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« World Read Aloud Day | Main | Fat Jokes Aren't Funny »

March 23, 2011

Comments

Is it weird that my very first thought upon hearing the news today was, "Danny is going to have one helluva blog post about this." And you do. :)

Finally! I've been waiting all day for this Danny! Excellent as usual.

I've been checking Jew Eat Yet? all day, waiting for what you would write about Elizabeth. Now I'm going to have to run out and get all these DVDs because no one puts things more persuasively than you , Danny. Thanks.

You relly are the Great Movie Star Obit Writer, my dear...I knew, too, you would do a post about this fabulous woman...I just wasn't sure you would get it up, so quickly...! Elizabethb Taylor was about eight months younger than me---so I always felt a strange kinship to her...I thought she was extraordinarly Beautiful,(Who didn't?) talented and one of the bravest women in the world. At the time she stepped up to the plate for AIDS because of her dear dear friend Rock Hudson---just the act of her doing that, changed the 'face' of AIDS forever...Plus, she helped to raise millions upon millions of dollars--like 25 million, for research....This was, at the time, a very brave act! And her continued commitment to AMFAR until today, was quite amazing in every way. I loved her honesty. She always was who she was---take it or leave it. I admired that aspect of her probably more than any other, and there was plenty to admire, as you so wonderfully put it, Danny.
I remember when she won the Academy Awrd for "Butterfield 8", many people said it was because she had almost died that year from a terrible pneumonia--thus, the tracheotomy---But, if you look at that film again, her performance is quite wonderful--It is Eddie Fisher who was not so good, plus a script that left a lot to be seired.
(I agree with you about CLEOPATRA...It is a Wonderful Wonderful Film!
And....Oh, the scandels....And through it all, she remained true to herself.
FIERCLY(?) Devoted to her family and her friends...Loyal to the core, there was a lot to admire about this really great Dame--in both senses of that word! RIP dear Elizabeth!

Raintree County. I remember seeing it at the Lex Theater on the South Side of Chicago. What a film. Elizabeth Taylor broke my tiny heart in that role. Another favorite of mine is Suddenly Last Summer.

No one can deliver a line like Elizabeth. Thank you Danny.

Quite a tribute, well deserved and well delivered. I have not seen A Place in the Sun and I have ordered that one from my library. Thanks you, Danny. Farewell to a great star.

As always, beautifully done! Bravo!

Nicely done. I've never seen that version of Little Women; now, of course, I'll have to watch it!

Sometimes I feel like this blog should be titled "So long vintage celebrities." Or something like "Death and homage of a bygone." hehe, Just kidding. You know I'm only teasing. Great tribute to ET!

Dear Danny,

Except for, "National Velvet" and, "A Place in the Sun," I can't say that I enjoyed Elizabeth Taylor's acting very much. And, I always had a sneaking suspicion that she was playing a somewhat exaggerated version of herself in, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?"

But, I have to say that I actually felt a slight stab in my heart when I read that she had died. I will always think of her tireless work in fighting the stigma of the AIDS epidemic. She was truly our angel.

Thanks,
Gordon

Danny, what a terrific post about the Great Dame! Putting all those clips together with your observations: a perfect homage. When I depart this world, I might hire you as my after-death publicist!

Like Gordon, I also felt that Liz Taylor wasn't one of the world's greatest actresses but she certainly deserved the crown as Great Diva and also for her humanitarian work for AIDS.

For some reason, I don't feel the emotional connection to her passing as I have with some other Hollywood stars that passed, like Burt Lancaster, probably because none of her movies are my favorites. But I can't think of another Hollywood Golden Era actress that remained in the limelight and transformed herself in more ways than Madonna through the years -- everyone from 30-80 has encountered "Liz" Taylor either in movies, perfume commercials, or through her charity work. I can't think of an actress today that is comparable in Hollywood "royalty."

I watched "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" again yesterday and was dazzled by Taylor's performance. She may not be everyone's cup of tea but back in the day that woman could ACT!

And I can't believe I forgot to mention that she was a member of the tribe...by CHOICE, not because of her marriages to Mike Todd or Eddie Fisher. We're happy to claim you, Elizabeth! (She even made sure she'd be buried within 48 hours according to Jewish law.)

I loved your obit, as always. However, I'm not so sure she didn't become a Jew 'cos of Mike Todd, by choice firstly. Are you really sure of that? I have to check that out. Too bad she never wrote her memoirs, it would have been great!I hear all of her interviews with Barbara Walters are online so I must check it out. I have snapshots of her and Richard in a limousine my friend Frank took of her when he was a paparazzi for Photoplay magazine, back in the day. Wish I had a scanner or I'll put them on you tube.

Her death stunned me because more than any one thing about her life, to me she seemed to embody 'life' itself. I really can't believe we now have a world with Elizabeth Taylor. You're right that she doesn't get her due as a great actress, but I do have to quibble about Little Women, though. Kate's is the best. However, I do love that Joan Bennett, who played Amy March in 1933 played Elizabeth's mother in Father of the Bride in 1950. Do you think the two discussed their mutual role on set?

I just got done watching a special of good ole Liz. If only she never married Larry...

Lovely tribute. She was so beautiful, but I wonder how happy she was.

My Dad was NYC cop. He was a cop who didn't want to be a cop--he wanted to be an accountant. However, after his first year at Fordham, he was drafted into WWII. After the war (on the very day he got back to NY), his father died of heart disease.
There was no time to think about his own future because he had to help support his mother and two sisters. So, he became a cop.
Being Irish, he had a lot of relatives within the dept., and he was assigned some of the best jobs.
In 1964 (now a Sergeant), he was assigned to watch Taylor and Burton during Burton's run in "Hamlet." Every night, Ms Taylor would wait backstage until the performance was over. My Dad became friendly with her and liked her very much. That is saying a lot, considering it's my Father; he was not impressed with celebrity.
When the run was over, Ms Taylor threw a closing night party at the Rainbow Room and invited my Dad. For some reason, my Mother didn't go (or wouldn't go)--I heard there was a big fight when he stumbled into the house at 5AM.
Fortuantely, he brought home a wonderful (8x10, B&W) photo of Ms Taylor seated at a round dinner table, wearing a black cocktail dress and dripping in diamonds. Every man in that room (including my Father) is crowded around her, and she is every inch "The Queen." There are no women in the picture (only Ms Taylor)...maybe women weren't invited?
It's a great photo of a bygone era.

PS: That same year, my Father was there to greet the Beatles when they landed at Kennedy. He took them to the Plaza hotel and stayed with them their first night...would you believe he didn't know who they were? Luckily, my Sister made him get an autographed (by all 4) photo--she still has it.

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