“Finding Healing: Navigating Grief Behind the Scenes of ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'”

Mike Todd passed away 66 years ago, in a tragic plane crash, six months after the birth of his daughter, Liza Todd, and within a year of his marriage to Elizabeth. Just three weeks into filming ” Cat on a hot tin roof” production came to a halt for a few days due to Elizabeth falling ill with a cold. During this break, Mike embarked on a flight, a journey Elizabeth would have joined if not for her illness, to accept the Friar’s Club Showman of the Year award in New York.

Tragically, his plane crashed in New Mexico, leaving Elizabeth to care for their newborn daughter Liza and her two young sons alone. Tensions flared between MGM Studios and Elizabeth when the studio embraced the “show must go on” ethos, fearing that Mike’s death would disrupt the film’s progress.

Merely five weeks later, Elizabeth resumed work, completed production, delivered MGM’s most successful release of 1958, and earned an Oscar nomination — all while enduring one of the most challenging periods of her life.

Resilience often reveals itself when we’re facing our toughest moments. The loss of Mike wasn’t the initial hardship Elizabeth encountered, nor would it be the last. Yet, through her demonstration of grace and determination, she inspires us to find courage within ourselves even amidst our darkest hours.