{"id":393388,"date":"2011-04-24T00:27:38","date_gmt":"2011-04-24T00:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/"},"modified":"2011-04-24T00:27:38","modified_gmt":"2011-04-24T00:27:38","slug":"elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Taylor’s builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Caroline Graham<\/a>
Last updated at 1:27 AM on 24th April 2011<\/p>\n

He was Liz Taylor\u2019s eighth and final husband \u2013 a man she affectionately called \u2018Larry the lion\u2019 whose rugged looks and working-class roots could not have been in greater contrast to her glamorous movie- star lifestyle.<\/p>\n

And when Larry Fortensky divorced Taylor in 1996, taking \u00a31 million from her estimated \u00a3200 million fortune, he slipped happily back into obscurity, shunning all requests for interviews despite being offered a small fortune to \u2018kiss and tell\u2019.<\/p>\n

Fortensky, now 59, in ill-health and a virtual recluse, continued his self-imposed vow of silence even after Taylor\u2019s death last month from congestive heart failure, aged 79.<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Taylor playing in the snow during a trip with eighth husband Larry Fortensky to Switzerland. The 59-year-old has broken his vow of silence to speak about his ex-wife who died last month<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But then estranged family members and people he calls \u2018assorted hangers-on and leeches\u2019 began cropping up in the media, peddling stories about how Fortensky had begged his ex-wife for money, how she shunned his calls and, most offensively, that she had never truly loved him during their eight-year relationship.<\/p>\n

\u2018Enough is enough,\u2019 he says. \u2018It is time for me to tell my story and the truth about Elizabeth and me and to stop these lies once and for all.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is nothing to do with money, I have been offered so much over the years. This is about wanting people to know the real story. I am sick and tired of the lies. I have wonderful memories of my time with Elizabeth and I will treasure her memory for ever.\u2019<\/p>\n

Indeed, Fortensky says he and Taylor remained close friends after their divorce, speaking for hours on the telephone several times a month. He says far from begging her for money, he never asked her for a penny. And he reveals Taylor \u2018honoured\u2019 their friendship by leaving him \u00a3500,000 in her will.<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

Larry today is in ill-health and a virtual recluse. He suffers short-term memory loss<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Today Fortensky is a shadow of the mullet-haired, hard-partying labourer who met the Oscar-winning movie star when both checked into the famed Betty Ford Clinic in 1988.<\/p>\n

\u2018Elizabeth was in there for pills, I was in there for beer,\u2019 he says stretching back in his favourite leather recliner. \u2018I knew who she was, of course, but I can\u2019t tell you that I remember watching any of her films.<\/p>\n

\u2018She was funny and sweet and the more I got to know her the sweeter she became. Of course she was very pretty and I wasn\u2019t too bad-looking in those days either. We had an instant physical attraction.\u2019<\/p>\n

His face and body are now bloated by medication taken to counter the effects of a serious accident a decade ago when he fell headfirst down the stairs during a drunken party. His once-golden hair is completely grey. He says he is \u2018embarrassed\u2019 by the way he looks.<\/p>\n

He suffers short-term memory loss as a result of the fall which left him in a coma for six weeks.<\/p>\n

His sister Donna, 57, who lives with him in a neat rented two-bedroom bungalow in the remote town of Menifee, a two-hour drive south of Los Angeles, says: \u2018Larry can remember lots of things about his times with Elizabeth but he struggles to remember if he\u2019s taken his pills. He spends his days watching television.<\/p>\n

\u2018But sparks of the old Larry are still there. He still enjoys a beer and a joke. This has been a hard decision for him to make. He never liked the circus that was around him and Elizabeth when they were together and he hates the circus that\u2019s been going on since her death. He will give this one interview and that\u2019s that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fortensky still treasures mementos from what he quietly refers to as \u2018my old life\u2019. He goes into his bedroom and brings out several framed photographs of Taylor.<\/p>\n

He points to one from 1992 where she is lying in the snow: \u2018That was on a trip to Switzerland the year after we married.<\/p>\n

\u2018We were in bed and she sat up and said, \u201cI want to make a snow angel.\u201d She grabbed a fur coat and put it over her nightdress.<\/p>\n

\u2018I chased her outside and she fell in the snow and started waving her arms around giggling like a little girl. That is my favourite picture. I keep it by my bed.<\/p>\n

\u2018That\u2019s how I remember Elizabeth. She had a childishness about her. She was 20 years older than me but I never felt she was old.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth with Larry and his Harley-Davidson Christmas present in 1992. ‘She would call him her “stallion”. He loved that. They were very sexy together,’ said his sister Donna<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In another picture from 1992 a beaming Larry sits astride a gleaming Harley-Davidson motorbike beside a Christmas tree in the living room of Taylor\u2019s five-bedroom Bel Air mansion.<\/p>\n

\u2018She gave me that on our second Christmas together,\u2019 he says. \u2018I still have it outside along with the BMW she gave me for my birthday.\u2019<\/p>\n

He smiles when asked what he gave her in return.<\/p>\n

\u2018I knew I couldn\u2019t compete with Elizabeth so I didn\u2019t try. When she gave me the bike I gave her chocolate-covered roses. Another year I bought her a baby lop-eared bunny which she loved.<\/p>\n

\u2018When we went to England for her birthday I bought her a Shih-tzu called Sugar. She loved that dog.\u2019<\/p>\n

He wears a Cartier watch and a heavy gold chain around his neck with an coin attached: \u2018It\u2019s a piece of eight. Richard Burton bought a couple and gave them to Elizabeth. She had one made into a necklace for herself and one for me.\u2019<\/p>\n

He is the first to admit that, even after all these years, he still finds it \u2018incredible\u2019 that he ended up marrying a screen legend \u2013 and in a \u00a31.2 million wedding at Michael Jackson\u2019s Neverland Ranch at that.<\/p>\n

He says: \u2018Elizabeth and I were in Betty Ford for six weeks. I was in the dayroom one morning when she approached me.\u2019<\/p>\n

His sister Donna interjects: \u2018Back then Larry was a catch.<\/p>\n

\u2018He was good-looking and fun and I remember Liz saying to me later that there was no bulls*** with my brother.<\/p>\n

\u2018Her friends in Hollywood were either gay or they were rich playboys who wanted young glamour girls. It was hard for her to find a guy. Larry was a regular guy and that\u2019s what she loved.<\/p>\n

\u2018He had nothing to do with her world and that was refreshing to her. When they met at Betty Ford they got close very fast because that place strips you down.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth and Larry in London in 1991<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Larry laughs: \u2018Elizabeth had to make her own bed and do chores like washing the floor. She\u2019d never had to do that in her life. The counsellors were tough, accusing her of \u201cacting\u201d in group therapy sessions.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Elizabeth I met was the real woman with none of that stuff that normally goes on around a movie star. We bonded fast.\u2019<\/p>\n

He claims the relationship only turned romantic after they left rehab, a statement that is greeted by rolling eyes from his sister.<\/p>\n

\u2018Aw, come on Larry, I don\u2019t believe that for a second,\u2019 she grins. \u2018You know what a hound dog you were in those days.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Well, if we did do it in Betty Ford then I don\u2019t remember,\u2019 he says sadly.<\/p>\n

Fortensky, a high-school dropout and twice divorced, did not even have a car when he left rehab.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019d wrecked my truck in a drunken accident which is how I ended up at the clinic in the first place,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was living in the middle of nowhere and Elizabeth would send her limo with Harry, her long-time chauffeur, to drive me to her place. The car would get stuck in the dirt.\u2019<\/p>\n

He kept the relationship secret from his family.<\/p>\n

Donna says: \u2018I visited Larry one day and Elizabeth called and I heard him saying, \u201cYes, honey. No, honey.\u201d When he came out I said: \u201cLarry, are you going out with Liz Taylor?\u201d and he said to mind my own business.\u2019<\/p>\n

Larry continues: \u2018Elizabeth invited me to go and stay with her that first Christmas (in 1988). She had a lovely house. I\u2019d seen big houses before but only working on them on construction sites. I went for a few days and never left.\u2019<\/p>\n

He points to an imitation Van Gogh on the wall of his living room.<\/p>\n

\u2018Elizabeth had the real thing on her wall. The house was beautiful. She had an army of staff \u2013 there was a personal assistant, maids, cook, gardener and security guys who were ex-Mossad agents.\u2019<\/p>\n

He admits there were teething problems when he moved into Taylor\u2019s all-white bedroom at the top of a curving staircase. He once tried to clear away plates after dinner, only to be told: \u2018Larry, sit down, there is a girl who will come and do that.\u2019<\/p>\n

As he talks it is clear there was genuine love and affection between the two. He tells of long rides on the Harley along California\u2019s famous Pacific Coast Highway.<\/p>\n

\u2018She would wear a helmet and no one knew who she was. We could be alone and free.\u2019<\/p>\n

They would stop for burgers in greasy biker bars.<\/p>\n

\u2018People would pretend not to know who she was. Elizabeth loved that. She loved a burger and a beer. She was down-to-earth, or at least as much as she could be for someone who\u2019d been a star since she was a kid.\u2019<\/p>\n

Taylor taught her pet parrot Alvin to squawk \u2018Larry, Larry\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018That damn bird had the same voice as her. I\u2019d be running all over the house.\u2019<\/p>\n

He says he desperately tried to avoid becoming Mr Elizabeth Taylor.<\/p>\n

\u2018I always worked for a living and I carried on when I was with her.<\/p>\n

\u2018I am a proud man and I like to work. I didn\u2019t want her money. I\u2019d get up at 6am to go to the construction site. Elizabeth would get up, put on a kaftan and we\u2019d have breakfast.\u2019<\/p>\n

Did she make it?<\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t be crazy. Elizabeth never cooked. She\u2019d go back to bed after I left.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"'She<\/p>\n

‘She (Elizabeth) had a childishness about her. She was 20 years older than me but I never felt she was old,’ said Larry. They were together for eight years<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

She would send her limo with lunch prepared by her private chef to his work site.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was so embarrassing. The guys would rib me about it. I\u2019d tell her not to but she kept on doing it.\u2019<\/p>\n

When he came home the two would have dinner together \u2013 \u2018she loved steak and fried chicken\u2019 \u2013 and watch movies: \u2018We would talk and watch films but never any of hers. That would have felt too freaky.\u2019<\/p>\n

Taylor enjoyed \u2018playing\u2019 with her incredible jewellery collection, including the 33-carat Krupp diamond bought for her by Richard Burton.<\/p>\n

\u2018She\u2019d get it out and sit on the bed playing. I could always tell when she was coming downstairs because her jewels would rattle.\u2019<\/p>\n

He became used to waiting for her to \u2018put her movie-star face on\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018She had her hair done at home most days. I was always waiting for Elizabeth. She had a closet like a dry cleaners. She had a room full of shoes. She was always late.\u2019<\/p>\n

The sexual attraction between them was undeniable.<\/p>\n

Donna smiles: \u2018She would call Larry her \u201cstallion\u201d. He loved that. They were very sexy together. Larry would get up from the table and drag Liz off to the bedroom.\u2019<\/p>\n

He pulls some blue Cartier notes from a drawer in his desk. They are emblazoned with \u2018ETF\u2019 (Elizabeth Taylor Fortensky) and written in a flowing hand. In one, Taylor writes to \u2018Larry, my love\u2019, saying: \u2018I hope you are happy and enjoy me as much as I do you.\u2019<\/p>\n

He pulls out a photograph of their wedding day in 1991 at Michael Jackson\u2019s Neverland Ranch. Taylor\u2019s friend, singer Carole Bayer Sager, was maid of honour, her hairdresser Jose Eber was Larry\u2019s best man.<\/p>\n

He shrugs as he says: \u2018She wanted to do it. I didn\u2019t get involved at all. I just had to turn up.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth and Larry meet Princess Margaret. ‘Everywhere we went there were cameras… I found it hard. It wasn’t my cup of tea, those cameras everywhere,’ he said<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Cracking open a beer, he adds: \u2018I don\u2019t remember the vows. I couldn\u2019t hear a damn thing because of the paparazzi helicopters overhead. One photographer parachuted in but security got him before he could get me.<\/p>\n

\u2018Michael Jackson spent the night on the dance floor with a small black kid under his arm. She loved Michael. She never believed any of the child-abuse rumours. I wasn\u2019t so sure.\u2019<\/p>\n

The illustrious guest list included Liza Minnelli, Eddie Murphy, Gregory Peck and Nancy Reagan.<\/p>\n

Fortensky, the eldest of seven children from working-class Stanton, California, invited only his siblings.<\/p>\n

Donna says: \u2018I hit the bar, then the dance floor and remember dancing next to Brooke Shields and Michael Jackson. It was unreal.<\/p>\n

\u2018A few days later Larry and I were out on Liz\u2019s yacht and we sailed past a place where we\u2019d fished as kids. He turned to me and said, \u201cI\u2019ve done OK, haven\u2019t I?\u201d It was the only time I ever heard him say anything like that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fortensky said: \u2018We travelled the world. We had a dinner in Japan which cost $30,000 (around \u00a320,000 then). The beef had been hand-massaged or something. It was a real good steak but at thirty grand it should have been.\u2019<\/p>\n

But within a few years the marriage started to founder. Fortensky, under pressure from his wife, gave up his construction job. He accompanied her on trips around the world but felt trapped in a gilded cage.<\/p>\n

Donna says: \u2018Elizabeth bought him a Pontiac convertible, bright red. She was worried he would be upset about it. The constant gifts and living off her buck started getting to him. He\u2019s an old-fashioned guy.<\/p>\n

\u2018Then Elizabeth started having health issues. She had one hip replaced and then another. Larry moved out of the master bedroom. That was the beginning of the end.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fortensky says he started to hate the constant attention.<\/p>\n

\u2018Everywhere we went there were cameras. Elizabeth would put lipstick on constantly because she said she never knew when she was being photographed. I found it hard. It wasn\u2019t my cup of tea, those cameras everywhere. Elizabeth was used to it. I never got used to it.\u2019<\/p>\n

It was Taylor who asked for the divorce in 1996. Donna says: \u2018She told Larry she was unhappy and he was unhappy and she didn\u2019t want them to end up hating each other. When they split, Larry went straight back to his old life.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fortensky left the marriage with just over \u00a31 million. He embarked on his old life of women and beer and bought a house. His life changed after his drunken fall in 1999.<\/p>\n

Uninsured, he spent a fortune on medical bills and bought a \u00a3500,000 house in Temecula, California, at the height of the property boom.<\/p>\n

It was repossessed last year after plummeting in value to \u00a3150,000.<\/p>\n

\u2018I made some bad investments. Since my accident I haven\u2019t been able to work,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

He insists he never asked Taylor for money. His sister produces an undated letter from Taylor sent shortly after his accident in which she writes: \u2018Darling Larry. I\u2019ve been thinking of you often lately and worry about you. I don\u2019t know why, just one of my feelings. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re working or not…so I\u2019m going to rely on my gut feelings. I think you could use a little help so I would like to send you a thousand a month for the rest of my life or until I go broke.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fortensky\u2019s eyes cloud over: \u2018I accepted it but I never asked for it.\u2019<\/p>\n

His sister says when he was on the brink of being repossessed she rang Taylor. \u2018I called her and told her about Larry\u2019s troubles.<\/p>\n

\u2018She sent me a cheque the next day for $15,000 (around \u00a310,000).<\/p>\n

\u2018Larry found out what I\u2019d done and was mad at me. It kept the bank at bay for a while but then he ended up losing his house anyway.\u2019<\/p>\n

Today the pair rent a ranch-style home \u2018in the middle of nowhere\u2019. A long dusty road winds up to some crude metal gates.<\/p>\n

Fortensky says he rarely ventures out and sleeps until noon most days. He is on Prozac for depression.<\/p>\n

The Liz Taylor money has caused rifts in the family.<\/p>\n

Larry is furious with one sister, Linda, for \u2018selling out\u2019 to one of America\u2019s most notorious tabloids, the National Enquirer.<\/p>\n

He does not speak to his only daughter Julie, again after a row over money.<\/p>\n

\u2018She tried to get her hands on my money after my accident,\u2019 he says. \u2018I won\u2019t ever speak to her again.\u2019<\/p>\n

He and Taylor would speak on the phone at least twice a month \u2013 their last call was the day before she went into hospital for the final time.<\/p>\n

He says her voice was weak a result of fluid on her lungs caused by her failing heart.<\/p>\n

\u2018She was going into hospital the next day. I thought she was going to be OK. I told her she would outlive me. She said, \u201cLarry, I\u2019m going to be OK.\u201d \u2019<\/p>\n

A few days later he learned of her death on the television. \u2018I was so shocked. I was so sure she would get to go home and I would talk to her once again.\u2019<\/p>\n

Last week, Fortensky received a letter from Taylor\u2019s estate lawyers informing him that he will get \u00a3500,000 from her will.<\/p>\n

He says the money will enable him to buy a new home.<\/p>\n

The bulk of her fortune will go to her four children with the proceeds of her best-selling perfumes being donated to her favourite Aids charities.<\/p>\n

Exhausted, Fortensky stands to retire to his room to rest.<\/p>\n

He says: \u2018I love her, I always will. And I know she loved me, too.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Caroline Graham Last updated at 1:27 AM on 24th April 2011 He was Liz Taylor\u2019s eighth and final husband \u2013 a man she affectionately called \u2018Larry the lion\u2019 whose rugged looks and working-class roots could not have been in greater contrast to her glamorous movie- star lifestyle. And when Larry Fortensky divorced Taylor in 1996, taking \u00a31 million from her estimated \u00a3200 million fortune, he slipped happily back into obscurity, shunning all requests for interviews despite being offered a small fortune to \u2018kiss and tell\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-393388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\nElizabeth Taylor's builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Elizabeth Taylor's builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"By Caroline Graham Last updated at 1:27 AM on 24th April 2011 He was Liz Taylor\u2019s eighth and final husband \u2013 a man she affectionately called \u2018Larry the lion\u2019 whose rugged looks and working-class roots could not have been in greater contrast to her glamorous movie- star lifestyle. And when Larry Fortensky divorced Taylor in 1996, taking \u00a31 million from her estimated \u00a3200 million fortune, he slipped happily back into obscurity, shunning all requests for interviews despite being offered a small fortune to \u2018kiss and tell\u2019\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Elizabeth Taylor’s builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-24T00:27:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/\"},\"wordCount\":3072,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Taylor's builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-24T00:27:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Elizabeth Taylor's builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Elizabeth Taylor's builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"By Caroline Graham Last updated at 1:27 AM on 24th April 2011 He was Liz Taylor\u2019s eighth and final husband \u2013 a man she affectionately called \u2018Larry the lion\u2019 whose rugged looks and working-class roots could not have been in greater contrast to her glamorous movie- star lifestyle. And when Larry Fortensky divorced Taylor in 1996, taking \u00a31 million from her estimated \u00a3200 million fortune, he slipped happily back into obscurity, shunning all requests for interviews despite being offered a small fortune to \u2018kiss and tell\u2019","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"15 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Elizabeth Taylor’s builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage","datePublished":"2011-04-24T00:27:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/"},"wordCount":3072,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg","articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/","name":"Elizabeth Taylor's builder ex-husband Larry Fortensky and their bizarre marriage - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg","datePublished":"2011-04-24T00:27:38+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/24\/elizabeth-taylors-builder-ex-husband-larry-fortensky-and-their-bizarre-marriage\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/3951article-1380014-0BB65A4800000578-395_634x480.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393388\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}