LOS ANGELES, CA — Kirk Douglas later said his wife, Anne, saved his life after she pushed back hard against a last-minute invitation to join his friend Mike Todd on a private flight in 1958. Douglas had been asked to travel with Todd from Palm Springs to New York after a morning visit and tennis game with the producer.
Instead of boarding the plane, Douglas stayed behind after a heated argument at home. The aircraft, the Lucky Liz, crashed soon after takeoff in New Mexico, killing Todd and three other people aboard. Douglas would later recall that the terrible news reached him while he and Anne were driving to Los Angeles the next morning.
A surprise jewel display in Palm Springs set the weekend in motion
The story began on March 21, 1958, when Todd invited Douglas to his Palm Springs home and surprised Elizabeth Taylor with a display of Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry in the yard. Douglas later wrote that Todd told Taylor to choose whatever she wanted, even though it was not an anniversary or holiday.
The next day, Douglas went back for the pair’s regular tennis game and joked with Todd about the lavish gift. During that visit, Todd said Taylor had a cold and asked Douglas to accompany him later that day on a trip to New York. Todd, whose film Around the World in 80 Days had won the Academy Award for Best Picture the year before, also planned a stop to see Harry Truman in Independence, Missouri.
Anne Douglas said something felt wrong about the flight
Anne Douglas, who was six months pregnant with the couple’s son Eric, reacted strongly when she heard about the trip. She later said she had an immediate uneasy feeling and did not want her husband on the plane.
Douglas had his own travel plans coming up. He was about to promote The Vikings and then head to England to film The Devil’s Disciple. Anne told him to fly commercial and meet Todd in New York instead. The disagreement escalated, and Douglas decided that if he could not fly with Todd, he would skip the trip entirely.
The crash news reached Douglas during a family drive to Los Angeles
The tension between the couple continued into the next morning as Kirk, Anne, their young son Peter, and the family nanny headed toward Los Angeles. To break the silence in the car, Douglas turned on the radio.
That is when he heard that Todd’s plane had crashed in New Mexico shortly after takeoff. There were no survivors. Douglas later wrote that he pulled over immediately, got out of the car and embraced Anne as both of them cried. He told her she had saved his life and said he would trust her intuition from then on.
Douglas later linked the near miss to his wife’s instincts
Douglas reflected on the episode in the 2017 book Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter, and a Lifetime in Hollywood, written with Anne. The account shows how close he came to being aboard the same flight that killed Todd and three others.
For Douglas, the moment became a lasting reminder of how one decision at home altered the course of his life. His account also underscored the bond he and Anne shared after a near tragedy that could easily have become part of Hollywood history in a far more devastating way.
Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd’s brief marriage remained part of the memory
Douglas and Anne also remembered Todd and Taylor as a glamorous and deeply affectionate couple. Anne said she had never seen Todd as devoted to anyone as he was to Taylor.
She recalled a 1957 visit to the couple at London’s Dorchester Hotel, where Taylor, pregnant with daughter Liza, was eating chocolates in bed while Todd brought her more treats. Anne also remembered Todd once having a French meal flown in to satisfy Taylor’s craving after dinner plans were discussed. Douglas joked that Todd was a fantastic man, though he hoped such extravagance would not give Anne any ideas.