charlie-oscar2A weekly feature in which my four-year-old son is let loose on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Los Angeles, and chooses a star from among the more than 2,500 honorees. His “random” picks sometimes reveal unexplained connections such as the summer day in 2012 when he sat down on the star of actress Celeste Holm and refused to budge. We later learned that the Oscar-winning actress had died only hours earlier.

Is Charlie selling out? His picks on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have traditionally been obscure individuals whose once bright stars were long overdue for some burnishing. But lately Charlie has been selecting the mega-watt stars of yesteryear whose names even small-town tourists visiting the boulevard still recognize. Last week he picked the King himself, Clark Gable, and this week a woman who remains an blazing icon in her own right: Elizabeth Taylor.

taylor-xmas2Given the time of year, perhaps Charlie’s nod towards the better-known Walk of Famers was part of some kind of holiday celebration. Acting in films since she was 10 years old, Elizabeth Taylor often posed for Christmas-themed publicity shots like these. Not that she was part of many classic Christmas movies. When I think of Taylor’s films, the only Christmas scene that immediately comes to mind is the one in my favorite version of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women: MGM’s 1949 Technicolor remake directed by Mervyn Leroy in which Elizabeth played spoiled Amy March along with June Allyson, Janet Leigh and Margaret O’Brien as her sisters Jo, Meg and Beth. That movie begins with a heartwarming scene in which the girls selfishly give up their $1 Christmas gifts from Aunt March to buy Marmee presents instead of things they want for themselves.

Elizabeth Taylor went through distinct periods in her career and was one of the few child stars to make a very successful transition into adult roles. Of course it didn’t hurt that the actress, born February 27, 1932, was one of the most beautiful women ever to step foot in front of a camera. In her early career, Taylor made a name for herself in films such as National Velvet, Life With Father and A Date with Judy. Though she was only 17 when she made Little Women, she would marry her first husband, Conrad “Nicky” Hilton, Jr., the following year (though that disastrous marriage was short-lived) and immediately move into adult roles such as Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, Giant and Raintree County.

taylo-reddressShe became such a personality in her later years that I worry that some people might not remember what a truly outstanding actress she was. I’d stack her performances in films such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly Last Summer, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolff? and even Cleopatra alongside those of any of the great actresses in the history of the movies. True, her volatile personal life often made bigger headlines than her films — she married eight times (Nicky Hilton, Michael Wilding, Mike Todd, Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton—twice, John Warner and Larry Fortensky) and had serious health problems throughout most of her life. Taylor was hospitalized around 70 times and had more than 20 major surgeries. Some people believe that the Best Actress Oscar she won for Butterfield 8 in 1960 was really a sympathy vote for narrowly escaping a deadly illness earlier that year. That film was hardly her best work but who could begrudge the gifted actress any honor? Taylor won another Oscar six years later for her blistering performance as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, one of her 11 films with Richard Burton.

Portrait Of Elizabeth TaylorLooking at these Christmas photos of Elizabeth Taylor, I realize they would not be out of place in my recent Hollywood Jews Celebrate Christmas feature. The actress, raised a Christian Scientist, converted to Judaism in 1959 and considered herself Jewish for the rest of her life. She claimed the conversion had nothing to do with the two Jewish men she married (Mike Todd, who had died the year before, or Eddie Fisher, whom she would marry shortly thereafter) but that she had been drawn to the religion on her own.

In her later years, Elizabeth Taylor became an AIDS activist and wildly successful fundraiser, raising more than $270 million for various HIV and AIDS-related charities. She cofounded the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR) as well as the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation that provided critically needed services for people with HIV/AIDS. By all accounts, Elizabeth Taylor was a real “mensch.” She died at the age of 79 on March 23, 2011, surrounded by her four children. Earlier this year, Charlie and I were watching Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman in  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. (What? Is that inappropriate for a four-year-old? What can I say? Charlie prefers Turner Classic Movies to the Disney Channel!) Hearing me talk about Elizabeth, he kept referring to her as “A Little Bit Taylor.” Sorry, Charlie, but I’m not sure “a little bit” was ever an apt description of that amazing woman!