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March 23, 2011 2:29 PM EDT
People.com is reporting that almost exactly 53 years ago, legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor cheated death.
Taylor passed away Wednesday morning after complications with congestive heart failure in Los Angeles. She was 79 years old.
Her death came 53 years and 1 day after she was supposed to be on a place that crashed. It was a cold that kept her from getting on that plane.
It was March 22, 1958 when a then 26-year-old Taylor was scheduled to fly with her third husband, movie producer Mike Todd, on his private plane for a trip from Burbank, Calif, to New York. According to People.com he convinced her to stay home because she was feeling sick. Taylor insisted she go with him, but finally succumbed to Todd's request.
Todd's plane, the "Lucky Liz," crashed near Grants, N.M. killing him and the three other passengers of the plane.
Mike Todd
| Mike Todd | |
|---|---|
 Mike Todd at the Jones Beach Theater on Long Island, 1952. | |
| Born | Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen June 22, 1909 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Died | March 22, 1958 (aged 48) Grants, New Mexico, United States |
| Spouse | Bertha Freeman (1927-1946) Joan Blondell (1947-1950) Elizabeth Taylor (1957-1958) |
Michael Todd (June 22, 1909 – March 22, 1958) was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. He is also well-known as one of Elizabeth Taylor's husbands.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Life
Todd was born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Chaim Goldbogen (an Orthodox rabbi) and Sophia Hellerman, both Polish Jewish immigrants. He was one of nine children in a poor family, and his siblings nicknamed him "Toat" to mimic his difficulty pronouncing the word "coat." It was from this that his name was derived. [1]
His family moved to Chicago. Todd was expelled in the sixth grade for running a game of craps inside the school. In high school, he produced the school play, The Mikado, which was considered a hit. He eventually dropped out of high school and worked a variety of jobs, including a shoe salesman and store window decorator.
At the age of 17, Todd married Bertha Freeman on Valentine's Day 1927. [2] In 1929, she bore him a son, Mike Todd, Jr. Freeman died in 1946 while preparing to undergo minor surgery,[3] and Todd remarried, to actress Joan Blondell July 5, 1947.[4] They were divorced June 8, 1950 after she alleged that he abused and extorted her. He married actress Elizabeth Taylor, with whom he had a tempestuous relationship. The couple exchanged vows on February 2, 1957. The couple had a daughter, Elizabeth Frances (Liza) Todd, who was born on August 7, 1957.
On 22 March 1958, Todd's private plane, Lucky Liz, crashed near Grants, New Mexico. The plane, a twin-engine Lockheed Lodestar, suffered an engine failure while being flown grossly overloaded in icing conditions at an altitude which was at the limit for single-engine flight. The plane went out of control and crashed, killing all four on board.[5] Apart from Todd, these were screenwriter and author Art Cohn, who was writing Todd's biography The Nine Lives of Mike Todd; pilot Bill Verner; and co-pilot Tom Barclay. Taylor was to make the flight to New York with her husband, but stayed home with a cold after her pleas to come along were overruled by Todd.[6][7] Ironically, Todd spoke about the plane being safe as he phoned friends, in an attempt to recruit a gin rummy player for the flight, just hours before the crash:
Ah, c'mon, he said. It's a good, safe plane. I wouldn't let it crash. I'm taking along a picture of Elizabeth, and I wouldn't let anything happen to her.[8]
His son, Mike Jr., wanted his father's body to be cremated after it was identified through dental records[9] and brought to Albuquerque, but Taylor refused, saying he would not want cremation.[10][11] Todd was buried in Forest Park, Illinois at Beth Aaron Cemetery in plot 66[12], which is part of Jewish Waldheim there.[13][14] In his autobiography, Eddie Fisher, who considered himself to be Todd's best friend, stated:
"There was a closed coffin, but I knew it was more for show than anything else. The plane had exploded on impact and whatever remains were found couldn't be identified.....The only items recovered from the wreckage were Mike's wedding ring and a pair of platinum cuff links I'd given him".[15]
The Los Angeles Times reported in 1977 that Fisher's story was false—remains of Todd were indeed found and buried. His remains were desecrated by robbers, who broke into his coffin looking for a $100,000 diamond ring which, according to rumor, Taylor had placed on Todd's finger prior to his burial.[16] The bag containing Todd's remains was found under a tree near his plot;[17] the bag and coffin had been sealed in Albuquerque since his remains were identified after the 1958 crash.[18][9][19] Todd's remains were once more identified through dental records and were reburied in a secret location.[16]
[edit] Work
Todd began his career in the construction business, where he made, and subsequently lost, a fortune. He later served as a contractor to Hollywood studios, and during the 1933-1934 Century of Progress Exposition he produced the attraction called "the Flame Dance." (In this spectacular number, gas jets were designed to burn part of a dancer's costume off, leaving her naked in appearance.) Later, he formed a company and toured with a production of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado, his high school favorite. When this tour closed, he revamped the show as the jazzier The Hot Mikado, which ran at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Todd went on to produce 30 Broadway shows during his career.
Todd's business career was volatile, and failed ventures left him bankrupt many times.[20]
In 1945, Todd floated the idea of holding the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in newly-liberated Berlin. Although baseball's new commissioner, Happy Chandler was reportedly "intrigued" by the idea, it was ultimately dismissed as impractical. The game was finally cancelled due to wartime travel restrictions.
In 1952, Todd produced an extravagant production of the Johann Strauss II operetta, A Night In Venice, complete with floating gondolas at the newly constructed Jones Beach Theatre in Long Island, New York. It ran for two seasons.
In 1950, Mike Todd formed The Cinerama Company with the broadcaster Lowell Thomas (who founded Capital Cities Communications) and the inventor Fred Waller. The company was created to exploit Cinerama, a film process created by Waller that used three film projectors to create a giant composite image on a curved screen. The first Cinerama feature, This is Cinerama, was released in September 1952.
Before its release, Todd left the Cinerama Company to develop a new widescreen process which would eliminate some of Cinerama's flaws.[21] The result was the Todd-AO process, designed by the American Optical Company.[22] The process was first used commercially for the successful 1955 film adaptation of Oklahoma!. Todd later produced the film for which he is best remembered, Michael Todd's Around the World in 80 Days, which debuted in cinemas on October 17, 1956. Costing $6 million to produce, the movie earned $16 million at the box office. In 1957, Around the World in 80 Days won the Best Picture Academy Award.
A William Woolfolk novel from the early 1960s, entitled My Name Is Morgan, was considered to be loosely based on Todd's life and career.
[edit] Selected Broadway productions
- Call Me Ziggy (Play, Farce, 1937)
- The Hot Mikado (Musical, Operetta, 1939)
- Something for the Boys (Musical, Comedy, 1943)
- Mexican Hayride (Musical, Comedy,1944)
- Up in Central Park (Musical, Comedy, 1945)
- As the Girls Go (Musical, Comedy, 1948)
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ p.24, Cohn, Art, The Nine Lives of Mike Todd,Hutchinson of London:1959
- ^ p.42, Cohn.
- ^ "Cut Finger Proves Fatal". Pittsburgh Press. 13 August 1946. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nL4cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-0wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3638,1499077&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ "Joan Blondell Weds Mike Todd". Evening Independent. 5 July 1947. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y8wLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GFUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2073,4911814&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ "Civil Aeronautics Board Aircraft Accident Report: Lockheed Lodestar, N 300E, near Grants, New Mexico, March 22, 1958. File No. 2-0038." (PDF). Civil Aeronautics Board. Released April 17, 1959. http://ntl1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*S%3A\DOT_56GB\airplane%20accidents\websearch\032258.pdf. (a text version is also available)
(if links above fail to load report, visit http://dotlibrary.specialcollection.net and select "Historical Aircraft Accident Reports (1934-1965)", then retry report links) - ^ "Mike Todd is Victim of Plane Crash". The Dispatch. 22 March 1958. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RnkfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VFEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3398,1513440&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ "Mike Broke Vow to Liz on Travel". Milwaukee Sentinel. 22 March 1958. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=laYVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-w8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5843,815785&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ "3 Refused Ride in Todd Plane". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 23 March 1958. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C3kcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=A2UEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5528,4508495&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Todd Grave is Robbed in Illinois". Schenectady Gazette. 28 June 1977. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4B4xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KOEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1066,7375231&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ "Elizabeth Taylor Leaves for Chicago for Todd Funeral". Quebec Chronicle-Telegram. 24 March 1958. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vMILAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gVYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2550,4893140&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ "Liz Still in 'Shock' Over Mike's Death". Milwaukee Sentinel. 24 March 1958. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VBAwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-w8EAAAAIBAJ&dq=mike%20todd&pg=7205%2C2143394.
- ^ Matt Hucke. "Gravesite-Mike Todd". Matt Hucke. http://graveyards.com/IL/Cook/waldheim/michaeltodd.html. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ Matt Hucke. "Jewish Waldheim cemeteries". Matt Hucke. http://graveyards.com/IL/Cook/waldheim/. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ James Bacon (26 March 1958). "Brother Stirs Fuss at Rites for Mike Todd". Gettysburg Times. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2WYmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ev8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1104,2241781&dq=mike+todd&hl=en.
- ^ Fisher, Eddie; Fisher, David, eds. (2000), Been There, Done That, St. Martin's Paperbacks, pp. 408, ISBN 0312975589, http://books.google.com/books?id=odBl1v7b6o4C&pg=PA127&dq=mike+todd+eddie+fisher&hl=en&ei=RtwTTOjPGZOCnQe8gtiLDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-preview-link&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQuwUwAA#v=snippet&q=mike%20todd%20death&f=false, retrieved 12 June 2010
- ^ a b "Mike Todd reburial in a secret location". Ellensburg Daily Record. 30 June 1977. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=likQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SY8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4532,5278405&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ "Bag of Bones Identified as Todd's". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 30 June 1977. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uL0qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fWcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5363,5837412&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, June 29, 1977.
- ^ "Todd's body stolen:By sick person or extortionist?". Modesto Bee. 25 June 1977. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uEchAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p38FAAAAIBAJ&pg=993,4660227&dq=mike+todd&hl=en. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
- ^ Frumkes, Roy (1995). "Mike Todd, Jr. Interview". Classic Images. http://www.in70mm.com/news/2004/todd_jr/chapters/interview.htm. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Hecht, Jeff (October 1996). "The Amazing Optical Adventures of Todd-AO". Optics & Photonics News. http://www.in70mm.com/newsletter/2002/67/optical_adventure/index.htm. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Gunther, Roy C. Jr. (14 October 1985). "Hollywood Comes to American Optical Co.". The Southbridge News. http://www.in70mm.com/newsletter/2002/67/todd_ao/index.htm. Retrieved 12 July 2010.part one of 5
[edit] Sources
- Dictionary of First Names, ISBN 0-304-36226-3
- City of Light : The Story of Fiber Optics, ISBN 0-19-516255-2
- Cohn, Art. The Nine Lives of Mike Todd. Hutchinson of London, 1959.
- Walker, Alexander. Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Taylor. Grove Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8021-3769-5
[edit] External links
- Mike Todd at the Internet Movie Database
- Mike Todd at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mike Todd's "A Night in Venice" on Amazon.com
- Mike Todd - Accident Report Aviation Safety - March 22, 1958
| Husband of Elizabeth Taylor | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Wilding | Husband of Elizabeth Taylor (by order of marriage) 1957–1958 | Succeeded by Eddie Fisher |
After Todd's death, Taylor was devastated and that drove her infamously into the arms of Eddie Fisher. Fisher was a friend of Taylor's who was at the time married to Debbie Reyonlds.
Later in life, Taylor was quoted saying that Todd and Richard Burton were her two soulmates. "I loved them both passionately," she said to Larry King in 2006.
Click here to view a slide show of Elizabeth Taylor's top ten
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