Passages

[dx23]

Elizabeth Taylor

[Feego]

Very sad. At 79, she wasn't very old, yet through the years it seemed as though she had been around and would live forever. I suppose it's because she began as a child star and has been famous most of her life. I know we still have the likes of Leslie Caron and Lauren Bacall with us, but surely Elizabeth Taylor was the last of the truly "GREAT" female Hollywood megastars, up there with Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, and Audrey Hepburn. With her dies a great era of Hollywood cinema (not to mention all of the personal secrets and stories she loyally kept with her from close friends ranging from Montgomery Clift and James Dean to Michael Jackson).

[ellipsis7]

Excellent Guardian obit and picture gallery....

[domino harvey]

That's shocking, she seemed very much alive and full of vigor lately. And her Twitter account was great

[Tom Hagen]

I hope people remember that she was actually trying to do things about the AIDS crisis during a time when the American president wouldn't even publicly say the name of the disease.

[knives]

She was definitely a great person even in her more unique moments. Also I might be the only one left with this opinion, but she was a legitimately great actress. Secret Ceremony alone is evidence of that.

[Murdoch]

Sad news indeed, I loved her in Suddenly, Last Summer, she was one of the few remaining from Hollywood's good ol' days. And on a side note I just got an email from Deep Discount about their Elizabeth Taylor sale! #-o

[Antares]

With her dies a great era of Hollywood cinema

Don't forget Olivia DeHavilland is still alive.

[domino harvey]

And her sister!

[ambrose]

Richard Leacock

Wikipedia entry
Guardian Obituary

[Antares]

And her sister!

And Luise Rainier is still alive.

[HypnoHelioStaticStasis]

Not to go off topic, but her National Velvet co-star is also a living legend (no matter what you actually think of him).

[knives]

Speaking of isn't Angela Lansbury still alive too.

[hearthesilence]

Richard Leacock died this week at age 89. He was a key pioneer of modern documentary filmmaking, collaborator with Robert Flaherty, D.A. Pennebaker, Robert Drew; teacher of Ross McElwee, Robb Moss - to name only a few - and mentor to untold numbers. He was working on his memoir when he passed away, a project that would've spanned across several media platforms - they're still looking for funds to complete it. More about his work.

[MichaelB]

Speaking of isn't Angela Lansbury still alive too.

Indeed, though her distinguished cousin's passing was noted on page 45 of this thread.

[hearthesilence]

With her dies a great era of Hollywood cinema

Don't forget Olivia DeHavilland is still alive.

I'd throw Kirk Douglas in there too.

[mfunk9786]

Although at this year's Oscars, I sort of wished he weren't

[perkizitore]

With her dies a great era of Hollywood cinema

Don't forget Olivia DeHavilland is still alive.

I'd throw Kirk Douglas in there too.

I wasn't aware that Kirk Douglas was female.

[Feego]

When I said that a great era of cinema died with Liz Taylor, I didn't actually mean she was the last significant actor of the era. Indeed, Olivia de Havilland, Joan Fontaine, Lauren Bacall, Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney, Luise Rainer, Shirley Temple, Doris Day, and many others are still with us. Perhaps I should have said an era of stardom rather than cinema. While all of those people were great stars and certainly legendary, few have garnered the kind of worldwide public interest that Taylor did practically her entire life. Whether she was involved in scandal or doing humanitarian work, giving great performances or making a spectacular bomb of a film, Taylor just always seemed to be the subject of the world's attention. She was condemned by the pope when she began her affair with Richard Burton, and churches across the country prayed for her when she had her throat surgery back in the early 60s. It may seem superficial, but there was something special about this woman that kept her a figure of public interest even long after her movie career ended. I don't think there are any classic Hollywood stars of that stature left (I wouldn't count Sophia Loren here as she was an international star before making Hollywood films). Great actors and stars, yes, but Elizabeth Taylor was in a league of her own when it came to movie stardom. She was the very embodiment of the Hollywood star.

[antnield]

Diana Wynne Jones (author of Howl's Moving Castle) - no link as yet, but the news is all over Twitter.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Diana Wynne Jones (author of Howl's Moving Castle) - no link as yet, but the news is all over Twitter.

Oh, no. How sad. Neil Gaiman mentioned on Twitter that he said goodbye to a friend recently so this must be the person.

[domino harvey]

Geraldine Ferraro

[ambrose]

Okiyama Hideko

Profound Desires of the Gods trailer

[Perkins Cobb]

Farley Granger.

[ambrose]

Farley Granger.

Variety Obituary