Elizabeth Taylor
returned to the stage Saturday night, after persuading
striking TV and film writers to briefly put down their
picket signs.
The Writers Guild
of America agreed not to picket the Paramount Pictures
lot when actress and AIDS activist Taylor gave a benefit
performance of A.R. Gurney's play Love Letters
with James Earl Jones.
The guild lowered
the picket line because ''this worthy event is
happening solely through the efforts and underwriting of
Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who is not only a longtime
member of the Screen Actors Guild but an outspoken
supporter of the Writers Guild,'' Patric Verrone, president
of the western chapter of the guild, said in a statement.
Taylor did not
speak to reporters as she arrived in a wheelchair, wearing
an orange gown and diamond earrings. She smiled for the
cameras as her boyfriend, industrialist Jason Winters,
wheeled her into the theater.
Taylor, 75, said
she would not cross picket lines December 1, which was
World AIDS Day. She said she asked the writers union for a
''one-night dispensation'' so she and her guests could
enter the studio with a clear conscience.
''The Writers
Guild of America has shown great humanity, empathy, and
courage by allowing our little evening to move forward,''
Taylor said in a statement.
Writers have been
on strike since November 5.
More than 500
people, including California first lady Maria Shriver, paid
$2,500 per ticket for the one-night performance. The goal
was to raise $1 million for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS
Foundation. (AP)