Aldous Huxley's widow dies

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Laura Archera Huxley, an author and wife of writer Aldous Huxley, has died in Los Angeles of cancer at the age of 96.

Huxley died Thursday at her home in the Hollywood Hills, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

Huxley shared her husband's vision of human potential and was key to preserving the legacy of his writings, said Jonathan Hirsch, the lawyer for the Huxley literary estate.

After Aldous Huxley's death in 1963, Laura Huxley became determined to see her husband's works, including his anti-utopian novel "Brave New World," continue in publication. Laura Huxley also wrote several books and founded Children: Our Ultimate Investment, which aided children at risk, particularly teenagers.

Born in Turin Italy, she was a violin prodigy who played at Carnegie Hall in New York and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She met Huxley while promoting a film she wanted to make about the Palio di Siena, an annual horse race through the streets of Siena, Italy. They were married at a drive-in wedding chapel in Arizona.

Huxley is survived by an adopted daughter, Karen Pfeiffer, Pfeiffer's daughter, Kaya, and a nephew and niece in Italy.