Hollywood, CA — For decades, Elizabeth Taylor was the most famous woman in the world. Her violet eyes, her eight marriages, her diamonds, her scandals — all of it was consumed by a public that couldn’t get enough.
But behind the glamour was a woman in pain. Deep, crushing, suffocating pain.
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| 💔 Elizabeth Taylor Attempted Suicide in Front of Eddie Fisher — The Lost Tapes Reveal Everything |
And now, thanks to 40 hours of newly unearthed audio recordings, we can hear Elizabeth Taylor tell her own story — in her own voice — about the moment she tried to end her life. In front of her husband. Deliberately. Calmly.
“I’d rather be dead than face divorce. I was fed up with living.”
— Elizabeth Taylor, The Lost Tapes (1964)
📼 WHAT ARE “THE LOST TAPES”?
Between 1964 and 1965, at the absolute height of her fame, Elizabeth Taylor sat down with journalist Richard Meryman for a series of intimate conversations. They recorded over 40 hours of audio in hotel suites, restaurants, and even aboard the SS Michelangelo in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Meryman used these tapes to ghostwrite Taylor’s 1965 autobiography, Elizabeth Taylor by Elizabeth Taylor. But the raw, unfiltered audio — where Taylor curses, chain-smokes, drinks champagne, and speaks with brutal honesty — sat in storage for nearly 60 years.
Now, cleared for release by both the Taylor and Meryman estates, these tapes form the backbone of the HBO documentary Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes. And what they reveal is shocking.
💊 THE CONFESSION: “I DID IT DELIBERATELY, CALMLY AND IN FRONT OF EDDIE”
In one of the most chilling moments of the recordings, Taylor describes her suicide attempt during her marriage to Eddie Fisher — her fourth husband.
Let’s set the scene:
Timeline Event
🔹 1958 :- Mike Todd (husband #3, love of her life) dies in a plane crash
🔹 1959 :- Taylor marries Eddie Fisher — just 3 hours after his divorce from Debbie Reynolds is finalized
🔹 1959-1964 :- A loveless, miserable marriage
🔹 1964 :- Taylor leaves Fisher for Richard Burton
🔹 2024 :- The lost tapes are released, revealing the suicide attempt
Taylor’s own words, preserved on tape for six decades, are devastating:
“I started to sleep 14-15 hours at once. I was trying to avoid everything. I was trying to avoid life. But I was so desperate at one time that I did take some sleeping pills. I did it deliberately, calmly and in front of Eddie. I was fed up with everything. I couldn’t face the thought of divorce. I’d rather be dead than face going through a divorce.”
She called her marriage to Fisher “one big friggin’ awful mistake” — and she knew it before the wedding even happened.
“I knew it before we were married and didn’t know how to get out of it.”
😢 THE AFTERMATH: REGRET AND SHAME
Taylor didn’t romanticize her suicide attempt. In fact, she was deeply ashamed of it.
“A doctor came to the hotel. And thank God. I’m so deeply ashamed.”
What stopped her from trying again? Her children.
Taylor realized that her death would have devastated her four children — sons Michael Howard and Christopher Edward (with second husband Michael Wilding), daughter Liza Frances (with Mike Todd), and adopted daughter Maria McKeown (with Richard Burton).
She called her attempt “self-indulgent” and the consequences for her children "horrific."
🔫 THE GUN INCIDENT: “YOU’RE MUCH TOO PRETTY TO SHOOT”
The suicide attempt wasn’t the only terrifying moment in Taylor’s marriage to Fisher.
In the same tapes, Taylor revealed that Fisher once pointed a gun at her head — and kept her awake all night, stroking her arm and whispering threats.
Here’s how Taylor described it in her own words:
“Eddie at nighttime would sit up. He had a gun. Every time I started to close my eyes… he would stroke my arm and say, ‘I’m not going to kill you. I’m not going to shoot you. You’re much too pretty.’ All night long… I was so scared.”
Nanette Burstein, director of The Lost Tapes, told Fox News Digital:
“I was surprised by some of the things that she did and admitted to doing. Like attempting suicide, for example. Because she was so unhappy with her marriage to Eddie Fisher and the fact that he put a gun to her head and said, ‘You’re much too pretty to shoot.’ Some of these tidbits of really tumultuous moments in her life were revelations to me.”
👨👧 EDDIE FISHER’S SON RESPONDS
Todd Fisher, Eddie Fisher’s son with Debbie Reynolds (and brother of the late Carrie Fisher), told Fox News Digital that this was the first time he had heard the gun claim.
He said:
“I never discussed this with him when he was alive. My father was super charming, an amazing singer. But Richard Burton was far more cerebral and charismatic… Here’s a guy who just lost everything and scuttled everything for the woman of his dreams. And she’s now leaving him with Richard Burton… Can you see him getting out of control? It could have happened.”
However, Todd also noted that his father “never raised his hand to anybody” and “does not have a history of beating anyone up.”
“I would just say that there’s a chance that did happen… But in all of my conversations with Liz, this never came up.”
🎭 WHY DID SHE MARRY EDDIE FISHER?
To understand the suicide attempt, you have to understand the context.
Taylor’s third husband, Mike Todd, was the supposed love of her life. He was charismatic, successful, and adored her. They had a daughter together.
Then, on March 22, 1958, Todd’s private plane crashed in New Mexico. He was 48 years old.
Taylor was devastated. And in her grief, she turned to the wrong person: Eddie Fisher, Todd’s best friend — who was married to America’s sweetheart, Debbie Reynolds.
The affair caused a national scandal. Taylor was called a “homewrecker.” Fisher was called a “deserter.” And when they married just three hours after Fisher’s divorce was finalized, the public outrage was deafening.
But Taylor never loved him.
She married him out of grief, out of loneliness, out of a desperate attempt to fill the void left by Mike Todd. And she paid for it with five years of misery — and one night where she nearly died.
🏆 THE TRACHEOTOMY OSCAR (A BONUS REVELATION)
While we’re on the subject of shocking Taylor confessions, the lost tapes also reveal her brutally honest take on her first Oscar win.
Taylor won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1961 for BUtterfield 8 — a film she openly hated.
Her take on why she won?
During the production of Cleopatra, Taylor contracted pneumonia so severe that doctors had to perform an emergency tracheotomy to help her breathe. The surgery saved her life — and, according to Taylor, it also won her an Oscar.
🕊️ THE LEGACY: WHY THESE TAPES MATTER NOW
Elizabeth Taylor died in 2011 at age 79 from congestive heart failure. But her voice — literally — lives on.
The Lost Tapes is different from every other Taylor documentary because she tells her own story. No filters. No biographers interpreting her life. Just Elizabeth, with a glass of champagne and a cigarette, spilling everything to a journalist she trusted.
Director Nanette Burstein described the experience of listening to the tapes:
“She is so sincere and authentic, and it has a completely different feel. These are kind of fireside chats, with a lot of liquor, where she really is expressing her true feelings.”
The documentary premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival in 2024, and is now available on HBO and Max.
📊 QUICK FACTS: ELIZABETH TAYLOR’S MARRIAGES TO EDDIE FISHER
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| 📅 Marriage Duration | 1959 – 1964 (5 years) |
| 💍 Marriage Order | Husband #4 (out of 7 men, 8 marriages total) |
| 🔥 Scandal Level | Fisher divorced Debbie Reynolds 3 hours before wedding |
| 💔 Taylor's Own Words | "One big friggin' awful mistake" |
| 🔫 Fisher's Response | Allegedly pointed gun at her head, said "You're too pretty to shoot" |
| 💊 Suicide Attempt | Took sleeping pills deliberately in front of Fisher |
| 👶 Children at the Time | 4 children (Michael, Christopher, Liza, Maria) |
❤️ A NOTE ON MENTAL HEALTH
Elizabeth Taylor’s story is a reminder that even the most glamorous lives can hide deep pain. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988
Crisis Text Line: Text “STRENGTH” to 741741
Website: 988lifeline.org
📝 SOURCES (nofollow links)
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People – Elizabeth Taylor Attempted Suicide During ‘Awful’ Eddie Fisher Marriage
🔗https://people.com/elizabeth-taylor-suicide-eddie-fisher-marriage-8686475 -
Elizabeth Taylor Official Archives – Richard Meryman Tapes
🔗https://elizabethtaylor.com/archives/richard-meryman-tapes/ -
Page Six – Elizabeth Taylor attempted suicide while married to Eddie Fisher
🔗https://pagesix.com/2024/08/03/celebrity-news/elizabeth-taylor-attempted-suicide-while-married-to-eddie-fisher/ -
KRGV – Estrenan documental de Elizabeth Taylor en HBO y Max
🔗https://www.krgv.com/news/estrenan-documental-de-elizabeth-taylor-en-hbo-y-max/ -
Chicago Sun-Times – Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes review
🔗https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2024/08/01/elizabeth-taylor-lost-tapes-review-hbo-documentary-richard-meryman -
IMDb – Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes to Debut in August
🔗https://m.imdb.com/news/ni64717677/ -
The Mirror – Elizabeth Taylor attempted suicide in front of Eddie Fisher
🔗https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/celebrity-news/elizabeth-taylor-marriage-suicide-attempt-628359 -
IMDb – Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes Review (Cannes)
🔗https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64591831/ -
Fox News – Elizabeth Taylor claimed Eddie Fisher pointed gun to her head
🔗https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/elizabeth-taylor-claimed-husband-no-4-eddie-fisher-pointed-gun-head-too-pretty-shoot