Liz Taylor buried near Jackson

LOS ANGELES: Film icon Elizabeth Taylor was laid to rest in the same celebrity cemetery as her long-time friend Michael Jackson -- and demonstrated a keen sense of humor to the end.

The legendary actress, who died Wednesday aged 79, was sent off with an hour-long private ceremony at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Thursday, where generations of Hollywood stars are buried.

But her last wishes were respected, and announced after the service had finished.

"The service was scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm, but at Miss Taylor's request started late," said a statement by her publicist.

"Miss Taylor had left instructions that it was to begin at least 15 minutes later than publicly scheduled, with the announcement: 'She even wanted to be late for her own funeral,'" it added.

The film legend and violet-eyed beauty, famed as much for her stormy love life as her five-decade Oscar-winning film career, died early Wednesday from congestive heart failure at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai hospital.

Thursday's funeral was reserved for a few dozen family and friends, brought in a fleet of black stretch limos to the verdant cemetery, where stars including Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, and Jean Harlow are also interred.

During their lives, the pop icon and Hollywood legend were at times inseparable, with homes near each other in the plush Bel Air and Beverly Hills neighborhoods west of Hollywood.

"I don't think anyone knew how much we loved each other," Taylor said after his death. "I loved Michael with all my soul and I can't imagine life without him. We had so much in common and we had such loving fun together." (AFP)