Elizabeth Taylor Died 23rd March 2011

Elizabeth Taylor

17th February 1932 - 23rd March 2011

I was very saddened to hear of the death of Elizabeth Taylor on Wednesday. She was born Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor on February 27 1932 in London to American parents living in England at the time. Her family returned to America shortly before the start of World War II and settled in Beverley Hills.

Her first notable film role was in 1943 at eleven years of age in the film Lassie Come Home. She also appeared in the sequel to this Courage of Lassie in 1946. However it was the MGM film National Velvet in 1944 that thrust her in to fame and stardom. She played the part of Velvet Brown opposite Mickey Rooney and Angela Lansbury.

Elizabeth Taylor was the most famous child actress of the time and went on to notable success as an adult actress starring in over 50 films and winning two academy awards. 

Although a famous actress during the period we affectionately refer to as the Golden Age of Radio Elizabeth was not a prominent star on radio.

However I was thrilled to discover that at the age of 18 she played the lead role in a Cavalcade of America production, I Mary Peabody, which aired on 21st March 1950. The story is adapted from the bestseller The Peabody Sisters of Salem. The Peabody sisters were pioneers in modern educational theory and founders of the kindergarten movement in America. You can listen to it on RUSC today.

To read more about Elizabeth Taylor click on the link. There is also a great deal of information and trivia about Elizabeth Taylor on the Internet Movie Data Base web site.

Happy listening my friends,