newsmakers

newsmakers

Elizabeth Taylor buried in LA cemetery

GLENDALE, Calif.

Elizabeth Taylor’s family mourned the screen legend in a brief, private funeral Thursday at a Southern California cemetery famous for being the final resting place of Hollywood celebrities, including her good friend Michael Jackson.

Inside the sprawling Forest Lawn Cemetery, barricades blocked access to the funeral, where about four dozen family members mourned the actress during a service that lasted about an hour, said Glendale police spokesman Tom Lorenz. Five black stretch limousines transported Taylor’s family to and from the funeral, but there was no procession.

Taylor died early Wednesday of congestive heart failure while surrounded by her four children at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized for about six weeks.

Taylor, who was infamously married eight times to seven husbands, converted to Judaism before her 1959 wedding to Eddie Fisher. Jewish customs call for a burial within 48 hours of death.

In addition to Jackson, the cemetery is the final resting place for such stars as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, W.C. Fields, Red Skelton, Gracie Allen, Walt Disney and Nat King Cole.

Taylor, the star of such films as “BUtterfield 8,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Cleopatra,” won three Academy Awards, including a special one for her humanitarian work. She was an ardent and early supporter of AIDS research, when HIV was new to the industry and beyond.

Survivors include Taylor’s daughters Maria Burton-Carson and Liza Todd-Tivey, sons Christopher and Michael Wilding, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

PG-13 version of ‘King’s Speech’ due

NEW YORK

“The King’s Speech” has been washed out with soap.

The Weinstein Company announced Thursday that the Oscar best-picture winner will be released in a PG-13 version. The original release of the film was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for a handful of swears.

The new cut will open next Friday on 1,000 screens, replacing the R-rated original. The long-rumored move is expected to widen the film’s audience and help boost the box office, which has reached $132.9 million domestically.

Colin Firth stars as stammering King George VI, whose angry swearing fit helps him momentarily overcome his speech problem. Firth has said the film should “stand as it is.SDRq

Brown apologizes

NEW YORK

Chris Brown has apologized for his destructive tantrum at “Good Morning America” earlier this week. The 21-year-old singer says he needed to let out his anger after being asked about his attack on Rihanna.

ABC News said Brown smashed a window in his dressing room after his interview with “GMA” co-host Robin Roberts on Tuesday. Roberts had asked Brown about the beating two years ago of his then-girlfriend. He’s still on probation for that attack.

During an appearance Wednesday on BET’s “106 & Park,” Brown said he was under the impression that the interview would focus only on his new album, “F.A.M.E.”

Brown apologized, saying he was disappointed by his actions but that he needed to let off steam.

Associated Press