God Bless Dame Elizabeth "Liz" Taylor, Hollywood Legend, Dead at Age 79

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

God bless Elizabeth “Liz” Taylor, glittering and beloved Hollywood icon, who died today of congestive heart failure, with family at her side, at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles... she was 79...

In a statement to ABC News, her son Michael Wilding said: “My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. 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.”

It gives me goosebumps to think of her in National Velvet (1944), not to mention her Oscar-winning performances in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and stellar performances in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Giant (1956), A Place in the Sun (1951)... Lassie Come Home (1943)...

Here's Elizabeth Taylor receiving the Oscar for Butterfield 8 and Anne Bancroft accepting the Oscar on behalf of Elizabeth Taylor who won for Best Actress in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

RIP Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

Oscar Crowns "The King's Speech"

                                                    Monica Almeida/The New York Times

What a joy it was to see Colin Firth basking in Oscar's glory... he's such a decent chap, and such a great actor, it was a pleasure indeed to see him win!  All hail and congratulations to Colin Firth and his fellow actors, including Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Andrews, Claire Bloom -- what a cast!!! -- who turned in marvelous performances, to complement Firth's magnificent portrayal of King George VI, struggling with a speech impediment to rise to the awful challenge of leading England in time of war -- World War II, when the freedom of the West was at stake... For more, read: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/movies/awardsseason/28oscars.html

Chris Dodd, New MPAA Chairman

MPAA has a new chairman, finally!  "It's official: Chris Dodd is headed to Hollywood. Or at least, he'll be representing it in D.C. The former Connecticut senator has broken his "no lobbying" pledge to become head of the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA has been struggling to find a new leader for over a year." http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/afternoon-fix/afternoon-fix-chris-dodd-going.html ... and here's the New York Times'  report on Senator Dodd's appointment, published on March 2... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/business/02dodd.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper