What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations. It is the longest-running U.S. primetime network television game-show (51st show). Hosted by John Charles Daly and with panelists Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, and Bennett Cerf, What's My Line? won three Emmy Awards for "Best Quiz or Audience Participation Show," in 1952, 1953 and 1958 and Golden Globe for Best TV Show in 1962.^[1][2]

After its cancellation by CBS in 1967, it returned in syndication as a daily production which ran from 1968 until 1975. There have been several international versions, radio versions, and a live stage version.

Original CBS series (1950–1967)[link]

Produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS Television, the show was initially called Occupation Unknown before deciding on the name What's My Line?.^[3] The original series, which was usually broadcast live, debuted on Thursday February 2, 1950 at 8:00 p.m. ET. After airing alternate Wednesdays, then alternate Thursdays, finally on October 1, 1950 it had settled into its weekly Sunday 10:30 p.m. ET slot where it would remain until the end of its network run on September 3, 1967.

From May 20, 1952 to July 1, 1953, a CBS Radio version of What's My Line? was produced on Tuesday nights with the same host and panel as the TV version. The radio version is notable for the only appearances of Marlene Dietrich and Marlon Brando.

Hosts and panelists[link]

The original series was hosted by veteran radio and television newsman John Charles Daly. Clifton Fadiman,^[4][5] Eamonn Andrews, and Bennett Cerf^[6] substituted on the four occasions Daly was unavailable.

The show featured a panel of four celebrities who questioned the contestants. On the initial program of February 2, 1950, the panel was former New Jersey governor Harold Hoffman, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, poet Louis Untermeyer, and psychiatrist Richard Hoffman. For the majority of the show’s run the panel consisted of Kilgallen, Random House publisher and co-founder Bennett Cerf, actress Arlene Francis and a fourth guest panelist. During the show’s earliest period the panel generally consisted of Kilgallen, Francis, Untermeyer and comedy writer Hal Block with Cerf replacing Untermeyer in 1951 and comedian Steve Allen replacing Block in 1953. Steve Allen left to launch The Tonight Show in 1954 and was replaced by comedian Fred Allen who remained on the panel until his death in 1956. After Kilgallen's death in 1965 the two remaining seats on the panel were never filled regularly again. The most frequent guest panelist was Arlene Francis' husband Martin Gabel, who appeared 112 times.

Regular announcers included Lee Vines (1950–1955), Hal Simms (1955–1961), Ralph Paul (1961), and Johnny Olson (1961–1967).

Game play[link]

What’s My Line? was a guessing game in which four panelists attempted to determine the line (occupation), or in the case of a famous "mystery guest," the identity, of the contestant. Panelists were required to probe by asking only questions which could be answered "yes" or "no". A typical episode featured two standard rounds (sometimes a third, and very rarely a fourth) plus one mystery guest round. On the occasions on which there were two mystery guests, the first would usually appear as the first contestant.

Standard rounds[link]

For the first few seasons, the contestant would first meet the panel up close, for a casual "inspection", and the panel was allowed one initial "wild guess." However, beginning in 1955 Daly simply greeted, then seated the contestant who instead met the panel at the end of the game. The contestant's line was then revealed to the studio and television audiences, and Daly would tell the panel whether the contestant was salaried or self-employed, and later in the series, dealt in a product or service.

A panelist chosen by Daly would begin the game. If he received a "yes" answer he continued questioning, but if he received a "no," questioning passed to the next panelist and $5 was added to the prize. The amount of the prize was tallied by Daly who flipped one of 10 cards on his desk. A contestant won the top prize of $50 by giving ten "no" answers, or if time ran out, with Daly flipping all the cards. As Daly occasionally noted, "10 flips and they (the panel) are a flop!". Daly later explained, after the show had finished its run on CBS, the maximum payout of $50 was to ensure the game was played only for enjoyment, and that there could never be even the appearance of impropriety. Later in the series, Daly would throw all the cards over with increasing frequency and arbitrariness, evidence the prize was secondary to game play.

Panelists had the option of passing to the next panelist and they could also request a "conference," in which they had a short time to openly discuss ideas about occupations or lines of questioning.

Panelists adopted some basic binary search strategies, beginning with broad questions, such as whether the contestant worked for a profit-making or non-profit organization, or whether the product was alive (in the animal sense), worn, or ingested. To increase the probability of "yes" answers they would often phrase questions in the negative starting with "Is it something other than..." or "Can I rule out..."

The show popularized the phrase "Is it bigger than a breadbox?", first posed by Steve Allen on January 18, 1953 then refined over subsequent episodes. Soon, other panelists were asking this question as well.^[7][8] On one occasion the guest was a man who made breadboxes. It was correctly guessed by Allen after Kilgallen asked "Is it bigger than a breadbox" and Daly could not restrain his laughter.^[9][10]

Mystery guest round[link]

The final round of an episode involved blindfolding the panel for a celebrity "mystery guest" (originally called "mystery challengers" by Daly), that the panel had to identify by name, rather than occupation. In the early years of the show, the questioning was the same as it was for regular contestants, but starting with the April 17, 1955 show, panelists were only allowed one question per turn. Mystery guests usually came from the entertainment world, either stage, screen, television or sports. When Mystery guests came from other walks of life, or non-famous contestants who the panel but not the studio audience might know, they were usually played as standard rounds. However, the panel might be blindfolded, or the contestant might sign in simply as "X", depending on whether he would be known by name or sight.

Mystery guests would usually attempt to conceal their identities with disguised voices, much to the amusement of the studio audience. According to Cerf, the panel could often determine the identity of the mystery guest early, as they knew which celebrities were in town, or which major movies or plays were about to open. On those occasions, to provide the audience an opportunity to see the guest play the game, the cast would typically allow questioning to pass around at least once before coming up with the correct guess.^[11]

Sometimes, two mystery guest rounds were played in an episode, with the additional round usually as the first round of the episode.

Style[link]

What's My Line? is known for its attention to manners and class.^[12] In its early years, business suits and street dresses were worn by the host and panelists, but by 1953, the men wore black suits with bow ties (a few guests in fact wore tuxedos) while female panelists donned formal gowns and often gloves.^[13] Exceptions to this dress code were on the broadcasts immediately following the deaths of Fred Allen^[14] and Dorothy Kilgallen,^[15] in which the male cast members wore straight neckties and the women ordinary dresses instead of evening gowns.

The game followed a line of formality and adherence to rules. Although using first names at other points, Daly usually addressed using surnames when passing the questioning to a particular panelist. He would also amiably chide the panel^[16] if they began a conference without first asking him.

However, even with such formality, Daly was not above trading bon mots with the panelists during the game and Bennett Cerf would often attempt to make a pun of his name. Occasionally Daly would amiably one-up Cerf if he felt the pun was of lesser quality. Cerf also played a myriad of games with Daly's full name (John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly) reciting it correctly only a handful of times over the course of the series.

Often Daly would need to clarify a potentially confusing question, but his penchant for verbose replies often left panelists more confused than before (which Danny Kaye once parodied as a panelist). On more than one occasion, Daly "led the panel down the garden path" – a favorite phrase used when the panel was misled by an answer.

Production practices[link]

On-camera[link]

The program began with Daly and panel entering from off-stage as they were introduced. Prior to 1954, both panelists and host began the program in their seats, but this was changed responding to letters asking what panelists looked like away from their seats. The first panelist would be introduced by the announcer following the show's introduction, and each panelist would introduce the next in turn, with the last introducing Daly. During his tenure, Hal Block sat in the final seat and began the practice of introducing Daly with a pun. Upon his departure, Bennett Cerf took over this position and expanded these introductions, often telling long jokes which he tied to Daly in some way.^[17]

To begin a round, Daly would invite the contestant to "come in and sign in, please" which by 1960 evolved to the more familiar "enter and sign in, please." The contestant entered by writing his or her name on a small sign-in board. Daly would then usually ask where the guest lived and, with a woman, if she should be addressed as "Miss" or "Mrs." Early in the show's run, the panel was allowed to inspect contestants, studying their hands, or label on their suit or asking them to make a muscle.

While ostensibly a game show, if there was time, it was also was an opportunity to conduct interviews. Line’s sister show, I've Got a Secret (and later the syndicated version of WML) engaged in the practice of contestants' demonstrating their talents. However, despite frequent requests by the panel (particularly Arlene Francis) such demonstrations rarely occurred as according to executive producer Gil Fates, Daly was not fond of this practice.^[17]

Sponsors[link]

After the first four episodes, the show gained its initial sponsor: Stopette spray deodorant made by Jules Montenier, Inc. This involved featuring the product in the show's opening, on the front of the panel's desk, above the sign-in board, and on Daly’s scorecards. Bennett Cerf explained that Dr. Montenier was ultimately ruined by his refusal to abandon or share sponsorship as the show entered new markets and became too expensive.^[18][19] After Dr. Montenier sold Stopette to Helene Curtis,^[20] the series was sponsored by a variety of companies which were either regular or rotating. Sponsors were accorded the same exposure on the set as Stopette. Near the end of its run, sponsors would be introduced in the opening title and given commercials during the show, but would not be displayed on the set.

Behind the scenes[link]

Unknown to the public, mystery guests were paid $500 as an appearance fee, whether they won or lost the game. This was in addition to the maximum $50 game winnings, which guests sometimes donated to charity. Guest panelists were paid $750 as an appearance fee. The regular panelists were under contract and were paid "much more," according to Fates.^[21] Bennett Cerf explained that when he became a permanent member of the program, he was paid $300 per week, and by the end of the series, they were being paid "scandalous" amounts of money.^[22][23]

The final CBS network show[link]

CBS announced in early 1967 that a number of game shows, including What's My Line?, were to be cancelled at the end of the season. Bennett Cerf wrote that the network decided that game shows were no longer suitable for prime time, and that the news was broken by the New York Times before anyone involved with the show was notified.^[24]

The 876th and final CBS telecast of What's My Line? aired on September 3, 1967; it was highlighted by clips from past telecasts, a visit by the show's first contestants, and the final "mystery guest," who was John Daly himself. Daly had always been the emergency mystery guest in case the scheduled guest was unable to appear on the live broadcast, but this had never occurred. Mark Goodson, Bill Todman and Johnny Olson appeared on-camera as well.^[25][26][27]

Ratings[link]

• 1950-51: not in the top 30 ^[28]
• 1951-52: not in the top 30 ^[29]
• 1952-53: #20 ^[30]
• 1953-54: #28 ^[31]
• 1954-55: not in the top 30 ^[32]
• 1955-56: not in the top 30 ^[33]
• 1956-57: #27 ^[34]
• 1957-58: not in the top 30 ^[35]
• 1958-59: not in the top 30 ^[36]
• 1959-60: #27 ^[37]
• 1960-61: not in the top 30 ^[38]
• 1961-62: not in the top 30 ^[39]
• 1962-63: #13 ^[40]
• 1963-64: #25 ^[41]
• 1964-65: not in the top 30 ^[42]
• 1965-66: not in the top 30 ^[43]
• 1966-67: not in the top 30 ^[44]

Syndicated revival (1968–1975)[link]

With the end of the original What's My Line? Goodson-Todman struck a deal with CBS' syndication arm (now Viacom) to syndicate a new weekday videotaped edition. This version became a staple of local stations' afternoon and early evening schedules, especially from the 1971-72 season onward, when the FCC forced networks to cede one half-hour to their affiliates. The Prime Time Access Rule was intended to permit local stations to produce news and public affairs programming, but instead they turned to programs like WML, as practically all stations outside the largest markets found it unprofitable to produce their own shows locally.

Wally Bruner was the original host and was succeeded by Larry Blyden in 1972. Arlene Francis and comedian Soupy Sales were regular panelists and Bennett Cerf continued to make frequent appearances. Other panelists included Alan Alda, his father Robert Alda, Joanna Barnes, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Bert Convy, Joel Grey, Elaine Joyce, Ruta Lee, Meredith MacRae, Henry Morgan, Gene Rayburn, Nipsey Russell, Gene Shalit and Dana Valery.

The revival was considered by producers a merger of What's My Line? and its 1950s spinoff, I've Got a Secret, which resulted in noticeable changes from the original. As with Secret, contestants frequently demonstrated their skill or product after the game. Dollar signs for "no" answers were replaced by sequential numbers. Mystery guest rounds were no longer scored and simply ended with a correct guess or when time ran out. Added was a new game, "Who's Who?", in which four audience members, selected before the show, stood on stage with four occupations indicated on cards and panelists would attempt to place the correct occupations with the contestants.

The set, designed by veteran Goodson-Todman art director Ted Cooper, was predominantly blue and featured walls behind panel and host areas tiled with illustrations representing various occupations. The final 1974–1975 season used a set by Ron Baldwin and was red and yellow with blue walls with scattered question marks. Also, the hosts and panelists discontinued formal dress. However, the color animated intro of the final CBS season was reused for the main title sequence from 1968 to 1974.

Johnny Olson continued as announcer until 1972, after which a succession of guest announcers were used including Wayne Howell, Dennis Wholey, Bob Williams, Jack Haskell, and Chet Gould,^[45] with Gould eventually taking over full-time in early 1973.

In 1971, Bennett Cerf died during the show's run. Stations continued to air shows where he was a panelist resulting in confusion among some fans, who were seeing "new" episodes with Cerf, long after hearing about his death. At the time, syndication involved tape sharing between stations airing series, with some having to air episodes later than others. This prompted producer Gil Fates, who recalled the situation in his book, What's My Line?: TV's Most Famous Panel Show, to send a form letter response to fans who had written complaining about the late Bennett Cerf's failure to disappear, some saying the television stations were using poor taste. Fates explained that Cerf indeed had died, but television was practicing a time-honored tradition of celebrating one's work long after their death. As he wrote in his book, Fates knew, but did not tell viewers, about the production costs that would have gone to waste had his company acceded to the demands, some coming from station managers, to scrap the Cerf tapes.^[46]

The syndicated version ran for 1,315 episodes. In the fall of 1975 the final tapings aired in most parts of North America.

Larry Blyden, informed of the program's termination, was offered a job hosting a new Goodson-Todman game show, Show-Offs. He was killed in a car accident in Morocco at the age of 49, a few weeks after taping the pilot.

New versions of WML were planned as early as 1981, and in recent years Harry Anderson was announced as host of a 2000 revival. None of these revivals ever made it to air.

It was during the run of the syndicated version that Woody Allen parodied What's My Line? in his 1972 film Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, with the segment "What Are Sex Perverts?" featuring a gameshow called What's My Perversion? Appearing as panelists were Robert Q. Lewis, who had been a panelist on the original What's My Line?, and Pamela Mason, who had been a mystery guest.

[edit] After What's My Line?

25th anniversary special[link]

In early 1975, with production of the syndicated version of the series on break, the show's staff went through the annual process of selling the syndication rights to TV stations across North America. That year, there were not enough takers to justify further production.^[47] Just days after disbanding their technical crew, Goodson and Todman pitched the idea of a retrospective network special to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the program's CBS debut. The programming department at CBS turned down the idea^[48] but ABC bought it. The special was broadcast by ABC on May 28, 1975, and is currently available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media.

In producing the special, the only existing records of the original series on kinescope film were removed from storage and brought to a Manhattan editing facility that Goodson-Todman Productions rented. There, company employees Gil Fates, Bob Bach, Pamela Usdan and Bill Egan^[48] worked round-the-clock for three days to compile the 90-minute special under deadline pressure from ABC network official Bob Shanks.^[49] In the process of viewing and editing the films for the special, they accidentally damaged or destroyed several kinescope films which spanned the entire run of the original series, including a few that did not make the final cut of the retrospective.^[17] In addition, some unspooled film remained on the floor after the group's rented time at the facility ran out.^[17] An April 1967 episode featuring Candice Bergen as the mystery guest was lost in its entirety, as was a June 1967 episode featuring both Betty Grable and F. Lee Bailey. Other episodes sustained only partial damage, such as a 1965 episode that is mainly damaged during the mystery guest appearance of Marian Anderson.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] That's My Line

In 1980, Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, creators of What’s My Line?, produced That's My Line which also highlighted the unusual occupations of ordinary people. However, the show was developed as a reality show and had no panel or game elements. What’s My Line? announcer Johnny Olson was the announcer for the show which ran for two seasons on CBS.

Live stage version (2004–present)[link]

From November 2004 to July 2006, Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten produced one-hour live stage versions of the show at the ACME Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles, California, titled What's My Line? — Live On Stage. The Los Angeles version of the live show went on hiatus when van Straaten relocated to New York, then resumed in June 2007.

The production debuted in New York at the Barrow Street Theatre on March 24, 2008 for an announced run of six shows. The show is now an authorized production as it is licensed by FremantleMedia, the owners of What's My Line?. As of April 12, 2008 the New York mystery guests have been George Wendt, Moby, and Tony Roberts. Panelists have included Michael Riedel, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Frank DeCaro, Jonathan Ames, and original TV version veterans Betsy Palmer and Julia Meade. The first guest on the New York show (#75 in the production overall) was Pat Finch, who was the first guest on the first CBS episode.

In Los Angeles, panelists have included Carlos Alazraqui, Alison Arngrim, E.G. Daily, Andy Dick, Paul Goebel, Danny Goldman, Annabelle Gurwitch, Mariette Hartley, Elaine Hendrix, Marty Ingels, Cathy Ladman, David L. Lander, Kate Linder, Ann Magnuson, Jayne Meadows, Lee Meriwether, Patt Morrison, Rick Overton, Jimmy Pardo, Lisa Jane Persky, Nancy Pimental, Greg Proops, Mink Stole, Nicole Sullivan, Marcia Wallace, Matt Walsh, Len Wein, Wil Wheaton, Gary Anthony Williams, Debra Wilson, April Winchell, and Andy Zax.

Mystery guests have included Ed Begley, Jr., Stephen Bishop, Mr. Blackwell, LeVar Burton, Brett Butler, José Canseco, Drew Carey, Andy Dick, Michael and Kitty Dukakis, Hector Elizondo, Nanette Fabray, Peter Falk, Bruce Jenner, Larry King, Kathy Kinney, Bruno Kirby, Tara Lipinski, Lisa Loeb, Shelley Long, Leonard Maltin, Rose Marie, Wink Martindale, Sally Struthers, Rip Taylor, Judy Tenuta, Alan Thicke, Dick Van Patten, Lindsay Wagner, Wil Wheaton, Noah Wyle, and Sean Young.^[50]

Panelists and guests who appeared on the original TV versions and on the stage version include Shelley Berman, Lee Meriwether, radio commentator Michael Jackson, Jayne Meadows, Nanette Fabray, Joanna Barnes, Julie Newmar, Margaret O'Brien, and Marty Ingels. Usually when such a veteran appears, there is a pristine-quality DVD screening of the original kinescope on a plasma screen.^{[citation needed]} Non-celebrities include the lifelong Los Angeles-area resident who challenged the panel with her line, afterward reminiscing how 43 years earlier she had traveled to New York, where Arlene Francis identified her as a meter maid. A clip from the kinescope was played.

In addition, the show has featured relatives of the original cast: Jill Kollmar (daughter of Dorothy Kilgallen and Richard Kollmar), Nina Daly (daughter of John Charles Daly), and Vinton Cerf (co-inventor of the Internet and distant cousin of Bennett Cerf). It also included a segment in which Vint Cerf's son Bennett (named after the panelist) appeared as a guest.

Episode status[link]

All of the original series' episodes were recorded via kinescope onto film, but networks in the early 1950s sometimes destroyed such recordings to recover the silver content from the film.^[51] CBS regularly recycled What's My Line? kinescopes until July 1952, when Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, having realized it was occurring, offered to pay the network for a film of every broadcast.^{[citation needed]} As a result, only about ten episodes exist from the first two years of the series, including the first three broadcasts.

The existing kinescope films (now digitized) have subsequently rerun on television. The series has been seen on GSN^[52] at various times.

Some episodes of the CBS radio version of the 1950s are available to visitors to the Paley Center for Media in New York City and Beverly Hills, CA. Others are at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where procedures to access them are more complicated.

Alpha Video released a DVD containing 4 episodes on February 26, 2008. This is an unofficial release of public domain episodes, and it's unclear if an official release will occur.^[53]

International versions[link]

Brazil[link]

The Brazilian version of What's My Line? was called Adivinhe o que ele Faz? ("Guess What He Does?") and was hosted by Heloísa Helena. On December 16, 1956 Helena appeared as a contestant on the American version.^[54]

Canada (French-speaking)[link]

Chacun son Metier ("To Each His Job" or "To Each His Trade") ran from 1954 to 1959 and was hosted by Louis Morisset.^[55]

On January 23, 1955 panelist Nicole Germain appeared as a contestant in the first round on the American version,^[56] then sat on the panel next to Bennett Cerf for the second round.

On January 18, 1959, near the end of the Canadian run, host Morisset appeared as a contestant on the American version.^[57]

Germany[link]

Was bin ich? ("What am I?") ran on ARD (First German Television) from 1955 to 1958 with Robert Lembke (a Bavarian) as host.^[58][59] Lembke was head of the news division of the public Bavarian Broadcasting Establishment Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) at the time and had bought the rights to the series during a visit to the BBC in 1954.

The best-known panel consisted of district attorney Hans Sachs, actress Marianne Koch, TV announcers Annette von Aretin and Anneliese Fleyenschmidt, and Guido Baumann, head of the Swiss radio and TV station DRS.

Guests received 5 Deutschmarks (DM) for each "no" answer and the panel was allowed 10 "no" answers. Prize money was given in a porcelain piggy bank, and Lembke used to insert a 5 DM coin into the Bank's slot for each "no", producing a loud, characteristic sound. In relation to this, Lembke's most famous line "Welches Schweinderl hättens denn gern?" ("Which piggy would you like to have?", spoken in Lembke's strong Bavarian accent), which referred to differently-colored piggy banks.

The series returned from 1961 and ran until Lembke's unexpected death in 1989. The series returned as a weekly program on Kabel 1 from 1999 to 2005.^[60] and hosted by Björn Hergen Schimpf. The panel consisted of entertainer/comedians Herbert Feuerstein and Tanja Schumann, talk-show host Vera Int-Veen, and former German minister of labour and social affairs Norbert Blüm.

Czech republic[link]

The Czech version of What's My Line? was called Hádej kdo jsem? ("Guess Who im !") This TV show won the TýTý (main TV awarding in Czech) award for best TV show for years 2008 and 2009.

Lithuania[link]

The Lithuanian version began in late 2010 under the name "Kas tu toks?" (Who Are You?). It is broadcast on Lietuvos Rytas Television.

South Korea[link]

The South Korean version began in 1956 by the South Korean government and run as a non-profit organization.^[61] On July 28, 1963 a panelist from this version, Miss Keun Oh Kim, appeared as a contestant on the American version.

Spain[link]

The Spanish version was called Adivine su vida^[62] and ran from 1960–1961.

United Kingdom[link]

A British version aired on BBC TV from 16 July 1951 to May 1963.^[63]

The host (called "chairman") on the premiere was Gilbert Harding, who was replaced by Eamonn Andrews for the remainder of the run. Regular panelists included Harding, Lady Isobel Barnett, Barbara Kelly, David Nixon and Cyril Fletcher, while Katie Boyle, Jerry Desmonde, Ghislaine Alexander, Marghanita Laski, and Elizabeth Allan were among the others.^[64]

There was also a radio version for British listeners on Radio Luxembourg. As Andrews and Harding had exclusive contracts with the BBC, their places were taken by Peter Martyn (later Bernard Braden) and Richard Attenborough. Original-series regulars Nixon, Barnett and Kelly also appeared.

The series returned, on BBC2 with David Jacobs as host, from 23 August 1973 to 18 May 1974. Regular panelists were William Franklyn, Lady Isobel Barnett, Kenneth Williams, and Anna Quayle; later in the run, Quayle was replaced by Nanette Newman.^[65]

Eamonn Andrews returned to host a revival on ITV from 26 March 1984 with John Benson as announcer. This version aired at night and, although mainly recorded, some episodes were screened live. Taped episodes may be identified as opening with "Tonight from London it's time for What's My Line?", while those broadcast live began with "Live from London". Regular panelists included Angela Rippon, Ernie Wise, George Gale, Jeffrey Archer, Barry Sheene^[66] and novelist Jilly Cooper. After Andrews died in 1987, actress Penelope Keith assumed the role of chairperson.

The programme aired for a further two series from 1989 to 28 August 1990 with Rippon as host. The Keith and Rippon episodes were taped and screened in ITV's daytime schedule.

The show was revived by ITV from 19 September 1994 to 3 December 1996 hosted by Emma Forbes. A special one-off edition hosted by Hugh Dennis was produced for BBC Four in 2005, as part of a season about British culture in the decade following World War II, along with an episode of the original series, from 5 October 1957.

Venezuela[link]

The Venezuelan version was called Mi Trabajo y Yo (roughly, "My Job and I"). On December 24, 1961 the director and moderator of this version, Jacques Lemoine, appeared as a contestant on the American version.^[67]

Other international versions of What's My Line include:

• Australia
• Ireland
• Taiwan
• Italy, Cosa fa il Signor X? 15 episodes hosted by Fulvia Colombo from November 28, 1955 - March 7, 1956^[68]

References[link]

External links[link]

• What's My Line? 1950–1967 (CBS) at the Internet Movie Database
• What's My Line? 1968–1975 (Syndicated) at the Internet Movie Database
• What's My Line? 1951–1963 UK at the Internet Movie Database
• What's My Line? 1973–1974 UK at the Internet Movie Database
• What's My Line? at TV.com
• UK Gameshows: What's My Line?
• UK Whirligig: What's My Line?
• What's My Line? — Live On Stage
• A film clip of "What's My Line?" featuring Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

Frank Lloyd (2 February 1886, Glasgow, UK – 10 August 1960, Santa Monica, California, United States) was a film director, scriptwriter and producer. Lloyd was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,^[1] and its president between 1934 and 1935.

Frank Lloyd was Scotland's first Academy Award winner and is unique in film history having received three Oscar nominations in 1929 for his work on a silent film (The Divine Lady), a part-talkie (Weary River) and a full talkie (Drag). He won for The Divine Lady. He was nominated and won again in 1933 for his adaptation of Noël Coward's Cavalcade and received a further Best Director nomination in 1935 for perhaps his most successful film, Mutiny on the Bounty.

In 1957, Lloyd was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.

Selected filmography[link]

• The Black Box (1915)
• The Tongues of Men (1916)
• The Code of Marcia Gray (1916)
• The Intrigue (1916)
• Madame X (1920)
• Oliver Twist (1922)
• Black Oxen (1923)
• The Sea Hawk (1924)
• The Eagle of the Sea (1926)
• Children of Divorce (1927)
• The Divine Lady (1929)
• Weary River (1929)
• Drag (1929)
• Cavalcade (1933)
• Hoop-La (1933)
• Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
• Under Two Flags (1936)
• Wells Fargo (1937)
• Maid of Salem (1937)
• If I Were King (1938)
• Rulers of the Sea (1939)
• The Howards of Virginia (1940)
• Forever and a Day (1943)
• Blood on the Sun (1945)
• The Last Command (1955)

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Frank Lloyd at the Internet Movie Database
• Frank Lloyd Films website includes additional biographical information
• Frank Lloyd at Find a Grave

This biographical article related to film in the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Elizabeth Taylor
Studio publicity photo
Born	Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (1932-02-27)February 27, 1932 Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, England
Died	March 23, 2011(2011-03-23) (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, United States
Cause of death	Congestive heart failure
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Nationality	British-American
Other names	Liz Taylor
Occupation	Actress, social activist
Years active	1942–2003
Religion	Christian Science (1932–59) Judaism (1959–2011)[1]
Spouse	Conrad Hilton, Jr. (1950–51; divorced) Michael Wilding (1952–57; divorced) Mike Todd (1957–58; widow) Eddie Fisher (1959–64; divorced) Richard Burton (1964–74, 1975–76; married and divorced twice) John Warner (1976–82; divorced) Larry Fortensky (1991–96; divorced)
Children	Michael Howard Wilding Christopher Edward Wilding Elizabeth Frances "Liza" Todd Burton Maria Burton
Parents	Francis Lenn Taylor (deceased) Sara Sothern (deceased)
Relatives	Howard Taylor (older brother)
Awards	List

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American^[2] actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. As one of the world's most famous film stars, Taylor was recognized for her acting ability and for her glamorous lifestyle, beauty and distinctive violet eyes.

National Velvet (1944) was Taylor's first success, and she starred in Father of the Bride (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for BUtterfield 8 (1960), played the title role in Cleopatra (1963), and married her co-star Richard Burton. They appeared together in 11 films, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), for which Taylor won a second Academy Award. From the mid-1970s, she appeared less frequently in film, and made occasional appearances in television and theatre.

Her much publicized personal life included eight marriages and several life-threatening illnesses. From the mid-1980s, Taylor championed HIV and AIDS programs; she co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1993. She received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the Legion of Honour, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, who named her seventh on their list of the "Greatest American Screen Legends". Taylor died of congestive heart failure in March 2011 at the age of 79, having suffered many years of ill health.

Early life[link]

Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born at Heathwood, her parents' home at 8 Wildwood Road in Hampstead Garden Suburb,^[3][4][5] a northwestern suburb of London; the younger of two children of Francis Lenn Taylor (1897–1968) and Sara Sothern (née Sara Viola Warmbrodt;^[6] 1895–1994), who were Americans residing in England. Taylor's older brother, Howard Taylor, was born in 1929.^[7] Her parents were originally from Arkansas City, Kansas. Francis Taylor was an art dealer, and Sara was a former actress whose stage name was "Sara Sothern". Sothern retired from the stage in 1926 when she married Francis in New York City. Taylor's two first names are in honor of her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Mary (Rosemond) Taylor.

Colonel Victor Cazalet, one of their closest friends, had an important influence on the family. He was a rich, well-connected bachelor, a Member of Parliament and close friend of Winston Churchill. Cazalet loved both art and theater and was passionate when encouraging the Taylor family to think of England as their permanent home. Additionally, as a Christian Scientist and lay preacher, his links with the family were spiritual. He also became Elizabeth's godfather. In one instance, when she was suffering with a severe infection as a child, she was kept in her bed for weeks. She "begged" for his company: "Mother, please call Victor and ask him to come and sit with me."^[8]:14

Biographer Alexander Walker suggests that Elizabeth's conversion to Judaism at the age of 27 and her life-long support for Israel, may have been influenced by views she heard at home. Walker notes that Cazalet actively campaigned for a Jewish homeland, and her mother also worked in various charities, which included sponsoring fundraisers for Zionism. Her mother recalls the influence that Cazalet had on Elizabeth:

Victor sat on the bed and held Elizabeth in his arms and talked to her about God. Her great dark eyes searched his face, drinking in every word, believing and understanding.^[8]:14

A dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States, she was born British, through her birth on British soil and an American citizen through her parents. She reportedly sought, in 1965, to renounce her United States citizenship, to wit: "Though never accepted by the State Department, Elizabeth renounced in 1965. Attempting to shield much of her European income from U.S. taxes, Elizabeth wished to become solely a British citizen. According to news reports at the time, officials denied her request when she failed to complete the renunciation oath, refusing to say that she renounced "all allegiance to the United States of America."^[9]

At the age of three, Taylor began taking ballet lessons. Shortly before the beginning of World War II, her parents decided to return to the United States to avoid hostilities. Her mother took the children first, arriving in New York in April 1939,^[10] while her father remained in London to wrap up matters in his art business, arriving in November.^[11] They settled in Los Angeles, California, where her father established a new art gallery, which included many paintings he shipped from England. The gallery would soon attract numerous Hollywood celebrities who appreciated its modern European paintings. According to Walker, the gallery "opened many doors for the Taylors, leading them directly into the society of money and prestige" within Hollywood's movie colony.^[8]:27

Acting career[link]

Child actress[link]

Soon after settling in Los Angeles, Taylor's mother discovered that Hollywood people "habitually saw a movie future for every pretty face." Some of her mother's friends, and even total strangers, urged her to have Taylor screen tested for the role of Bonnie Blue, Scarlett's child in Gone with the Wind, then being filmed. Her mother refused the idea, as a child actress in film was alien to her. And in any regard, they would return to England after the war.^[8]:28

As a child actress, circa 1944

Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper introduced the Taylors to Andrea Berens, the fiancée of John Cheever Cowdin, chairman and major stockholder of Universal Pictures. Berens insisted that Sara take Taylor to see Cowden who, she assured, would be dazzled by her breathtaking beauty.^[12] Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer also became interested in Taylor, and MGM head Louis B. Mayer reportedly told his producer, "Sign her up, sign her up! What are you waiting for?" As a result, she soon had both Universal and MGM willing to place her under contract. When Universal learned that MGM was equally interested, however, Cowden telephoned Universal from New York: "Sign her up, he ordered, don't even wait for the screen test." Universal then gave her a seven-year contract.^[8]:31

Taylor appeared in her first motion picture at the age of nine in There's One Born Every Minute (1942), her only film for Universal.^[13] After less than a year, however, the studio fired Taylor for unknown reasons. Some speculate that she did not live up to Cowden's promise. Walker believes that Taylor's intuition told her "she wasn't really welcome at Universal." She learned, for instance, that her casting director complained, "The kid has nothing," after a test. Even her beautiful eyes—they were a deep blue that appeared violet^[14][15] and stunned those who met her in person,^[16] with a mutation that gave Taylor double eyelashes^[7][15]—did not impress him: "Her eyes are too old, she doesn't have the face of a child," he said.^[8]:32 But Walker admits that "this was not so far off the mark as it may appear now." He explains:

There was something slightly odd about Elizabeth's looks, even at this age – an expression that sometimes made people think she was older than she was. She already had her mother's air of concentration. Later on, it would prove an invaluable asset. At the time, it disconcerted people who compared her unfavorably with Shirley Temple's cute bubbling innocence or Judy Garland's plainer and more vulnerable juvenile appeal.^[8]:32

Taylor herself remembers that when she was a child in England, adults used to describe her as having an "old soul," because, as she says, "I was totally direct."^[17] She also recognized similar traits in her baby daughter:

I saw my daughter as a baby, before she was a year old, look at people, steadily, with those eyes of hers, and see people start to fidget, and drop things out of their pockets and finally, unable to stand the heat, get out of the room.^[17]

The now classic Jane Eyre (1943 film), starring Orson Wells and Joan Fontaine is a notable early film in which Taylor played Helen Burns. The 20th Centrury Fox film was released in the UK in December 1943.

Taylor's father served as an air raid warden with MGM producer Sam Marx, and learned that the studio was searching for an English actress for a Lassie film. Taylor received the role and was offered a long-term contract at the beginning of 1943.^[18] She chose MGM because "the people there had been nicer to her when she went to audition," Taylor recalled.^[8]:32 MGM's production chief, Benny Thau, was to remain the "only MGM executive" she fully trusted during subsequent years, because, writes Walker, "he had, out of kindly habit, made the gesture that showed her she was loved."^[8]:32 Thau remembered her as a "little dark-haired beauty...[with] those strange and lovely eyes that gave the face its central focus, oddly powerful in someone so young."^[8]:34 MGM, in addition, was considered a "glamorous studio," boasting that it had "more stars than there are in heaven." Before Taylor's mother would sign the contract, however, she sought certainty that Taylor had a "God-given talent" to become an actress. Walker describes how they came to a decision:

[Mrs. Taylor] wanted a final sign of revelation...Was there a divine plan for her? Mrs. Taylor took her old script for The Fool, in which she had played the scene of the girl whose faith is answered by a miracle cure. Now she asked Elizabeth to read her own part, while she read the lines of the leading man. She confessed to weeping openly. She said, 'There sat my daughter playing perfectly the part of the child as I, a grown woman, had tried to do it. It seemed that she must have been in my head all those years I was acting'.^[8]:38–39

Adolescent star[link]

in Hold High the Torch (1945)

MGM cast Taylor in Lassie Come Home (1943) with child star Roddy McDowall, with whom she would share a lifelong friendship. He later recalled regarding her beauty, "who has double eyelashes except a girl who was absolutely born to be on the big screen?"^[7] The film received favorable attention for both actors, and MGM signed Taylor to a conventional seven-year contract starting at $100 a week and with regular raises. Her first assignment under her new contract was a loan-out to 20th Century Fox for the character of Helen Burns in a film version of the Charlotte Brontë novel Jane Eyre (1944). Taylor returned to England to appear in another McDowall picture for MGM, The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).

Taylor's persistence in seeking the role of Velvet Brown in MGM's National Velvet made her a star at the age of 12. Her character is a young girl who trains her beloved horse to win the Grand National. Velvet, which costarred fellow young actor Mickey Rooney and English newcomer Angela Lansbury, became a great success upon its release in December 1944. Many years later Taylor called it "the most exciting film" she had ever made,^[6] although the film caused many of her later back problems due to her falling off a horse during filming.^[18]

Viewers and critics "fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor when they saw her in it." Walker explains why the film was popular:

Its enormous popularity rubs off on to its heroine because she expresses, with the strength of an obsession, the aspirations of people—people who have never seen a girl on horseback, or maybe even a horse race for that matter—who believe that anything is possible...A philosophy of life, in other words...a film which...has acquired the status of a generational classic...^[8]:41

Velvet grossed over US$4 million and MGM signed Taylor to a new long-term contract. Because of the movie's success she was cast in another animal film, Courage of Lassie (1946), in which Bill the dog outsmarts the Nazis. The film's success led to another contract for Taylor paying her $750 per week. Her roles as Mary Skinner in a loan-out to Warner Brothers' Life With Father (1947), Cynthia Bishop in Cynthia (1947), Carol Pringle in A Date with Judy (1948), and Susan Prackett in Julia Misbehaves (1948) were all successful. Taylor received a reputation as a consistently successful adolescent actress, with a nickname of "One-Shot Liz" (referring to her ability to shoot a scene in one take) and a promising career. Taylor's portrayal of Amy in the American classic Little Women (1949) was her last adolescent role.

MGM studio provided schooling for its child stars with classrooms within the studio grounds. Taylor, however, came to dislike being cut off from typical schools with average students who were not treated like stars. She recalls her life before studio acting as a happier period in her childhood:

One of the few times I've ever really been happy in my life was when I was a kid before I started acting. With the other kids I'd make up games, play with dolls, pretend games. . . . As I got more famous—after National Velvet, when I was 12—I still wanted to be part of their lives, but I think in a way they began to regard me as a sort of an oddity, a freak.

I hated school—because it wasn't school. I wanted terribly to be with kids. On the set the teacher would take me by my ear and lead me into the schoolhouse. I would be infuriated; I was 16 and they weren't taking me seriously. Then after about 15 minutes I'd leave class to play a passionate love scene as Robert Taylor's wife.^[19]

Transition into adult roles[link]

Taylor with Spencer Tracy in a promotional image for Father of the Bride (1950).

The teenage Taylor was reluctant to continue making films. Her stage mother forced Taylor to relentlessly practice until she could cry on cue and watched her during filming, signaling to change her delivery or a mistake. Taylor met few others her age on movie sets, and was so poorly educated that she needed to use her fingers to do basic arithmetic. When at age 16 Taylor told her parents that she wanted to quit acting for a normal childhood, however, Sara Taylor told her that she was ungrateful: "You have a responsibility, Elizabeth. Not just to this family, but to the country now, the whole world".^[20]

In October 1948, Taylor sailed aboard the RMS Queen Mary to England to begin filming Conspirator. Unlike some other child actors, Taylor made an easy transition to adult roles.^[6] Before Conspirator's 1949 release, a TIME cover article called her "a jewel of great price, a true star sapphire", and the leader among Hollywood's next generation of stars such as Montgomery Clift, Kirk Douglas, and Ava Gardner.^[21] The petite Taylor had the figure of a mature woman, with a 19" waist.^[20] Conspirator failed at the box office, but 16-year-old Taylor's portrayal of a 21-year-old debutante who unknowingly marries a communist spy played by 38-year-old Robert Taylor, was praised by critics for her first adult lead in a film. Taylor's first picture under her new salary of $2,000 per week was The Big Hangover (1950), both a critical and box office failure, that paired her with screen idol Van Johnson. The picture also failed to present Taylor with an opportunity to exhibit her newly realized sensuality.

Her first box office success in an adult role came as Kay Banks in the comedy Father of the Bride (1950), alongside Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett. The film spawned a sequel, Father's Little Dividend (1951), which Taylor's costar Spencer Tracy summarized with "boring… boring… boring". The film did well at the box office, but it would be Taylor's next picture that would set the course for her career as a dramatic actress.

With Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun (1951)

In late 1949, Taylor had begun filming George Stevens' A Place in the Sun. Upon its release in 1951, Taylor was hailed for her performance as Angela Vickers, a spoiled socialite who comes between George Eastman (Clift) and his poor, pregnant factory-working girlfriend Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters).^[6] The film, based on Theodore Dreiser's novel, An American Tragedy, was an indictment of "the American dream" and its corrupting influences, notes biographer Kitty Kelley.^[22]

Although Taylor, then only 17, was unaware of the psychological implications of the story and its powerful nuances, it became the pivotal performance of Taylor's career. Kelley explains that Stevens, its director, knew that with Elizabeth Taylor as the young and beautiful star, the "audience would understand why George Eastman (Clift) would kill for a place in the sun with her."^[22] Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, allowed on the set to watch the filming, became "wide-eyed watching the little girl from National Velvet seduce Montgomery Clift in front of the camera," writes Kelley. When the scene was over, Hopper went to her, "Elizabeth, where on earth did you ever learn how to make love like that?"^[22]

Critics acclaimed the film as a classic, a reputation it sustained throughout the next 50 years of cinema history. The New York Times' A.H. Weiler wrote, "Elizabeth's delineation of the rich and beauteous Angela is the top effort of her career", and the Boxoffice reviewer unequivocally stated "Miss Taylor deserves an Academy Award".

in film The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

Taylor became increasingly unsatisfied with the roles being offered to her at the time. While she wanted to play the lead roles in The Barefoot Contessa and I'll Cry Tomorrow, MGM continued to restrict her to mindless and somewhat forgettable films such as: a cameo as herself in Callaway Went Thataway (1951), Love Is Better Than Ever (1952), Ivanhoe (1952), The Girl Who Had Everything (1953) and Beau Brummel (1954).

Taylor's next screen endeavor, Rhapsody (1954), another tedious romantic drama, proved equally frustrating. Taylor portrayed Louise Durant, a beautiful rich girl in love with a temperamental violinist (Vittorio Gassman) and an earnest young pianist (John Ericson). A film critic for the New York Herald Tribune wrote: "There is beauty in the picture all right, with Miss Taylor glowing into the camera from every angle… but the dramatic pretenses are weak, despite the lofty sentences and handsome manikin poses."^{[citation needed]}

Taylor's fourth period picture, Beau Brummell, made just after Elephant Walk and Rhapsody, cast her as the elaborately costumed Lady Patricia, which many felt was only a screen prop—a ravishing beauty whose sole purpose was to lend romantic support to the film's title star, Stewart Granger. The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) fared only slightly better than her previous pictures, with Taylor being reunited with The Big Hangover costar Van Johnson. The role of Helen Ellsworth Willis was based on that of Zelda Fitzgerald and, although pregnant with her second child, Taylor went ahead with the film, her fourth in 12 months. Although proving somewhat successful at the box office, she still yearned for more substantial roles.^{[citation needed]}

1955–79[link]

Following a more substantial role opposite Rock Hudson and James Dean in George Stevens' epic Giant (1956), Taylor was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress four years in a row for Raintree County (1957)^[23] opposite Montgomery Clift; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)^[24] opposite Paul Newman; Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)^[25] with Montgomery Clift, Katharine Hepburn and Mercedes McCambridge; and finally winning for BUtterfield 8 (1960).^[26] The film co-starred then husband Eddie Fisher^[6] and ended her contract, which Taylor said had made her an "MGM chattel" for 18 years.^[27]

Suddenly, Last Summer's success made Taylor among the top ten most successful actors at the box office, and she remained in the top ten almost every year for the next decade.^[27] In 1960, Taylor became the highest paid actress up to that time when she signed a $1 million dollar contract to play the title role in 20th Century Fox's lavish production of Cleopatra,^[25] which was released in 1963. During the filming, she began a romance with her future husband Richard Burton, who played Mark Antony in the film. The romance received much attention from the tabloid press, as both were married to other spouses at the time.^[28] Taylor ultimately received $7 million for her role.^[27]

Her second Academy Award, also for Best Actress in a Leading Role, was for her performance as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966),^[29] playing opposite then husband Richard Burton. The film was a turning point for both Taylor and Burton, as it was the "most exciting and daunting project either of them had ever contemplated," writes Walker. Taylor saw the film as her chance to act, "to really act," and a chance to emulate one of her favorite dramatic actresses, Vivien Leigh, who played roles as a "tragic heroine." For this part, however, Taylor worried that she did not look old enough, as her character was to be twenty years older. To compensate, she added gray hairs and transformed herself both physically and vocally: she intentionally gained weight, minimized makeup, and added excessive mascara to her eyes along with smudgy bags beneath them.^{[8]:281–282}

with Richard Burton in The Taming of the Shrew (1967)

Taylor and Burton appeared together in six other films during the decade, among them The V.I.P.s (1963), The Sandpiper (1965), and The Taming of the Shrew (1967). By 1967 their films had earned $200 million at the box office. When Taylor and Burton considered not working for three months, the possibility caused alarm in Hollywood as "nearly half of the U.S. film industry's income" came from movies starring one or both of them. Their next films Doctor Faustus (1967), The Comedians (1967) and Boom! (1968), however, all failed at the box office.^[30]

Taylor appeared in John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) opposite Marlon Brando (replacing Clift,^[31] who died before production began) and Secret Ceremony (1968) opposite Mia Farrow. By the end of the decade her box-office drawing power had considerably diminished, as evidenced by the failure of The Only Game in Town (1970), with Warren Beatty.^[32]

Although limited by a "thin and inflexible voice",^[27] Taylor continued to star in numerous theatrical films throughout the 1970s, such as Zee and Co. (1972) with Michael Caine, Ash Wednesday (1973), The Blue Bird (1976) with Jane Fonda and Ava Gardner, and A Little Night Music (1977). With then-husband Richard Burton, she co-starred in the 1972 films Under Milk Wood and Hammersmith Is Out, and the 1973 made-for-TV movie Divorce His, Divorce Hers.

1980–2003[link]

with Bob Hope, USO, 1986

Taylor starred in the 1980 mystery film The Mirror Crack'd, based on an Agatha Christie novel. In 1985, she played movie gossip columnist Louella Parsons in the TV film Malice in Wonderland opposite Jane Alexander, who played Hedda Hopper. Taylor appeared in the miniseries North and South. Her last theatrical film was 1994's The Flintstones.

In February 1996, she appeared on the TV program, The Nanny as herself, and the star of the show, Fran, identifies her to a friend by using all of her husbands' names, stating that she would be meeting "Elizabeth Taylor-Hilton-Wilding-Todd-Fisher-Burton-Burton-Warner-Fortensky." In 2001, she played an agent in the TV film These Old Broads. She appeared on a number of television series, including the soap operas General Hospital and All My Children, as well as the animated series The Simpsons—once as herself, and once as the voice of Maggie Simpson, uttering one word, "Daddy".

at the American Film Festival in Deauville, 1985

Taylor also acted on the stage, making her Broadway and West End debuts in 1982 with a revival of Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes. She was then in a production of Noël Coward's Private Lives (1983), in which she starred with her former husband, Richard Burton. The student-run Burton Taylor Theatre in Oxford was named for the famous couple after Burton appeared as Doctor Faustus in the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) production of the Marlowe play. Taylor played the ghostly, wordless Helen of Troy, who is entreated by Faustus to "make [him] immortal with a kiss".^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1980s, Taylor moved to Bel Air, Los Angeles, which was her residence until her death. She also owned homes in Palm Springs, London and Hawaii.

2003–11[link]

In March 2003, Taylor declined to attend the 75th Annual Academy Awards, due to her opposition to the Iraq War.^[33] She publicly condemned then President George W. Bush for calling on Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq, and said she feared the conflict would lead to "World War III".^[34]

The February 2007 issue of Interview magazine was devoted entirely to Taylor. It celebrated her life, career and her upcoming 75th birthday.

On December 1, 2007, Taylor acted on-stage again, appearing opposite James Earl Jones in a benefit performance of the A. R. Gurney play Love Letters. The event's goal was to raise $1 million for Taylor's AIDS foundation. Tickets for the show were priced at $2,500, and more than 500 people attended. The event happened to coincide with the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike and, rather than cross the picket line, Taylor requested a "one night dispensation." The Writers Guild agreed not to picket the Paramount Pictures lot that night to allow for the performance.^[35]

Personal life[link]

Marriages, romances, and children[link]

Taylor was married eight times to seven husbands. Taylor's husbands were:

• Conrad "Nicky" Hilton (May 6, 1950 – January 29, 1951): Taylor believed that she was in love with the young hotel heir, but also wanted to escape her mother. Hilton's "gambling, drinking, and abusive behavior",^[27] however, horrified her and her parents, caused a miscarriage, and ended the marriage in divorce after nine months.^[6][20]
• Michael Wilding (February 21, 1952 – January 26, 1957): The "gentle" Wilding, 20 years older than Taylor, comforted her after leaving Hilton.^[27][6] After their divorce Taylor admitted that "I gave him rather a rough time, sort of henpecked him and probably wasn't mature enough for him."^[20]

Taylor with daughter Liza and husband Mike Todd, 1957

• Michael Todd (February 2, 1957 – March 22, 1958): Todd's death ended Taylor's only marriage not to result in divorce. Although their relationship was tumultuous, she later called him one of the three loves of her life, along with Burton and jewelry.^[36][6]
• Eddie Fisher (May 12, 1959 – March 6, 1964): Fisher, Todd's best friend, consoled Taylor after Todd's death. They began an affair while Fisher was still married to Debbie Reynolds, causing a scandal;^[6][37]:226 Reynolds eventually forgave Taylor; she voted for her when Taylor was nominated for an Oscar for BUtterfield 8, and starred with her in These Old Broads.^[18]
• Richard Burton (March 15, 1964 – June 26, 1974): The Vatican condemned Burton and Taylor's affair, which began when both were married to others, as "erotic vagrancy".^[27] The press closely followed their relationship before, during, and after their ten years of marriage, due to great public interest in "the most famous film star in the world and the man many believed to be the finest classical actor of his generation." Taylor wanted to focus on her marriage rather than her career, and gained weight in an unsuccessful attempt to not receive film roles.^[6]
• Richard Burton (October 10, 1975 – July 29, 1976): Sixteen months after divorcing—Burton said, "You can't keep clapping a couple of sticks [of dynamite] together without expecting them to blow up"^[27]—they remarried in a private ceremony in Kasane, Botswana, but soon separated and redivorced in 1976.
• John Warner (December 4, 1976 – November 7, 1982): As with Burton, Taylor sought to be known as the wife of her husband, a Republican^[38][39][40] United States Senator from Virginia. Unhappy with her life in Washington,^[41] however, Taylor became depressed and entered the Betty Ford Clinic.^[6]
• Larry Fortensky (October 6, 1991 – October 31, 1996): Taylor and Fortensky met during another stay at the Betty Ford Clinic and were married at the Neverland Ranch.^[6]

Taylor had many romances outside her marriages. Before marrying Hilton she was engaged to both Heisman Trophy winner Glenn Davis—who did not know until the relationship ended that Taylor's mother had encouraged it to build publicity for her daughter^[20]—and the son of William D. Pawley, the United States Ambassador to Brazil.^[21] Howard Hughes promised Taylor's parents that if they would encourage her to marry him, the enormously wealthy industrialist and film producer would finance a movie studio for her; Sara Taylor agreed, but Taylor refused.^[20] After she left Hilton, Hughes returned, proposing to Taylor by suddenly landing a helicopter nearby and sprinkling diamonds on her.^[42] Other dates included Frank Sinatra, Henry Kissinger, and Malcolm Forbes.^[27] In 2007, Taylor denied rumors of a ninth marriage to her partner Jason Winters,^[43] but referred to him as "one of the most wonderful men I've ever known."^[44]

Taylor had two sons, Michael Howard (born January 6, 1953) and Christopher Edward (born February 27, 1955), with Michael Wilding. She had a daughter, Elizabeth Frances "Liza" (born August 6, 1957), with Michael Todd. During her marriage to Eddie Fisher, Taylor started proceedings to adopt a two-year-old girl from Germany, Maria (born August 1, 1961); the adoption process was finalized in 1964 following their divorce.^[45] Richard Burton later adopted Taylor's daughters Liza and Maria.^[46]

In 1971, Taylor became a grandmother at the age of 39. At the time of her death, she was survived by her four children, ten grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.^[47]

Religion and identity[link]

In 1959, at age 27, after nine months of study, Taylor converted from Christian Science to Judaism,^[48] taking the Hebrew name Elisheba Rachel. She stated that her conversion was something she had long considered and was not related to her marriages. After Mike Todd's death, Taylor said that she "felt a desperate need for a formalized religion," and explained that neither Catholicism nor Christian Science were able to address many of the "questions she had about life and death."^[7]:175

Biographer Randy Taraborrelli notes that after studying the philosophy of Judaism for nine months, "she felt an immediate connection to the faith."^[7]:176 Although Taylor rarely attended synagogue, she stated, "I'm one of those people who think you can be close to God anywhere, not just in a place designed for worship . . . "^[7]:176 At the conversion ceremony, with her parents present as witnesses and in full support of her decision, Taylor repeated the words of Ruth:

. . . for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people and thy God my God.^[7]:176

Taylor was a follower of Kabbalah and a member of the Kabbalah Centre.^[1]

During an interview when she was 55, she describes how her inner sense of identity, when a child actress, kept her from giving in to many of the studio's demands, especially with regard to altering her appearance to fit in:

God forbid you do anything individual or go against the fad. But I did. I figured this looks absurd. And I agreed with my dad: God must have had some reason for giving me bushy eyebrows and black hair. I guess I must have been pretty sure of my sense of identity. It was me. I accepted it all my life and I can't explain it. Because I've always been very aware of the inner me that has nothing to do with the physical me.^[17]

She adds that she began to recognize her "inner being" during her adulthood:

Eventually the inner you shapes the outer you, especially when you reach a certain age, and you have been given the same features as everybody else, God has arranged them in a certain way. But around 40 the inner you actually chisels your features. . . Life is to be embraced and enveloped. Surgeons and knives have nothing to do with it. It has to do with a connection with nature, God, your inner being—whatever you want to call it—it's being in contact with yourself and allowing yourself, allowing God, to mold you.^[17]

Her impressions of career and marriage[link]

When she was thirty-two, Taylor's opinions about herself as an actress became clearer, and she was able to describe it objectively: "The Elizabeth Taylor who's famous, the one on film, really has no depth or meaning to me. She's a totally superficial working thing, a commodity. She was also able to explain her acting skills as "minuscule—it's not technique. It's instinct and a certain ability to concentrate."^[19]

Although most of her film roles during the previous decade portrayed her beauty and sexuality, she claims they merely exaggerated or contradicted who she was in real life, stating, "I am not a 'sex queen' or a 'sex symbol.' I don't think I want to be one. . . If my husband thinks I'm sexy, that's good enough for me."^[19] She also implies that the reverse is also true:

I can tell you what I think is sexy in a man. It has to do with warmth, a personal givingness, not self-awareness. Richard [Burton] is a very sexy man. He's got that sort of jungle essence that one can sense. It's not the way he combs his hair, not the things he wears; he doesn't think about having muscles. It's what he says and thinks.^[19]

When Taylor was thirty-two, she was in her fifth marriage, to Richard Burton. Except for her third husband, Mike Todd, who died in a plane accident, she partly blames her young romances and divorces on her "puritanical upbringing and beliefs":

At first, I guess I didn't know what was love and what was not. I always chose to think I was in love and that love was synonymous with marriage. I couldn't just have a romance; it had to be a marriage. . . . When I was first divorced, I was 18 and I had only been married nine months. I was very naive and really totally crushed. It was the first divorce in my family.^[19]

Taylor credits Burton's strong relationship with their children as a factor in expecting their marriage to last, stating that he was the "absolute boss of the household and they respect him for that." In hindsight, however, she is surprised about how they became romantically involved in the first place, recalling one of their first meetings:

The first day I saw Richard on the Cleopatra set, there was a lot of hemming and hawing, and he said hello to Joe Mankiewicz and everyone. And then he sort of sidled over to me and said, "Has anybody ever told you that you're a very pretty girl?" I said to myself, oy gevaldt, here's the great lover, the great wit, the great intellectual of Wales, and he comes out with a line like that. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't wait to go back to the dressing room where all the girls were and tell them.^[19]

Jewelry, perfume and fashion[link]

Elizabeth Taylor in 1981, at a show celebrating her life.

Taylor had a passion for jewelry. At her death, Taylor's jewelry collection was reportedly worth $150 million.^[36][49]

Over the years she owned a number of well-known pieces, two of the most famous being the 33.19-carat (6.64 g) Krupp Diamond, which Taylor wore daily,^[27] and the 69.42-carat (13.88 g) pear-shaped Taylor-Burton Diamond; both were among many gifts from husband Richard Burton. Taylor also owned the 50-carat (10 g) La Peregrina Pearl, purchased by Burton as a Valentine's Day present in 1969, and formerly owned by Mary I of England.^[50][51] Her collection of jewelry has been documented in her book My Love Affair with Jewelry (2002).