The Accidental Feminist: How Elizabeth Taylor Raised Our Consciousness and We Were Too Distracted by Her Beauty to Notice (20 page)

69      Maiming of Rosemary Kennedy: Ibid., 173–74.

69      Freeman nominated Moniz for Nobel Prize: El-Hai,
The Lobotomist
, 226–27.

70      “lobotomobile”: Randy Kennedy, “A Filmmaker Inspired by Lobotomy,”
New York Times
, April 29, 2004, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/movies/a-filmmaker-inspired-by-lobotomy.html?scp=1&sq=lobotomobile&st=cse.

70      American Academy of Pediatrics: Pam Belluck, “Group Backs Ritual ‘Nick’ as Female Circumcision Option,”
New York Times
, May 6, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/health/policy/07cuts.html?scp=1&sq=u.s.%20doctors%20clitorectomy%202010&st=cse.

75      “They have so many of these torture groups …”: Interview with Gore Vidal, Los Angeles, March 19, 2008. (All Vidal quotations are from this interview.)

75      “Galileans”: Gore Vidal,
Julian
(New York: Signet Classics, 1964), 21.

77      “Ingmar Mankiewicz”: Sam Spiegel, quoted by Vidal.

77      “The story admittedly deals with …”: Quoted in Geoffrey M. Shurlock, memo, May 25, 1959,
Suddenly
,
Last Summer
Production Code Archive, Margaret Herrick Library, AMPAS.

77      “I don’t need to tell you …” Geoffrey M. Shurlock to Sam Spiegel, letter, November 16, 1959, in ibid.

77      “the most bizarre film …”:
Variety
, quoted in Mann,
How to Be a Movie Star
, 272.

78      “Cathy knew she was being used for evil.”: Ad for
Suddenly, Last Summer,
quoted in Kelley,
Elizabeth Taylor
, 143.

9.   
BUtterfield 8
, 1960

79      “There should be developed …”: E. G. Dougherty, Production Code Administration memo, October 16, 1959,
BUtterfield 8
Production Code Archive, Margaret Herrick Library, AMPAS. (All Production Code Administration correspondence and memos are from this archive.)

80      “nymphomaniac”: Geoffrey M. Shurlock to Robert Vogel, letter, October 12, 1959.

80      “sex where our agency is denied”: Rebecca Walker, “Lusting for Freedom,” in
Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation
, ed. Barbara Findlen (Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2001), 23.

80      “For giving bodies …”: Ibid.

80      “Confronted with a right-wing backlash …”: Ellen Willis,
No More Nice Girls: Countercultural Essays
(Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, 1992), 20.

83      “norm of white procreative heterosexuality”: Eva Pendleton, “Love for Sale: Queering Heterosexuality,” in
Whores and Other Feminists
, ed. Jill Nagle (New York: Routledge, 1997), 73.

83      “Heterosexuality as a social system …”: Ibid.

84      “separate themselves from the lower orders”: Laura Kipnis,
Bound and Gagged
:
Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America
(New York: Grove Press, 1996), 173.

85      Gloria must be portrayed as “sick”: Dougherty, Production Code Administration memo, October 16, 1959.

86      “rewritten so as to eliminate …”: Dougherty, Production Code Administration memo, August 14, 1959.

86      “Liggett appears to have no recognition …”: Geoffrey M. Shurlock to Robert Vogel, letter, October 27, 1959.

86      “From that moment on …”: John O’Hara,
BUtterfield 8
(New York: Modern Library, 2003), 33.

86      “MGM must have thought …”: Eddie Fisher,
My Life, My Loves
(New York: Harper & Row, 1981), 167.

87      “The trouble had nothing to do with the fact that Gloria was a call girl …”: Pandro S. Berman, quoted in Maddox,
Who’s Afraid of Elizabeth Taylor?
154.

87      “trash”: Fisher,
My Life, My Loves
, 168.

87      “a non-actor …”:
Saturday Review
, “BUtterfield 8,” November 19, 1960.

88      Fisher details the “No Sale” incident in
My Life, My Loves
, 168–69.

88      “moral story”: Geoffrey M. Shurlock to Eric Johnston, letter, May 25, 1961.

88      “sentimentally”: Ibid.

88      “exactly the way it should …”: Ibid.

88      “In the last century …”: Ibid.

89      “I love prostitution …”: Gustave Flaubert, quoted in Charles Bernheimer,
Figures of Ill Repute: Representing Prostitution in Nineteenth-century France
(Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1997), 134.

89      “The ending is absurd”: Bosley Crowther, “Elizabeth Taylor at ‘BUtterfield 8,’ ”
New York Times
, November 17, 1960.

10.   1960–1962

90      Taylor’s injuries in childhood: Heymann,
Liz
, 39.

90      Fisher discusses Taylor’s 1957 surgery in Fisher,
My Life, My Loves
, 128.

90      Todd’s purchases are detailed in Kelley,
Elizabeth Taylor
, 108.

91      Fisher discusses emergency rooms in Fisher,
My Life, My Loves
.

92      “Get me my lip gloss”: Ibid., 167.

92      Fisher details the Philadelphia accident in ibid., 170.

92      Taylor offends the British Hairdressers’ Union: Amburn,
The Most Beautiful Woman in the World
, 124.

93      Fisher details the tracheotomy in Fisher,
My Life, My Loves
, 183–84.

94      “Hundreds of people …”: Ibid, 184.

94      SIX THOUSAND …: Walter Wanger,
My Life with Cleopatra
(London: Corgi Books, 1963), 67.

94      “Dying, as I remember it …”: Elizabeth Taylor, quoted in Kelley,
Elizabeth Taylor
, 165.

95      “I lost to a tracheotomy”: Shirley MacLaine, quoted in Amburn,
The Most Beautiful Woman in the World
, 129.

95      “MGM’s Little Miss Mammary”: Richard Burton, quoted in Kelley,
Elizabeth Taylor
, 177

95      “elegant in a simple yellow silk gown”: Wanger,
My Life with Cleopatra
, 120.

95      “handsome, arrogant, and vigorous”: Ibid.

95      “you could almost feel the electricity”: Ibid.

95      “erotic vagrancy”:
L’Osservatore della Domenica
, quoted in Kelley,
Elizabeth Taylor
, 184.

11.   
Cleopatra
, 1963

97      “Alexandria had its share …”: Stacy Schiff,
Cleopatra: A Life
(New York: Little, Brown, 2010), 35.

98      Monroe fired from
Something’s Got to Give
: Detailed by Maddox,
Who’s Afraid of Elizabeth Taylor?
171.

98      “I have a healthy aunt in Vienna …”: Billy Wilder, quoted in Wanger,
My Life with Cleopatra
, 5.

99      Mankiewicz begged Zanuck: Joseph Mankiewicz to Darryl Zanuck. October 22, 1962, “Correspondence and Clippings on Cleopatra” collection, Margaret Herrick Library, AMPAS.

100    “women than ever before …”: Betty Friedan,
The Feminine Mystique
(New York: Dell, 1983), 311.

101    “the forfeited self”: Ibid., 310.

101    “How soon, how soon …”: Carlo Maria Franzero,
The Life and Times of Cleopatra
(London: Heron Books, 1968), 10.

102    “that touch of frailty …”: Ibid., 11.

104    “army of 4,000 …”: “Liz is Back as Enchantress of Egypt,”
Life
, October 6, 1961, 100.

104    “for naval engagements”: Ibid.

104    “Cool-Chassis”: Ibid., 112A.

104    “Automatic Picture Contrast Resolution”: Ibid., 18.

104    “Golden Tube Sentry Unit”: Ibid., 126–28.

104    Mankiewicz’s use of amphetamines: Kelley,
Elizabeth Taylor
, 170.

106    “Miss Taylor is monotony …”:
New Statesman
, cited in ibid., 191.

106    Martinez’s work is detailed in Chip Brown, “The Search for Cleopatra,”
National Geographic
, July 2011, 40–63.

107    Number of ballets, operas, plays, and films about Cleopatra are detailed in ibid., 45.

108    “I am fire and air”: William Shakespeare,
Antony and Cleopatra
, act 5, scene 2.

108    “infinite variety”: Ibid., act 2, scene 2.

12.   1963–1965

110    “This is a man who sold out”: Richard Burton’s agent, quoted in “The Man on the Billboard,”
Time
, April 26, 1963, 70.

110    “Richard professionally is …”: Paul Scofield, quoted in ibid.

110    “she was spread-eagled …”: “Elizabeth Taylor Speaks Out,”
Life
, December 18, 1964, 78.

111    The Burtons’ meeting with Trumbo in London: Dalton Trumbo to Martin Ransohoff, letter (possibly unsent), February 18, 1965, Dalton Trumbo Archive, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

13.   
The Sandpiper
, 1965

112    “As regards the individual nature …”: Thomas Aquinas,
Summa Theologica
, question 91, article 1, reply objection 1.

112    “Any woman …”: Gloria Steinem, “Sisterhood,”
New York Magazine
, December 20, 1971, 46.

115    “been dull and devoid of ideas …”: Dalton Trumbo to Martin Ransohoff, letter (possibly unsent), February 18, 1965, Dalton Trumbo Archive, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

115    The Burtons’ meeting with Trumbo in London: Ibid.

115    “a lady’s magazine melodrama”: Richard Burton, quoted in Dalton Trumbo to Martin Ransohoff, letter, February 18, 1965, in ibid.

116    “There came a time …”: Dalton Trumbo to Martin Ransohoff, letter accompanying changes to the script, August 10, 1964, in ibid.

116    “Beauty needs more tact …”: Edith Wharton,
Novels
(New York: Library of America, 1985), 36.

118    “uses the formidable Miss Taylor …”: Bosley Crowther, “Love Along Big Sur Seacoast,”
New York Times
, July 16, 1965.

119    “Taylor demurely …”: Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(New York: Bantam Books, 1969), 432.

119    The Production Code’s position on nudity in
The Sandpiper
is detailed in a letter from Geoffrey M. Shurlock to Robert Vogel, July 9, 1964. (The full quote: “At no time should there be any exposure of her breasts.”) AMPAS Production Code Archive, Margaret Herrick Library, AMPAS.

120    “empathy with the plight of one’s companions …”: Leonard Shlain,
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image
(New York: Viking, 1998), 338.

120    “work, goals, focus …”: Ibid.

120    “cruelty, argument, a disregard for nature …”: Ibid.

14.   
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1966

122    “The adjusted and cured …”: Friedan,
The Feminine Mystique
, 311.

122    “The famous problem …”: Richard Schickel, “What Film Has Done for Virginia,”
Life
, July 22, 1966, 8.

122    Nichols and Lehman’s tough decision is detailed in Thomas Thompson, “Raw Dialogue Challenges All the Censors,”
Life
, June 10, 1966, 92.

123    “daughters of educated men”: Woolf,
Three Guineas
, 18.

125    Edith Oliver, “The Current Cinema,”
New Yorker
, July 2, 1966, 65.

126    from “comic stridency” to “the desperation …”; “fully deserves …”: Schickel, “What Film Has Done for Virginia,” 8.

126    “an aging maneater” who has “a father fixation …”:
Time
, “Marital Armageddon,” July 1, 1966.

126    “has not really written about men …”:
Newsweek
, “Who’s Afraid …,” July 4, 1966.

127    “I think it’s a marvelous film”: Geoffrey M. Shurlock, quoted in Thompson, “Raw Dialogue Challenges All the Censors,” 96.

127    
Kiss Me, Stupid
: Shurlock’s embarrassment is detailed in ibid.

127    
goddam
,
screw you
, etc.: Geoffrey M. Shurlock to Jack Warner, letter, March 26, 1963,
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Production Code Archive, Margaret Herrick Library, AMPAS.

127    Appeal to review board: Thompson, “Raw Dialogue Challenges All the Censors,” 98.

128    “The only possible favorable comment …”: Catholic volunteer, quoted in ibid., 96.

128    “Disguising profanity …”: Mike Nichols, quoted in ibid., 92.

15.   1967–1973

130    “bonny Kate” and “Kate the curst”: William Shakespeare,
Taming of the Shrew
, act 2, scene 1.

131    “skirt every pan”: Interview with Richard McWhorter, Los Angeles, August 21, 2010. (All McWhorter quotations are from this interview.)

131    “serve, love and obey”: Shakespeare,
Taming of the Shrew
, act 5, scene 2.

131    “I am ashamed …”: Ibid.

132    “You have made my original book …”: Carson McCullers to John Huston, Chapman Mortimer, and Gladys Hill, letter, October 11, 1966, John Huston Archive, Margaret Herrick Library, AMPAS.

133    “What other movie queen …”: Gloria Steinem to Ray Stark, undated memo, in ibid.

133    “More guys than you can imagine …”: Interview with Robert Forster, Los Angeles, April 10, 2008. (All Forster quotations are from this interview.)

134    “Hell hath no fury …”: Bosley Crowther, “Sex, Shock and Sensibility,”
New York Times
, October 22, 1967, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F5071FFA3A55107A93C0AB178BD95F438685F9&scp=4&sq=Crowther%20review%20Reflections%20Golden%20Eye&st=cse.

136    “holds all the joy of standing at an autopsy”:
Variety
, quoted in Amburn,
The Most Beautiful Woman in the World
, 219.

16.   
Ash Wednesday
, 1973

139    “a fucking lousy nothing …”: Richard Burton to photographer Gianni Bozzachi, letter, April 27, 1973. Photograph of handwritten letter and transcription in RR Auction catalog for a sale on June 15, 2011. http://www.icollector.com/Richard-Burton_i10646841.

139    “Lumpy and “Pockface”: Kelley,
Elizabeth Taylor
, 258.