Liz Taylor interview part 1, fascination, marriage and turning 60

Johnny's first and only interview with Elizabeth Taylor took place in 1992, the final year of Carson on the Tonight show. Johny was 66 and liz was 59 and looked incredible. Two absolute legends.

Johny: introducing La Liz." I can not think, off hand, of another international personality who has sparked the intense public fascination as my first guest, and its a great pleasure to have her here, will you welcome Miss Elizabeth Taylor."

Elizabeth struts out wearing all black and looking trim. Johny stands and welcomes her with a kiss. she then tenderly turns to Ed and she kisses him and then sits down. Elizabeth is in a very mellow and flirtatious mood throughout the interview.

Carson: " Well, let me see now, we've been on the air , 29 years and 6 months and we have 3 months to go and we finally got you here."

Liz;"Well." Audience applauds and Liz laughs." I'm not plugging anything and i have nothing to sell, i really wanted to come on the show and thank you for 30 years of brilliant entertainment."

Carson;" well isn't that nice." audience applauds and Johny looks genuinely touched. " Thank you for coming Elizabeth...now my next guest....no" audience laughs. Johny touched Elizabeth's arm, acknowledging the leather jacket she is wearing, " now did you come here by motorcycle or is this your outdoors outfit."

Liz: smiles, and says softly; " bad boy." referring to her look

Carson: " Next thursday is your birthday, feb 27 , pre-happy birthday."

Liz: " Thank you."

Carson: " You said, you were quoted as saying this one is special, this one is great, how come? any particular reason?"

Liz: " Well, first of all it's astonishing that i ever made it , it comes as a surprise to me, because sometimes i didn't think i would, um, years ago Grace Kelly and I sat down and had a talk a few months before our impending doom-40 , and we though what are we going to do and we decided ,just to face it, and make a big noise about it and have fun. And she had a great party in Monte Carlo and i had a super party in Budapest , i went to hers and she came to mine with dozens of other people , and we just entered our forties with a blast. And i though: ' Hell, forties a child, at Disney, so what am i going to do for my sixty, i am going to give a party for the child in me."

Carson: " Sixty. You look marvelous."

Liz: " Thank you." and she smiles at him as the audience cheers her.

Carson: " And they are Violet aren't they."

Liz:" Huh." but of course she heard him the first time.

Carson: " They are Violet." Carson is smiling as he says this, almost blushing

Liz: " I don't know. red." Liz says, smiling and giggling.

Note: it is common knowledge that most people who have seen them in the flesh, say Elizabeth Taylor had the most beautiful eyes in the world, most called them mesmerizing, and when she wanted she could pierce a mans Heart with those eyes. But she was a good girl here and took it easy on Johny. They were still mischievous, but on a low beam.

Carson: " I was reading your book last night.."

Liz: " ohh, you don't have to plug it.."

Carson" " No, I want to, You are a stunning looking person, um, do you ever get tired of people staring at you, when you come in to a room."

Liz: " Not if it's a nice stare."

Carson: " It doesn't bother you?"

Liz: " If its a sweet one, thats nice."

Carson: " Let me ask you, you're going to be sixty, you made your first movie when you were nine years old.."

Liz: " Yeah, i came out when i was 10, so I've been in show business for 50 years.." audience applauds and Liz smiles at them.

Carson: " What amazes me, is that you were a major motion picture star when you made National Velvet, a lot of people who have been in the public eye for a long time , but you've endured, there been this fascination, have you ever wondered, , other people have faded away, but you haven't, why is that."

Liz;" they try."

carson: " why still the public fascination?"

Liz: " Maybe it is because I am a survivor, and i am a living example of what people can go through and survive. I've had the lowest valleys and the highest highs, um, i've had a lot of tragedy in my life, I've had a dedications, weight problems, extreme happiness, thats why its kind of a miracle that i made it to sixty. I've almost died a couple of times,I've been pronounce dead, I've read my own obituaries ....they were the greatest reviews i've ever had."

Carson, who is no stranger to failed marriages is about to talk about Liz's failed marriages, which is kind of like the pot calling the Kettle black and Liz and he have almost perfect comic timing here as they kind of know each other pain and can laugh about it.


Carson: " what is fascinating" pause ..." How is married life treating you>"

Liz> leans in, almost face to face, " great...How's yours." Audience breaks out laughing, both in the audience and at home.

Johny: on the defensive: " Fine...thank you.thank you." audience still laughing. Liz said that line so perfectly and so stunned Carson, that its a treat to watch.

Carson" " Mine's just fine, Lets talk about marriage for a little bit...It's no secret that i've had...nobody wants to have a marriage that does not work, and i've often made jokes about mine ......"

Liz. interrupting, " and mine too." once again audience uproarious laughter. Liz shakes her head jokingly .

Carson:" Yes..I HAVE.... " touches her arm and looks sheepish, the audience is having a great time in seeing Liz make Johny squirm, " Thats absolutely true, I think you do that, to kind of keep the hurt away. and you make jokes about it. But if marriage was the Giant slalom i'd be a bronze medal winner and you'd be a Gold medal winner."

Liz; " Thats true."

Carson asks her about her marriage to Larry Fortensky, and Liz says since they met at Betty Ford, they know a lot about each other and they help each other with their sobriety.

Carson: " Now Larry is a construction worker, you've been married to a Senator, have you ever thought about..i don't know, marrying a comedian.?"

Liz pauses, and with almost perfect timing and tone says: " They were, most of them comedians." Johnny and the audience howl with laughter. as everybody is laughing, Liz adds very softly, " some of them should have been paid."

Carson: " I'm not sure some of us who do humor make the best Husbands, we might be fun about the House, a lot of laughs but we're kind of moody too. How would you rate yourself on a scale of one to ten as being easy to live with?"

Liz: " Well, I'm a Pisces, and we're very sensitive..."

Carson: " I was married to a Pisces once....

Liz. again with perfect timing and inflection : " I'm sure you were."

again the audience howls, i think this was one of the all time funniest moments in the history of the Tonight show, Johnny was absolutely and totally disarmed by the living legend Elizabeth Taylor, who might have been the only person in the world who had more celebrated divorces than carson.

Carson is left speechless as Liz and the audience laugh, " I just try to move around the Zodiac."

Liz.' me too" audience finally settles down

Carson: " do you put any groundwork into the Zodiac at all ,What are the characteristics of Pisces?"

Liz;" No I don't. It's just an excuse...it means you can Flake off."