Marie Osmond on meeting Elizabeth Taylor: "Those eyes"

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Marie Osmond recalled to the Las Vegas Sun about the time she met Elizabeth Taylor.

The setting was an event at the White House, while Ronald Reagan was president. Taylor (who died Wednesday at the age of 79) was there with her husband at the time, then-Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia.

Osmond, talking after she and her brother Donny finished their 500th show at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, remembered her face-to-face meeting with the legendary film beauty.

"Those eyes," Osmond said. "They were so beautiful, just as everyone says."

Taylor's trademark violet eyes inspired Osmond to create eyes that color for her doll collection.

Osmond called Taylor "an inspiration. She showed so much courage in her fight against AIDS. She was one of the first celebrities to take up that cause, and I respect her so much for that."