Liz and Michael

A few minutes of a morning show's time was today devoted to the up-coming auction of many of Elizabeth Taylor's goodies: designer clothing, diamonds (one that is expected to fetch $2.5 million all by itself), artwork, and whatnot. Among the artwork was an Andy Warhol portrait of Liz, including in the margin a note from Andy to Liz, followed by a "thank you" note from Liz back to Andy. The item had stayed in Warhol's personal collection for twenty-some years before it ended up in the Taylor collection and ultimately the Taylor estate. I was struck by this portrait because without the afore-mentioned notes, the casual viewer would have a hard time deciding if it were a picture of Liz Taylor or Michael Jackson!

Google it and take a look for yourself. This must have been what Michael showed his plastic surgeon(s) when he said, "Make me look like this." The nose, and to a lesser degree, the eyes. But the shape of the lips! Even the hairstyle. It seems to me that at one point, some wag suggested that LaToya didn't really exist; she was just Michael in drag. Well, if anybody could have been Michael in drag, it was the young Liz Taylor. Fortunately they were close friends and thus often seen together, so there's no secret identity issue.

The resemblance suggests an alternate defense that Dr. Conrad Murray might have used: "I thought it was Liz Taylor that I was treating!" Not much worse than his actual defense.