Legend ... Taylor pictured at the 2005 BAFTA awards/file
Posted on 04/28/2006 5:54:50 AM PDT by yankeedame
Liz Taylor 'at death's door'
From: MX From correspondents in Los Angeles
April 28, 2006
Legend ... Taylor pictured at the 2005 BAFTA awards/file
HOLLYWOOD legend Elizabeth Taylor is reportedly on
the brink of death after her heart began to fail.
The Oscar winner, 74, is believed to be bedridden in her Bel Air, California, home. Taylor reportedly cancelled her annual Easter party to plan her funeral.
She is expected to be buried next to former husband Richard Burton in Switzerland.
"Liz is inching closer to death every day and she knows it," a friend said.
The actress was diagnosed with a disease known as congestive heart failure, a terminal condition where the heart weakens, pumping ever-decreasing amounts of blood through the body. Taylor has been confined to a wheelchair since 2004, having broken her back five times.
Advertisement: Taylor has been near death with pneumonia twice, endured a brain tumour removal, has had skin cancer and has been a recluse since her health started failing. "She's not leaving a lot of money to her children. She wants the bulk of her fortune to go to AIDS research."
The actress said she was at her happiest while with husbands Mike Todd and Richard Burton, and in recent months mourned the loss of her pet Maltese terrier, Sugar, of whom she said: "I've never loved a dog like this in my life. It's amazing. Sometimes I think there's a person in there."
Ms Taylor won her first Oscar in 1961 for the film Butterfield 8, following this up with another in 1967 for Mike Nichols' drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, often considered her best screen performance.
Correct. If I recall the producers gave her a week off to mourn, then it was back to work. Todd was her match. Like her he lived very large. He was the one who started giving her extraordianary jewelry. I think she was at her most beautiful during her marriage to him.
There are still a few around. One that comes to mind is Rachel Welch. She has always strongly supported the troops.
Many a man's fantasy, she was. The epitome of beauty. - OB1
Excuse me while I go take a cold shower now. - OB1
One less hussy to idolize.
MY brother in law knew her from the Beverly Hills hotel and said she was one of the nicest and kindest person he had ever met.
Elizabeth Taylor is one of those special people who the camera loved. She looked great on the silver screen. You can't take your eyes off her when she is in a scene. She looked absolutely incredible in that gold leaf dress in the entrance into Rome scene from Cleopatra. I wish her and her family well.
I said it yesterday and I'll say it today.
What some people forget is that this was PRE-plastic surgery, pre-colored contacts etc. It's real, it's natural and that is what makes it even more jaw dropping.
WOW, that pic makes me want to blow big chunks on my keyboard.
ARGH.
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
One of the most beautiful women, ever.
Another marker of the passing of an age.
Quite so...
Honestly? I think it was his heavy drinking that made it hard for her to live with him.
Not that he was abusive, but that she couldn't stand by and watch him destroy himself.
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
A clerical error on the part of the Academy cost Roddy McDowall an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Adjusting for inflation, this is the most expensive movie ever made to date (mid-1999). Its budget of $44 million is equivalent to 270 million 1999 dollars. Elizabeth Taylor had 65 costume changes for this film, a record for a motion picture. The figure is exceeded by Joan Collins, who had 85 costume changes in the TV movie "Sins" (1986) (mini).
Coincidentally, Collins was set to star as Cleopatra before Taylor was signed. In 1958 Joan Collins was cast in the title role, but after several delays she became unavailable. Collins had previously starred in a similar role in Land of the Pharaohs (1955). After Collins' departure, Audrey Hepburn was considered as a replacement by producer Walter Wanger. Wanger then offered the role to Elizabeth Taylor. He called her on the set of her latest film, Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) and related the offer through Taylor's then husband Eddie Fisher who had answered the phone. As a joke, Taylor replied "Sure, tell him I'll do it for a million dollars." This then unheard-of sum was accepted and in October 1959 Taylor became the first Hollywood star to receive $1 million for a single picture. Soon after shooting began in England, Elizabeth Taylor became ill and could not work. As her presence was required for almost every scene production soon closed down. Director Rouben Mamoulian finally resigned on January 3, 1961. He was followed by stars Peter Finch and Stephen Boyd, who had to honor prior commitments. Taylor's illness prevented her from working again in England's weather for at least 6 months. Therefore the production moved to Rome. The sets and the footage already shot were scrapped. (See also Carry On Cleo (1964)).
Various employees of Rome's Cinecitta studios where this was filmed stole several millions of dollars worth of equipment and props while production took place. A group of female extras who played Cleopatra's various servants and slave girls went on strike to demand protection from amorous Italian extras and their bottom-pinching fingers. The studio eventually hired a special guard to protect the extras.
Rex Harrison had a clause in his contract stipulating that whenever a picture of Richard Burton appeared in an ad, so would his. A large sign was put up on Broadway showing only Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. After Harrison's lawyers complained, the studio fulfilled the contract by placing a picture of Harrison on one corner of the billboard.
The original list of choices for the role of Marc Antony were Stephen Boyd, Richard Johnson, Michael David, Peter O'Toole, Peter Finch and Laurence Harvey. Boyd was cast as Antony while Finch was cast as Caesar. However, both men had to leave the project due to the lengthy delays and their obligations to other projects. Boyd was replaced by Richard Burton and Finch was replaced by Rex Harrison. Filming began in 1960.
More trivia by following the link.
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