The Golden Age of Hollywood is well and truly gone, forever.

When I was in the first semester of my freshman year of college, I saw a couple of nice clean cut guys get into a knock down, drag out brawl over the question of who was the most beautiful woman in the world - Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren or Madame Nhu? The controversy raged in the student union that entire semester. I lined up on the Elizabeth Taylor side, although secretly I thought it might be a tie between Loren and Taylor.

I shed a few tears this morning on hearing of Elizabeth's passing.

I thought I saw Taylor at PJ's but assumed it was a lookalike. I guess it may have been the real thing.

All the bright Stars in Hollywood are gone. Ms. Taylor was a class act and nobody will ever be able to fill her shoes.

True classic beaut! One of the young contestants previously on American Idol this year, Rachel Zevita possesses a strong facial resemblance. I am surly not the only one that noticed and would not be surprised if "agents" have not contacted her since.

She was a survivor.

What I want to know is how Cleo got that skyscraper-sized sphinx on a boat to carry it to Rome from Egypt.

Legos.

The Golden Age of Hollywood is well and truly gone, forever.

I commented at Neo's place a couple of days ago:

I’ve watched a lot of movies over the years, yet I don’t particularly consider myself a movie buff.

Elizabeth Taylor was certainly beautiful in her youth, but that was a little before my time, so I never really became a fan.

I’ve seen Cleopatra on TV, but not in the theater or on a hi-def DVD. It’s not a bad movie. It has its moments.

But that movie was a watershed for Hollywood. It went so insanely over budget that it nearly ruined the studio that made it. It essentially destroyed “old Hollywood”. Something changed. There seems to be a clear demarcation between movies made in the “pre Cleopatra” and the “post Cleopatra” eras.

I know I’m not the first to point that out, and I’m sure others can fill in more details.

Oh, I don't know. Taylor was one of the greats, true; but there are a few who come close, in their own way. Allowing, of course, for the fact that fashions and attitudes have changed since her heyday. And that publicity shots have never been very true to life.

Two candidates: Catherine Zeta Jones and, oddly enough, Liv Tyler. The latter was perfect as Arwen Undomiel.

One of the things I have noticed is that the great female stars of that bygone era had beautiful faces. Few of them had the large (especially human-enhanced) breasts of today, but most of them had alluring faces.

I find that the faces of many of the so-called beautiful female stars of today are odd-looking. That if their faces were not attached to large breasts and trainer-enhanced bodies, today's stars would not be considered for anything other than pornography.

Consider the great acting abilities shown by Megan Fox or Scarlett Johanson.