February 27, 2005: - Elizabeth Taylor, 73, …pictured here with vocal sensationalists, Josh Groban, and Sir Elton John…. at Sir Elton John’s famous Oscar Party fundraising bash at the Pacific Design Center, in West Los Angeles, California. It happened to, also, be Elizabeth’s 73rd birthday. It was the 13th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party co-hosted by Chopard Jewelry Corporation. The gala celebration featured a very special performance by Sir Elton and the Scissor Sisters. It was the biggest fund-raising event in Hollywood on Oscar night and it brought out some of the biggest, hottest celebrities from the worlds of film and music including our Elizabeth Taylor, Sir Ben Kingsley, Salma Hayek, William Macy, Marcia Cross, Nicolette Sheridan, Felicity Huffman, Natalie Cole, Mary J. Blige, Donald and Melinda Trump, Donatella Versace and a multitude of others. The party was held in a specially-designed circular tent which was built in the outdoor Plaza of the Designer Center. Guests arrived at 4:30 PM for a cocktail reception followed by a five course dinner and viewing of the Awards. Special Event Designer Bradley Picklesimer, an L.A. Based designed known for his whimsically sophisticated environments, transformed the space into an opulent and sophisticated venue using black and white with hints of fuchsia. This was Chopard’s first year as sole title sponsor for the Annual Celebration although the company has been an avid supporter of Sir Elton’s AIDS Foundation for the past five years. Chopard introduced a collection of jeweled watches inspired by Sir Elton, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting EJAF. They raised $5 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation that evening. Since its inception in 1992, the Foundation has distributed more than $50 million in grants worldwide. Elizabeth had been a recluse throughout the previous years but believed that Elton’s event was worth going to…as it was to benefit the fight again AIDS. She had other reasons for stepping out, as well. Later in 2004, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and the tabloids were having a field day claiming that she was close to death. On May 30, 2006 she appeared on Larry King after, in addition to near death rumors, it was reported that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She told King, ““Oh, come on, do I look like I’m dying? Do I look like or sound like I have Alzheimer’s? They’re trying to sell magazines, and the only way they can do it is by being dirty. They’ve never sold—those dirty magazines have never sold a clean story. They don’t. Some audience out there, and don’t ask me who they are, but there are millions, like my scandals. They like filth. And if they want to hear that I’m dead, sorry, folks, I’m not. And I don’t plan on it.” She soon felt compelled to get out of the house much more often and go out in public just so people could see that she was very much alive. These reports would plague her for the rest of her life. She certainly wasn’t finished with living yet. In 2005, she would team with entrepreneur/ model, Kathy Ireland (of Kathy Ireland Worldworld) and form ‘House of Taylor Jewelry’…a retail company…where she would personally design high end price range jewelry creations. The company was operational for three years and it closed its doors due to poor sales (in a recession) in 2008 with millions of dollar’s worth of unsold merchandise…which would be auctioned off after Elizabeth’s death at the famous December 2011 Christies “Elizabeth Taylor Jewelry Collection” auction which brought in 135 million dollars.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 15:30:11 +0000
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