Elizabeth Taylor buried with brief family service

GLENDALE, Calif. - Elizabeth Taylor's family mourned the screen legend at a brief private funeral Thursday afternoon 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 no procession was held.

The service began 15 minutes after its announced start time in observance of Taylor's parting wish that her funeral start late, her publicist Sally Morrison said.

Taylor had left instructions asking for the tardy start and had requested that someone announce, "She even wanted to be late for her own funeral," Morrison said.

Taylor, 79, died Wednesday of congestive heart failure at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized for about six weeks.

Taylor, who was 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.

The roughly one-hour service began with poetry readings by actor Colin Farrell and Taylor's family and included a trumpet performance of "Amazing Grace" by her grandson, Morrison said.

The casket was draped in gardenias, violets, and lilies of the valley before its interment in the cemetery's Great Mausoleum beneath a marble sculpture of an angel inspired by the work of Italian artist Michelangelo.

In addition to Jackson, the cemetery is the burial 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.

"I admired Elizabeth Taylor enormously and feel heartsick losing her, especially with all of her charitable works," said Ann Berry, a fan and character actress who lives nearby and visited the cemetery with a friend to pay their respects to the star.

Several television news crews documented the service from across the street while news helicopters swirled overhead.

Taylor's publicist said any details of a memorial service would likely be announced at a later date.