Taylor Swift has been deep in an Elizabeth Taylor obsession for a while; not only does she have a song about the famous, Oscar-winning movie star on her most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl, she also owns a pair of (you guessed it) opal earrings that once belonged to the notable jewelry enthusiast. Though Taylor was an actor and Swift is a musician, the two have a lot in common, most famously their superstardom and high-profile romances. And now, apparently, Madison Square Garden?
If you've somehow managed to miss all the chatter around Swift's upcoming wedding to Travis Kelce, it appears the two are tying the knot at the New York City venue, like, tomorrow. But you know who else partied at MSG back in her day? Yep: Elizabeth Taylor!
According to Architectural Digest, Taylor was in attendance for a giant party thrown in 1957 by her then-husband, Mike Todd, on behalf of his film Around the World in 80 Days. (Todd tragically died in a plane crash a year later.) It was an elaborate celebration with a lot of over-the-top decor, including, as AD reported, a 14-foot-high cake that Taylor had the honor of slicing.
The New York Times previously reported on said party, saying Todd “packed the Garden with 18,000 ‘close friends,’ a 14-foot-high cake whose first piece was cut by Ms. Taylor, 12 elephants, 400 members of the news media and, according to a press release, 4,000 pizzas, 36,000 doughnuts and 25,000 hot dogs.”
The party was also broadcast live on CBS, with famed journalist Walter Cronkite as anchor. When Cronkite remembered the party many years later, in 2004, he said it was something of a mess: “an essay on empty extravagance," to be exact, with a food fight at the end of the evening.
Todd himself said the guest list was maybe a bit too big: “I’ll never have a party for 18,000 people. Never more than 17,500 people. Eighteen thousand gets unwieldy.” (Swift and Kelce have reportedly invited 1,000 guests, so they should be good.)
Taylor has appeared at MSG several times throughout her life, including the 30th-anniversary celebration for her close pal Michael Jackson in 2001, where she was the guest of honor. If Swift is indeed getting hitched at the iconic venue, she probably has many reasons for choosing MSG, but the Taylor connection is a pretty cool one!
