Today we lost a Hollywood icon, Elizabeth Taylor. When I was growing up, it was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton who graced the covers of the Hollywood fan magazines. While I am too young to actually remember the Debbie (Reynolds)/Eddie (Fisher)/ Elizabeth triangle, I have vivid memories of Elizabeth and Richard Burton's relationship and subsequent marriages and divorces. As a child, I wasn't aware of her early career as a child star or even what a great actress she was, but to me she seemed larger than life. Her life seemed to be filled with the greatest of great joys and the deepest of sorrows. There was no even ground in her world. She wasn't exactly a role model for me since I certainly didn't want to be a many times married woman, but I did envy her talent, elegance and her loyalty to her friends. She worked tirelessly for her charities, especially those associated with the care of victims of AIDS, the disease that had taken so many of those she loved. Whether you liked her or loathed her, she was a lady you simply had to watch and I can hardly imagine a world without her.
So, today in honor of Elizabeth Taylor, for Treasure Chest Thursday, I am sharing two items that are very special to me.. The first is the photograph above, which is a reprint of a vintage fan magazine portrait of Elizabeth. Several years ago, I mailed this photograph to Elizabeth and asked if she would be willing to sign it to me. As you can see, she most graciously (and to my great surprise) did so. The next item is the doll which recreates Elizabeth in her wedding gown from the film Father of the Bride". It is an accurate depiction of Elizabeth, even down to her "lavender-colored" eyes. Thanks to her hundreds of on-screen performances, Elizabeth Taylor Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner Fortensky will never be forgotten, but I am awfully glad that I was here when it was really happening.
Miss Taylor, you will be missed.
