On 22 March 1958, Todd's private plane "Lucky Liz" crashed near Grants, New Mexico. The plane, a twin-engine Lockheed Lodestar, suffered an engine failure while being flown overloaded in icing conditions. The plane was flying at an altitude which was too high to sustain flight with only one working engine under those conditions. The plane went out of control and crashed, killing all 4 people on board. In addition to Todd, those who died in the crash were screenwriter and author Art Cohn, who was writing Todd's biography "The Nine Lives of Mike Todd"; pilot Bill Verner; and co-pilot Tom Barclay. Taylor wanted to fly to New York with her husband, but stayed home with a cold after her pleas to come along were overruled by Todd. Just hours before the crash, Todd described the plane as safe as he phoned friends, including Joseph Mankiewicz and Kirk Douglas, in an attempt to recruit a gin rummy player for the flight: "Ah, c'mon," he said. "It's a good, safe plane. I wouldn't let it crash. I'm taking along a picture of Elizabeth, and I wouldn't let anything happen to her."