Inside the 1958 Lockheed Lodestar Disaster: the Investigation and Wreckage of Mike Todd’s Fatal Flight

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Todd was headed to New York City to accept the Showman of the Year award from the New York Friars Club. Scheduled for March 23 at the Waldorf-Astoria, the banquet was set to celebrate his meteoric rise from carnival barker to Oscar-winning titan. Todd refused to travel by commercial airliner when his own private transport was waiting on the tarmac.

His plane was a twin-engine 1941 Lockheed Model 18-08 Lodestar, registered as N1245N. Todd had bought it months earlier, refitted its cabin with custom leather furniture, and named it "The Liz" in honor of Taylor. The actress originally planned to accompany him on the cross-country trip. Just hours before takeoff, Taylor came down with bronchitis and a fever of 102 degrees. Todd insisted she stay home at their Beverly Hills estate, telling her the flight across the winter desert would only worsen her illness.

Around 10:41 PM PST on Friday, March 21, the Lodestar taxied out of Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, California. At the controls were pilot William Verner, 44, and co-pilot Thomas Barclay, 36. Along with Todd, the passenger cabin carried Art Cohn, a prominent screenwriter and sportswriter who was traveling with the producer to finish writing Todd's authorized biography, titled The Nine Lives of Michael Todd.