Elizabeth Taylor, RIP

Elizabeth Taylor died early today.

When I was growing up, we got a local UHF channel out of Detroit on our cable service (which then was just an antenna service). There was a show during week-day afternoons that played old movies with breaks for viewers to call in questions for the host. It was hosted by a guy who, to me, was old as dirt, which means he was probably in his forties or fifties. We didn't go to theaters, and other than Saturday morning Godzilla movies, there were very few movies shown on TV, so this show was about my only exposure to film.  (For you youngin's, there was no such thing as VCR's or DVD's or HBO. And get off my lawn!!) I saw Lassie Come Home, National Velvet and Cleopatra on that show (along with everything Shirley Temple ever starred in). In my mind, those will always represent what a movie is supposed to be, and Elizabeth Taylor is what a movie star is supposed to be.