Ava et Elizabeth

Dedicated to two legends of the silver screen, Ava Gardner and Elizabeth Taylor. Both talented, beautiful, intelligent and graceful women that left their mark on history. // Questions? Ask. Run by Alyssa. Instagrams: @avagardnerdaily and @_dameelizabethtaylor.

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James Dean with his Siamese kitten, Marcus, in 1955. Photos by Sanford Roth. James received Marcus as a gift from Elizabeth Taylor, who he became good friends with while making “Giant” that same year.

In late September of 1955, James was to attend a racing competition in Salinas. The night before he left, he brought Marcus over to his close friend and former girlfriend Jeanette Doty’s place so she could care for him in James’ absence. Along with the cat, James brought Jeanette a list with detailed instructions for Marcus’ care (pictured.)

James would never return to pick Marcus up as he tragically died in a car wreck on his way to Salinas.

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Elizabeth Taylor on the set of “Giant” in 1955.

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Mirror

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Elizabeth Taylor by Mark Shaw, 1956

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Ava Gardner in The Killers, 1946 dir. Robert Siodmak

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This is actually from "The Bribe" (1949), not The Killers. ;)

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Elizabeth Taylor photographed in 1956.

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"Sometimes she would do a scene particularly well. I would thank her and she would fall in my arms and say, 'Christ, you know I can't act.' And I'd say, 'What is it then? It's just as good as acting.' But she never believed me... Ava is like Marilyn. She's really frightened. She would cry a lot, she had no confidence in herself, she felt she couldn't act, she had no home, no base, no family, she missed them terribly, she felt she'd missed out in life. It was hard to believe her unhappiness. When you looked at her, even then, she was...the most beautiful human being in the world." — Nunnally Johnson, who directed Ava in "The Angel Wore Red" (1960). Photo of Ava is a still from the film.

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Ava Gardner postcard. Via the Ava Gardner: A Life in Movies Facebook page.

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“Elizabeth didn’t know the meaning of fear.” – Kathy Ireland Photo by Roddy McDowall c. 1964.

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Ava Gardner, c.1950

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Ava Gadner photographed by Giuseppe Palmas in Rome, 1953.

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“He had a thing in his voice I’ve only heard in two other people – Judy Garland and Maria Callas. A quality that makes me want to cry for happiness, like a beautiful sunset or a boys’ choir singing Christmas carols.”

- Ava Gardner on Frank Sinatra

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One Touch of Venus (1948)

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Elizabeth Taylor at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, 1954

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Ava Gardner by Virgil Apger, 1951

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Elizabeth Taylor

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Ava Gardner, c.1949