Mafia-related murders. An improbable constellation of 20th-century icons. Belated accessibility to the public after decades of obscurity. Are we talking about the JFK assassination or Winter Kills, William Richert’s 1979 film inspired by it?
Adapted from Richard Condon’s 1974 novel, the film flamed out on its initial release for many of the usual reasons: a troubled production, the short-sightedness of critics, and a willingness on the part of the filmmakers to potentially confuse, alienate, or offend audiences of the day. But even if you don’t go in with a conspiratorial mindset, one viewing of this riotously entertaining, chillingly perceptive film could leave you wondering if some larger force is at play, protecting the targets of this should-be New Hollywood classic by keeping it in the dark after all this time.
The history of Winter Kills is nearly as lurid and tangled as the conspiracy it depicts. Unable to secure...
Adapted from Richard Condon’s 1974 novel, the film flamed out on its initial release for many of the usual reasons: a troubled production, the short-sightedness of critics, and a willingness on the part of the filmmakers to potentially confuse, alienate, or offend audiences of the day. But even if you don’t go in with a conspiratorial mindset, one viewing of this riotously entertaining, chillingly perceptive film could leave you wondering if some larger force is at play, protecting the targets of this should-be New Hollywood classic by keeping it in the dark after all this time.
The history of Winter Kills is nearly as lurid and tangled as the conspiracy it depicts. Unable to secure...
- 8/8/2023
- by Brad Hanford
- Slant Magazine
Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, a wealthy arts and fashion patron, friend of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and political benefactor who funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to former presidential candidate John Edwards that was used to hide his mistress, died Monday. She was 103. Mellon's family and her longtime personal attorney said she died of natural causes at her beloved 4,000-acre Oak Spring Farms in Virginia's horse country, where she entertained royalty, stars and politicians but from which she rarely ventured. Her death was confirmed by Alexander Forger, her personal attorney for the past 40 years, and her grandson Thomas Lloyd. Mellon lived...
- 3/18/2014
- by Associated Press
- PEOPLE.com
Film star Elizabeth Taylor campaigns for the Republican party in Atlanta in her new role as politician's wife
Elizabeth Taylor went fund raising for the Georgia Republicans yesterday, which was brave of her since the state is so solidly Democrat that the candidates she is supporting stand as much chance of being elected as Scottish Nationalists in Bournemouth.
She is doing this because she is the recent wife of John Warner, who hopes to run for the Senate next year in Virginia, where his chances are rather better. She may also go as far as California raising money.
Miss Taylor still has star quality. First she arrived 55 minutes late for a press conference in Atlanta, after it had been announced that she would be unable to make her expected ceremonial entrance down a staircase because she had hurt her back, and would have simply to walk in through a door.
Elizabeth Taylor went fund raising for the Georgia Republicans yesterday, which was brave of her since the state is so solidly Democrat that the candidates she is supporting stand as much chance of being elected as Scottish Nationalists in Bournemouth.
She is doing this because she is the recent wife of John Warner, who hopes to run for the Senate next year in Virginia, where his chances are rather better. She may also go as far as California raising money.
Miss Taylor still has star quality. First she arrived 55 minutes late for a press conference in Atlanta, after it had been announced that she would be unable to make her expected ceremonial entrance down a staircase because she had hurt her back, and would have simply to walk in through a door.
- 8/12/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
As a new BBC4 drama examines the turbulent relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, we take a look at how it played out in the pages of the Guardian and Observer
Though Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were once one of Hollywood's hottest couples, their relationship was controversial from the start. When they met on the set of Cleopatra in 1962, they were both married to other people, and their 'immoral' behaviour so incensed the film's producers, Twentieth Century Fox, that the company sued the couple for $50m, while the Us State Department considered revoking Burton's work visa. Cleopatra opened to poor reviews, although Alistair Cooke blamed that on snobbery.
Despite all the drama, their wedding in March 1964 barely warranted a mention on the Guardian's front page. Theirs was a tempestuous marriage. In an article for the Observer Review in 1971, Burton summed up their bond, writing: "I love Elizabeth to the point of idolatry.
Though Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were once one of Hollywood's hottest couples, their relationship was controversial from the start. When they met on the set of Cleopatra in 1962, they were both married to other people, and their 'immoral' behaviour so incensed the film's producers, Twentieth Century Fox, that the company sued the couple for $50m, while the Us State Department considered revoking Burton's work visa. Cleopatra opened to poor reviews, although Alistair Cooke blamed that on snobbery.
Despite all the drama, their wedding in March 1964 barely warranted a mention on the Guardian's front page. Theirs was a tempestuous marriage. In an article for the Observer Review in 1971, Burton summed up their bond, writing: "I love Elizabeth to the point of idolatry.
- 7/23/2013
- by Katy Stoddard
- The Guardian - Film News
HBO Documentary Films is premiering The Strange History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell tonight at midnight as the repeal takes effect [Oops! Spoiler!], with another showing Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. for those who didn’t catch it the first time around or who just feel like taking a victory lap.
Trailer
The film was shot during the two years leading up to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and weaves together historic footage, commentary from insiders in the legislative jockeying, interviews with current members of the military (often with their identities concealed), and Congressional hearings that border on maddening.
The Strange History does, in fact, open with a good broad-stroke history lesson, covering the fact that, duh, there have been one or two non-straights in the military since the time of Alexander the Great, and showing the surprising origins of the World War II ban on gays in the military.
Trailer
The film was shot during the two years leading up to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and weaves together historic footage, commentary from insiders in the legislative jockeying, interviews with current members of the military (often with their identities concealed), and Congressional hearings that border on maddening.
The Strange History does, in fact, open with a good broad-stroke history lesson, covering the fact that, duh, there have been one or two non-straights in the military since the time of Alexander the Great, and showing the surprising origins of the World War II ban on gays in the military.
- 9/19/2011
- by Ali Davis
- AfterEllen.com
After years of silence, Larry Fortensky, the construction worker who met Elizabeth Taylor in rehab and became her eighth and final husband, has opened up about their years together - and their conversation just days before the screen legend died last month at 79. "She was going into hospital the next day," Fortensky, 59, tells Britain's Daily Mail of their final talk. "I thought she was going to be okay. I told her she would outlive me. She said, 'Larry, I'm going to be okay.' " It was the coda to the most unlikely of romances between the most famous actress of...
- 4/26/2011
- by Tim Nudd
- PEOPLE.com
Marie Osmond is such a fan of Elizabeth Taylor that when designing her extensive doll collection, she allegedly chose violet eyes for some of the porcelain girls to honor Taylor. Recently, Osmond reflected on her first meeting with Taylor, who died early Mar. 23 at the age of 79.
Their first encounter was at a White House event, which Taylor attended with then-husband, Sen. John Warner.
Osmond, who just did her 500th show at the Flamingo in Las Vegas with brother Donny, took some time after the show to discuss Taylor. "Those eyes...They were so beautiful just as everyone says. She was an inspiration. She showed so much courage in her fight against AIDS. She was one of the first celebrities to take up that cause, and I respect her so much for that."
On Tuesday, Osmond's most recent "Oprah" appearance re-aired, in which she discussed the tragic suicide of her son,...
Their first encounter was at a White House event, which Taylor attended with then-husband, Sen. John Warner.
Osmond, who just did her 500th show at the Flamingo in Las Vegas with brother Donny, took some time after the show to discuss Taylor. "Those eyes...They were so beautiful just as everyone says. She was an inspiration. She showed so much courage in her fight against AIDS. She was one of the first celebrities to take up that cause, and I respect her so much for that."
On Tuesday, Osmond's most recent "Oprah" appearance re-aired, in which she discussed the tragic suicide of her son,...
- 3/30/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Screen icon Elizabeth Taylor, who died last week at age 79, was famously known for the great loves of her life, including Richard Burton and Mike Todd -- but she also had a close bond with her seventh and final husband, construction worker Larry Fortensky, according to his sister.
Linda Untiet told the Daily Mail that her former sister-in-law loved her brother until the end. "Elizabeth wrote Larry a love letter at the end of last year.
Linda Untiet told the Daily Mail that her former sister-in-law loved her brother until the end. "Elizabeth wrote Larry a love letter at the end of last year.
- 3/28/2011
- Extra
It seemed yet another offbeat twist in the fascinating life of Elizabeth Taylor. After a series of tempestuous marriages - and divorces - came the mid-'70s she wed, for the seventh time, a staid and handsome former U.S. Secretary of the Navy and an aspiring U.S. Senatorial candidate from Virginia, John Warner. Yet, as was the case with most everything involving the star, even their meeting was larger-than-life, prompted by a visit to Washington, D.C., by the Queen of England, who hosted a dinner at the British Embassy. Taylor was on the guest list, and Warner...
- 3/26/2011
- by Mary Green and Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Elizabeth Taylor was married eight times to seven husbands. When asked why she married so often, she answered, "I don't know, honey. It sure beats the hell out of me."
The Great Loves of Elizabeth TaylorConrad "Nicky" Hilton
On May 6, 1950, 22-year-old Elizabeth Taylor married hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton. The couple divorced 9 months later.
Michael Wilding
February 21, 1952 Taylor married British actor Michael Wilding, who was 20 years her senior. Wilding is the father of Taylor's first two children,...
The Great Loves of Elizabeth TaylorConrad "Nicky" Hilton
On May 6, 1950, 22-year-old Elizabeth Taylor married hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton. The couple divorced 9 months later.
Michael Wilding
February 21, 1952 Taylor married British actor Michael Wilding, who was 20 years her senior. Wilding is the father of Taylor's first two children,...
- 3/24/2011
- Extra
Elizabeth Taylor found getting old "really s**t". The actress, who died of congestive heart failure on Wednesday, March 23 at the age of 79, was in a lot of pain towards the end of her life, but did her best to "hang in there", says her friend Debbie Reynolds.
Recalling their final conversation a few weeks ago, Debbie, whose husband George Fisher left her for Elizabeth in 1957, told Access Hollywood, "I said, 'Getting old is really s**t. And she said, 'It certainly is. It certainly is, Debbie. This is really tough.' I said, 'Well, you just hang in there now, Elizabeth.' And she said, 'I'm really trying.' "
Though Debbie, 78, is sad her friend, who she has known since they were both 17, has passed away, she thinks her death was a "blessing in disguise" because she was in so much pain. She said, "God bless her, she's on to a better place.
Recalling their final conversation a few weeks ago, Debbie, whose husband George Fisher left her for Elizabeth in 1957, told Access Hollywood, "I said, 'Getting old is really s**t. And she said, 'It certainly is. It certainly is, Debbie. This is really tough.' I said, 'Well, you just hang in there now, Elizabeth.' And she said, 'I'm really trying.' "
Though Debbie, 78, is sad her friend, who she has known since they were both 17, has passed away, she thinks her death was a "blessing in disguise" because she was in so much pain. She said, "God bless her, she's on to a better place.
- 3/24/2011
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
Eddie Fisher, Conrad Hilton, Richard Burton and more: The Elizabeth Taylor ex-husband power rankings
Elizabeth Taylor, who died Mar. 23, was an iconic actress, a great philanthropist, successful perfume pitch-woman and the center of the 20th century pop culture universe.
She also really liked dudes.
In her 79 years of life, she had eight marriages with seven different men. Her mates included hotel heirs, construction workers, politicians and fellow actors. But they weren't created equal.
So instead of revisiting Elizabeth Taylor's many men in chronological order, we've ranked them by awesomeness and how their respective unions have stood the test of time. Let's begin...
7. Michael Todd (1957-1958)
Poor Michael. Having fathered one of Liz's four children should spare him from being in last place, but, alas, he's the only husband of Taylor's who exited the marriage by dying. Little more than a year after their 1957 wedding, his unfortunately-titled plane, "Lucky Liz," crashed in New Mexico, killing him and three other passengers.
6. Michael Wilding (1952-1957)
A...
She also really liked dudes.
In her 79 years of life, she had eight marriages with seven different men. Her mates included hotel heirs, construction workers, politicians and fellow actors. But they weren't created equal.
So instead of revisiting Elizabeth Taylor's many men in chronological order, we've ranked them by awesomeness and how their respective unions have stood the test of time. Let's begin...
7. Michael Todd (1957-1958)
Poor Michael. Having fathered one of Liz's four children should spare him from being in last place, but, alas, he's the only husband of Taylor's who exited the marriage by dying. Little more than a year after their 1957 wedding, his unfortunately-titled plane, "Lucky Liz," crashed in New Mexico, killing him and three other passengers.
6. Michael Wilding (1952-1957)
A...
- 3/24/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
The movie queen, one of the world’s most famous and beautiful women, was battling congestive heart failure. She died in La, surrounded by her four children from her eight marriages.
Elizabeth Taylor, the mega-star who had survived so many health problems, died today at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in La. Still, her passing came as a bit of a shock– her heart condition had appeared to stabilize in recent weeks and loved ones hoped she might have been heading back home soon!
Elizabeth, 79, a two-time Oscar-winner who made dozens of major movies, was probably even more famous for her violet-eyed beauty, her voluptuous form and her eight stormy marriages — including two go-rounds with the man who seemed to be the true love of her life, actor Richard Burton.
In her later years, Liz promoted her own jewelry and fragrance lines — including the popular Passion and White Diamonds scent — and became a...
Elizabeth Taylor, the mega-star who had survived so many health problems, died today at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in La. Still, her passing came as a bit of a shock– her heart condition had appeared to stabilize in recent weeks and loved ones hoped she might have been heading back home soon!
Elizabeth, 79, a two-time Oscar-winner who made dozens of major movies, was probably even more famous for her violet-eyed beauty, her voluptuous form and her eight stormy marriages — including two go-rounds with the man who seemed to be the true love of her life, actor Richard Burton.
In her later years, Liz promoted her own jewelry and fragrance lines — including the popular Passion and White Diamonds scent — and became a...
- 3/23/2011
- by JohnMancini
- HollywoodLife
Los Angeles/London - Celebrities paid tribute Wednesday to Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor, who died in Los Angeles aged 79. Among those paying their respects were former Us senator John Warner, who was married to Taylor in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 'I will remember her as a woman whose heart and soul were as beautiful as her classic face and majestic eyes,' he said on CNN. Her son with second husband Michael Wilding, John Wilding, said that 'the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it.' 'My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour, and love,' he said in a statement. 'Her remarkable body of work in...
- 3/23/2011
- Monsters and Critics
Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor, one of the greatest beauties to ever grace the big screen, and one of the most benevolent, died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles Wednesday. She turned 79 on Feb. 27th while in the hospital.
Her son, Michael Wilding, released this statement: "My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held...
Her son, Michael Wilding, released this statement: "My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held...
- 3/23/2011
- Extra
Elizabeth Taylor in the 1958 film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, who went from child star to Hollywood icon and was known for legendary portrayals, multiple marriages and her tireless support for AIDS-related issues, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 79.
Winner of two Oscars for her work in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Butterfield 8” and a three-time nominee for “Suddenly, Last Summer,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Raintree County,” Taylor was the recipient of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993 and the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award the same year, among a host of other accolades.
Born Feb. 27, 1932, in London, England, Taylor made her big-screen debut for Universal Pictures at age 10 in the 1942 film “There’s One Born Every Minute.” Universal dropped her contract after the one film but she was soon scooped up by MGM,...
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, who went from child star to Hollywood icon and was known for legendary portrayals, multiple marriages and her tireless support for AIDS-related issues, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 79.
Winner of two Oscars for her work in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Butterfield 8” and a three-time nominee for “Suddenly, Last Summer,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Raintree County,” Taylor was the recipient of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993 and the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award the same year, among a host of other accolades.
Born Feb. 27, 1932, in London, England, Taylor made her big-screen debut for Universal Pictures at age 10 in the 1942 film “There’s One Born Every Minute.” Universal dropped her contract after the one film but she was soon scooped up by MGM,...
- 3/23/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Elizabeth Taylor in the 1958 film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, who went from child star to Hollywood icon and was known for legendary portrayals, multiple marriages and her tireless support for AIDS-related issues, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 79.
Winner of two Oscars for her work in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Butterfield 8” and a three-time nominee for “Suddenly, Last Summer,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Raintree County,” Taylor was the recipient of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993 and the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award the same year, among a host of other accolades.
Born Feb. 27, 1932, in London, England, Taylor made her big-screen debut for Universal Pictures at age 10 in the 1942 film “There’s One Born Every Minute.” Universal dropped her contract after the one film but she was soon scooped up by MGM,...
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, who went from child star to Hollywood icon and was known for legendary portrayals, multiple marriages and her tireless support for AIDS-related issues, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. She was 79.
Winner of two Oscars for her work in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Butterfield 8” and a three-time nominee for “Suddenly, Last Summer,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Raintree County,” Taylor was the recipient of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993 and the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award the same year, among a host of other accolades.
Born Feb. 27, 1932, in London, England, Taylor made her big-screen debut for Universal Pictures at age 10 in the 1942 film “There’s One Born Every Minute.” Universal dropped her contract after the one film but she was soon scooped up by MGM,...
- 3/23/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Los Angeles -- Jokers liked to call her Mrs. Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner Fortensky. Indeed, Elizabeth Taylor was prolific as a bride.
"I think I ended up being the scarlet woman partly because of my rather puritanical upbringing and beliefs," she once said. "I couldn't just have a romance; it had to be marriage."
Her husbands were a hotel chain heir, an English actor, a flamboyant producer, a pop crooner, a Welsh actor (twice), a U.S. senator and a construction worker.
Her romances over the years included a football legend, a billionaire publisher and a Mexican lawyer.
Taylor's love life probably received more public notice than any figure in history, including Cleopatra (whom she portrayed) and Casanova.
She encountered a portent of things to come during her first romance, with Glenn Davis, the famed "Mr. Inside" of the Army football champions. When her dates with Davis attracted huge press attention,...
"I think I ended up being the scarlet woman partly because of my rather puritanical upbringing and beliefs," she once said. "I couldn't just have a romance; it had to be marriage."
Her husbands were a hotel chain heir, an English actor, a flamboyant producer, a pop crooner, a Welsh actor (twice), a U.S. senator and a construction worker.
Her romances over the years included a football legend, a billionaire publisher and a Mexican lawyer.
Taylor's love life probably received more public notice than any figure in history, including Cleopatra (whom she portrayed) and Casanova.
She encountered a portent of things to come during her first romance, with Glenn Davis, the famed "Mr. Inside" of the Army football champions. When her dates with Davis attracted huge press attention,...
- 3/23/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
By Greg Hernandez
HollywoodNews.com: Here is compilation of Elizabeth Taylor interviews from the late ’80s and early ’90s when she was at her absolute most post-50 beautiful.
The great star, who died this morning, had lost all the weight (65 pounds!) she gained during the marriage to John Warner. I remember taping the Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue interviews and watching them so many times before they wore out! Donahue did a far better interview than Oprah but I believe Miss Taylor later explained that she was feeling kinda bitchy that day.
There’s also an Arsenio Hall interview here and Miss Taylor looks even more ravishing. She was a newlywed again (to Larry Fortensky), grown her hair out a bit from that spiky late ’80s look and maybe had a chin tuck. Arsenio was fun but not a great interview.
To read more from this article go to Greg In Hollywood.
HollywoodNews.com: Here is compilation of Elizabeth Taylor interviews from the late ’80s and early ’90s when she was at her absolute most post-50 beautiful.
The great star, who died this morning, had lost all the weight (65 pounds!) she gained during the marriage to John Warner. I remember taping the Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue interviews and watching them so many times before they wore out! Donahue did a far better interview than Oprah but I believe Miss Taylor later explained that she was feeling kinda bitchy that day.
There’s also an Arsenio Hall interview here and Miss Taylor looks even more ravishing. She was a newlywed again (to Larry Fortensky), grown her hair out a bit from that spiky late ’80s look and maybe had a chin tuck. Arsenio was fun but not a great interview.
To read more from this article go to Greg In Hollywood.
- 3/23/2011
- by Greg Hernandez
- Hollywoodnews.com
The double Oscar-winning actress died in the early hours of Wednesday morning (23.03.11) aged 79, after battling congestive heart failure.
Taylor had been hospitalised two months ago at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she was treated for heart problems, and it was there she passed away.
Her son Michael Wilding released a statement, saying: .My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour and love.
.Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV and AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished.
.We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for mom having lived in it.
Taylor had been hospitalised two months ago at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she was treated for heart problems, and it was there she passed away.
Her son Michael Wilding released a statement, saying: .My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour and love.
.Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV and AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished.
.We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for mom having lived in it.
- 3/23/2011
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
Hollywood icon Dame Elizabeth Taylor has died at the age of 79.
The actress, who was suffering from congestive heart failure, passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in the early hours of Wednesday morning with her children by her side. Taylor's death comes six weeks after she was hospitalised because of her ill health.
Her son Michael Wilding confirmed the sad news and paid tribute to his late mother in a statement, which reads, "My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world."
A statement from Taylor's representative reads, "Legendary actress, businesswoman, and fearless activist Elizabeth Taylor died peacefully today in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. She was surrounded by her children... The actress had been hospitalised six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, a condition with which she had struggled for some years. Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilised and it was hoped that she would be able to return home. Sadly, this was not to be."
A private funeral will be held later this week (beg21Mar11) and the family has asked for donations to be made to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later date.
Born in Hampstead, north London on 27 February 1932, Taylor was the second child to Francis Lenn Taylor and Sara Viola Warmbrodt, who were Americans residing in England.
She appeared in her first motion picture at the age of nine for Universal Studios before later signing with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring in 1943's Lassie Come Home, but it was her role in 1944's National Velvet that skyrocketed her to stardom at the tender age of 12.
Taylor went on to carve out a hugely successful Hollywood career, with her most famous roles including turns in Cleopatra and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She picked up a long list of accolades for her performances over the years including two Academy Awards for Best Actress, for Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and four Golden Globes, while she was declared a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1999.
But despite her stellar success, Taylor was arguably more famous for her eight marriages.
Her first marriage to Conrad Hilton ended after just eight months in 1951. A year later she married Michael Wilding and the couple went on to have two sons. They divorced in 1957 and just days later she wed theatre producer Michael Todd - the father of her daughter Liza - but he died in 1958 when his private jet, named Lucky Liz, crashed in New Mexico.
Fourteen months after Todd's death, Taylor married his best friend, actor Eddie Fisher and they went on to star together in her Oscar-winning movie Butterfield 8. The union came to an end in 1964 and just nine days after her divorce from Fisher was finalised, Taylor married Richard Burton for the first time.
They met while shooting 1963 epic Cleopatra in Italy and their onscreen romance quickly turned into an offscreen love affair.
Taylor's marriage to Burton crumbled and the couple divorced in 1974 after 10 years together, but they remarried in a secret ceremony in Africa 16 months later.
The actress admitted she had remarried Burton after an x-ray revealed spots on her lungs which she feared were cancerous. She said the anxious 12 hours of waiting for the prognosis, which turned out to be clear, convinced her to remarry her lover.
They divorced for a second time in 1976 and Taylor went on to wed John Warner later that year and Larry Fortensky in 1991. Both marriages ended in divorce.
Taylor is survived by four children: Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding and Liza Todd and adoptive daughter Maria Burton.
The actress, who was suffering from congestive heart failure, passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in the early hours of Wednesday morning with her children by her side. Taylor's death comes six weeks after she was hospitalised because of her ill health.
Her son Michael Wilding confirmed the sad news and paid tribute to his late mother in a statement, which reads, "My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humour, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world."
A statement from Taylor's representative reads, "Legendary actress, businesswoman, and fearless activist Elizabeth Taylor died peacefully today in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. She was surrounded by her children... The actress had been hospitalised six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, a condition with which she had struggled for some years. Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilised and it was hoped that she would be able to return home. Sadly, this was not to be."
A private funeral will be held later this week (beg21Mar11) and the family has asked for donations to be made to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later date.
Born in Hampstead, north London on 27 February 1932, Taylor was the second child to Francis Lenn Taylor and Sara Viola Warmbrodt, who were Americans residing in England.
She appeared in her first motion picture at the age of nine for Universal Studios before later signing with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring in 1943's Lassie Come Home, but it was her role in 1944's National Velvet that skyrocketed her to stardom at the tender age of 12.
Taylor went on to carve out a hugely successful Hollywood career, with her most famous roles including turns in Cleopatra and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She picked up a long list of accolades for her performances over the years including two Academy Awards for Best Actress, for Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and four Golden Globes, while she was declared a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1999.
But despite her stellar success, Taylor was arguably more famous for her eight marriages.
Her first marriage to Conrad Hilton ended after just eight months in 1951. A year later she married Michael Wilding and the couple went on to have two sons. They divorced in 1957 and just days later she wed theatre producer Michael Todd - the father of her daughter Liza - but he died in 1958 when his private jet, named Lucky Liz, crashed in New Mexico.
Fourteen months after Todd's death, Taylor married his best friend, actor Eddie Fisher and they went on to star together in her Oscar-winning movie Butterfield 8. The union came to an end in 1964 and just nine days after her divorce from Fisher was finalised, Taylor married Richard Burton for the first time.
They met while shooting 1963 epic Cleopatra in Italy and their onscreen romance quickly turned into an offscreen love affair.
Taylor's marriage to Burton crumbled and the couple divorced in 1974 after 10 years together, but they remarried in a secret ceremony in Africa 16 months later.
The actress admitted she had remarried Burton after an x-ray revealed spots on her lungs which she feared were cancerous. She said the anxious 12 hours of waiting for the prognosis, which turned out to be clear, convinced her to remarry her lover.
They divorced for a second time in 1976 and Taylor went on to wed John Warner later that year and Larry Fortensky in 1991. Both marriages ended in divorce.
Taylor is survived by four children: Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding and Liza Todd and adoptive daughter Maria Burton.
- 3/23/2011
- WENN
Los Angeles – Elizabeth Taylor, one of the great icons of Hollywood, and known as much for her marriages, personal life and activism as her screen performances, died this morning at the age of 79, as announced by her publicist in Los Angeles.
Born in London, England, in 1932 to American art dealers from St. Louis, Taylor was moved back to the U.S. in 1939. Her unique beauty, which included her famous violet eyes, won her a screen test at age 10 at Universal studios. She made her film debut there (”There’s One Born Every Minute”), but her contract was soon dropped and she was hired by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer shortly thereafter.
Early Days: Elizabeth Taylor in an MGM studio pose with Co-star Lassie
Photo credit: MGM
After joining MGM’s unforgettable stable of stars, she began her meteoric rise with “National Velvet” (1944), co-starring Mickey Rooney. Hit after hit followed in those studio system days,...
Born in London, England, in 1932 to American art dealers from St. Louis, Taylor was moved back to the U.S. in 1939. Her unique beauty, which included her famous violet eyes, won her a screen test at age 10 at Universal studios. She made her film debut there (”There’s One Born Every Minute”), but her contract was soon dropped and she was hired by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer shortly thereafter.
Early Days: Elizabeth Taylor in an MGM studio pose with Co-star Lassie
Photo credit: MGM
After joining MGM’s unforgettable stable of stars, she began her meteoric rise with “National Velvet” (1944), co-starring Mickey Rooney. Hit after hit followed in those studio system days,...
- 3/23/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Elizabeth Taylor, one of the last great screen legends and winner of two Academy Awards, died Wednesday morning in Los Angeles of complications from congestive heart failure; she was 79. The actress had been hospitalized for the past few weeks, celebrating her birthday on February 27th (the same day as this year's Academy Awards) while at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with friends and family. Her four children, two sons and two daughters, were by her side as she passed.
A striking brunette beauty with violet eyes who embodied both innocence and seductiveness, and was known for her flamboyant private life and numerous marriages as well as her acting career, Taylor was the epitome of Hollywood glamour, and was one of the last legendary stars who could still command headlines and standing ovations in her later years. Born to American parents in England in 1932, Taylor's family decamped to Los Angeles as World War II escalated in the late 1930s. Even as a child, her amazing good looks -- her eyes were amplified by a double set of eyelashes, a mutation she was born with -- garnered the attention of family friends in Hollywood, and she undertook a screen test at 10 years old with Universal Studios. She appeared in only one film for the studio (There's One Born Every Minute) before they dropped her; Taylor was quickly picked up by MGM, the studio that would make her a young star.
Her second film was Lassie Come Home (1943), co-starring Roddy McDowall, who would become a lifelong friend. She assayed a few other roles (including a noteworthy cameo in 1943's Jane Eyre) but campaigned for the part that would make her a bona fide child star: the young Velvet Brown, who trained a champion racehorse to win the Grand National, in National Velvet. The box office smash launched Taylor's career, and MGM immediately put her to work in a number of juvenile roles, most notably in Life With Father (1947) and as Amy in 1949's Little Women. As she blossomed into a young woman, she began to outgrow the roles she was assigned, often playing women far older than her actual age. She scored another hit alongside Spencer Tracy as the young daughter preparing for marriage in Father of the Bride (1950), but her career officially entered adulthood with George Stevens' A Place in the Sun (1951), as a seductive rich girl who bedazzles Montgomery Clift to the degree that he kills his pregnant girlfriend (Shelley Winters). The film was hailed as an instant classic, and Taylor's performance, still considered one of her best, launched the next part of her career.
Frustrated by MGM's insistence at putting her in period pieces (some were hits notwithstanding, including 1952's Ivanhoe), Taylor looked to expand her career, and took on the lead role in Elephant Walk (1954) when Vivian Leigh dropped out after suffering a nervous breakdown. As her career climbed in the 1950s, so did Taylor's celebrity: she married hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr. in 1950, and divorced him within a year. She then married British actor Michael Wilding in 1952, with whom she had two sons, though that marriage ended in divorce in 1957, after she embarked on an affair with the man who would be her next husband, producer Michael Todd (who won an Oscar for Around the World in 80 Days). As her personal life made headlines, she appeared alongside James Dean and Rock Hudson in Giant (1956), and received her first Academy Award nomination for Raintree County in 1957. Roles in two Tennessee Williams adaptations followed -- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly Last Summer (1959), both considered two of her best performances -- earning her two more Oscar nominations, just as tragedy and notoriety would strike her life.
Todd, whom she married in 1957 and had a daughter with, died in a plane crash in 1958 in New Mexico, leaving a bereft Taylor alone at the height of her stardom. Adored by millions, she went from lovely widow to heartless home-wrecker in the tabloids after starting an affair with Eddie Fisher, Todd's best friend and at the time husband of screen darling Debbie Reynolds. The relationship was splashed across newspapers as Fisher left Reynolds and their two children (including a young Carrie Fisher) for Taylor. The two appeared together in 1960's Butterfield 8, where Taylor played prostitute Gloria Wandrous in a performance that was considered good but nowhere near her previous films, and earned her another Oscar nomination. As the Academy Awards ceremony approached, Taylor was thrust into the headlines again when a life-threatening case of pneumonia required an emergency tracheotomy, leaving her with a legendary scar on her neck. Popular opinion swung yet again as newspapers and fans feared for her life, and the illness was credited with helping her win her first Oscar for Butterfield 8.
Taylor was now the biggest female star in the world, in terms of film and popularity, and her notoriety was only about to increase. Twentieth Century Fox, making a small biopic about the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, tried to offer Taylor the part; she laughed them off, saying she would do it for $1 million, a then-unheard of sum for an actress. The studio took her seriously, and soon she was signed to a million-dollar contract (the first for an actress) and a movie that would soon balloon out of control as filming started. Initially set to film in England with Peter Finch and Rex Harrison as Marc Antony and Julius Caesar, the movie encountered numerous problems and after a first shutdown was moved to Italy, with director Joseph L. Manckiewicz at the helm. Finch left and was replaced by acclaimed stage actor and rising movie star Richard Burton.
The rest was cinematic and tabloid history, as Taylor and Burton, whose electric chemistry was apparent to all on set, embarked on quite possibly the most famous Hollywood affair ever, while the filming of the epic movie took on gargantuan proportions and its budget increased exponentially. After the dust settled, Fox was saddled with a three-hour-plus film that, despite starring the two actors whose every move was hounded by photographers and reporters, was considered a bomb. The 1963 film almost sunk the studio (which only rebounded thanks to the megahit The Sound of Music two years later), while Burton and Taylor emerged from the wreckage relatively unscathed and ultimately married in 1964.
However, despite carte blanche to do whatever they wanted, the newly married couple made two marginally successful films, The V.I.P.s (1963) and The Sandpiper (1965), both glossy soap operas that made money but hardly challenged their talents. That opportunity would come with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), the adaptation of the Edward Albee play directed by first-time filmmaker Mike Nichols. As the beleaguered professor George and his shrewish wife Martha, whose mind games played havoc one fateful night with a younger faculty couple (George Segal and Sandy Dennis), the two gave perhaps their best screen performances ever, tearing into the roles -- and each other -- with a gusto never seen in their previous pairings. They both received Oscar nominations, but only Taylor won, her second and final Academy Award.
A successful adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew (1967) followed, but the couple's next films were a string of notorious bombs, including Doctor Faustus, The Comedians, and the so-bad-it's-good Boom. Though still one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Taylor's cinematic output in the 1970s became somewhat dismal, as her fraying marriage with Burton took center stage in the press, as did her weight gain after Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The couple divorced in June 1974, only to remarry briefly in October 1975; by then, Taylor was more celebrity than movie star, still appearing occasionally onscreen and in television, but to less acclaim.
Taylor married U.S. Senator John Warner at the end of 1976, and during the late 1970s and 1980s played the politician's wife, and her unsatisfying life led her to depression, drinking, overeating and ultimately a visit to the Betty Ford Center. After TV and stage appearances during the 1980s (including a reunion in 1983 with Burton for a production of Private Lives), Taylor found another, surprising role, that of social activist as longtime friend Rock Hudson died of complications from AIDS in 1985. She threw herself into fund-raising work, raising by some accounts $50 million to fight the disease, helping found the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR).
Though later generations only saw Taylor on television in films like Malice in Wonderland, and the mini-series North and South, and in her final screen appearance as the mother of Wilma in the live-action movie adaptation of The Flintstones, she remained a tabloid fixture through her marriage to construction worker Larry Fortensky (her eighth and final husband), her friendship with singer Michael Jackson, and her continual charity work, which was only sidelined by hospital visits after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2004. She is survived by four children -- two sons with Michael Wilding, a daughter with Michael Todd, and another daughter adopted with Richard Burton -- and nine grandchildren.
--Mark Englehart...
A striking brunette beauty with violet eyes who embodied both innocence and seductiveness, and was known for her flamboyant private life and numerous marriages as well as her acting career, Taylor was the epitome of Hollywood glamour, and was one of the last legendary stars who could still command headlines and standing ovations in her later years. Born to American parents in England in 1932, Taylor's family decamped to Los Angeles as World War II escalated in the late 1930s. Even as a child, her amazing good looks -- her eyes were amplified by a double set of eyelashes, a mutation she was born with -- garnered the attention of family friends in Hollywood, and she undertook a screen test at 10 years old with Universal Studios. She appeared in only one film for the studio (There's One Born Every Minute) before they dropped her; Taylor was quickly picked up by MGM, the studio that would make her a young star.
Her second film was Lassie Come Home (1943), co-starring Roddy McDowall, who would become a lifelong friend. She assayed a few other roles (including a noteworthy cameo in 1943's Jane Eyre) but campaigned for the part that would make her a bona fide child star: the young Velvet Brown, who trained a champion racehorse to win the Grand National, in National Velvet. The box office smash launched Taylor's career, and MGM immediately put her to work in a number of juvenile roles, most notably in Life With Father (1947) and as Amy in 1949's Little Women. As she blossomed into a young woman, she began to outgrow the roles she was assigned, often playing women far older than her actual age. She scored another hit alongside Spencer Tracy as the young daughter preparing for marriage in Father of the Bride (1950), but her career officially entered adulthood with George Stevens' A Place in the Sun (1951), as a seductive rich girl who bedazzles Montgomery Clift to the degree that he kills his pregnant girlfriend (Shelley Winters). The film was hailed as an instant classic, and Taylor's performance, still considered one of her best, launched the next part of her career.
Frustrated by MGM's insistence at putting her in period pieces (some were hits notwithstanding, including 1952's Ivanhoe), Taylor looked to expand her career, and took on the lead role in Elephant Walk (1954) when Vivian Leigh dropped out after suffering a nervous breakdown. As her career climbed in the 1950s, so did Taylor's celebrity: she married hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr. in 1950, and divorced him within a year. She then married British actor Michael Wilding in 1952, with whom she had two sons, though that marriage ended in divorce in 1957, after she embarked on an affair with the man who would be her next husband, producer Michael Todd (who won an Oscar for Around the World in 80 Days). As her personal life made headlines, she appeared alongside James Dean and Rock Hudson in Giant (1956), and received her first Academy Award nomination for Raintree County in 1957. Roles in two Tennessee Williams adaptations followed -- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly Last Summer (1959), both considered two of her best performances -- earning her two more Oscar nominations, just as tragedy and notoriety would strike her life.
Todd, whom she married in 1957 and had a daughter with, died in a plane crash in 1958 in New Mexico, leaving a bereft Taylor alone at the height of her stardom. Adored by millions, she went from lovely widow to heartless home-wrecker in the tabloids after starting an affair with Eddie Fisher, Todd's best friend and at the time husband of screen darling Debbie Reynolds. The relationship was splashed across newspapers as Fisher left Reynolds and their two children (including a young Carrie Fisher) for Taylor. The two appeared together in 1960's Butterfield 8, where Taylor played prostitute Gloria Wandrous in a performance that was considered good but nowhere near her previous films, and earned her another Oscar nomination. As the Academy Awards ceremony approached, Taylor was thrust into the headlines again when a life-threatening case of pneumonia required an emergency tracheotomy, leaving her with a legendary scar on her neck. Popular opinion swung yet again as newspapers and fans feared for her life, and the illness was credited with helping her win her first Oscar for Butterfield 8.
Taylor was now the biggest female star in the world, in terms of film and popularity, and her notoriety was only about to increase. Twentieth Century Fox, making a small biopic about the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, tried to offer Taylor the part; she laughed them off, saying she would do it for $1 million, a then-unheard of sum for an actress. The studio took her seriously, and soon she was signed to a million-dollar contract (the first for an actress) and a movie that would soon balloon out of control as filming started. Initially set to film in England with Peter Finch and Rex Harrison as Marc Antony and Julius Caesar, the movie encountered numerous problems and after a first shutdown was moved to Italy, with director Joseph L. Manckiewicz at the helm. Finch left and was replaced by acclaimed stage actor and rising movie star Richard Burton.
The rest was cinematic and tabloid history, as Taylor and Burton, whose electric chemistry was apparent to all on set, embarked on quite possibly the most famous Hollywood affair ever, while the filming of the epic movie took on gargantuan proportions and its budget increased exponentially. After the dust settled, Fox was saddled with a three-hour-plus film that, despite starring the two actors whose every move was hounded by photographers and reporters, was considered a bomb. The 1963 film almost sunk the studio (which only rebounded thanks to the megahit The Sound of Music two years later), while Burton and Taylor emerged from the wreckage relatively unscathed and ultimately married in 1964.
However, despite carte blanche to do whatever they wanted, the newly married couple made two marginally successful films, The V.I.P.s (1963) and The Sandpiper (1965), both glossy soap operas that made money but hardly challenged their talents. That opportunity would come with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), the adaptation of the Edward Albee play directed by first-time filmmaker Mike Nichols. As the beleaguered professor George and his shrewish wife Martha, whose mind games played havoc one fateful night with a younger faculty couple (George Segal and Sandy Dennis), the two gave perhaps their best screen performances ever, tearing into the roles -- and each other -- with a gusto never seen in their previous pairings. They both received Oscar nominations, but only Taylor won, her second and final Academy Award.
A successful adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew (1967) followed, but the couple's next films were a string of notorious bombs, including Doctor Faustus, The Comedians, and the so-bad-it's-good Boom. Though still one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Taylor's cinematic output in the 1970s became somewhat dismal, as her fraying marriage with Burton took center stage in the press, as did her weight gain after Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The couple divorced in June 1974, only to remarry briefly in October 1975; by then, Taylor was more celebrity than movie star, still appearing occasionally onscreen and in television, but to less acclaim.
Taylor married U.S. Senator John Warner at the end of 1976, and during the late 1970s and 1980s played the politician's wife, and her unsatisfying life led her to depression, drinking, overeating and ultimately a visit to the Betty Ford Center. After TV and stage appearances during the 1980s (including a reunion in 1983 with Burton for a production of Private Lives), Taylor found another, surprising role, that of social activist as longtime friend Rock Hudson died of complications from AIDS in 1985. She threw herself into fund-raising work, raising by some accounts $50 million to fight the disease, helping found the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR).
Though later generations only saw Taylor on television in films like Malice in Wonderland, and the mini-series North and South, and in her final screen appearance as the mother of Wilma in the live-action movie adaptation of The Flintstones, she remained a tabloid fixture through her marriage to construction worker Larry Fortensky (her eighth and final husband), her friendship with singer Michael Jackson, and her continual charity work, which was only sidelined by hospital visits after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2004. She is survived by four children -- two sons with Michael Wilding, a daughter with Michael Todd, and another daughter adopted with Richard Burton -- and nine grandchildren.
--Mark Englehart...
- 3/23/2011
- IMDb News
The woman, the star, the legend that is Elizabeth Taylor passed away this morning at the age of 79.
The violet-eyed actress was hospitalized six weeks ago at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for treatment of congestive heart failure, a condition that had stabilized. The hope was she would soon be well enough to return home, sadly that wasn't to be.
Taylor had a career that spanned a full six decades, from her first role in the 1942 comedy "There's One Born Every Minute" to her last in the 2001 TV movie "These Old Broads". Her first real breakthrough role was as Velvet Brown in MGM's "National Velvet" which made her a star at age 12.
For the next few years she became a very bankable adolescent star with a string of successful features. Her first success in an adult role was in the original "Father of the Bride" in 1950 with Spencer Tracy,...
The violet-eyed actress was hospitalized six weeks ago at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for treatment of congestive heart failure, a condition that had stabilized. The hope was she would soon be well enough to return home, sadly that wasn't to be.
Taylor had a career that spanned a full six decades, from her first role in the 1942 comedy "There's One Born Every Minute" to her last in the 2001 TV movie "These Old Broads". Her first real breakthrough role was as Velvet Brown in MGM's "National Velvet" which made her a star at age 12.
For the next few years she became a very bankable adolescent star with a string of successful features. Her first success in an adult role was in the original "Father of the Bride" in 1950 with Spencer Tracy,...
- 3/23/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Two-time Academy Award winner Elizabeth Taylor died in La today at the age of 79, after being hospitalized for hospitalized for congestive heart failure in February. “She was surrounded by her children – Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd and Maria Burton,” said a publicist. “My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love,” said Michael Wilding.
Though frail and frequently ill throughout her life (she famously almost died before winning her first Oscar for 1960′s Butterfield 8), Taylor wound up surviving five of her seven husbands (Conrad Hilton, Michael Wilding, Michael Todd, Eddie Fisher and Richard Burton). Along with her four children, she is survived by ten grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and ex-husbands Larry Fortensky and Sen. John Warner.
See photos from her amazing, almost unbelievable life in the gallery below.
[Photo: Getty Images]...
Though frail and frequently ill throughout her life (she famously almost died before winning her first Oscar for 1960′s Butterfield 8), Taylor wound up surviving five of her seven husbands (Conrad Hilton, Michael Wilding, Michael Todd, Eddie Fisher and Richard Burton). Along with her four children, she is survived by ten grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and ex-husbands Larry Fortensky and Sen. John Warner.
See photos from her amazing, almost unbelievable life in the gallery below.
[Photo: Getty Images]...
- 3/23/2011
- by Anthony Miccio
- TheFabLife - Movies
Everett “The Taming of the Shrew,” 1967
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, the star of such movies as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Cleopatra,” died on Wednesday at the age of 79. She had been hospitalized with congestive heart failure..
Hers was the face that launched a thousand magazine covers—and the romantic fantasies of moviegoers worldwide. Always a great deal more—and a great deal less—than the Hollywood image first crafted by studio publicists, Elizabeth Taylor tore through life, reaching...
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, the star of such movies as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Cleopatra,” died on Wednesday at the age of 79. She had been hospitalized with congestive heart failure..
Hers was the face that launched a thousand magazine covers—and the romantic fantasies of moviegoers worldwide. Always a great deal more—and a great deal less—than the Hollywood image first crafted by studio publicists, Elizabeth Taylor tore through life, reaching...
- 3/23/2011
- by Susan Toepfer
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Elizabeth Taylor, the Hollywood icon and Oscar-winner who was practically born in the spotlight, died Wednesday morning. She was 79. "She was surrounded by her children - Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd and Maria Burton," Taylor's publicist, Sally Morrison, said in a statement. In addition to her children, Taylor is survived by 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. On Feb. 11, it was announced that she had been in taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles earlier that week for symptoms caused by congestive heart failure, and around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, she "peacefully died there," according to her publicist. "Though...
- 3/23/2011
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Legendary Hollywood actress and violet-eyed beauty Elizabeth Taylor, who captured hearts in "National Velvet" to launch a film career that spanned five decades, died on Wednesday aged 79.Taylor had been in Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai hospital for six weeks with congestive heart failure, a condition with which she had struggled for some years and had recently suffered complications, a family statement said."She was surrounded by her children: Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton," it said, noting that Taylor, who married eight times, was survived by 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren."My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love," Michael Wilding said."Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world."Taylor won two Academy Awards for best actress,...
- 3/23/2011
- Filmicafe
From horse movies to tabloid marriages to AIDS activism, the late actress left her mark.
By Gil Kaufman
Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
Photo: Hulton/ Getty Images
Hollywood screen legend Elizabeth Taylor made her mark on the screen in the 1950s as one of the last of the great silver-screen superstars of the studio era. From "Cleopatra" to "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," the English-born actress captivated with her onscreen intensity and beauty, even as her chaotic off-screen love life became a staple of tabloid coverage.
With Taylor's passing on Wednesday (March 23) at the age of 79, the world has lost not only a great movie siren, but also a towering pop-culture figure whose influence ran well beyond her acting to philanthropy, fashion and American mores.
Since her early days as an actress, Taylor had a striking look that became a model for women in the 1960s.
By Gil Kaufman
Elizabeth Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"
Photo: Hulton/ Getty Images
Hollywood screen legend Elizabeth Taylor made her mark on the screen in the 1950s as one of the last of the great silver-screen superstars of the studio era. From "Cleopatra" to "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," the English-born actress captivated with her onscreen intensity and beauty, even as her chaotic off-screen love life became a staple of tabloid coverage.
With Taylor's passing on Wednesday (March 23) at the age of 79, the world has lost not only a great movie siren, but also a towering pop-culture figure whose influence ran well beyond her acting to philanthropy, fashion and American mores.
Since her early days as an actress, Taylor had a striking look that became a model for women in the 1960s.
- 3/23/2011
- MTV Music News
Dame Elizabeth Taylor has dismissed reports she is engaged to wed for a ninth time - insisting the rumors "simply aren't true". Reports over the weekend suggested the 78-year-old movie icon and her longtime companion Jason Winters, 49, recently became engaged, but, in a message on her Twitter page posted on Monday, April 12, the Hollywood legend denies claims she's set to wed again.
She writes: "The rumors regarding my engagement simply aren't true. Jason is my manager and dearest friend. I love him with all my heart."
Taylor has been married eight times to seven different men, including Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, John Warner, Larry Fortensky and Richard Burton, whom she married twice. Her most recent union with Fortensky ended in divorce in 1996.
She writes: "The rumors regarding my engagement simply aren't true. Jason is my manager and dearest friend. I love him with all my heart."
Taylor has been married eight times to seven different men, including Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, John Warner, Larry Fortensky and Richard Burton, whom she married twice. Her most recent union with Fortensky ended in divorce in 1996.
- 4/13/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Dame Elizabeth Taylor has dismissed reports she is engaged to wed for a ninth time - insisting the rumours "simply aren't true".
Reports over the weekend suggested the 78-year-old movie icon and her longtime companion Jason Winters, 49, recently became engaged, but, in a message on her Twitter.com page - posted on Monday, the Hollywood legend denies claims she's set to wed again.
She writes: "The rumors regarding my engagement simply aren't true. Jason is my manager and dearest friend. I love him with all my heart."
Taylor has been married eight times to seven different men, including: Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, John Warner, Larry Fortensky and Richard Burton - whom she married twice. Her most recent union with Fortensky ended in divorce in 1996.
Reports over the weekend suggested the 78-year-old movie icon and her longtime companion Jason Winters, 49, recently became engaged, but, in a message on her Twitter.com page - posted on Monday, the Hollywood legend denies claims she's set to wed again.
She writes: "The rumors regarding my engagement simply aren't true. Jason is my manager and dearest friend. I love him with all my heart."
Taylor has been married eight times to seven different men, including: Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, John Warner, Larry Fortensky and Richard Burton - whom she married twice. Her most recent union with Fortensky ended in divorce in 1996.
- 4/12/2010
- WENN
Elizabeth Taylor is on course for her ninth marriage
Age: 78.
Appearance: formerly, a raven-haired, violet-eyed siren; latterly, an old woman trapped under a heap of jewellery.
Oh, yeah. She was friends with Michael Jackson or something, wasn't she? Yes, she was. But Dame Elizabeth Taylor was also a child star, a legendary Hollywood actress who gave Oscar-winning performances in Butterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and a deeply enthusiastic proponent of old-fashioned marriage.
Who did she marry? Anyone famous? Conrad Hilton, Michael Wilding, Michael Todd, Eddie Fisher . . .
Wow . . . Richard Burton (twice), Senator John Warner, Larry Fortensky . . .
Whoa. What's she been up to lately? It is rumoured that she has recently got engaged for the ninth time.
To whom? To Jason Winters, a 49-year-old Hollywood talent manager.
What's he like, apart from much, much younger? "One of the most wonderful men I have ever known," says Taylor. "That's why I love him.
Age: 78.
Appearance: formerly, a raven-haired, violet-eyed siren; latterly, an old woman trapped under a heap of jewellery.
Oh, yeah. She was friends with Michael Jackson or something, wasn't she? Yes, she was. But Dame Elizabeth Taylor was also a child star, a legendary Hollywood actress who gave Oscar-winning performances in Butterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and a deeply enthusiastic proponent of old-fashioned marriage.
Who did she marry? Anyone famous? Conrad Hilton, Michael Wilding, Michael Todd, Eddie Fisher . . .
Wow . . . Richard Burton (twice), Senator John Warner, Larry Fortensky . . .
Whoa. What's she been up to lately? It is rumoured that she has recently got engaged for the ninth time.
To whom? To Jason Winters, a 49-year-old Hollywood talent manager.
What's he like, apart from much, much younger? "One of the most wonderful men I have ever known," says Taylor. "That's why I love him.
- 4/12/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
Eight marriages are enough right now for Elizabeth Taylor. "The rumors regarding my engagement simply aren't true," the legendary Hollywood actress Tweeted in response to online reports she planned to tie the knot for ninth time with Jason Winters. "Jason is my manager and dearest friend. I love him with all my heart." Taylor, 78, has been married eight times to seven different men: Conrad Hilton Jr., Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton (twice), John Warner and Larry Fortensky. She has been single since her divorce from Fortensky in 1996. Related: Elizabeth Taylor Assures Fans She's FineWinters, 49, is a principal in Sterling Winters Management.
- 4/12/2010
- by Tim Nudd
- PEOPLE.com
Dame Elizabeth Taylor may soon be walking (Ok, wheeling) down the aisle for the ninth time.
Taylor reportedly is engaged to Jason Winters, Janet Jackson's manager. She's 78 and he's 49 so it must be real love. If this union happens -- or even if it doesn't and they just keep dating -- Liz is now officially the senior (as in having attained seniority) Hollywood cougar.
Us is reporting the engagement but Taylor and Winters have yet to confirm.
"It's no secret that they've been together forever and are in love, so it wouldn't be a surprise if they were engaged, says the Us source. "Right now they are keeping it between them."
In 2007, British tabloids reported Taylor and Winters' romantic Hawaiian vacation. Liz also gushed about Winters to gossip columnist Liz Smith, describing him as "one of the most wonderful men I've ever known, that's why I love him."
Taylor...
Taylor reportedly is engaged to Jason Winters, Janet Jackson's manager. She's 78 and he's 49 so it must be real love. If this union happens -- or even if it doesn't and they just keep dating -- Liz is now officially the senior (as in having attained seniority) Hollywood cougar.
Us is reporting the engagement but Taylor and Winters have yet to confirm.
"It's no secret that they've been together forever and are in love, so it wouldn't be a surprise if they were engaged, says the Us source. "Right now they are keeping it between them."
In 2007, British tabloids reported Taylor and Winters' romantic Hawaiian vacation. Liz also gushed about Winters to gossip columnist Liz Smith, describing him as "one of the most wonderful men I've ever known, that's why I love him."
Taylor...
- 4/9/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
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