Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1960)

LIZ AND EDDIE Continued from page 23 P 62 Suddenly I noticed Liz get up from her seat and whisper something to Eddie. He got up, steered her across the dance floor and out through the door. Liz had whispered so softly that not even the people right next to them had managed to hear what she said to Eddie. And no one there could figure out why they left the party before it was over. Some thought it was because she and Eddie had a row. There’d been rumors that Eddie had been gambling, that he was broke, that Liz had had to sell some of her jewelry to pay for their trips. But I know this wasn’t true, because one of the maids at the hotel in Spain where we were all staying — one who had helped Liz dress — told my wife she had “millions of diamonds” in a large jewel box. And, the maid added, from the way Liz looked after them, she obviously had no intention of selling them. I didn’t know, then, why Liz left the party — not until much later. It was funny, the way I found out. But I think, to explain properly, I’ll have to start from the beginning, from the first time I saw them, which was last summer. My wife and I were sitting out on the patio of the hotel in Spain, where we were staying for our summer vacation, when Elizabeth and Eddie happened to arrive there too. At first sight, my wife and I disagreed on Liz’ looks. My wife thought she was stunning; I only thought her intriguing. But we both agreed that some of the things we had read about her appearance were not true; there was no gray whatsoever in her hair, and she didn’t look overweight. There were circles under her eyes, though, and she seemed tired. In fact, she always looked tired, every time we saw her after that. Maybe it was due to the strain from all the trouble she has with her back. Eddie was a surprise. We had always thought of him as being sort of nervous and shy. But he didn’t seem like that at all. Even though he was in a foreign country and knew only a few words of the language, he was able to direct the porters, who were getting the luggage out of the car, and tell them exactly what he and Liz would need first, what they could bring up later, and so on. He had an air of authority I would have never expected. Later, during their stay, we were often near them at the beach, and sometimes even saw them in shops in town. So we were able to get a lot of impressions. Eddie went on being a pleasant surprise. He was very quiet, but likeable. We chatted, for a while, on the beach once, and his manner was very plain and simple. Every morning, while Liz was working on her movie (“Suddenly Last Summer”) , he would read the papers on the hotel terrace, and in the afternoons he would take Chris and Mike down to the beach. Our conversation first got started when I remarked on what a wonderful place this was for children. He nodded and said yes, it was. We talked a while about Chris and Mike, and I wondered if Eddie would say anything about his own little ones. But all he said was, “You know, my own children are very beautiful.” Maybe he would have gone on, but a porter came down from the hotel, just then, to tell him that “Senora Fisher” had come back. Immediately, he got up, called to the boys, and went to her. He seemed to be very much in love, and didn’t want to be away from her for an unnecessary moment. The more we saw of Eddie, we must admit, the better we liked him. But Liz — well, she was puzzling. From everything we had read, we thought of Liz as a passionate, exciting woman — a woman who was always gay, always the center of attention. Yet I hardly ever saw her laugh, though she did smile. She didn’t seem moody, but she was always withdrawn, always quiet. When she spoke, her speech was slow and deliberate, and not very commanding. Her eyes were always thoughtful, never sparkling or gay. Sometimes, while she spoke, she would touch her ears or her earrings when she wore any. Otherwise, her hands just lay quietly in her lap. Only twice, that I know of, did she get a little more lively. Once, was when some photographers discovered her and Eddie on the beach and started to take pictures. Then she very sharply asked a man with them (who was evidently her press agent) to stand in front of her and block the view. The other time was when Eddie took her to a bull fight. She got sadder and sadder as it went on, and twice she screamed. Not with excitement, but with horror. “How can they kill dumb animals like that?” she said. Then she hid her eyes. I remembered hearing that, as a little girl, she had loved animals very much and always had a lot of pets. So I guess that was understandable. But what shocked us was what we began noticing more gradually. Along with a quietness that many women have, there is often a sort of gentle warmth, like a slow steady flame. But Liz wasn’t like this. She always had a good word for everybody, but her manner was cold. And I don’t mean just to strangers. She was cold to Eddie, too. 9 HAIRDOS MEN LIKE BEST To get another look at the nine hairdos men like best, as shown on pages 51-55, see these stars in the following: JANET LEIGH can be seen in Par.’s “Psycho” and “Who Was That Lady?” for Col. EVA MARIE SAINT can be seen in “Exodus” for H. A. CAROL LYNLEY'S in 20th’s “Hound-Dog Man” and “Daddy-0.” See DEBBIE REYNOLDS in “The Rat Race” and “Pleasure of His Company” for Par. Also “The Gazebo” for M-G-M. Hear her sing on the Dot label and watch for her specials on ABC-TV. Don’t miss “The LORETTA YOUNG Show” every Sun, NBC-TV, 10-10:30 P.M. EST. Hear ANNETTE sing on the Buena Vista Label. DOROTHY PROVINE can be seen on Sun, 9:30-10:30 P.M. EST, ABC-TV in “The Alaskans.” DORIS DAY'S in “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. And she was a little cold to her kids — at least it seemed that way to us. She never once showed Eddie any affection in public. She never took his hand, never kissed him. If he went over to her and caressed her, she didn’t seem to mind, but she didn’t respond, either. And she often kept him waiting. Sometimes for as long as half an hour, or even an hour, I’d see him wandering around in the lobby while their car waited outside. Finally the elevator doors would open and Liz would walk out, not hurrying, not apologizing, just walking with that cool little smile of hers. Once Eddie told her off because there were other people waiting ; for her too. But mostly he just shook his > head and said nothing. Or he’d kiss her — he was always affectionate to her — and then they’d go out. With the children it was the same thing, although she was always quick to see that they buttoned their coats or didn’t stay , in the water too long. But she seemed so impersonal about it. I never saw her hug them the way Eddie did, suddenly and spontaneously. And yet I don’t see how she could have resisted. They were such cute kids. Little Mike is so grave all the ; time, and Christopher is always asking questions and the little girl, Liza, has a lot of charm. Eddie was obviously crazy about them. But Liz never showed them any real warmth. So, as we saw more and more of them in Spain, I said to my wife, “Well, to me, she’s a woman to look at, but not to marry.” And my wife said, “You know, after seeing her so often, I don’t think she’s beautiful any more. Pretty, yes. But not beautiful.” Maybe one reason Eddie was so good with the kids was that he was trying to make up for Liz’ remoteness. Anyway, he was exceptionally patient. I remember one morning particularly well. Eddie was reading the paper on the terrace when suddenly Mike, Jr. started rocking Eddie’s beach chair rather hard. Eddie told him to quit. Mike stopped for a minute, and then began again, this time upsetting the chair. Down onto the grass went Eddie, all tangled up in the canvas. Naturally everyone on the terrace was laughing. But Eddie looked furious, although he controlled himself very well, j just scolding Mike quietly and telling him that he must stop and obey what Eddie said. Then he explained to Mike that simple accidents like this can really hurt someone, and he asked Mike if he wanted to hurt anyone. Mike said no, he didn’t, and that he was sorry. And then Eddie, untangled at last, said very softly that it was okay — and with a little rush, Mike grabbed him and kissed him and then ran off to find his brother. And, as I watched, I couldn’t help wondering if Mike would have kissed his mother in public that way. Afterward, Eddie dusted himself off, laughed and just said, “Boys will be boys, I guess.” It was very strange. So much warmth on his side — so much coolness on Liz’. Other people felt it, too. Liz and Eddie had an interpreter with them most of the time, to help them shop, straighten out bills and so on. He told me an interesting story. One day, he said, while he and Eddie were downtown shopping, a woman came up to them in the street and asked the interpreter if that was really Eddie Fisher. The interpreter said yes, it was. So the woman reached out and touched Eddie’s arm. She said in Spanish, “That’s better than an autograph.” Then she quietly left. The Spanish are like that. But I never heard of anyone touching Liz. She might have had a hands-off sign. As I said, all this seemed very strange to us, and we’d keep wondering, “Why,