Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)
We all knew this was coming and that it was coming soon. Unfortunately, Dame Elizabeth Taylor passed away this morning. She had been suffering from so many health problems in the past few years and they escalated recently. She's now at rest. It would have been mean for us to want her to stay with us longer so let us instead appreciate her long life and wonderfully varied film career.
Elizabeth Taylor was one of those few actresses whom we've seen at every stage of life. She started off as a child actress in well-known films as National Velvet (1944) and as a teenager in Father of the Bride (1950) (still a virginal dame just around the time of her first of many marriages). She blossomed into a stunning woman with a figure to die for, eyes that bore into your soul and with a charisma that kept audiences transfixed. I loved watching her in A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and BUtterfield 8 (1960).
When I wrote about Jane Russell's passing, I pointed how good a friend she was to Robert Mitchum. Elizabeth Taylor was a good friend to many especially troubled entertainers such as Montgomery Clift (she saved the man's life when they were in a car accident) and Michael Jackson. Yes she stole a couple of husbands along the way but for the most part she had a kind, humanitarian heart. Elizabeth Taylor had quite a life; one full of ups and downs. Now that she's passed on, let us be kind and remember her for all she contributed to film history and to entertainment culture. God Speed Elizabeth.
