Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor, 1932-2011

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra, and Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? are all on my "must watch" list this month.  While we will surely remember Elizabeth Taylor as a beautiful Hollywood legend (or at least we will remember her string of marriages), I will always remember her as Velvet Brown from National Velvet.  My mother showed us this movie when my sister and I were tiny little girls.  We both loved it. 

of course, we adored Mickey Rooney too.  How could you not?

Elizabeth Taylor and "Pie"

Starring in the film at age 12, young Elizabeth Taylor played a role that little girls dream about: she saves a horse and trains it to run in the Grand National.  When the jockey backs out at the last minute, Taylor disguises herself as a male jockey and rides the horse to victory.  Yay!  I loved this movie and if you have little girls, I encourage you to watch it with them.  Thanks, Mom, for showing it to us.

To read what Hollywood is saying about Elizabeth Taylor's life, read this tribute from The Hollywood Reporter. 

A few of my favorites included... 

"Our loss in the motion picture business with Elizabeth Taylor's passing is momentous. She was a lady who gave of herself to everyone. I know I consider it a great personal loss."
-Mickey Rooney

"It was a long productive career and she was the most glamorous and sexual star of our generation.  No one else could equal Elizabeth’s beauty and sexuality.  Women liked her and men adored her and her love for her children is enduring.  She was a symbol of stardom.  Her legacy will last."
- Debbie Reynolds

"Elizabeth Taylor was a dear friend. I knew her from our days together at MGM when she was just a teenager, and I watched her grow into one of Hollywood's finest actresses. She was passionate - and compassionate - about everything in her life, including her family, her friends, and especially the victims of AIDS. She was truly a legend and we will miss her."

-Nancy Reagan

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