31 replies to this topic

[Mme. Hermine]

Elizabeth Taylor has died at age 79.

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Hollywood studio-manufactured faces come and go, like calendar pages flying off the wall in an old movie. But that face — violet-indigo eyes, heartbreaking smile — was too much for a wartime filmgoing public to ignore. Before she was a teenager, even, Elizabeth Taylor won legions of hearts alongside a noble collie ("Lassie Come Home," 1943) and an equally noble horse ("National Velvet," 1944). Something in Taylor's tremulous yearning made her appear no less a purebred. Born in London to American parents, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1939. Her beauty was almost alarming in one so young.

I cannot say that I ever thought much of her acting and found even her star charisma questionable at times, but one can only feel regret at the passing of one of the last great stars.  Her beauty is undoubted. I happened to catch "Ivanhoe" the other night, in which Taylor, aged about twenty, appeared as Rebecca, and she is so beautiful she seems not of this earth. The famous eyes glitter like the jewels men were so fond of decking her out in. She's wonderful in "National Velvet" indeed you could argue that it remained to the end her best performance (and her looks were alarming - that simply wasn't the face of a child, and as Melvyn Bragg once observed, the daddies who took their kids to the movie probably weren't looking at the horse).


Editor's Note: I somehow messed up while merging threads. This post is mine (dirac's), not Mme. Hermine's. The original was just an announcement with a link, so at least, Mme. Hermine, you are not obligate to re-post unless you wish, Mme. Hermine. My apologies!

Edited by dirac, 24 March 2011 - 03:29 PM.
dirac screwed up!

[Mme. Hermine]

http://www.wxyz.com/...eth-taylor-dies

[Bonnette]

Expecting this cannot prepare one for it. RIP, beautiful Ms. Taylor.

[Cygnet]

This is the end of an era.  Rest in peace Liz.

[Helene]

The obituary from the Los Angeles Times:

Elizabeth Taylor, legendary actress, dies at 79

[PeggyR]

She truly defined the word 'star'.  Rest in peace.

[Bonnette]

I share your sentiments entirely, dirac. Taylor's acting usually made me cringe, but one couldn't take one's eyes off her - and when I read the news of her death this morning, one of my first thoughts was: How much more beauty can this world stand to lose? She was molded by a system that stacked the deck against her in many ways, but still one had the sense that a certain authenticity, kindness and wish to serve coexisted with excess. I will miss her, and I hope that she is reunited with Richard Burton, Mike Todd, Montgomery Clift, and the many other souls whose loss she endured over the course of a relatively long life.

[dirac]

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....still one had the sense that a certain authenticity, kindness and wish to serve coexisted with excess

That's very well put, Bonnette, thank you.

Photo gallery from LIFE magazine.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Dearest Elizabeth-(she had confessed being annoyed at being called Liz)-,a drop dead gorgeous lady and a true ally to the LGBT community. I place her on the very top of my list for being one of the first public, tireless voices to speak up about the AIDS crisis during the 80's, at the same time that many others stayed silent, helping raise millions of dollars to fight the disease. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family, and to all the countless human beings whose lives have been positively impacted by her life and work of true LOVE.  As someone said...somewhere, beyond the blue, I'm willing to bet you're enchanting the angels.

You are resting in peace, Miss Taylor.           


One of my first memories of Miss Taylor on the big screen.

[miliosr]

Well, the tabloid aspects of her life will fade eventually.  When that happens, the work will sift down and future generations will be able to measure what was worthy and what wasn't.

I think she did strong work in the 1950s -- A Place in the Sun (was there ever a more beautiful screen pair than Taylor and Montgomery Clift?), Giant, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly, Last Summer.  I also think her performance in Cleopatra has merit (although I recognize I'm in the minority on that one.)  After that, though, there was a lot of dross -- star acting of the worst kind.

Bon voyage, beautiful!  Hope you're having a high 'ole time with your gay pals Montgomery Clift, Rock Hudson and Roddy McDowall in the afterlife!!

[dirac]

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I also think her performance in Cleopatra has merit (although I recognize I'm in the minority on that one.)

You sure are. I think she does improve as the movie goes along, dropping a bit of weight, toning down the screeching, and managing some quiet dignity at the end, but that’s about all I can say.  I thought she was pretty good in Virginia Woolf, although not batting in the same league with her husband, and she handled her final speech in Taming of the Shrew well.  She isn’t too bad, apart from the usual annoyances, even in Reflections in a Golden Eye - even if she is outclassed by Brando she can still hold the screen with him.  Odd to think that her career as a major star was for all intents and purposes over when she reached 35, not unusual for female stars in that era but one thinks of her as lasting a bit longer.

I would say her best performances are in “National Velvet” and “Suddenly, Last Summer.”  “A Place in the Sun,” also, even if Clift did coach her performance virtually line by line.

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(was there ever a more beautiful screen pair than Taylor and Montgomery Clift?),

A long time ago I think we had a thread on Most Beautiful Movie Couples and they were high up on the list.

Without the tabloid aspects of her career she would have faded from view a very long time ago. For a star of her stature she made very few films that have really stood the test of time, which might not help her reputation as the years pass.

[cubanmiamiboy]

dirac, on 24 March 2011 - 09:32 AM, said:

Without the tabloid aspects of her career she would have faded from view a very long time ago.

http://www.elizabeth...foundation.org/

http://www.uclacarec.../Elizabeth.html

http://www.uclaaidsi...etef_legacy.php

http://www.amfar.org/page.aspx?id=5532

http://www.pbs.org/w...ocs/taylor.html

http://www.dameeliza...r.com/AIDS.html


...for some millions, there were, are and will be other reasons beside the tabloids and Cleopatra to place her among the very few stars of their lives...

[dirac]

I'm not discounting or denigrating Taylor's AIDS advocacy and charitable work. But without her famous-for-being-famous status it would have attracted that much less attention, given that her career was more or less over and had been for some time.

[cubanmiamiboy]

That I agree, dirac.  That her film career went on decline after certain point, yes.  That her start status helped her to get more attention to bump her charitable work, yes.  But again, I believe that it is definitely for her tireless fight in the AIDS cause that she's among the great ones, and I think many who didn't get to know-(or will never know for that matters)-her film career will continue benefiting from that other aspect of her life, and THAT'S what really matters.  I never knew that much of her acting career-(except probably for Cleopatra and Ivanhoe, not having seen Butterfield 8, Virginia Woolf, Suddenly Last Summer or A Place in the Sun until I was an adult)-, but I certainly always ADORED her for her beauty and now, of course, so much more knowing for her generosity.  I suspect that's the side where the most of her admirers stand.  The "fading" item is dual.  Fading from some aspects and circles-(not the most important ones, IMO)-yes, but shining even more than before in others, no question about it...



Just another example of the same situation...?

Here...

http://www.fondation...mepage.php?Id=2

[dirac]

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But again, I believe that it is definitely for her tireless fight in the AIDS cause that she's among the great ones,

And as you also noted, cubanmiamiboy, in the 80s it was far from a conventional form of advocacy. She was courageous in leading the way.