Elizabeth Taylor Passes

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 23, 2011 1:25PM

Elizabeth Taylor was in town that first week of January in 1960 to lead the celebration and introduction, if not the resurrection of her late husband Mike Todd's ill-fated project "Smell-O-Vision.” The movie that would be the centerpiece of the fete was called "The Scent of Mystery" and veteran villain Peter Lorre would figure in the creaky plot also involving Denholm Elliott. (When the characters walked into an orange grove- a basement squad of technicians would waft the scent of oranges into the theater, etc. It was an old idea whose time hadn't come until Todd threw ten million bucks at it.)

News is breaking that Elizabeth Taylor, one of the greatest actresses of all time, has passed away at the age of 79. One of the greatest actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age, Ms. Taylor's beauty and talent were later overshadowed by her personal life and troubles.

For a Chicago connection to this, we refer you to Art Shay's January profile of a 1960 visit to Chicago from Ms. Taylor and an later airplane encounter between Shay and Ms. Taylor.