'I Was So Scared': Elizabeth Taylor 'Ran Away' From Husband Eddie Fisher Due to His Dangerous Behavior, New Documentary Reveals
Never before heard confessions from Elizabeth Taylor are being unveiled to the public in the upcoming HBO documentary, Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes.
The work premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week and featured personal images and videos of the actress in addition to 70 hours of unearthed audio conversations she had with late friend Richard Meryman in 1964.
One of the most shocking moments is when the movie star — who died at age 79 in 2011 — discussed her marriage to ex-husband Eddie Fisher.
Their romance was controversial from the start, as before their affair, Taylor and husband Mike Todd were close pals with Fisher and his wife Debbie Reynolds. However, Fisher left Reynolds for Taylor after Todd died in a 1958 plane crash.
"Eddie was a great friend of Mike's. That was the only thing we had in common," Taylor revealed. "I never loved Eddie. I felt sorry for him. And I liked talking to him about Mike."
The Cleopatra star admitted she didn't "remember much" about their marriage other than "that it was one big awful frigging mistake — and I knew that before I got married. But I didn't know how to get out of it."
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When she cheated on Fisher — who died in 2010 — with costar Richard Burton, their marriage took a turn for the worse, even though the Hollywood beauty told her husband she wanted to stay with him and work things out.
"Eddie at night time would sit up — and he had a gun. Every time I nearly nodded off he would stroke my arm and say: 'I'm not going to kill you, I wouldn't shoot you. You are much too pretty.' All night long," she confessed. "Eventually, I ran from the house — I was so scared."
She wound up divorcing Fisher in 1964 and immediately married Burton, who passed in 1984.
Producer Glen Zippler is excited for people to view the project, which also touched on her career and other aspects of her personal life.
"I think people are going to become acquainted with Elizabeth Taylor in a way they haven’t before," he shared in an interview.
"Over time, when someone is as iconic as Elizabeth Taylor, they unavoidably become somewhat of a caricature of themselves. The caricature controls the legacy, as opposed to the reality controlling the legacy," the explained. "And I think this is going to get people in touch with the reality of who she was and how special she was and how groundbreaking she was as an actress, as a feminist, as a philanthropist."
Daily Mail reported on the documentary while Deadline spoke to Zippler.