Family, friends hold private funeral for Elizabeth Taylor
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Flowers and picture of Elizabeth Taylor are placed on Elizabeth Taylor's star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, March 23, 2011. Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor passed away in Los Angeles early Wednesday. (Xinhua/Qi Heng) |
Family members and close friends held a private funeral service for Hollywood doyenne Elizabeth Taylor at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale near Los Angeles Thursday afternoon, one day after the movie legend passed away at age 79.
The funeral service was held at Forest Lawn where Taylor's close friend Michael Jackson was interred after he died June 25, 2009, when the pop icon was busy rehearsing for his London comeback concert.
The glamorous queen of American cinema stardom died of congestive heart failure at 1:28 a.m. Wednesday "peacefully," after she had been hospitalized for the past six weeks at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
She is survived by 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Four of Taylor's children, Michael and Christopher Wilding, daughters Liza Todd and Maria Burton, were with her at the hospital when she died.
"We will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world," Michael Wilding said in a statement.
"Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for mom having lived in it.
"Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts."
Chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America Chris Dodd lauded Taylor's contribution to both the arts and to society as a whole.
"Her talent endured the test of time and transcended generations of moviegoers," Dodd said. "She truly was an American icon, whose legacy went far beyond her acting skills, most notably in her efforts to lead the battle against HIV/AIDS."
Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, also praised Taylor for her humanitarian work in the fight against the AIDS.
"Elizabeth Taylor holds a special place in the hearts of people with AIDS and their supporters for the tireless efforts to combat this dreaded disease," Weinstein said. "Long before it was fashionable, she was there by our side. We will miss her."
The two-time Oscar best actress winner was interred at Great Mausoleum near Holly Terrace, the final resting place for Jackson. Taylor was "sheltered beneath a soaring marble Michelangelo angel," her publicist said.
Throughout her adult life, the child star-turned-film queen was in and out of hospitals for numerous times for treatment of a range of illnesses, experienced several near-death moments.
By the time she was 66, Taylor had undergone more than 20 major surgeries, including an operation in 1997 to remove a benign growth in the lining of her brain.
She kissed the death from a viral pneumonia in 1990. A relapse two years later led to another hospital stay.
Taylor fell at her home on her 66th birthday, which resulted in another trip to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where doctors discovered a slight compression fracture in her lower back.
In 2004 Taylor was announced to have been suffering from congestive heart failure, and in 2009 she underwent cardiac surgery to replace a leaky valve.
A crush of media descended on the cemetery, but no cameras or reporters were allowed inside the private event.
The hour-long service began slightly after the scheduled 2 p.m. start time at Taylor's own request, her publicist said.
About 40 guests, consisting mainly of family members, participated in the event.
The Hollywood doyenne's closed casket was draped with gardenias, violets and lily of the valley.
The funeral was started with a recital by close friend, actor Colin Farrell, who read "The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo," a poem penned by Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of the leading Victorian poets in the England, where Taylor was born.
Taylor's son Michael Wilding, grandson Tarquin Wilding, and her daughter Lisa Burton Tivey read other selections.
Her grandson, Rhys Tivey, performed a solo trumpet rendition of "Amazing Grace."
Born in London, England, on Feb. 27, 1932, Taylor made her film debut in 1944 when she starred in MGM's "National Velvet," which became an instant smash hit.
A series of films followed in the 1940s and continued for more than seven decades.
Her film highlights included "Giant" with James Dean; "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with Paul Newman, "Cleopatra" with Richard Burton, who she married and divorced twice.
In "Butterfield 8" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" two of her highly acclaimed films in the 60s, Taylor garnered two Best Actress Oscars for her performance. She was also nominated for the honor three times.
Taylor, whose private life and marriages had been a constant focus of the tabloid, was married eight times to seven men.
Her first marriage was with Conrad Nicholas "Nicky" Hilton Jr. which took place in 1950 when she was 17. The couple divorced eight months later.
Two years later, Taylor married British actor Michael Wilding, with whom she had two sons, Michael and Christopher. They were divorced five years later in 1957.
In the same year, Taylor married film producer Michael Todd, her third husband who died a year later in a plane crash. In 1959, she married singer Eddie Fisher, her fourth husband. In 1964, she divorced Fisher and married Richard Burton, her co-star on the "Cleopatra."
The couple divorced in 1974, remarried the following year, and then were divorced a year later.
She also tied the knot with former U.S. Senator John Warner (1976-82). construction worker Larry Fortensky, who she married at singer Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, was her last husband (1991-96).
In 1971, Taylor became a grandmother at age 39.
A tireless campaigner in the campaign against AIDS, Taylor served as the founding national chairman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research and founder of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
In 1998, Taylor was named the 34th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, which honors both career achievements and humanitarian contributions.
In 1992, Taylor was honored with the motion picture academy's Jean Herscholt Humanitarian Award, which was bestowed in recognition of her work fighting AIDS.
A public service will be held for Taylor at a later date, People magazine reported.
At 8 p.m. on Friday , Broadway theaters will dim their marquee lights in honor of the legendary actress.
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