The Last Magnificent Movie Queen
Thursday, 24 March 2011
The worst part of being sick with a cold is that my brain stops working. And although my body keeps saying, sleep, sleep – sometimes you just gotta get out of bed for awhile.
Certainly you know by now that Elizabeth Taylor died yesterday. Huh. How odd that feels. I don't remember a time when she wasn't part of the American zeitgeist. Well, maybe not much in the last decade but for me, born in 1941, all my life she was a larger-than-life, celebrity presence regularly popping up with a new film, a new life-threatening illness, a new husband, a new jewel fit for a caliph or a new scandal.
For pure entertainment value, I miss that. We live in time now when there are no standards and therefore no scandals so it is not in the least shocking when an actor drugs himself into a stupor or a politician is caught with his pants down.
That's no fun. Today's celebrities can't wait to confess every dirty detail of their sins to Oprah and there is nothing left for those of us in the bleachers to imagine; they all sound like any ordinary family with a son or daughter in trouble. To be a real star requires some distance. Elizabeth Taylor understood that.
I liked gossip better in Taylor's (and our) heyday when there was still a modicum of mystery. Is she, do you think, the last of the great, gorgeous movie queens, the ones who wore magnificent, stunning gowns in public instead of raw meat?
And let us not forget that when the AIDS epidemic was new, she was first among her peers to speak up and then to follow through, raising millions of dollars over the years in support of patients and for research.
Rest in peace, Elizabeth. You gave us a rollicking good time, plenty of glamour and some good films too.
[Okay, that's all I can manage today and now it's back to bed to nurse this cold. Thank you for your sympathy and virtual chicken soup. It is most appreciated.]
At The Elder Storytelling Place today, Jeanne Waite Follett: Bob, The Night Visitor
Yes, rest in peace, and thanks for your work for AIDS victims when it was needed and your unerring friendship to Michael no matter what happened. That's character.
Posted by: Grandmother (Mary) | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 06:32 AM
She was iconic to me from the time I became aware of her, at about age 12. I lived vicariously through Liz...LOL
She will be missed.
Hope you are back to normal soon.
Posted by: kenju | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 06:42 AM
Ronni,
Glad you are feeling better.
I loved Elizabeth Taylor. She was so beautiful but better than that, she was so over the top about everything she did.
I enjoyed that commercial she used to do with the HUGE diamond earrings. Liz, looking absolutely gorgeous throws what looks like the Hope diamond on the table and says," These always brought me luck." What a gal!
The best thing she ever did was go into the hospital for serious brain surgery the day BEFORE she turned 65 and would have been on Medicare.
Is that class or what?
Rest in Peace, Liz. We won't forget you any time soon.
Posted by: Nancy | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 08:01 AM
Yes, I do think Elizabeth Taylor was "the last of the great, gorgeous movie queens." Somewhere yesterday I read that she was our royalty.
Take it easy, Ronni (as if you have a choice at the moment). Here's wishing you a speedy recovery. Is Ollie sneezing too? If so, don't let him use up all of the Kleenex.
Posted by: SuzyR | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 08:39 AM
Our newspaper commented this morning that in the 70's and 80's she received her medical treatment at Scripps here in town. She always showed up with her makeup in place, her hair done, and of course, with her jewels.
Posted by: Mage Bailey | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 09:05 AM
Elizabeth Taylor's Hollywood is gone forever and that's a shame. She was not only incredibly beautiful and talented but handled herself, and all her scandalous digressions, publicly with grace. A far cry from the media seeking low life's we see today, Charlie Sheen and Lindsey Lohan to name a few.
She was a compassionate and dedicated humanitarian and a loyal friend, (Rock Hudson, Michael Jackson).
Her kind will be missed.
Posted by: Donna | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 09:15 AM
I remember Elizabeth's first movie, National Velvet. I am sure every little boy fell in love with her then and grown men continued to do so as she grew up. She was incredibly beautiful.
Rock Hudson's death inspired her to fight for a cure to AIDS and I am sure she alone was the biggest contributor to doing the research for a cure.
Rest In Peace, Elizabeth.
Posted by: Darlene | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 11:08 AM
I saw the great lady up close in person a half century ago when she was not encumbered by makeup or jewels. Visit my blog if you are interested in the details.
Posted by: Gabbygeezer | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 11:40 AM
She stayed true to herself. Lived her life on purpose. Admired that about Liz.
Ronni, glad you are feeling better, too.
Posted by: Julie | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 11:41 AM
Without a doubt the most beautiful woman ever. She had a beauty that would stop you in your tracks as your jaw dropped to the floor.
Best things about her from what I hear is that she was still personable and engaging. Something many "beauty queens" are short of.
Posted by: Larry | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 11:54 AM
She was a diva and a queen and we won't see the likes of her any time soon. I posted a few black and white photos of her on my bog, along with a few comments and links to two of the best obits. She was truly a class act. I got to meet her briefly when she was in SF, raising money for AIDS research. I worked for the AIDS program and we were all allowed back stage and a few minutes with Ms. Taylor. I told her that I'd fallen in love with her in Ivanhoe and had remained true ever after. She laughed at that and was very gracious, even though I stammered like a fool. Those eyes really were violet. I don't think I'd ever seen anybody so beautiful.
Posted by: Nancy Ewart | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 12:16 PM
What a nice piece and what a fine tribute.
Her "over the top" had a different quality about it than the present day stars. And she wasn't just a star. She did indeed have talent. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have liked her in person but she was a special kind of exotic personage - our very own special star.
Posted by: notdotdot | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 01:05 PM
I posted something about Taylor on a discussion board and got the response, "Thanks. I don't know much about Elizabeth Taylor other than she was famous and her death made the news."
Oh, I feel so old!
Posted by: Bev | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 04:02 PM
I, too, remember Elizabeth Taylor as being a movie star through most of my life. I enjoyed many of her movies and only half paid attention to all the rest of the hoopla surrounding her private life. If anything, I felt sorry for her, as she seemed to be seeking some sort of lasting love relationship, but they all seem to have had an expiration date. I do think she is the last of the true Hollywood movie stars. Many performers today think of themselves as stars but are lacking for the reasons you give.
Posted by: joared | Thursday, 24 March 2011 at 10:25 PM
Great tribute Ronni. Elizabeth Taylor was as unique as she was beautiful. I doubt we'll see another like her.
Hope your recovering, my thinker goes on the blink with that kind of a cold. Uses up all our energy. Be good to yourself.
Posted by: Celia | Friday, 25 March 2011 at 08:41 AM
It is true that Elizabeth Taylor was an American icon, and a personality which will always be a part of our culture. Glad to hear you are feeling better!
Posted by: firstSTREET | Friday, 25 March 2011 at 11:48 AM
Olivia de Havilland (1916- ), Joan Fontaine (1917- ), and Maureen O'Hara (1920- ) still live. In my book (which, I'll admit, is pretty dusty), each was "a magnificent movie queen" in her way...
Posted by: Tom Walsh | Friday, 25 March 2011 at 01:31 PM
Don Henley's The Garden of Allah sums up the difference in Liz's scandals and today's 24/7 scandals:
"Y'know I remember a time when things were a lot more fun around here,
When good was good and evil was evil,
Before things got so . . . fuzzy."
And Ronni, your "all I can manage today was just right. Thanks for sharing your perspective in the midst of a cold's aches, pains and brain disconnect. Hope that cold is gone before you have to give it a name and serve it meals.
Posted by: Linda Skupien | Friday, 25 March 2011 at 06:21 PM