Elizabeth Taylor dismisses Alzheimer’s stories

LOS ANGELES — Elizabeth Taylor on Tuesday dismissed tabloid reports that she was being treated for Alzheimer’s disease or was gravely ill.

The Academy Award-winning actress, who uses a wheelchair because of back problems, was asked about the reports during an appearance on CNN’s “Larry King Live.”

“Oh come on, do I look like I’m dying?” the 74-year-old actress asked King in a rare television interview. “Do I look like or sound like I have Alzheimer’s?”

Tabloids report such things “because they have nothing else dirty to write about anybody else,” Taylor said.

The June 5 issue of The National Enquirer carries the headline “Liz Alzheimer’s Tragedy.” The story states that Taylor was being treated for the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Citing an unidentified source described as a longtime friend, the story says that during a hospital visit doctors found she was “slipping mentally.”

“Let’s clear up some things: a lot of tabloid stories about you,” King said during the TV interview.

“Oh, my God. Am I dead, am I alive?” an exasperated Taylor replied.

Asked about the attribution of the Alzheimer’s story, she said, “Do you think any friends of mine would say things like that?”

King also noted that she used a wheelchair. “What’s the reason for that?” he asked.

“My back, which has been chronically bad since I was a teenager,” she said.

Taylor said she was born with scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, and has osteoporosis.