Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Elizabeth Taylor [1932-2011]

I heard on the radio this morning that we lost the last great Hollywood movie star, Elizabeth Taylor. I immediately thought of Virgilio Martino Martinez Paguaga, a good friend and the biggest Liz Taylor fanatic I know. I jumped out of bed and sent him a text. I also thought of Troy Tingey (Troy, where are you?), who helped me get a job at Video One, a gay-owned, gay-friendly video store in Salt Lake City, Utah. I listed Troy as a personal reference on my application, with the job title "Elizabeth Taylor aficionado." Then I remembered watching Taylor in the wonderfully bizarre gay-themed 1967 film REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE for the first time back in 1991—I was in Provo, Utah with my college roommates and a 5-year-old kid from the apartment next door. He liked hanging out at our place, and when we put the movie on, his mother called from down the hall to ask what he was doing. He yelled, "Watching a movie!" and she hollered, "What movie!?" and, after getting the title from us, he yelled back, "'Flections In a Golden Eye!" and she went back inside.

 [ Elizabeth Taylor with Marlon Brando in "Reflections In a Golden Eye" ] 

You can read about Elizabeth Taylor's incredible life and career here, read her New York Times obituary here and the complete list of films and shows Elizabeth Taylor appear in can be found on IMDB here.

 
Elizabeth Taylor
[February 27, 1932 — March 23, 2011]
We will miss you, Liz.

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