About Elizabeth
News
Photos
Films
TV
Stage
Other Media
Site
Forum
HIV/AIDS
“I
have to show up because it galvanizes people. [They] know . . . I’m not
there to sell or gain anything. I’m there for the same reason they are: to
get something done.” The discovery of HIV/AIDS not only changed the world
forever, but also the life and purpose of Dame Elizabeth Taylor. Elizabeth
was the first person in the entertainment industry to stand up and take
charge when few were willing to listen, and even fewer were willing to help.
“Elizabeth did something when it required real courage,” said Elton John.
Since then she has remained at the forefront of the battle against this
disease, a loyalty that has earned her the name the “Joan of Arc of AIDS.”
In the early 1980s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named a
new disease called AIDS—acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Although the
cancer like symptoms were found in heterosexual hemophiliacs, needle users
and recipients of blood transfusion, America and the world were closing
their eyes to the AIDS epidemic because the disease had been wrongly
portrayed as a gay man’s disease, known in the media as the “gay cancer”.
Because of rampant homophobia, there was an instant stigma attached to AIDS.
“But when I saw the kind of hypocrisy that was going on, I thought it was
terrible,” Elizabeth said. “The industry knew homosexuals were being hit
hard, but instead of extending a loving hand and saying, ‘You helped me get
to where I am today, without you I wouldn’t have made it,’ they turned their
backs.”
“I remember complaining, ‘Why isn’t anybody doing anything? Why isn’t anyone
raising money?’” asked Elizabeth. “And it struck me like lightning: ‘Wait a
second, I’m not doing anything.’” But she would. Elizabeth Taylor had a plan
of action.
“I decided that with my name I
could open certain doors, that I was a commodity in myself—and I’m not
talking as an actress. I could take the fame I’d resented and tried to get
away from for so many years—but you can never get away from it—and use it to
do some good. I wanted to retire, but the tabloids wouldn’t let me. So I
thought, If you’re going to screw me over, I’ll use you.” Elizabeth’s plan
to use the media could only work. They had followed her every move for
decades, and by attaching her name to the AIDS crisis, they would have to
acknowledge it. Elizabeth Taylor would breakdown the stereotypes associated
with the disease and enlighten an ignorant world. AIDS was not a gay man’s
disease. AIDS has the potential to affect everyone and no one can hide from
it.
Elizabeth Taylor’s first order of business was the AIDS Project Los Angeles’
Commitment to Life dinner. She was approached by APLA to lend her support to
the event in January 1985. Not only did Elizabeth agree, but she and her
publicist, Chen Sam, also planned the dinner from a small office they
rented. “I didn’t want to be honorary. I wanted to actually do the work,
make the phone calls, because this was going to be a toughie.” Elizabeth
again saw the bigotry surrounding the disease when she tried to recruit
longtime friends and peers to lend their support for the dinner. “I have
never had so many ‘no’s said to me,” remembered Elizabeth, “They didn’t want
to come to the evening, didn’t want to be associated. Some very big names
[said no].” Elizabeth also said that “People not only slammed doors in my
face and hung up on me, but I received death threats. Something happened to
the world, and I think it was massive fear.” However, Elizabeth ignored the
senseless threats and pushed forward.
While
planning the APLA dinner, the disease became even more personal for
Elizabeth. In July 1985, it was revealed that Elizabeth’s friend and
two-time costar, Rock Hudson, was dying of AIDS. This only helped to further
fuel her desire to overcome the dreaded disease. Elizabeth would discover
that AIDS had ravaged his body and mind so much that he didn’t know her when
she came to see him. It was during this time that Elizabeth spent time with
Dr. Michael Gottleib, Hudson’s doctor. Dr. Gottleib was one of the true
heroes in the early days of the AIDS crisis. “He has taken no credit for
anything,” said Elizabeth. “He’s remained quiet as a mouse, and he is the
one that people should be thanking.” The lack of a medicinal treatment for
Hudson was one thing, but the way he was being treated by the press and the
public was awful. Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law, Aileen Getty, recalled
reading through letters that were sent to the actor saying that he deserved
the disease, and it was God’s way of punishing him. But even with the
hateful ignorance of public opinion, AIDS finally had an identity. AIDS now
had a face.
On September 19, 1985, the inaugural Commitment to Life dinner was finally
held. 2,500 people packed the Bonaventure Hotel and although it initially
proved difficult, Elizabeth’s peers in the entertainment industry did lend
their support. Elizabeth’s old friend Sammy Davis Jr., was among the first
to agree, and Burt Reynolds emceed. Other luminaries such as Abigail Van
Buren, Cyndi Lauper, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder and Cher all appeared. That
night Elizabeth spoke emotionally of a crisis that was dividing a
population. “Never has a disease left so many helpless, leaving loved ones
and families reaching out only to frustration and fear”. Also read were
statements on behalf of Rock Hudson and President Reagan. The evening was a
success and one million dollars of desperately needed funds were raised that
evening. But it would be too late for Rock Hudson. Less than two weeks
later, Hudson was dead.
An important announcement was also made that September. Elizabeth knew that
if there was to be any sort of breakthrough, the clout of the entertainment
industry would have to align with those in science. The result was amfAR, an
amalgamation of Dr. Michael Gottlieb’s National AIDS Research Foundation and
Dr. Mathilde Krim’s AIDS Medical Foundation. Elizabeth would be amfAR’s
Founding National Chairman. amfAR was also pioneered by Chen Sam, Bill
Misenhimer, Dr. Arnold Klein, and David Geffen. The foundation benefited
greatly in those early days from a $250,000 windfall left by Rock Hudson.
amfAR would prove to be a leader in the fight, and the organization stood
tall alongside other heroes like Ryan White, Larry Kramer, and Elizabeth
Glaser.
Elizabeth’s participation “was
great for the scientists, the people fighting at the lab bench and at the
bedside,” said Sally Morrison of amfAR. “It’s very demoralizing work. Then
she shows up. It’s very meaningful to them.”
For anyone who has heard Elizabeth Taylor speak on the disease, it is
evident how passionate and how driven she is to find a cure. Elizabeth used
her down to earth skills to speak to the world on a very human level,
whether that was before Congress, or to a room full of children with AIDS.
“When you hear her speak in person, she doesn’t rant—she says things very
eloquently and in a very human way that’s the opposite of somebody just
getting on a platform,” said Elton John. “She came out against the injustice
of it all and said it and she kept saying it. But, she was able to convey it
in a way that didn’t piss people off. Instead, it forced people [to] sit up
and listen and say, ‘This woman is speaking the truth!’”
Elizabeth has been critical of the American government, whom she has felt
has not done enough to combat the disease. In July 1991 Elizabeth’s words
were heard around the world when she criticized the first President Bush. “I
don’t think President Bush is doing anything at all about AIDS,” she told
the crowd at the Eighth International AIDS Conference. “In fact, I’m not
even sure if he knows how to spell ‘AIDS.’” She has also reprimanded the
American government for limiting immigrants with AIDS into the country.
Slowly
progress with treatments and medicine were made, and more than ever
importance was placed on sex education. “It’s our moral responsibility to
educate people about safe sex. People shouldn’t stop having sex—I’d be the
last person in the world to advocate that—but safe sex is important.”
Elizabeth also demanded that the public be tested regularly. “I feel it is
important that people should not be afraid to be tested for AIDS. I have an
annual physical and have been tested for the disease, and the test results
are negative.”
Just as important as fundraising for Elizabeth, is the alone, face to face
time she has spent with those suffering from AIDS. According to former
daughter-in-law Aileen Getty, “Right from the beginning she would visit
people with AIDS, getting involved with them, talking and listening, making
them feel supported and loved. This was always on her own time, and the
press never knew that she was actively working with the people.” Said
Elizabeth, “If you go in and actually see the people and say to them, ‘What
is it I can do to help you?’ and they tell you—that’s what makes your heart
bleed real blood.
“I went to a hospice in the Borghese Gardens in Rome, and I said to the
guys—there were no women there—’What is it you would really like?’ And one
beautiful-looking young man said, ‘I would like someone to come in here and
just put his arms around me and make me feel like a human being.’”
Patient care is largely what led Elizabeth to establish The Elizabeth Taylor
HIV/AIDS Foundation in 1991. Elizabeth has always covered the overhead,
making sure that all the money raised goes towards the individuals who need
it most. According to Elizabeth, ETAF “researches all the requests. We weed
them out, and find out about their overhead. If their overhead is
exorbitant, I don’t give them money because I know it’s going into
somebody’s pocket. My foundation is for the individual. I want the money to
get to the sick who can’t get out of bed,” said Elizabeth. These
organizations that ETAF have supported include Caring For Babies With AIDS,
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, LIFE, and Mother Saradadevi Social
Service Society. The Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation has also given
funds to support education, condom giveaways, and needle exchange programs.
It must be said that Elizabeth still remains deeply committed to amfAR.
Since
Elizabeth became involved in AIDS, the fight has only become more personal,
and has hit very close to home. Many friends would die of AIDS or by
complications brought on by the horrid disease, including the designer
Halston and photographer Herb Ritts. Elizabeth’s secretary Roger Wall took
his own life instead of living a life completely taken over by AIDS. But it
was when Elizabeth’s former daughter-in-law Aileen Getty discovered she had
the disease that proved to be the most heart wrenching. Getty later admitted
that her biological family proved to show little compassion, but Elizabeth
showed great empathy for the woman who called her Mom. “Without the love of
Elizabeth Taylor in my life, I would probably be dead—if not physically,
most certainly emotionally.” Getty also stated that Elizabeth’s “instinct to
love has given me the power and will to live.”
After AIDS fundraising became more commonplace, Elizabeth would not appear
at an event that would bring in less than half a million dollars. “You don’t
want to take the Elizabeth Taylor mystique,” said Bill Misenhimer, “and make
it commonplace.” It has been estimated that with Elizabeth’s involvement, an
event could raise ten times the amount it could raise without her. Friends
such as Elton John, Sharon Stone, Brooke Shields, and Magic Johnson became
heavily involved in AIDS work around this time, and have all put in long
hours trying to combat the dreaded epidemic.
“It’s still out there,” said Elizabeth in 2006. “It is still a pandemic. It
has not slowed down. I know people have forgotten. They take things for
granted—especially the young people, between 15 and 24.” For Elizabeth,
education is still paramount. There is an entire generation of sexually
active teenagers who have lived their entire lives in a world where the
cocktail of drugs has allowed those with AIDS to live relatively normal
lives—but it is this ignorance that is continuing to kill so many around the
world. And in developing countries around the world, the people who require
these drugs simply cannot afford them. “We have a map at amfAR that blackens
out areas of the world where AIDS has killed. If you could see how
completely out of control it is in Africa, Asia, and India. It is spreading
so rapidly. It’s frightening,” said Elizabeth.
At age 76, and often in poor health, Dame Elizabeth Taylor continues to
fight for the cause she believes so strongly in and her courage and
dedication amazes so many others and moves them to follow suit. In 2006, she
donated a $500,000 mobile medical HIV/AIDS care unit for the victims of
Hurricane Katrina, and on World AIDS Day in 2007, Elizabeth returned to the
stage for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century to raise one
million dollars for AIDS. Joined by the great James Earl Jones, Elizabeth’s
appearance in A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters proved to be a staggering success.
To date, with Elizabeth’s help, amfAR and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS
Foundation has raised a combined total of over $270 million dollars. She has
also been honoured for her AIDS work, from England’s Queen Elizabeth II to
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Elizabeth, however, has never
been one to pat herself on the back. “I hope with all of my heart that in
some way I have made a difference in the lives of people with AIDS. I want
that to be my legacy. Better that than for the mole on my cheek.” Elizabeth
Taylor has made a difference. Today, 33.2 million individuals live with AIDS
worldwide. For Dame Elizabeth Taylor, the fight isn’t over until that number
reaches zero.
Please give generously to:
The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation
12400 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 1275
Los Angeles, CA 90025
For more information, please visit
the following web sites:
amfAR
Elizabeth Taylor
HIV/AIDS Foundation
Elizabeth Taylor Endowment for
the CARE Center at UCLA
Elizabeth Taylor Medical
Center of Whitman-Walker Clinic
Back to About Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Taylor Archives © Copyright 2001-2009 Andrew Budgell