Elizabeth Taylor, RIP

The great actress is dead in Los Angeles at 79. The range and number of her starring roles are extraordinary, as was her talent. She was also a great businesswoman. She held dual British and American citizenship, and once tried to renounce her US passport for tax reasons, which the feds would not allow her to do. Thanks to Ron Paul, I saw her once. He gave me Carol’s ticket to the 1979 state of the union speech by Jimmy Carter (she was in Texas), and I ended up just a few rows behind the Star; she was 47 and married to the creepy politician and militarist John Warner. Needless to say, none of the audience in our part of the House galleries was interested in Jimmy. She turned around several times, and those brilliant violet eyes were no myth. Thanks to a genetic mutation, she also had double eyelashes, which accentuated those amazing eyes. Time to watch again National Velvet, Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Taming of the Shrew, and so many others. And may she now find the peace that eluded her on this earth.

UPDATE 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 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/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. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts. 

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8:52 am on March 23, 2011