Fire Island Celebrity history- Elizabeth Taylor
1932-2011
Celebrities have always been part of the Pines history. From its inception propertites owners like Ziegfeld showgirl Peggy Fears and model John Whyte nurtured that atmosphere by creating an upscale exclusive aura that drew many from Broadway and Hollywood. Actress Elizabeth Taylor was just one…
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was considered one of the last, if not the last, major star to have come out of the old Hollywood studio system. She was known internationally for her beauty, especially for her violet eyes, with which she captured audiences early on in her youth and kept the world hooked on with since. Becoming a superstar both on screen and off she would go onto winning awards and husbands, seven in total, however her legacy remains her devotion and work for AIDS.
During the Broadway run of the play “Private Lives” starring Elizabeth Taylor and ex husband Richard Burton she calls in sick. While angry ticket holders called the theater for refunds over the July 4 holiday, Liz “recuperated” on the yacht Chiquitita with her man of the season, millionaire Mexican lawyer Victor Luna, 55. One afternoon the couple docked at a heavily gay part of Fire Island and went bar-hopping with four friends.
At the Cultured Elephant restaurant and bar, Liz sipped two strawberry daiquiris and then moved on to the nearby Blue Whale, where she had two more drinks. Later Liz and Luna dined à deux on five-pound lobsters and bowls of linguine that the Blue Whale delivered to their yacht on a silver platter. Observed John Whyte, owner of both bars, where Liz drew a mob of curious onlookers, “You wouldn’t think she’d been sick.”
Elizabeth Taylor People Magazine 1983
She goes to the Cultured Elephant for drinks. She turns to thank Thom Finn the manager, and this picture is taken.
Thom Finn
Bestselling Author Felice Picano remembers:
Who is the most glamorous movie star you have ever met? '“ Instantly he replied, “Elizabeth Taylor! I was walking along the dock with my partner [Bob] on a hot Saturday afternoon at Fire Island Pines in ’83 and we heard a voice above us say, ‘Do you have food there? I have liquor!’ So we looked [up] at the very top of this very big yacht and there was Elizabeth Taylor! We went up, she was alone on the boat – evidently the others had stepped out while she was napping – and we had some snacks and a drink with her. She was really very nice,” Felice said, “and she [had] really purple eyes.”
Her jewlery sale at Christies broke the record for sale of single owner collection for 116 million. A proceed of that went to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Being one of the first in Hollywood to pledge her support, she became a strong advocate in the battle against AIDS. Even in her death her support lives on.
“I decided that with my name I could open certain doors, that I was a commodity in myself. — and I’m not talking as an actress. I could take the fame I’d resented and tried to get away from for so many years—but you can never get away from it — and use it to do some good. I wanted to retire, but the tabloids wouldn’t let me. So, I thought, if you’re going to screw me over, I’ll use you.”
Her generosity continues today, through her estate and the foundation she created. — Dame @elizabethtaylor (February 27, 1932 - March 23, 2011)
