December 27, 1995
Web posted at: 6:00 p.m. EST
From Correspondent Gloria Hillard
HOLLYWOOD, California (CNN) -- Marriages made in the movies are preserved on celluloid, but marriages made in Hollywood seem to last for only a few frames. Tinseltown has had its share of celebrated betrothed who have had celebrated break-ups this year.
After just a year, Whoopi Goldberg has filed for divorce from Lyle Trachtenberg.
Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky beat the Las Vegas oddsmakers who gave the couple a year -- seven years ago. According to the press release, their split this year is a trial separation.
Also going their separate ways were Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts. The singer of big hair and ingenue of big films had a short marriage after their short courtship.
Christie Brinkley and Ricky Taubman had a fairy tale ceremony on skis in late 1994. Like the course, the marriage went quickly downhill.
The 17-year marriage between Cindy and Kevin Costner ended this year.
Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson broke up the second marriage between them. Griffith soon found herself in the arms of Spanish actor Antonio Banderas.
Actor Tommy Lee Jones filed for divorce this year. So did singer Natalie Cole. Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere and Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson also called it quits.
"What has happened has been staggeringly sad," said marriage therapist Suzanne Lopez. "Marriage is tough enough. ... Then when you start moving into an arena where there's tremendous egos and seductions at every turn, a person's spirit is doubly challenged."
She added, "If both individuals seek the spotlight ... I think that creates a specific problem of competition. If one person is working and another is not, it creates an extra stress and burden on the relationship."
Of course, not all Hollywood marriages fall apart like a bad movie plot. Funny man Don Rickles has been married for 30 years. "For the most part, people who have a happy marriage, you don't hear that much about it. You only hear the sad stories," he said.
Rickles said he and his wife "work great because we both have the same basic values in life. ... She travels with me as much as she can ... She's very devoted and I am to her and that's what its all about."
For Jay Leno, communication is the key. "We talk a lot -- at least three or four times a day on the phone," he said.
Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks say their secret is not talking about business. "We rarely talk about work," Bancroft said. "I think it's very difficult to be married no matter whether it's in Hollywood or Pocatello, Idaho."
The difference is that the couples in Pocatello rarely make the tabloids.
Join the world's news leader for an in-depth multimedia look at the top news stories of 1995.
CNN Time Capsule: The Defining Moments of 1995 is a new multimedia CD-ROM that chronicles the year's top stories through video, photos, text, audio clips and editorial cartoons. Click here to find out more!
Copyright © 1995 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.