Everyone Dies (The Bisexuals, Part 8) / by Karina Longworth

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Boom!, 1968, Universal Pictures

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Karina will be presenting films featured on this season of You Must Remember This at theaters across the country in October and November! See where she'll be and get your tickets on our Fall Tour 2026 page.

Check out our new merch for "The Bisexuals" including hats, shirts, and an exclusive fragrance designed to evoke Libby Holman's signature perfume, "Jungle Gardenia."

Everyone who is left alive dies. Monty’s downward spiral is hastened by the traumatic experience of starring in a Freud movie for John Huston. Libby, desperately unhappy in her third marriage, reckons with her reputation as a catalyst for tragedy – a reputation dramatized by her old friend Tennessee Wiliams and her old rival, Elizabeth Taylor.

(00:00) Libby’s Disastrous Third Marriage

(09:23) A Freudian Slip

(21:49) From Oscar Hopes to Rock Bottom

(29:17) Elizabeth Taylor as Libby Holman

(46:12) Monty’s Death, Libby’s Sorrow

(56:57) Libby’s Decline and Mysterious Death

Lobby card for Freud, 1962, Universal-International, directed by John Huston

“Woman in the News: Libby Holman, Carrying The Torch for UNICEF,” Sally Hammond, Weekend Magazine, October 31, 1965. Located in the Libby Holman Papers, Boston University

Letter from Libby Holman to Cummins E. Speakman Jr, March 14, 1966. Libby Holman Papers, Boston University

Letter from Libby Holman to S. Samis, August 2, 1966, Libby Holman Papers, Boston University

“Gross Blames Charges on Jealous Colleagues,” by Bruce Olson, UPI Archive, February 4, 1985

“Coroner Faces Scrutiny for Flawed Autopsy,” by John Curran, Midland Daily News, February 27, 2003

This episode contains archival audio sourced from the Libby Holman collection at Boston University, digitized by Paul Adams.

Some preliminary transcriptions of audio interviews were produced with aTrain. These transcripts were checked and corrected by Karina Longworth and Brendan Whalen. More information about aTrain can be found here.

Please note: as an Amazon Associate, Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Montgomery Clift in a publicity still from Judgement at Nuremberg, 1961, United Artists

Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Tango Borriana - Cocktail Gig

Cold Case - Darkened Treeline

Manuscript - Jagged Unease

Baffin Island - Leaving Baffin Island

Baffin Island - Resolution Island

Baffin Island - Ice Sheets

Duck Lake - Uncertain Ground

Evan Viola - Exposition A (Ambient)


This episode was written, narrated, edited and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola.

Research, production, and social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Special research assistance provided by Audrey Fox

You Must Remember This and “The Bisexuals” Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Libby Holman photographed by Maurice Seymour circa 1935