Letter from Mexico

In Mexico, we became students of Elizabeth Taylor; she fell in love with Puerto Vallarta during or after Richard Burton's filming of "The Night of the Iguana."

Taylor and Burton bought a villa, and then they bought the villa directly across the street. They constructed an overpass/bridge, modeled on the Bridge of Sighs. When Taylor grew impatient with Burton, she exiled him to the bridge; he would spend a night, or two, in the "shadow villa," before Taylor would rediscover her patience and reopen the doors to the main home.

(Burton was, apparently, a great writer; his diaries are available via Yale University Press. This book is a favorite of Dwight Garner's; Garner reviews new titles for the NY Times.)

Marc and I especially admire Liz for her approach to life's Second Act. After she (inevitably) lost her Hollywood luster, she found that she was still a subject of bottomless tabloid fascination. She decided, rather than whine about this, she would find a way to use the attention to her own advantage. So she became outspoken in her demands for more and more AIDS research; she was doing this at a time when most celebrities were remaining silent. This suggests a level of self-reflection and strategizing skill that is not normal for most people.

Here I am next to "Liz," in her Mexico home. Around the corner, you could see film posters from "Virginia Woolf," "Cleopatra," "The V.I.P.s," and other titles. Also, you could page through her important quotations: "The problem with people who have no vices is that you can be sure they will have some pretty annoying virtues....." Just delightful.

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