The most famous movie star of the 20th century, Elizabeth Taylor once said, “I resented my fame until I realized I could use it.” And wield it she did when she waged war against the HIV and AIDS pandemic. As co-founder of amfAR and founder of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Ms. Taylor’s work in AIDS advocacy and LGBTQ+ equality helped change the world and public perception forever. She stood up for gay men in the 1980s when few others did, using her fame and influence to break the silence around HIV/AIDS, fight stigma, and demand compassion, funding, and research at a time when the world looked away.
While Joan Rivers hosted the first AIDS fundraiser for AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) which was held at Studio One in Los Angeles in March 1984, raising $45,000 for APLA, L.A. Shanti and Aid for AIDS, it was Taylor who hosted the first mega AIDS benefit, The Commitment to Life dinner on September 19, 1985, raising $1.3 million dollars for patient care for APLA. More than 2,500 people showed up, including Shirley MacLaine, Sammy Davis Jr., and Carol Burnett.
But in the 2022 biography Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit & Glamour of an Icon, author Kate Andersen Brower writes, “In the early days it was a lonely battle. Studio heads whom Taylor had made lots of money for hung up on her. Worst of all, her friend and former lover Frank Sinatra turned her down when she first asked for his help. Michael Jackson was also hesitant. So many people made excuses not to help that it shocked her. Some of her friends and advisers told her to stay away from HIV and AIDS because it could end her career.”
Two months before Taylor’s APLA benefit dinner, her great friend Rock Hudson on July 25 publicly announced he had AIDS. Hudson had bought $10,000 worth of tickets for the benefit but was too ill to attend and instead sent a telegram read aloud that evening: “I am not happy that I am sick. I am not happy that I have AIDS. But if that is helping others, I can, at least, know that my own misfortune has had some positive worth.”
Hudson died at home two weeks later, on October 2, 1985.
Hudson’s death drove Taylor to fight harder. In 1986 she testified before U.S. Congress to advocate for additional HIV/AIDS funding and research, in 1987 she successfully lobbied then U.S. President Ronald Reagan to give a major speech about AIDS — and say the word — the same year she gave a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, where she famously said, “I became so incensed and personally frustrated at the rejection I was receiving by just trying to get people’s attention. I was made so aware of the silence, this huge, loud silence regarding AIDS, how no one wanted to talk about it and no one wanted to become involved. Certainly no one wanted to give money or support, and it so angered me that I finally thought to myself, Bitch, do something yourself. Instead of sitting there getting angry. Do something!”
In 1991 she established The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation to fund direct-care for patients.
As we near World AIDS Day this December 1, here is my candid Q&A with Tim Mendelson, Ms. Taylor’s executive assistant (with whom she is pictured, in a photo taken by Herb Ritts) from 1990 until her passing in 2011. Mendelson is co-trustee of her estate and an officer of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
Before working for Elizabeth Taylor, in 1984 you began working for fashion designer Nolan Miller. What was that like?
Tim Mendelson: For the most part I grew up in Los Angeles and attended a private high school with celebrity kids. Paul Newman’s daughter went there, so did Michael Landon’s kids. I became friends with Melissa Rivers and when I was over at her family’s home in Bel Air, her mom Joan and her Dad came into the kitchen to talk to us because they wanted to get to know me, who their daughter’s friend was. Joan asked me, “What do you want to do for the summer? What do you want to do with your life?” I said, “Well, maybe something in fashion.” So Joan said, “I’m having lunch with Nolan Miller. Let me see if he has a job for you.”
I became Nolan Miller’s shopper. My whole job was going out and getting fabrics for these amazing clothes. I was only 19. And it was the height of Dynasty, so Nolan designed all the outfits for Joan Collins, Linda Evans and Diahann Carroll. It was crazy! Joan Collins is a diva. Linda Evans was a saint and an angel. There was a lot of drama and I was just a kid. Then when Rock Hudson went on Dynasty and later announced he had AIDS, it was a scary time. I didn’t come out as a young gay man until about three years later.
You began working for Ms. Taylor in September 1990, and she supported you as you navigated your gay identity, just as she privately and publicly supported closeted Hollywood stars at a time when being out meant an end to their careers.
Tim Mendelson: Once I was in Elizabeth’s world, I saw that gay men were such an organic part of her world. She had been friends with Rock Hudson, James Dean, Roddy McDowell and Montgomery Clift. She actually introduced Monty to Roddy, and they dated for six months. It’s not like Elizabeth sat me down and said “Tim, I think you might be gay. I think you should come out.” It was not even a question. She loved and celebrated gay men. It’s just the way it was. Also, Elizabeth didn’t gossip and she didn’t judge.
You accompanied Ms. Taylor to famed gay establishment The Abbey in West Hollywood where she became a regular and famously enjoyed a cocktail.
Tim Mendelson: I remember the first time. We were already out, she was dressed up – you know, hair, makeup – she was in a good mood and wanted to go somewhere. In the past – being a gay icon – she thought going to a gay bar might be seen as a publicity ploy, but this was a Thursday afternoon around three o’clock, and I knew the Abbey wouldn’t be busy. We could just hang out and have some drinks in the neighbourhood. So we went. We sat in a booth and ordered a bunch of appetizers and drinks. It was very quiet. There were three older gay men sitting at the bar. I could see they were aware of Elizabeth. They eventually worked up the courage to come over one-by-one. One man came over on bended knee, tears in his eyes, thanking her for how she had saved his life. He said he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her and what she did for AIDS. That’s when I truly understood why Elizabeth got involved in the fight.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton will always be synonymous with Montreal, the city where they first got married, back on March 15, 1964, in suite 810 of Montreal’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Tim Mendelson: Elizabeth didn’t really focus a lot on the past. Obviously Richard was one of the two great loves of her life. I think she was clear that they probably would have married a third time.
In addition to her AIDS advocacy work, few people know Ms. Taylor did unpublicized visits to AIDS hospices and let sick friends and friends of friends stay at her Bel Air mansion. How does the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation help further change and improve lives today?
Tim Mendelson: One of our big programs is our HIV Is Not A Crime campaign which lobbies to modernize laws in more than 30 U.S states where people are being criminalized due to their HIV status. Elizabeth also left 25% of all her royalties to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. In her final video interview before she died, she said she wanted her family to be happy and fulfilled, and for people to continue the things she started. The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation was a high priority. She made it clear to us that is what she wanted to be remembered for, not necessarily the films.
Pop star Taylor Swift pays tribute to Ms. Taylor on the song “Elizabeth Taylor” on her new album The Life of a Showgirl. As we approach World AIDS Day, what do you think of the song and the enduring legacy of Ms. Taylor?
Tim Mendelson: Taylor Swift’s tribute is fitting because in the 20th century there was no star bigger than Elizabeth, and right now there’s no star bigger than Taylor Swift who says we should all be obsessed with Elizabeth, and for good reason. Of course I’m biased, but when you look at all the gay icons from Judy Garland to Madonna and Cher, Elizabeth’s unconditional support for the gay community, especially during the early years of HIV/AIDS, is unparalleled. The story of Elizabeth is an extraordinary human story. She is a role model because no matter the tragedies in her life, she always moved forward. Elizabeth found the strength to keep living because she believed in life, and the value of life.
