Baltimoreans have linked John Waters to Elizabeth Taylor ever since Waters introduced the oft-panned "Boom!," starring Taylor and Richard Burton, at the first Maryland Film Festival in 1999. Waters said yesterday that it was really his longtime star and muse, Divine, who "led me to Elizabeth Taylor. Divine even smoked Salems because she did. He almost got to meet her because Elton John was going to take Divine on a private plane with Liz, but Liz got sick and couldn't go. Divine was crushed."
Waters got his "shock of the day" first thing yesterday morning with the news of Taylor's death. He said. "I always was a fan of hers. She was a real movie star and did great stuff for AIDS. She really was a hair-hopper! And she was amazing. Right up to the end she had a great sense of humor."
Waters got to meet her when he went to her house for a Labor Day cook-out in 1997. "I believe I was invited because her entire staff knew who I was; I'm not so sure she did. It was a day or two after Princess Di died, so there were tabloid helicopters above. Their angle was, 'How can Liz have a party so soon after she died; she doesn't care!' I just covered my bald spot, because it was like 'Apocalypse Now' with the helicopters overhead."
Choppers and all, "it was an amazing party," and not just because Waters hung out with Tab Hunter and Johnny Depp and got to meet Gregory Peck. "Her house was a great house but it was not like some completely pretentious movie-star mansion; it was, appropriately, a great Beverly Hills house, but it wasn't extravagant, it seemed to me. And it really was a pool party. I looked around and it was like -- wow, is that Jennifer Jones? She just had hot dogs and hamburgers and she was giving out candy. And she even looked a little like Divine, not in a bad way."
Still, you couldn't ignore the tabloid photographers. "I do remember lots of paparazzi, and their angle was that she didn't cancel the party after Princess Di died. Look, it was a [holiday] party, and I'm sure she had bought all the food! But they were trying to get the pictures of partying in the aftermath of Princess Di's death. I remember those helicopters being there like in 'Apocalypse Now' when you were trying to stand outside. You were talking to people and you'd feel the wind from these paparazzi trying to get pictures. And I remember, later, seeing the pictures -- you couldn't tell who anyone was, but you could see the aerial shots. They did use them in the Enquirer or Globe or one of [the tabloids]."
Waters didn't establish an immediate rapport with Taylor. "I told her how much I liked 'Boom!' and she got mad. She said 'That's a terrible movie.' At first I think she thought I was insulting her, because it was the first thing that I said. But I explained to her that I showed it in film festivals and I thought it was really good, and then she was lovely and nice and really sweet."Of course, Waters checked out the powder room and looked in the medicine cabinet. "Who doesn't want to look in the medicine cabinet at Elizabeth Taylor's house? You know every person did. But it just held all of her perfume products. I don't think I was in her personal powder room. I'm sure there was plenty of stuff in that medicine cabinet."
Waters said, "I'm just glad I was able to meet her once. She was Divine's idol. If you look at some of the moves we made, like 'Multiple Maniacs,' you can see we were paying tribute to her. Divine wanted to be Elizabeth Taylor. Divine once went on some date dressed as Elizabeth Taylor -- dressed as Elizabeth Taylor, he picked up his female date. There's photos of that -- I don't have them, but I've seen them."
Divine particularly "liked Elizabeth Taylor when she played rich people, in 'The VIPS,' or 'Ash Wednesday.' I'd try to drag Divine to Bergman movies, and he'd say, 'No, can't we see movies with rich people and Elizabeth Taylor?' He liked 'Boom!' He liked 'Cleopatra.' I did a whole art piece where I turn into her in 'Ash Wednesday,' or she turns into me – her stitches turn into my mustache. That was a long time ago. Those movies were huge influences. I've seen every Elizabeth Taylor movie. Meeting her was one of the amazing days of my life."
