Rain fell on Los Angeles the day Elizabeth Taylor died. Her heart stopped at 1:28 a.m. on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was 79.
Ms. Taylor was revered as the most beautiful woman in the world, and rightfully so.
It is doubtful that any actress will ever be as glamourous. Those double row of eyelashes, that collar bone, those breasts, that hourglass figure ”” that was the flawless mold of Liz Taylor, the last woman glamour created. It was a once-in-a-lifetime mold and it was destroyed the day it was made.
She was born in London, England, on Feb. 27, 1932. Her father Francis owned a gallery and her mother Sara was an actress. In 1937, back when the Santa Monica Mountains read Hollywoodland, her family moved to Pasadena.
By 1942, at the age of nine, Ms. Taylor appeared in Lassie Come Home, her first motion picture for Universal Studios. Soon after the contract ended she was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. And the rest is history.
More than 50 films followed. She transitioned from teen parts to adult roles effortlessly ”” from Kay Banks in “Father of the Bride” to Angela Vickers in “A Place in the Sun” to Martha in“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Looking back on her life at age 60, she told Life magazine that she has been lucky all her life, that everything was handed to her ”” “Looks, fame, wealth, honors, love.”
In all, Ms. Taylor was handed love seven times.
No. 1: Hotel heir Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr.; No. 2: English actor Michael Wilding; No. 3: Producer Mike Todd; No. 4: Singer Eddie Fisher; No. 5: Welsh actor Richard Burton; No. 6: Burton (again); No. 7: United States Senator John W. Warner; No. 8: Construction worker Larry Fortensky.
Husbands No. 1 through No. 6 have since died.
Ms. Taylor’s four children were at her bedside the morning she passed ”” two sons from Wilding, a daughter from Todd and a daughter from Burton.
Todd and Burton were the loves of her life.
Ms. Taylor was laid to rest in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif.
The service was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. According to her representative, Ms. Taylor had left written instructions that the funeral was to begin at least 15 minutes later than publicly scheduled.
Alex Z. • Mar 30, 2011 at 3:03 pm
yallen82, many times I see you commenting on the quality of The Collegian’s articles and I wonder to myself, if you would ever consider writing your own article and submitting to the newspaper. I know that they accept freelance articles from time to time based on newsworthiness and appropiateness and think that if you feel that something should be written about or is lacking about the paper that you take action. Just a helpful suggestion.
Anonymous • Mar 25, 2011 at 4:21 pm
It feels like Danielle forgets that she is an op-ed columnist and not an A&E writer. Her stories lack insight into a newsworthy issue, event, or conflict. This is perfectly fine for a personal blog, but please remember people actually read your publication with the faint and perhaps naive hope that they will be informed of something or be provoked to think critically about something. This is another fluff profile piece focused on the superficial: looks. Heels, “sexiness” (ugghh), dogging and now this–a terrible trend towards the insignificant.
And for what it’s worth, she wasn’t that beautiful (unless you dig women who wear gobs of makeup). She was actually prettier during her middle-aged years, but was still somewhat of a butter face. As you wrote, she lived a privileged life and you are gratifying her life, which she was in many ways born into. And you decide to glorify this. Stop wasting ink on the superficial. If you lack the necessary knowledge in newsworthy topics, do some research (i.e. do your job), or you guys over there might have to start submitting op-eds from all over campus who can actually write well about something significant.
SecretAgent • Mar 27, 2011 at 3:40 am
You don’t like Danielle, and you don’t think the most beautiful woman who ever lived was beautiful.
Both the writer and the subject are attractive women. That tells me something about you.
The Bee’s opinion page on Friday had an Op-Ed about Elizabeth Taylor. Now who lacks insight?
Anonymous • Mar 28, 2011 at 4:49 pm
I couldn’t say that I don’t like Danielle; how could I? I just assume she’s a decent person, since I don’t know her. Pointing out that I think Taylor’s looks are overrated are purely subjective, and clearly men/women have differing views on the aesthetic value of others. To each his own. You say both the author and Taylor are attractive, while I just think the former is. (Who selected that picture of Taylor? There are better ones of her) The fact that we slightly disagree on sheds no new light on human nature.
I do have issues with the author’s inability to write newsworthy pieces that are informative, insightful and thought-provoking. I detest her rationale, here conceptual analysis of topics/ideas, and, of course, the conclusions she arrives at. This is the extent of my criticism, and believe that it is fair game. It has never been personal, and if it has sounded so, than that is a shortcoming on my part.
And pointing out that the Fresno Bee had an opinion of her is not an argument in favor of this author. Indeed, Taylor was an iconic figure, blah blah blah blah blah. If this author’s previously written work was all about news and substance, than I would let this one slide. But this is a trend for her, and that’s all I was pointing out.