ELIZABETH TAYLOR ARCHIVES: Television Appearances: 1960s

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TV Appearances: 1960s

The 32nd Annual Academy Awards
Aired: April 4, 1960 on NBC
Elizabeth was nominated for Best Actress for her role as Catherine Holly in Suddenly, Last Summer. The winner was Simone Signoret for Room at the Top. Aired from the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

The 33rd Annual Academy Awards
Aired: April 17, 1961 on ABC
Elizabeth won her first Oscar for Best Actress for BUtterfield 8 at The 33rd Annual Academy Awards. Elizabeth would later recall the evening as follows: “I remember at the Oscars in 1961 for Butterfield 8, I was so scared. I never thought I’d win. I thought the script was bad. When they called my name, I got up and could hardly walk. I’d just come back from London, where I had nearly died of pneumonia. I got to the stage, and I hadn’t prepared a thing.” Accepting her award, Elizabeth said: “I don’t really know how to express my gratitude for this and for everything. All I can say is thank you, thank you with all my heart.” Aired live from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

Elizabeth Taylor in London
Aired: October 6, 1963 on CBS
Elizabeth was paid a record breaking $250,000 for her first television special, Elizabeth Taylor in London. The special was inspired by two other television tours by two important women, Princess Grace’s A Look at Monaco and Jacqueline Kennedy’s Tour of the White House.

“I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them,” says Elizabeth in Elizabeth Taylor in London. The tour begins with a radiant Elizabeth decked out in Dior on the terrace of one of the Dorchester Hotel’s beautifully appointed suites. London born Elizabeth gives her viewers a tour of London with the help of its current residents, the words of its most famous residents of the past (from Shakespeare to Sir Winston Churchill), and of course, the historic locations speak for themselves. Such locations include St Mary-le-Bow church, Whittington Stone, the Houses of Parliament on the Thames, Billingsgate Fish Market, the Tower of London, as well as the “sinister” part of London which was frequented by Jack the Ripper and the fictional Fagin. There was also a visit to Chelsea, Battersea Park, the sight of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre, a snippet from a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream starring Judi Dench and Ian Richardson, a tour of a private men’s club, and beautiful picturesque London gardens. One of the most interesting parts of the show is a brief tour of Hampstead, the area of London where Elizabeth was born and lived until the family moved to America in 1939. There is even a glimpse of her former home.

Variety called the pairing of Elizabeth and London “the world’s most distracting foreground with its most illustrious background”. The show was such a success that in 1964, Sophia Loren in Rome aired. A soundtrack was released. The music for the show had been composed by relative newcomer John Barry, who would go on to receive an Emmy nomination for his work.

The rights to air Elizabeth Taylor in London in the UK were acquired by the BBC for $28,000. It was broadcast on Christmas Eve 1963.

Program:
1 ELIZABETH
John Barry

2 LONDON AT DAWN
William Wordsworth “Westminster Bridge”

3 THE LONDON THEME
John Barry

4 LOVERS AND BROWNING
Elizabeth Barrett Browning “Portuguese Sonnets”

5 PITT’S SPEECH
William Pitt

6 LONDON THEME – JAZZ WALTZ
John Barry

7 ELIZABETH WALTZ
John Barry

8 QUEEN ELIZABETH AT TILBURY
Queen Elizabeth I – speech

9 ENGLISH GARDEN
John Barry

10 QUEEN VICTORIA
Queen Victoria’s Diary

11 THE FIRE OF LONDON
John Barry

12 CHURCHILL SPEECH
Sir Winston Churchill

Produced and Directed by Sid Smith
Written by Lou Solomon with S.J. Perelman
Executive Producers Phil D’Antoni and Norman Baer
Music Composed by John Barry
Conducted and Arranged by Johnnie Spence
Cinematographer Otto Heller B.S.C.
Camera Operator Jack Lowin
Production Manager Patrick Marsden
Production Associate Joe Lustig
Editor Terence Twigg
Associate Director Pat Clayton
Continuity Lee Turner

The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show
Aired: January 7, 1966 on NBC
Elizabeth and Richard Burton lent their star power to friend Sammy Davis, Jr. on the first episode of The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show, a variety show that sadly lasted less than three months. On the episode Taylor and Burton regaled Sammy with a Welsh song.

Around the World of Mike Todd
Aired: September 8, 1968 on ABC
Around the World of Mike Todd is a documentary co-written by Michael Todd Jr., and narrated by Orson Welles. Elizabeth was interviewed for the documentary on her husband ten years after his untimely death. Also interviewed were Gypsy Rose Lee, Ethel Merman, Martin Balsam, and Jack E. Leonard. Important for being the only documentary on Todd, it also contains many rare home movies of the Todds that were seen for the first time. Around the World of Mike Todd can be found as a supplement on the Around the World in 80 Days DVD.

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