Elizabeth Taylor laid to rest in private ceremony.
In a properly quiet and private ceremony, iconic American actress Elizabeth Taylor was laid to rest Thursday. Rabbi Jerry Cutler presided at the services, conducted at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, where she rests in the company of Hollywood legends Michael Jackson, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Walt Disney. Forest Lawn officials kept the press and throngs of spectators far away from the somber service.
In the course of her colorful, controversial, and occasionally scandalous career, Ms. Taylor collected five Academy Award nominations, winning two—most notably her Oscar for Best Actress, acknowledging her spectacular performance in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966).
Son’s emotional statement and ongoing tributes
Elizabeth Taylor died overnight Tuesday. A simple statement from her publicist explained she died of congestive of heart failure, “a condition with which she had struggled for many years. Though she had recently suffered a number of complications, her condition had stabilized and it was hoped that she would be able to return home. Sadly, this was not to be.”
In a powerfully emotional statement released immediately after her death, Taylor’s son Michael Wilding said, “My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love,” Wilding, 58, said in a statement Wednesday. “Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world.”
Playing at a Wednesday night concert, Sir Elton John remembered Taylor as a great friend and noble activist, dedicating his landmark “Till the Sun Goes Down” to Elizabeth Taylor’s memory. John cited Ms. Taylor’s exemplary championship of AIDS research and AIDS-related causes.. Woefully aggrieved by the tragic death of her close friend and fellow star Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor numbered among the very first Hollywood celebrities to take-up the AIDS cause, and she bravely spoke out when most other public personalities remained ominously silent.
