Elizabeth Taylor and my portrait

In mid January 2000, I read the news that said Carole Bayer Sager was going to be presented with her star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. Carole Bayer Sager has written a long list of hits over the years including, "That's What Friends Are For" and "Nobody Does It Better," but personally, what I was most excited about was the announcement that Elizabeth Taylor was going to be in attendance at the Walk of Fame ceremony on Feb. 14, 2000.... Valentine's Day, of course.

Wow, I couldn't believe it. Was I really going to have the rare opportunity to maybe have Elizabeth Taylor sign my painting??? Sure, I didn't know if it was going to happen or not but just the mere mention of her name got me to drop everything else and get to work on painting her portrait... just in case. The shot I chose to paint was from her White Diamonds perfume ad that I had found in a magazine. It was a beautiful shot of her and it was time to get busy.

My schedule at work at that time had me working Sunday and Monday nights, this event was scheduled for the morning of Monday, Feb. 14 so there was no need for me to take a day off of work for this.

I finished the painting in plenty of time and I even got to take a pic of my daughter, Lindsey, who was 4 at the time, sitting next to the painting and smiling at Ms. Taylor.

I go to most of the events alone since I'm the only one with the interest and determination to stand in a crowd on the street for what could be hours for just a possible chance to accomplish what I was going down there for, and this time was no different.

It was a cold February morning and it was overcast but thankfully it wasn't raining. There were plenty of stars there to congratulate Ms. Sager on her big day including; Carol King, David Foster, Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, and Henry Winkler... but sad to say there was no sign of Elizabeth Taylor. I remember Johnny Grant, the honorary Mayor of Hollywood who emceed these events for years was trying to stall the ceremony, waiting and hoping for the day's biggest star to arrive. In one sense I felt bad for Carole Bayer Sager, this was her day and yet everyone there was waiting for someone else. Of course this was not just any ordinary someone else and I'm sure she understood everyone's anticipation. Johnny Grant did the sound check to make sure that the sound system was up and running and all the levels were good. I remember he used to half jokingly ask the cameramen if all their needles were jumping because he always wanted to make sure that everything was as good as it could be for these ceremonies.

Still no Elizabeth Taylor and Johnny Grant even made mention that he was stalling for a very special guest.. as he leaned forward and looked down the block one more time before starting the ceremony. Obviously everyone in attendance knew who he was talking about and everyone was just as excited as he was, but it was past time and he decided to start now without any further delays.

The ceremony went off without a hitch and a few of her friends stepped up to mic to say a few words to Ms. Sager and to congratulate her on her big day. Elizabeth Taylor hadn't missed it completely, but somewhere near the end of the ceremony, a big, long, black limo pulled up in a space that was specially reserved for this super star. Her driver walked around the car, opened her door, offered his hand and out steps this radiant vision, Elizabeth Taylor. I swear she was glowing. Her driver escorted her from the car to the stage and I remember thinking to myself, she looks absolutely flawless. She was perfect in her every move. She had that gorgeous smile and she waved that old time Hollywood starlet wave just as the women probably did back in the 30's and 40's. It was very royal looking. She was very much in control of her every movement as she smiled and waved, turning her entire body slightly to the left and then slightly to the right as she faced all the cameras that were snapping away. Time seemed to stand still for me for awhile, I was just soaking in the moment, visually recording what I was witnessing and also being aware of the emotion I was feeling, it was quite a moving experience. I mean she has to be the biggest movie star on the planet. I guess that's what being a super star is all about.... when they have this magnetic charm about themselves that just commands attention. I also remember that she seemed genuinely appreciative about all the attention she was getting and that was so refreshing to see.

The day started out honoring Carole Bayer Sager, but I think she pretty much handed over the torch when Elizabeth Taylor showed up.. and now the day seemed to be more about her. Every time Ms. Taylor would smile and wave, I'd raise my painting of her in the air over everyone's head so she could hopefully get a look at it. That part is always a challenge for me, getting the star to see my painting but also not making everyone behind me mad because the painting that I'm trying to show her is just a 22' x 28" placard that's now in their way. I kept raising it up whenever her head was turned my way and I could tell by watching her eyes that she saw my portrait at least a couple times, if not more.

The ceremony concluded and it was now photo time. All the Press Photographers no doubt wanted to get pictures of Elizabeth Taylor and Carole Bayer Sager and her other guests and this is the time when it's always more free form, it's the time when all the stars are standing around and all the photographers are yelling their names, trying to get their attention so the stars will be looking at their cameras. It's very competitive because each photographer wants to be the loudest one there so the stars look directly at them. The problem is that there are probably somewhere between 20 and 40 photographers all doing this at the same time. 

This is actually a good time for me because I'm able to yell right along with them, the only difference is that when I get her attention, I'm going to ask her to sign my painting. 


I yelled, she looked, I asked, she turned away. She didn't say yes and she didn't say no. I'm still fine with that kind of response, one reason is that she now definitely knows what I want and the other reason is that she's still here. I always figure that as long as she's still in sight, the game is still on. Again, I yelled, she looked, I asked, she turned away.

A few minutes had passed and by this time, the photo sessions were winding up. It was clear that event was nearly over and people were going to be leaving very soon. Elizabeth Taylor was leaving the photo area and she began walking in the direction of her car. I held my painting up and I kept yelling, asking her to sign my painting while I was also heading in the direction of her car. My only problem was that there's a barricade between me and her and I know there's no way I can walk up to her and hand it to her. My other problem was that she kept herself about 10 feet on the other side of the barricade and if she wouldn't come any closer, there would be no way I could get it to her. Her limo was parked to the west of where we were standing and we were both heading in that direction but soon I was going to hit another barricade that kept me from getting any closer to her car. I was getting a little more anxious now because I'm running out of options... and now I'm at the barricade... fenced in with no where to go. Her driver/escort/body guard took her hand again and walked her back to the car. He saw me yelling and he knew what I was after but he was very professional and did his job without letting anyone interrupt his task. I watched them walk further and further away from me and there was nothing I could do at this point. The car was parked curbside, maybe 70 feet from me and I was standing in the barricaded street, looking at the back of the car as they walked toward it. Funny, although my chances were now looking more than bleak, I somehow still had a little glimmer of hope. They were now at the car and he reached down and opened the door. Again he offered her his hand and she took it as she disappeared from my sight as she got in the limo. She's way over there and I'm way over here, stuck behind this barricade. He stepped off the sidewalk and into the street and he bent over a bit so he could be as much support for her as possible. 


Something just told me to do it now! This was my moment, it was going to be now or never. As she took her seat and let go of his hand, with all my might, I yelled as loud as I could, "HEY BUDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He looked at me. I couldn't freakin' believe it, he actually looked at me... and raised his head. I had his attention and he was waiting for me to say something, "CAN YOU GET HER TO SIGN THIS????" I shouted at the top of my lungs. He very calmly bent back down toward the limo and had a few words with Ms. Taylor, obviously relaying my request to her. He then stood up straight and began walking toward me. There are plenty of events where I can't, for whatever reason, put my portrait directly into the star's hand myself, in which case I'm waiting for an angel. As this man got closer to me, I remember thinking, "This might really happen. I might actually get Elizabeth Taylor to sign my painting of her." Of course there's a chance that he might get to me and say something like "She said no but thanks for painting her." or something like that. He came up to me and asked me what my name was. I told him "Randy" and he took my painting and walked back to the car with it. He handed the painting into the car and a few moments later it came back out, signed!

He walked back to me, handed me the painting and he could see how grateful I was as I thanked him repeatedly. He smiled, nodded and went back to the car and they drove away. That man was definitely the "Angel" that I was hoping for. There was absolutely no way I could have gotten her to sign it if it weren't for him.

She signed it, "To Randy    Best Wishes     Elizabeth Taylor"

Thank you Elizabeth Taylor and Rest In Peace. Thank you also Mr. Driver/Escort/Bodyguard and Carole Bayer Sager.