Nude Elizabeth Taylor photo revealed as fake

A supposedly naked photograph of Elizabeth Taylor published in the media earlier this month has been revealed as a fake.

The nude image, seemingly of the movie icon who died last month at the age of 79, was printed in several newspapers.

According to the Daily Mail, the picture was taken by actor and photographer Roddy McDowall, a friend of Taylor's who promised her that the shot would be tasteful. Taylor was said to have given the photograph to her third husband Michael Todd soon after he proposed in 1956.

However, readers commenting on the Mail article noted that the image is a doctored version of a photograph by Peter Gowland of dancer Lee Evans, which features in Classic Nude Photography: Techniques and Images.

The original photograph - without Taylor's face overlaid - appears on Gowland's website with the description "3/4 key-light on Lee Evans, known as Rembrandt lighting, with no hair light".

It was claimed last month that jewels belonging to Taylor worth more than $150 million (�94m) may be auctioned off at Christie's in the near future.

Elizabeth Taylor's nude photo released

A nude picture of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor has been released by a private collector, just over a week after the actress died of heart disease.

The picture is from the time when Taylor was just 24, and it is a possibility that it is the first time that the photograph has been shown publicly, reports dailymail.co.uk.

Taylor kneels down passionately on a white fur rug, and looks extremely sensual in the picture, which is said to have been an engagement gift from her to producer Michael Todd, her third husband.

The photograph was taken by one of her closest friends, actor and photographer Roddy McDowall. He persuaded her to pose naked by promising her it would be done tastefully, and that he did.

Taylor presented the intimate picture to Todd after his proposal in 1956. They married a few months later, but it was short-lived as Todd was killed in an air crash, just 13 months after their wedding day.

After the tragic incident, Taylor is believed to have given the nude photograph to her assistant and make-up artist Penny Taylor.

It was bought by private collector Jim Shaudis in 1980 and had been thought lost. But after her death March 23, he decided to release the image in public for fans of the star.

The best film of Elizabeth Taylor�s career "Review"

As Martha, Elizabeth Taylor gave an Oscar winning performance for the second time in Who�s Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1966. Her first Oscar was for Butterfield 8, which was released in 1960.
According to many critics, as Martha, she was at the best of her entire film career. The film was shown at SAFMA Media Centre on Friday.

The film, an adaptation of Edward Albee�s dark play, was directed by Mike Nichols on a screenplay written by Ernest Lehman. The film focuses on the inner hatred, doubts and dubious personalities of the two couples who like to enjoy fun and game drink parties. Taylor (Martha) and Richard Burton (George) play the leading roles. George is a teacher of history in the college where Martha�s father is president. The couple was married at the time. It was their first marriage, which remained intact from March 15, 1964 to June 1974.
Besides Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton there are two other characters in the film, George Segal as Nick and Sandy Dennis as Honey playing the role of Nick�s wife. The high drama starts after a late night party at George�s house, when in a fit of intoxication all the four characters become self-indulgent grotesque and provocative.

Gradually they enter into realm of morbidity leaving any trace of rationality behind. Liquor-riddled Martha frowns at her husband and lewdly dances with Nick at the cost of George�s furry. The expression of a normal woman is replaced by a ferocious cat who scowls continuously at George. The way she behaves reminds one of her character in Taming of the Shrew where she played the role of an uncouth, boorish and boisterous young woman.

The film runs towards climax deconstructing the normal identity of the four characters in the bout of fun and games, as fantasized by George. The whole film was picturised in George and Martha�s house except one scene on the road side and the other in the car.
Historically, the importance of the film can be judged by the significant role it played in changing the ethical code of motion pictures. The language and situations are impregnated with profanity which were seen only in experimental theatres in the 60s. After it was released, there was a commotion in the film world. Catholic Legion of Motion Pictures and The Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) took serious notice of it, which jolted the Warner Brothers top executives.

However after minor deletions the issue was settled amicably. The film was considered groundbreaking for having a level of profanity and sexual implications unheard of at the time. Since than MPAA film rating started changing and more openness was accommodated.

Originally Jack Warner and Edward Albee opted for James Mason and Bette Davis for the roles of George and Martha but Nichols and Lehman prevailed upon for casting Taylor and Burton. To play her frumpy and fiftyish Character, Taylor gained 3.5kg and her performance proved that their final selection was not faulty. The two hours screaming off in the film may seem wearisome for common viewers but, to a film aficionado, it was incredible.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton preformed together in eight films, starting from Cleopatra (1963) and ending with Under Milk Wood (1974).

Richard Burton is buried in a small cemetery in the outskirts of Geneva Lake in Switzerland near their village home which they both built as their dream house. The people of the village waited to see Taylor�s grave along with Burton but she was interred in Los Angles, never to meet Burton again.

Credit : The Express Tribune, Pakistan

Elizabeth Taylor's 150 million dollars jewellery collection to go under the hammer

If sources are to be believed then late Dame Elizabeth Taylor''s vast collection of jewellery will be auctioned at world-famous auction house Christie''s.

The late actress''s dazzling array of gems are rumored to be worth about 150 million dollars in total.

According to the sources familiar with matter, the collection would be put up for sale at Christie''s, the famous British auction house, which has salesrooms in major cities across the globe, including Los Angeles, where Taylor died last week.

Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills President and CEO Peter Sedghi, who worked with the legendary beauty on her own House of Taylor jewelry line, said that Taylor had an "amazing eye" for jewelry.

"To be honest, she knew more than I did," the New York Post quoted him as telling People mag.

"When you would show her stones, she would tell you the origin, if it''s good quality, bad quality, where it came from,� he added.

Remembering Liz� eyes...

Everett Collection In death, as in life, it is her eyes that haunt. After Hollywood�s grande dame Elizabeth Taylor passed away, people paid their online respects, searching out her biography, baby pictures, good works (AIDS foundation), her relationships both familial (children, Richard Burton) and famous (Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol). Yet most unique were those eyes, and people wanted another look into them as they sought out �elizabeth taylor eyes,� �elizabeth taylor violet eyes pictures,� and �elizabeth taylor�s eye close up.�

Could someone�s eyes truly be purple? If photos or her namesake perfume � Violet Eyes, which debuted just last spring � weren�t proof enough, eyewitness accounts certainly testify to those riveting orbs. A remembrance by Hollywood Reporter film critic Todd McCarthy recalled a meeting in the 1970s, when the actress had essentially retired from the big screen. �What should abruptly stop me in my tracks,� he wrote, �but a pair of eyes unlike I�ve ever beheld, before or since; deep violet eyes of a sort withheld from ordinary mortals that were suddenly looking up into mine from mere inches away.�

David Stratton, a film critic for the Australian, also swooned in a 1973 encounter following a festival premiere of her movie �Night Watch�: �I was ushered into her presence at the official reception and found myself transfixed by her famous violet eyes. I have never seen eyes of that color before or since and I don�t believe cinemagoers were able to appreciate how remarkable they were.�

Eye of the Beholder

Violet is indeed a rarity, more so than green eyes, although theories as to what makes them purple vary. Color, of course, is determined by how much melanin pigment the eye has and, to get really scientific, those variations in single nucleotide polymorphisms (thankfully shortened to SNPS) near the OCA2 gene, which are responsible for the color of eyes, hair, and skin.

Then again, the simplest explanation would be the same one her doctor gave her mother when describing baby Elizabeth�s double row of eyelashes: a �mutation,� according to the 1996 book Elizabeth.

Those eyes inspired longing, envy, and a few beauty products: Chicago optical company Wesley-Jensen created violet contact lenses in the 1980s. Before their debut, a W-J spokesperson told The New York Times, �pictures of Elizabeth Taylor are pasted all over our R&D lab.�

A California ocularist, one of the few in the world to create artificial eyeballs, fulfilled one patient�s request for �Elizabeth Taylor eyes.�

If you wondered what the scent of violet eyes might be, that would be �light shades of purple rose and violet peony, combined with velvety accents of white peach� with a �voluptuous blend of cedar wood and amber to convey the power, sensuality, and mystery of Elizabeth Taylor�s eyes.�

Credit : dailymailnews

Elizabeth Taylor 'was expecting to come home'

Elizabeth Taylor was expecting to return home from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre before her death from congestive heart failure this week, her friends have claimed.

The Hollywood legend, who made a full recovery from an emergency tracheotomy in 1961 and cardiac surgery in 2006, passed away at the age of 79 in her room at the Los Angeles facility on Wednesday.

Speaking to People, the Cleopatra star's friend Firooz Zahedi revealed that she had begun making plans for her departure from the centre, to which she was admitted with heart failure in January, as her health improved.

"She was hoping to come home and optimistic about everything," the photographer stated. "She had her bedroom at home redecorated."

Further details of Taylor's final days have also been revealed by her longtime friend Debbie Reynolds, who confirmed that the double-Oscar winner had been aware of the seriousness of her condition in the days prior to her death.

The Singin' In The Rain star said: "We talked about how it's really hell getting older. We were complaining to each other about that, like two girls would.

"She expressed how scary it was when you see that it's perhaps the end, to find a way to leave this world and go onto the next."

Elizabeth Taylor 'leaves bulk of her 375 million-pound fortune to AIDS charities'

Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who passed away on Wednesday after losing her long battle with congestive heart disease, has reportedly left the bulk of her 375-million-pound fortune to AIDS charities.

The star, frequently praised for her role as an AIDS/HIV activist, has continued her good work by leaving a large portion of her wealth to her beloved charities, reports The New York Post.

According to Fox News, Taylor''s famous jewellery collection will be auctioned off to benefit The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and amfAR, the AIDS charity she founded in 1985, reports the Daily Express.

As of 2002, the collection had an estimated value of 93.7 million pounds.

Elizabeth Taylor's 'White Diamonds' still best-selling celeb fragrance

Elizabeth Taylor's 'White Diamonds' remains the world's best-selling celebrity fragrance of all time - 20 years after it first launched.

It is estimated that the global sales of the scent, which is manufactured by Elizabeth Arden, reached 61.3 million pounds in 2010.

The Oscar-winning actress, who died on Wednesday at the age of 79, was one of the first stars to launch a signature fragrance with any success, reports the Daily Mail.

Follow-up perfumes, which include �Diamonds and Emeralds�, �Diamonds and Rubies� and �Black Pearls� also continue to enjoy retail success, with sales of 76.9 million pounds in 2010.

�White Diamonds� sold for 200 pounds an ounce when it first launched in 1991 at the Marshall Field and Co department store in New York.

A private tea with the actress was on offer to the first 150 customers who bought a 300-an-ounce pounds limited edition.

Elizabeth Arden chairman E. Scott Beattie reassured consumers that the perfume range would not be discontinued.

�White Diamonds remains a best seller almost 20 years after its 1991 introduction, a testimony to her transcendent and enduring appeal,� he said.

�Our best tribute to Elizabeth Taylor will be to continue the legacy of the brands she created and loved so much,� he added.

Boasting 10 fragrances, Taylor launched her first �Passion� in 1987 and released Violet Eyes in 2010.

With no major acting work in the last 10 years, the star''s fragrance sales enabled her to give generously to charity and maintain her lavish lifestyle.

A year after its launch, �White Diamonds� won Women''s Fragrance of the Year and Best National Advertising TV Campaign for a Women''s Fragrance at The Fragrance Foundation''s FiFi Awards.

In 2009, it came first in the Fragrance Hall of Fame along with �Davidoff Cool Water�.

Elizabeth Taylor mourned by family and fans

Elizabeth Taylor was laid to rest Thursday at Forest Lawn in Glendale, with a private service conducted inside the Grand Mausoleum where she was to be interred, L.A. Now reports.

Security had been requested for the three to four dozen family members and friends expected to attend the funeral, Glendale police said. Shortly after 2 p.m., five limousines scooted past the media pack that surrounded the memorial park's entrance. They left shortly before 4 p.m. without making a public statement.

Family members planned to gather again Thursday night for a private service memorializing the legendary actress, who died at 79 of congestive heart failure.

Fans had been placing flowers at Taylor's star, near Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, since word of her 1:28 a.m. death Wednesday began to spread. A candlelit shrine was set up by staff in the VIP room at the West Hollywood bar the Abbey, where Taylor had been known to hang out, according to TMZ. A special "Blue Velvet Martini" was being sold in Taylor's memory all weekend, with proceeds going to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. At the Newseum in Washington, D.C., a display of front pages of myriad newspapers marked Taylor's death.

The speedy funeral service and interment � Taylor died at 1:28 a.m. Wednesday � is in line with Jewish tradition; she'd converted to Judaism in the 1950s, before she married Eddie Fisher.
The actress' good friend Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, is interred in a different wing of the Grand Mausoleum. See more pictures below.

Credit : latimesblogs.latimes.com