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Elizabeth Taylor, RIP

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Off Topic
Posted on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 08:41:49 AM EST
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Elizabeth Taylor has passed away:

Elizabeth Taylor, the actress who dazzled generations of moviegoers with her stunning beauty and whose name was synonymous with Hollywood glamour, died on Wednesday of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, her publicist, Sally Morrison, told The Associated Press. She was 79.

R.I.P.

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    Elizabeth Taylor, RIP | 48 comments (48 topical)

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    Condolences (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 08:44:06 AM EST
    to her family members. I'm sure she will be missed by all.

    Great beauty, great talent and Aids activist (5.00 / 3) (#2)
    by MO Blue on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 08:50:32 AM EST
    Beyond acting, Taylor is credited with bringing the world's attention to AIDS with her fund-raising and activism. In 1985, when Taylor's lifelong friend Rock Hudson died of AIDS, she brought national attention to the growing disease. It satisfying to her to use her celebrity for good - she raised and donated millions to the cause, founding the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

    "I don't think President Bush is doing anything at all about AIDS. In fact, I'm not sure he even knows how to spell AIDS," Taylor said once, frustrated with President Bush's slow-moving efforts to address the crisis. link
    She very (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by Ga6thDem on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 09:18:33 AM EST
    much changed the way the country thought of AIDS at the time.

    Parent
    indeed (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 09:28:33 AM EST
    rip

    Parent
    Elizabeth Taylor was a giant (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by KeysDan on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 10:42:27 AM EST
    of the silver screen and a real movie star.  Yes, she was an activist, bringing attention to the AIDS crisis in the 1980's when President Reagan, too, was silent on AIDS for almost his entire term.

    Parent
    Her only political mistake, (none / 0) (#33)
    by brodie on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:13:29 PM EST
    afaik, was her somewhat puzzling hook-up with the Repub senator from VA, John Warner, in the 1980s.

    Parent
    For a woman (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 08:52:05 AM EST
    Who always wanted to be ladylike and delicate, she was a tough cookie.  According to Wiki, in her lifetime, she survived a great deal of health issues:

    In November 2004, Taylor announced that she had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, a progressive condition in which the heart is too weak to pump sufficient blood throughout the body, particularly to the lower extremities: the ankles and feet. She broke her back five times, had both her hips replaced, survived a benign brain tumor operation and skin cancer, and faced life-threatening bouts with pneumonia twice. Towards the end of her life she was reclusive and sometimes failed to make scheduled appearances due to illness or other personal reasons. She used a wheelchair and when asked about it stated that she had osteoporosis and was born with scoliosis.

    RIP

    Carrie Fishers (none / 0) (#6)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 09:29:59 AM EST
    one woman show had a lot of great stuff about Liz.  not really catty stuff but funny stuff about how her father "helped her out" after the death her husband.

    Parent
    Funny and catty. At least in the (none / 0) (#10)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:17:08 AM EST
    theatre version.

    Parent
    ok (none / 0) (#11)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:20:33 AM EST
    a little catty. but come on.  

    Parent
    "helped her out" (none / 0) (#21)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:56:53 AM EST
    Not catty at all....

    Unbelievable eyes, she had....

    Parent

    I saw that too (none / 0) (#46)
    by ruffian on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 04:11:43 PM EST
    It was good and not unduly catty. I don't think it was as hard on Liz as on Eddie.

    BTW, I actually have that Princess Leia Pez Dispenser. A friend gave me one many years ago!

    Parent

    My favorite Liz (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by brodie on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:57:08 AM EST
    performances were in A Place in the Sun, Giant, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

    This from Place in the Sun, is probably my favorite love scene in the movies.

    Giant was good (none / 0) (#24)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:59:01 AM EST
    Giant actors in that movie.....

    Parent
    Well, Rock Hudson was (none / 0) (#30)
    by brodie on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:10:12 PM EST
    pretty big ... 6'4" by the looks of him, at least.

    I read somewhere that he got a copy of the film and screened it frequently at home, often alone.  Apparently rather pleased either with his performance or that he was part of such a great film.

    Parent

    Liz stole the show (none / 0) (#35)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:16:59 PM EST
    And the hang dog crush that James Dean had on her (on screen) was the emotional center of the film.

    Rock tried so hard, never more so than in Giant, to appear hetero.

    Lindsay Lohan reminds me of Liz.  Same kind of talent and combination of on screen strength and vulnerability....

    Parent

    Well, Rock was able (none / 0) (#37)
    by brodie on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:32:48 PM EST
    to fool a lot of people, and mostly pull it off in Giant, owing mostly to his size, appropriate for the Texan he played, and that deep, resonant voice.

    Liz was the strong, stable presence throughout though with her own vulnerabilities.  A well-played and not overdone performance.

    I gather the very confident James Dean clashed with director Geo Stevens a time or two.  But he was great, especially in the character's early scenes, and Stevens was smart enough to back off and not fire him.  Hollywood couldn't age actors very believably back then, so all the characters look kind of clunkily made up to look old later in the film -- about the only jarring flaw in an otherwise great movie.

    Parent

    Ice Station Zebra was Rock's best film... (none / 0) (#36)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:20:13 PM EST


    Parent
    all of Rocks best films (none / 0) (#40)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:56:12 PM EST
    were made by Douglas Sirk

    See also

        * Far from Heaven (2002) directed by Todd Haynes was largely inspired by Sirk's work--especially All That Heaven Allows.

        * Polyester (1981) directed by John Waters was, according to Waters, informed by Sirk's Universal melodramas

    Parent

    Cat on a hot tin roof (none / 0) (#25)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:01:58 PM EST
    Maggie the cat....

    Parent
    +1 (none / 0) (#27)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:02:24 PM EST
    for COHTR

    Parent
    She is amazing in that movie. (none / 0) (#38)
    by lilburro on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:41:22 PM EST
    What a life.  RIP.

    Parent
    Yup (none / 0) (#47)
    by ruffian on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 04:17:48 PM EST
    My favorite too.

    Also Suddenly Last Summer.

    What a talent, what a life, and helped many others along the way. Never seemed to mind being thought a little ridiculous at times. She could take it. From all tales told she had a great sense of humor.

    With all of her health issues she must have been in pain much of the last few years. RIP.

    Parent

    "Suddenly Last Summer" was on TCM (none / 0) (#49)
    by kempis on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 06:06:15 PM EST
    recently....Her accounting of Sebastian's death is one of the most goosebump-inducing monologues ever.

    Aside from being a fine actor, she was by all accounts a great lady.

    Rest in peace. And thanks for the fine memories.

    Parent

    "Suddenly, Last Summer." (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:15:03 PM EST


    Some good quotes (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by jbindc on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 04:50:00 PM EST
    from Miss "Don't call me Liz" Taylor:

    "My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was an engagement ring. I was hooked."

    "I've only slept with men I've been married to. How many women can make that claim?"

    "I fell off my pink cloud with a thud."

    "Big girls need big diamonds."

    "I am a very committed wife. And I should be committed too - for being married so many times."

    "If someone's dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I'm certainly not dumb enough to turn it down."

    "People who know me well, call me Elizabeth. I dislike Liz."

    "I've been through it all, baby, I'm mother courage."
    Very sad (none / 0) (#7)
    by andgarden on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 10:06:25 AM EST
    I was just wondering when we might see Cleopatra on blu-ray.

    BTD covering the celebrity news (none / 0) (#9)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:16:13 AM EST
    today.  No morning March madness?

    No games today (none / 0) (#12)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:22:08 AM EST


    Parent
    Liz is no celebrity (none / 0) (#13)
    by sj on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:33:23 AM EST
    She is an icon.

    Parent
    Were you alive when she "stole" (none / 0) (#14)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:34:49 AM EST
    Eddie Fisher?  

    Parent
    Eddie had (none / 0) (#15)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:35:33 AM EST
    no role in this?

    Parent
    Eddie Fisher (5.00 / 5) (#17)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:37:59 AM EST
    The Barack Obama of the 1960s . . . led by the nose by a "warrior woman."

    Parent
    Of course. But I can still see the (none / 0) (#16)
    by oculus on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:37:15 AM EST
    headlines.  Local newspaper looked like the National Enquirer.

    Parent
    Poor Debbie (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:38:19 AM EST


    Parent
    if you havent (none / 0) (#20)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:54:28 AM EST
    you should see Carrie Fishers show called "Wishful Drinking".

    roll on the floor funny.


    Parent

    Liz, Eddie, Burton -- (none / 0) (#28)
    by brodie on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:05:29 PM EST
    all made up my earliest childhood exposures to celeb news and gossip.  Never really understood the Eddie Fisher thing, probably because he was a singing star before my times, and apparently after his split with Liz, his career was finished.  

    The Burton fling I understood, and their coupling on the set of Cleopatra was huge news back ca 1962-3.  Never much a fan of the movie, but it might be worth another look today on a bigger teevee screen perhaps in DVD with the Extras to flesh out some of the on and off screen drama.  Otherwise, I think it was the ridiculously (for its time) expensive movie that led to the bankruptcy of 20C Fox and forced them to have to sell off valuable studio assets.

    Parent

    What really set the world (none / 0) (#31)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:10:18 PM EST
    against Liz, and she was deemed a really "bad girl", was that after she "won" Eddie she promptly dumped him.....

    Parent
    again (none / 0) (#41)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:57:08 PM EST
    I suspect Eddie played a role.

    Parent
    No doubt (none / 0) (#42)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:59:21 PM EST


    Parent
    What kind of question is that? (none / 0) (#19)
    by sj on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:48:07 AM EST
    How rude :)

    Parent
    My Mom hated Liz (none / 0) (#23)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 11:57:58 AM EST
    for years for that....

    Later, as Liz aged, not so much....

    Parent

    Debbie, Liz and Eddie (5.00 / 3) (#26)
    by Capt Howdy on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:02:00 PM EST
    were the Jennifer, Angelina and Brad of their day.

    Parent
    Scandal does not a celebrity make (none / 0) (#29)
    by sj on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:06:39 PM EST
    One-dimensionality does.  Liz has substance and staying power, mystery, beauty and pathos.

    Liz is an Icon.  And her Icon-ness will long outlive her.  Another way you know she's not a celebrity.

    Parent

    Mezmerizing through decades (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by MKS on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:12:35 PM EST
    As a teenager, young woman, middle age....always beautiful...and with an edge....powerful personality.

    Parent
    She learned Welsh in order to (none / 0) (#39)
    by Harry Saxon on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 12:51:27 PM EST
    talk to Richard Burton in his native language, did you know that one?

    What a life (none / 0) (#44)
    by mmc9431 on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 03:53:35 PM EST
    She certainly knew how to live. She packed more life into her 79 years than most people could in ten lifetimes.

    Liz (none / 0) (#45)
    by chrisvee on Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 04:04:45 PM EST
    will be missed.

    I wish the lead paragraph had focused on her accomplishments instead of her physical appearance.

    Elizabeth Taylor, RIP | 48 comments (48 topical)

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