michael (far right) with the entire Jackson family, (first row, left to right) his siblings Marlon, Randy, Tito, and La Toya; (top row) Jackie, mother Katherine—warmhearted and always determined to keep her family united—ambitious father Joseph, Janet, and Jermaine.

  Influences and lifelong friendships: Elizabeth with Montgomery Clift—one of the great loves of her life—in A Place in the Sun.

  Michael with one of his idols Diana Ross and maestro Quincy Jones, who produced the groundbreaking albums Off the Wall and Thriller.

  Emerging as major adult icons: Elizabeth with James Dean and Rock Hudson on the set of Giant.

  Michael in performance at one of his concerts.

  Love in the ruins: Elizabeth, at the height of her legendary beauty, and husband, producer Mike Todd, tragically killed in a plane crash.

  Michael and wife Lisa Marie Presley during their short-lived, highly publicized marriage.

  At the peak of their international fame: Elizabeth with her children—son Michael (in her arms), daughter Liza (back to the camera), and son Christopher—on the set of Cleopatra when her “scandalous” love affair with actor Richard Burton (above) drew worldwide attention and outrage.

  An optimistic, confident, and jubilant Michael at the time of Thriller, an artistic triumph, and the bestselling album of all time.

/>   Discovering a new world together: Elizabeth and Michael, hand in hand and all smiles, spending a day at the racetrack.

  Elizabeth and Michael at the American Music Awards where Michael was a big winner.

  Michael and Elizabeth and an elite gathering of stars that included Whitney Houston and Liza Minnelli as Michael was honored by the United Negro College Fund.

  Putting on a brave face though each was battling debilitating and painful physical ailments: Michael and Elizabeth at Michael’s 30th anniversary concert in New York.

  Acknowledgments

  * * *

  WRITING ELIZABETH AND MICHAEL has been a challenging and often daunting but exhilarating experience. In some respects, it is a different book from my original conception. In other respects, it has been similar to writing three interconnecting books in one. The individual sections on Elizabeth and Michael are not full-scale biographies. But the research entailed in writing those sections has often been far more encompassing than I had planned. Initially, I had not intended to write extensively about the early lives of Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson. But as I started researching and developing the book, I realized it was crucial to draw on their early experiences as children operating professionally in adult worlds and the toll that had taken on both. Their early professional as well as personal lives were also the foundation on which their extraordinary friendship was built. With Elizabeth, I wanted very much to unearth the recollections, memories, and “voices” of people who knew her when she was very young—when her view of the world was taking shape and when the warm yet strong-willed personality was formed and still evolving. With the spirit of a true rebel-individualist, Elizabeth Taylor lived by her own rules and her own code. That individuality—coupled with her strength and endurance—would enable her to survive in a film industry in which so many of her contemporaries did not. Discovering the young Elizabeth meant digging for the up close observations of those then around her. Frankly, I was surprised to see how important such MGM associates as the great hair stylist Sydney Guilaroff and the remarkable (and perhaps underrated) designer Helen Rose were to her. I had interviewed Guilaroff while researching my book Dorothy Dandridge: A Biography. He had been immensely helpful, and I delighted in all his stories and observations on classic Old Hollywood. Sydney had great discretion yet at times he was surprisingly open about his experiences with famous stars. Consequently, significant glimpses into Elizabeth’s early life were provided by Guilaroff’s memoir Crowning Glory: Reflections of Hollywood’s Favorite Confidant and also Helen Rose’s Just Make Them Beautiful. Both understood Taylor and were keenly aware of her life away from the studio. With Rose, I also was fortunate in locating a rare documentary-style television special, Elizabeth Taylor: An Intimate Portrait. Here Rose spoke warmly of Elizabeth as did Sam Marx, the producer who cast Taylor in her first important film, Lassie Come Home. Also interviewed was Elizabeth’s mother Sara Taylor who was then as devoted to her daughter and her daughter’s career as she had been during those early years when she was at Elizabeth’s side at MGM. She read a letter from the teenage Elizabeth, written at a time when her daughter had debated whether or not to remain in films. Also important to understanding the child and then young adult Elizabeth was Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. Her columns as well as her book The Whole Truth and Nothing But charted Taylor’s career and her evolving personality. Interestingly enough, the columns and articles of a perceptive chronicler of a later time, Liz Smith, provided insights into Elizabeth (young and older) and the marriage of Taylor to Richard Burton. I also combed through numerous biographies on Taylor. One of the earliest biographies was Ruth Waterbury’s Elizabeth Taylor, which was just what I wanted: again an account by someone from an earlier period in the actress’s life. Of the biographies, Alexander Walker’s Elizabeth was an especially reasoned, balanced account that did not sensationalize Taylor’s life. Of course, Elizabeth Taylor herself authored four books: Nibbles and Me, Elizabeth Taylor: An Informal Memoir, Elizabeth Takes Off, and My Love Affair with Jewelry. Taylor was a master at knowing what to say and what to keep private. Yet there are insights and surprising information in all four books. The same is true of the countless interviews Elizabeth Taylor granted to the media throughout her career. Having been bred by both Sara Taylor and MGM to understand the importance of the press, she knew an actress must be visible, must share herself with the legions fascinated by her. Yet again she withheld a part of herself and her experiences. That would be true even when she publicly discussed Michael Jackson. There was much she would not comment on.