Elizabeth Taylor: End of an Era

With the passing of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor Wednesday at age 79, we not only lost an outstanding actress, as her work in National Velvet, Giant, A Place In The Sun, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? attests. But more importantly, we lost someone who was among the first wave of child stars, along with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. All three were extremely grateful for their opportunities, appreciated their fans' support, and kept focused on the work. Yes, if they were photographed in social situations, it was usually studio-orchestrated, but at least we didn't see them emerging from clubs drunk, braless, and with no underwear. They completed their assigned films, whatever their misgivings. It's worth noting that Woolf brought Taylor her second Oscar. The first was for Butterfield 8 in 1960, a talky soap opera in which she played Gloria Wandrous, a call girl involved with Laurence Harvey's stuffy married businessman Ligget. Taylor hated Butterfield 8 and branded it junk. But she does her very best, dealing with the material with as much professionalism as possible. A lesson that Ms. Lohan and Taylor (Gimme an F!) Momsen could surely learn from. MTMG