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Elizabeth Taylor's List of Adrian Messenger Life Mask.

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:1,500.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD
Elizabeth Taylor's List of Adrian Messenger Life Mask.
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(Universal, 1963) A life mask of Elizabeth Taylor by John Chambers for "The List of Adrian Messenger" with photos by Roddy McDowall documenting its creation. This unusual feature film starred five well-known celebrities wearing full facial latex appliances to hide their identities and dared audiences to guess who played which character, even given the names of the five actors. Originally, Elizabeth Taylor was intended to be one of those actors. In 1963, John Chambers was flown to Gstaad, Switzerland to make this life cast of Taylor in secret. She was in the middle of filming “Cleopatra” in Italy at the time and flew to Gstaad without the producer’s knowledge, in the company of her best friend, actor Roddy McDowall. Included here are 19 incredibly rare photos documenting the process that were taken by McDowall, who later gave them to Chambers. The process required being fitted with a bald cap with her face encased in plaster for a claustrophobic 20 minutes, which alone may have been enough to dissuade her from participating in the film. Ultimately, Taylor refused the role in “Adrian Messenger” upon realizing how arduous the makeup process would be. Still, the photos and mask document Taylor right at a highlight of her career: after 1960’s “Butterfield 8” which earned her first Academy Award, and while filming “Cleopatra” which catapulted her into super-stardom. Measuring 11.5” x 6” x 6.25”, the mask is in very good condition, fitted with a hook on the back for display. The 8” x 10” photos are in very good condition, with light waviness expected of fiber-based photo printing, and four of them signed on the back by John Chambers.