Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century

By Sam Kashner & Nancy Schoenberger

 

I've always loved old movies, and the Tayor/Burton classic “Cleopatra” was always a favorite growing up. One Halloween I went as the famous queen, basing my costume and makeup on the movie’s designs. However, I knew very little about the two marriages of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (the first in 1964, the second in 1975).

Furious Love recounts the Burtons grand passion that started on the Rome set of “Cleopatra,” and produced eight movies over the course of a single decade. I find that biographies can become weighed down by the sheer volume of information contained within their pages, but not here. The book is perfect summer reading, possessing a brisk style, it is chocked full of details regarding the couples careers, personal lives and the insanity which seemed to surround them wherever they went. More importantly, Elizabeth Taylor herself granted the authors access to her letters from Burton, giving the book a much clearer picture of the couple and their lives together.

There are so many interesting facts presented in the book I’ve decided to offer a list of bullet points of some of my favorites below:

• For her role as Cleopatra Elizabeth was the first actor or actress to be paid $1 million. She also demanded in her contracts that filming be shut down whenever she was on her period.
• Burton’s first words upon meeting Elizabeth Taylor (the world’s biggest movie star at the time) for the first time on the set of “Cleopatra” were “Has anyone told you that you’re a very pretty girl?”
• While having dinner at Elizabeth’s villa in Rome one night, Richard got drunk and demanded to know who she really loved right in front of her current husband Eddie Fisher. She promptly told Richard she loved him, setting off a huge fight between Eddie and Richard.
• Burton ended up leaving his faithful wife Sybil for Elizabeth, and she left her husband Eddie Fisher. Their romance was so shocking the press dubbed it ‘Le Scandale.’ They became so notorious that they were denounced by the Vatican.
• As a young actor in the London theater world Burton had short-lived homosexual relationship with Oscar winner Laurence Olivier. He would be embarrassed about his dalliances his whole life, but Elizabeth encouraged him to be honest about his past experiences.
• Their 1966 movie "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Was the first movie where viewers had to be over the age of 18 in order to see it in the theater.
• Richard became known for his extravagant gifts to Elizabeth including a Bulgari pendant, set in platinum with a 18.61-carat emerald surrounded by diamonds; the world-famous 33.19-carat, Asscher-cut Krupp diamond set in platinum; and the flawless, D-colored 69.42-carat, pear shaped Burton-Taylor diamond.
• Much like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the Burtons rarely stayed put in one location for more than a few months, eventually purchasing a luxury yacht, The Kalizma, as their full-time home. It had 14 bedrooms and a crew of nine.
• Both Richard and Elizabeth were heavy drinkers, usually starting their days off with a large bloody mary, but it would be Richard’s drinking that would eventually drive them apart. Toward the end of his life he was reportedly drinking three bottles of vodka a day.
• After separating from Richard 1973 Elizabeth met with Andy Warhol for lunch, pouring her heart out about her heartbreak. She later discovered that Andy had been secretly taping her with a micro-cassette tape recorder, for his newly founded Interview magazine. Once she realized what was happening she grabbed the tape out of his hands and destroyed the tape right in front of him.   
• Lastly, after Burton died in 1984, Elizabeth was asked not to attend his funeral because his family was concerned about the chaos her presence would cause.