Elizabeth Taylor's Premonitions of Death

Hearing of Liz Taylor's death saddened me, although I never met her, because I almost feel we grew up together, ever since "National Velvet" in 1944.  Well, I was only 3 then, and she was 12, but I've always followed her illnesses and romantic adventures with interest.  And I always thought she was intelligent (if not in her choice of husbands), honest and selflessly dedicated to the cause of eradicating AIDs.

I also vaguely remembered hearing that she had ESP and twice demanded to get off an airplane because she (correctly) believed it was going to crash.  I just started googling to confirm that memory and found this quotation from an interview with her, but I wasn't able to ascertain when it took place or who was asking the questions.  But here are her (alleged) words:

"The first time it happened to me was when I was nineteen and Michael Wilding was thirty-nine. He was such a gentle gentleman. We were going to Rome for the weekend and I turned to him and said, Michael, we have to get off this plane now. I said it with quite certain knowledge. The stewardesses helped us get our bags. Since we were well-known they did it as a great favor. They got us off, the plane took off, and it dissolved in mid-air just outside Rome. Later, I asked Deepak Chopra, How do you know the difference between a premonition and certain knowledge? And he said that’s it, it’s a certain knowledge.

"I saved Richard’s life and the people he was working with, his secretary and his make-up man. We were staying at President Tito’s house in Dubrovnik. And they were shooting on all the real locales and it took two helicopters to get them up to this battleground. I said, Get off the helicopter and get into the other one. I said this to Richard Burton, the man who took no shit from anyone. They got on the other plane, and the helicopter plowed into the mountain, killing everyone.

"It has happened throughout my life, but it has slowed down now–and nothing disastrous has happened."
     
She also claimed to have foreseen Michael Todd's death in a plane crash--She said when she told him good-bye and he headed to the airport and his death,  they were both weeping.


 And she claims that during her various illnesses, she has already died  four times--once when she saw Mike Todd waiting for her on the other side but he told her she must go back, because she had important work to do. 


 I suspect she's in heaven now surrounded by Mike Todd and Richard Burton and many other lovers.

          

Since I occasionally nominate women of a certain age as "crone of the week" for something remarkable or courageous or outrageous they've done, I hereby propose the late  Elizabeth Taylor for "Crone of the Year.