Elizabeth Taylor, one of the last great stars of Hollywood’s golden age, died today due to congestive heart failure in Los Angeles.  After her acting career subsided in the 1980s, the 79 year old icon became well known for her philanthropic efforts, most notably AIDS-related charities and fundraising. Her life was also marked by a string of unsuccessful marriages coupled with drug and alcohol abuse; the Betty Ford Rehabilitation Center in Rancho Mirage became familiar territory.  Lady Justice honors her achievements. RIP.

Across the pond, Europe has been buzzing about the latest performance to debut at London’s Royal Opera House – the Anna Nicole Smith opera. The production opened a couple weeks ago and has made great fodder for tabloid reporters and drama-mongering bloggers because – as we all know in the world of pop culture – there’s a lot to say about the rags-to-riches story of the litigious Playmate whose rise to fame and troubled drug addiction has made for quite the on-stage show. And while the over the top script profiling Smith offers tremendous entertainment value, it highlights several of the deceased celebrity’s troubles that repeatedly make their way into the media even years after her untimely death. Smith’s life was a story of instability starting with her teenage years when she married and eventually divorced a fellow fast food coworker. The on-stage display of her erratic behavior is an appropriate characterization of the former reality star’s tumultuous life. Ultimately, we see in the opera how her struggles culminated with an overdose on prescription drugs that led to her death in a Florida hotel room four years ago. Although spot on in much of the Playboy model’s rise and the Read More …