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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Velvet
ELIZABETH TAYLOR DEAD. For the last half of her life, she became a totem for gay men. But that's not how it began. She was an extraordinary actress and a great great beauty. Mrs. CP urges you to take another look at Raintree County and A Place in the Sun (Dreiser's American Tragedy). No two ways about it. She was just gorgeous.
Whereas I remain enthralled by her promise in National Velvet.
No, nothing creepy about it. I'm old enough to see her in that movie as a daughter -- and heartbroken to think that all her talent and beauty would lead her to so much internationally celebrated unhappiness. Her real husband was Mike Todd. He died in a plane crash. I don't think she ever got over that. Why I prefer to forget about all the soap operas with Richard Burton, Cleopatra, weight gain and loss. repeated surgeries, the Michael Jackson infatuation, and so forth. It doesn't matter. She had violet eyes.
I also thought she was magnificent as Rebecca in Ivanhoe.
Oh well. She left her mark. She is immortal. She was a star. I hope she has found peace.
