Beautiful, ballsy, talented. Elizabeth Taylor truly was one of last last great, glamorous movie stars who could also do that other thing: ACT. Usually I don’t get all emotional when a famous person passes away because, well, I didn’t know them obviously. But like Kurt Cobain or Heath Ledger, Liz Taylor was an artist who touched my life and inspired me, so it’s kinda personal. And kinda sad that a great has left us.
Supposedly Richard Burton (Taylor’s twice and future husband) just busted up laughing the first time he laid eyes on her, because her beauty was so overwhelming what else could a guy do? It’s rare when a true beauty like Taylor also possesses genuine talent (sure Angelina is lovely and talented but she’s no Liz Taylor) and beyond that — guts. Watching her in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is almost scary, and not just because her character is a shrieking shrew. It’s scary because she was still a gorgeous young woman at that point and she completely transformed herself into… a middle-aged shrieking shrew. I think Liz Taylor was the Christian Bale of her time.
Sure, I sound like a kiss ass fan, and Dame Liz I’m sure wasn’t perfect. But when a legend passes, it’s worth lifting them up, where they belong: On a pedestal, for the rest of us to remember and aspire to. Check out the book Furious Love if you want a Taylor-Burton fix. I hope she’s sipping cocktails with Burton now, surrounded by diamonds and dogs.
“I introduced Elizabeth to beer; she introduced me to Bulgari.” – Richard Burton
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Whenever I think of her, I think of two things:
1) growing up in the South, my great Uncle told me a story whereby she flew into Crew, VA for the unveiling of a new car. The airport was 30min away and they sent a driver. One the way to the dealership she had to excuse herself so the driver stopped at a random house and asked if they could use her bathroom. The lday said yes and after Liz finished the lady asked the driver who the person was with the sunglasses. He said Liz Taylor! and the lady said, oh my lord I’m never gonna use that toilet again!
2) Senator Warner used to hang out occasionally at my parents house for fundraisers. One time I asked him as a younger man if he was married to her when she was heavy (I had had a few) and he said, “My boy, that woman could eat!”
We’ll miss her
Best,
-s
How much of an intriguing article, always keep producing special someone