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The Story


Liz and Eli met back in 1973 when Eli was working as a piano player and lounge singer in a downtown Manhattan night club and Elizabeth was trying to break into the spotlight as a tightrope walking disco queen. Eli had come in early one evening to the club where he worked in hopes of meeting with his manager when he caught the end of Liz's audition set during which she Jazz danced her way through "MacArthur Park". Eli was never the same again. Liz noticed neither his arrival nor his departure, so focused on the audition she was.

Eli tried for weeks to woo Liz from the stage and the dance floor to no avail. Liz was at the time uniquely focused on breaking into the world of entertainment as the star she always knew she would be.

She had no time for suitors.

Eli in his trademark tux circa 1972
Eli in his trademark tux circa 1972
Liz preparing to take the stage in 1973
Liz preparing to take the stage in 1973

Liz's big break finally came in May of 1974 when she landed a stage show of her own at the very same night club where Eli had seen her audition one year before. Eli bought tickets for the whole run in advance and camped out in the front row in the felt tuxedo he was known for, with an ever changing bouquet of flowers with which he hoped to finally attract Liz's attention. As it turned out, fate finally gave Eli the chance he had been waiting for. In the middle of an act involving a trampoline and tap shoes, Liz found herself spinning out of control and headed for the audience. Eli was of course there to catch her. The impact knocked the wind from Eli so hard that it brought his singing career to an abrupt end. He had never been happier. Feeling dizzy, and a bit guilty, Liz broke down and allowed Eli to buy her dinner at a Mexican place in the neighborhood they both lived in. They will be married 34 years to the day after the night she literally landed in his arms.