Introduction: The Encore Impulse

Abstract

In Hollywood, they say that there are no new roles—only new faces to fill them.¹ Debbie Reynolds validates this observation in telling the tale of how Eddie Fisher left her for Elizabeth Taylor in 1957.² She was the sweet blonde, the “girl next door.” He was the heartthrob who swept her off her feet. Liz was the dark-haired beauty who could seduce any man with a magnetic glance in his direction. Nearly 50 years later, the scenario repeated with striking correspondence through modern-day counterparts Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie.