- The last time he spoke to ex-wife Elizabeth Taylor was a month before her death, in February 2011. She was going into the hospital the next day for symptoms caused by congestive heart failure. He told her she would outlive him. Although they'd been divorced for almost 15 years, she left him $825,000 in her will.
- A construction worker, he met Elizabeth Taylor in 1988 when they were both in rehab. They moved in together in 1989.
- Was arrested in August 1996 for being under the influence of controlled substances, which, his lawyer said at the time, were just prescription pills. A month later he was arrested again when police stopped him for driving an unregistered motorcycle without a helmet and found a loaded semiautomatic 9mm gun in the bike's saddlebag. In October 1998 he was arrested at a gas station for allegedly beating then-girlfriend Kelly Massinger, who subsequently sold stories to the tabloids.
- Was in a coma for six weeks after falling off a ledge at his San Juan Capistrano condo on January 28, 1999 and is unable to work due to permanent injuries from the accident.
- He dropped out of Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, California in the 10th grade and went to work as a painter and construction worker. In April 1972 he was drafted into the Army but was discharged three months later.
- Like his former wife Elizabeth Taylor, he became a grandparent in his late 30s. One of his aunts, Bea Souza, was already a grandparent by age 33.
- His remains were cremated and given to his sister Linda.
- Was a great-grandfather.
- Son of Harold 'Pete' Fortensky (1930-2007), originally from Idaho, and Dorothy 'Dot' McGill (1933-1991), originally from Missouri. Larry had three younger sisters from his parents' marriage: Donna (b. 1954), Leslie (1955-1957), and Linda (b. 1956). Pete and Dot divorced after Leslie drowned in a lake. Dot then married William 'Bill' Lacy (1933-2018) and gave birth to four more children: William Jr. (b. 1959), Wendy (b. 1960), Patricia (b. 1962), and Michael (b. 1968). He also had a large extended family, with 19 maternal cousins and several more on his father's side.
- Did not get along with his son-in-law, Ron Henderson. Daughter Julie threatened not to attend Larry's wedding to Elizabeth Taylor unless she could bring Ron. Elizabeth convinced him to let Ron come.
- Is portrayed by Michael McGrady in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (1995).
- In 2015, paparazzi doorbell-ditched Larry and took pictures of him when he answered the door.
- Was arrested for drunk driving in 1987.
- Second wife Karin McNeal was a lab technician. When they split in 1984, he filed for a restraining order, claiming that she threatened him with "bodily harm"; she in turn charged in court papers that a drunken Larry had tried to choke her in front of his mother. She also claimed he slashed her lab coats to bits.
- Sister Donna looked after him in the years following his near-fatal 1999 fall, cooking and cleaning for him. His sister Linda and estranged daughter Julie claimed that Donna "brainwashed" him against the rest of their family.
- Has a daughter, Julie Marie Fortensky (born August 5, 1972), by his marriage to first wife, Priscilla Torres, who was 18 when they married. Julie was raised mostly by her paternal grandparents, Dot and Bill Lacy. In 1989, Julie married Ron Henderson.
- Moved from northern to southern Cali when he was eight.
- He and Elizabeth sued the National Enquirer in 1993 over a story that said he threatened to break a neighbor's legs during a dispute over a property fence. The tabloid insisted the story was correct, and the couple lost the case.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content