Michael Jackson on their meeting, according to Randy Taraborrelli, Magic/Madness


“Michael once explained to me that he and Elizabeth first met in the early 1980s. Out of the blue, he had sent her a dozen tickets to one of his Los Angeles concerts at Dodger’s Stadium. “I didn’t know it, but it was her birthday – February 27th,” (Lacienega note – the Victory tour hadn’t begun yet and the Dodger’s concert was in November so this seems like another of Randy Tarraborrelli’s half truths) Michael recalled. “I thought I was giving her great seats because they were in the VIP box. But when Elizabeth got there, she became very angry because the seats were so far away from the stage. And she left, upset! The whole time I was performing, I was thinking, Oh my God, Elizabeth Taylor is watching me. Elizabeth Taylor is watching me! But, she wasn’t even there. When I got offstage, they told me she had gone home, mad. The next day, I called her, and I cried because I felt so awful.”
According to Michael’s memory, Elizabeth was cordial, but direct. “Michael,” she said, “a major star such as myself never sits in the cheap seats.”

“After that, we talked on the phone every day, on every stop of the tour,” Michael said. “After that, we talked on the phone every day, on every stop of my tour,” Michael said. “She somehow got my schedule. I would be in Cleveland and the phone would ring. Elizabeth. Or I would be in Denver and the phone would ring. Elizabeth. And I thought, Wow. Doesn’t she have other things to do? After all, she’s Elizabeth Taylor! At the end of the tour, I asked her if I could come by for tea. She said, “Yes.” I brought Bubbles along. She didn’t mind…”

The two become so fascinated with one another so quickly that, in 1989, Elizabeth toyed with the idea of moving Michael into her home so that they could spend all their waking hours together. At the time, Michael was about to move out of his family home in Encino [He had already met out of Encino in 1988 and had bought Neverland back in 1987], and was considering buying Neverland.

“But why do you need all of that space when you and I can live together in my home, “ Elizabeth suggested, according to what Michael told me. “Imagine the fun we’ll have. Maybe we’ll even get married.”

Elizabeth Taylor on their meeting, Paul Theroux, Telegraph


The friendship started when, out of the blue, Michael offered her tickets for one of his Thriller Tour concerts – indeed, she asked for 14 tickets. But the seats were in a glass-enclosed VIP box, so far from the stage “you might as well have been watching it on TV”. Instead of staying, she led her large party home.

Hearing that she’d left the concert early, Michael called the next day in tears apologising for the bad seats. He stayed on the line, they talked for two hours. And then they talked every day. Weeks passed, the calls continued. Months went by. “Really, we got to know each other on the telephone, over three months.”

One day Michael suggested that he might drop by. Elizabeth said fine. He said: “May I bring my chimpanzee?” Elizabeth said, “Sure. I love animals.” Michael showed up holding hands with the chimp, Bubbles.

“We have been steadfast ever since,” Elizabeth said

Elizabeth on Oprah about what brought them together


Oprah: And why do you think you all are such good friends? What has brought about this kind of bond? Because people try to make this weird.
Elizabeth: Well it’s not. I mean our childhoods are very similiar, and we had that from the very beginning in common. Um, I was a child star at nine, had an abusive father, um, and that kind of brought us together in the very beginning.

Liza Minnelli comeback tour, July 1, 1985


The crowd gave an impromptu ovation when it spotted Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson being escorted to their seats by a phalanx of bodyguards.

Elizabeth Visits Him on The Set of Captain EO, July 1985















Angelica Huston:
http://www.mondocelluloid.com/blog.php?p=384


Then from the first stage I kept seeing these luminaries appearing, Barbara Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren…I was like, I couldn’t believe it. Each day they would go into Michael’s trailer and sign his mirror in lipstick, it was unbelievable…I’ve never seen such a show…fantastic!

Bruce Springsteen concert, Ellensburg Daily Record, 28th September 1985


Springsteen fans included Elizabeth Taylor and singer Michael Jackson who left the concert through a side entrance after the first set.

Liz Smith Column, Toronto Star, 25th December, 1985 (Jan 5, 1986)





Everybody, but everybody who saw Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson arm in arm watching her horse, Basic Image, run in Hollywood Park on Christmas Day, heard what the star of stars shouted out when her baby came in next to last (Yes – next to last, even with the giant talent Willie Shoemaker whipping him on.) Michael, who doesn’t approve a bit of profanity, looked abashed.

AMA Awards, January 27, 1986

















































Michael arrives half-way through the American Music Awards ceremony in company of Elizabeth Taylor where he, Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie and Ken Kragen receive awards for We Are The World. At the show’s conclusion, they join many celebrities including Diana Ross, Janet & LaToya.

Lionel Richie: “One night, Michael, Elizabeth and I went out to dinner. Because she was also a child star, Elizabeth could relate to him. They talked about isolation and what you do when you’re lonely. It was good for Michael to hear that Elizabeth often went out of the house without security guards. The idea that you could live without them was a revelation to him.”

Bryan Times, 27th Jan 1986


Michael Jackson who nearly swept the awards two years ago when the Thriller album was hot, showed up backstage about midway through the show with friend Elizabeth Taylor. When photographers learned of the couple’s presence, several people were nearly tramped in the stampede to catch a shot of the pair.

Anchorage Daily News, 31 Jan 1986


But the We Are The World session alumnus who attracted the most attention was the reclusive Michael Jackson, who brought his friend Elizabeth Taylor on stage with him.

The couple also livened up thing backstage in the crowded media area.

When they appeared briefly, the area, which had been calm all evening, suddenly turned into a madhouse. Photographers stampeded to a designated security line near the stage entrance. It was one of those frantic paparazzi scenes, with photographers jockeying for position, shoving their colleagues out of the way.

Opening Day at the Races With Liz and Michael – Los Angeles Times, April 25, 1986



















The opening of Hollywood Park on Wednesday brought out all the potential winners, including this year’s really fun couple–the devastatingly slim and pretty Elizabeth Taylor and her buddy, pretty and slim Michael Jackson. The yellow and black dress La Liz was wearing gave clear evidence that she is once again a knockout–and the best advertisement for the beauty book she is currently writing. In great spirits, Taylor followed the advice of her attorney, Neil Papiano, to bet combinations with Carole Bayer Sager and Marcia Diamond–and even kiddingly bopped Jackson on the head with her program for some laughing remark. It was a big day for that table, which included songwriter-cum-horseman Burt Bacharach, whose horse Piper John won the last race.

George Hamilton (who was dating Elizabeth in 1986/1987), Vanity Fair


“I once went to the track with Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson. I asked Michael to pick a horse. He said, ‘Oh no, I’m a Jehovah’s Witness.’ So I told him to just put his hand down on the race card. His hand came down on this horse that was a 30-1 shot. I bet on that horse and it won. I came over to Michael and said, ‘We won!’ I tried to give the money to him, but he screamed and tore off running.”