Elizabeth Taylor Dies at 79

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1932 – 2011

Academy Award winning actress Elizabeth Taylor passed away today at Los Angeles, Calif.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital at the age of 79. At around 1:30 a.m. this morning, she died of symptoms caused by congestive heart failure. "She was surrounded by her children- Michael Wilding, Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd, and Maria Burton," Taylor's publicist, Sally Morrison, said in a statement. In addition to her children, Taylor is survived by 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

One of the most beautiful screen legends in her era, Elizabeth Taylor won double Oscars for starring in Butterfield 8 in 1960, opposite Eddie Fisher and for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1966, alongside Richard Burton. In 1963, she memorably starred in "Cleopatra." Taylor later in life became notorious for her seven marriages and sometimes eccentric behavior. Most people only have a memory of Elizabeth as a frail old woman being pushed around in a wheelchair but in her day she was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood history. CNN report:

Taylor died "peacefully today in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles," said a statement from her publicist. She was hospitalized six weeks ago with congestive 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."

Though a two-time Oscar winner -- for "Butterfield 8" (1960) and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966) -- Taylor was more celebrated for simply being Elizabeth Taylor: sexy, glamorous, tempestuous, fragile, always trailing courtiers, media and fans. She wasn't above playing to that image -- she had a fragrance called "White Diamonds" -- or mocking it.

"I am a very committed wife," she once said. "And I should be committed too -- for being married so many times."

Elizabeth Taylor, of course, starred in Cleopatra which made her the first Hollywood star to earn a $1 million salary. Beyond acting, Taylor is credited with bringing the world's attention to AIDS with her fund-raising and activism. In 1985, when Taylor's lifelong friend Rock Hudson died of AIDS, she brought national attention to the growing disease. It satisfying to her to use her celebrity for good - she raised and donated millions to the cause, founding the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

Taylor reported in October 2009 that she was having a heart procedure done. Via Twitter, she said it was "very new and involves repairing my leaky valve using a clip device, without open heart surgery so that my heart will function better." Taylor was again hospitalized six weeks ago with congestive heart failure. 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.

"I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands," Taylor said. "I have been supremely lucky in my life in that I have known great love, and of course, I am the temporary custodian of some incredible and beautiful things."

Source: http://www.blogywoodbabes.blogspot.com

Wiki Bio

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Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English-born American actress.

Beginning as a child star, as an adult she came to be known for her acting talent and beauty, and had a much publicised private life, including eight marriages and several near-death experiences. Taylor was considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. The American Film Institute named Taylor seventh on its Female Legends list.

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J.D. Salinger Dies at 91

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J.D. Salinger was perhaps the greatest living American author. The reclusive author is best known for Catcher in the Rye, was required reading for generations of readers transfixed by its turmoil, died yesterday aged 91 at his New Hampshire home. "He was famous for not wanting to be famous," wrote Ian Hamilton in his book In Search of J.D. Salinger. His anti-hero, Holden Caulfield, struck a chord with young people as did the book's message of an unfair struggle between the goodness of young people and the corruption of their elders. Even though he spent the last handful of decades out of the public eye, the impact of Catcher in the Rye and Caulfield continued to resonate, from high schools to universities and into other arts.

Published in 1951, Catcher became one of the most influential novels in modern American literature for its disaffected tale of teenage angst, seen through the eyes of protagonist Holden Caulfield, the anti-hero who despised "phonies" in an adult world and subsequently became an icon of teenage rebellion. After he published Catcher, Salinger retreated to New Hampshire where he began to start a family. In 1953, Salinger released his short story collection Nine Stories, which featured "A Perfect Day for Bananafish and "F"or Esmé – with Love and Squalor." Eight years later, Franny and Zooey continued Salinger's exploration of the Glass family.

1919 – 2010

But Holden is stilling going strong!

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Bio

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Jerome David "J. D." Salinger (pronounced /ˈsælɪndʒər/; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980.

Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his subsequent work. In 1951 Salinger released his novel The Catcher in the Rye, an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, especially among adolescent readers. The novel remains widely read and controversial, selling around 250,000 copies a year.

The success of The Catcher in the Rye led to public attention and scrutiny: Salinger became reclusive, publishing new work less frequently. He followed Catcher with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), a collection of a novella and a short story, Franny and Zooey (1961), and a collection of two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924," appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965.

Afterward, Salinger struggled with unwanted attention, including a legal battle in the 1980s with biographer Ian Hamilton and the release in the late 1990s of memoirs written by two people close to him: Joyce Maynard, an ex-lover; and Margaret Salinger, his daughter. In 1996, a small publisher announced a deal with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form, but amid the ensuing publicity, the release was indefinitely delayed. He made headlines around the globe in June 2009, after filing a lawsuit against another writer for copyright infringement resulting from that writer's use of one of Salinger's characters from Catcher in the Rye.

Salinger died of natural causes on January 27, 2010, at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.

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