Elizabeth Taylor - Child Actress to Film Queen - NYTimes.com

Q: What makes this obituary so distinctive?

In a world of flickering images, Elizabeth Taylor was a constant star. First appearing on screen at age 10, she grew up there, never passing through an awkward age. It was one quick leap from “National Velvet” to “A Place in the Sun” and from there to “Cleopatra,” as she was indelibly transformed from a vulnerable child actress into a voluptuous film queen.

A: The guy who wrote it died before his subject…

Mel Gussow, the principal writer of this article, died in 2005. William McDonald, William Grimes and Daniel E. Slotnik contributed updated reporting.

Apparently, the only other Hollywood legend to share this achievement is Bob Hope, who died in 2003. His obituary writer died in 2000.