Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
A Hollywood great
Debbie Reynolds, whose movies included “Singin’ in the Rain,” has died one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher. Off-screen, Reynolds was the wronged woman in a 1950s Hollywood love triangle. Her first husband, Eddie Fisher, left her for Elizabeth Taylor.
Debbie Reynolds, who sang and danced her way into film history opposite Gene Kelly in the classic 1952 musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” has died. She was 84.
Her death came just a day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, died at the age of 60.
On Tuesday, Reynolds had posted a statement on Facebook about the outpouring of grief about her daughter’s unexpected death.
“Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter,” she wrote. “I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop. Love Carries Mother.”
Between 1950 and 1967, Reynolds appeared in more than 30 movie musicals and light comedies, receiving her lone Oscar nomination for playing the title character in 1964’s “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”
Off-screen, she starred as the wronged woman in a 1958 Hollywood love triangle. Her first husband, pop singer Eddie Fisher, left Reynolds — perceived by moviegoers as the girl next door — for sultry actress Elizabeth Taylor.
But as the frothy films she was known for went out of style in the late 1960s in favor of message movies, Reynolds turned to the stage. She earned a Tony Award nomination for playing the title role in a Broadway revival of “Irene” in the early 1970s.
In 1996, she returned to the big screen for her first major part in years, playing the title role in the wellreviewed Albert Brooks’ comedy “Mother.”
She was 18 when studio chief Louis B. Mayer cast her in “Singin’ in the Rain” over the objections of Kelly, who wanted a professional dancer for the part.
Her last role was Liberace’s mother in the 2013 HBO movie “Behind the Candelabra.” She received the 2014 Screen Actors Guild life achievement award.
Reynolds and Fisherhad two children, Carrie and Todd. Carrie was best known for playing Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” movies and as a successful writer. Their son was named for Fisher’s best friend, producer Mike Todd.
She was born Mary Frances Reynolds on April 1, 1932, in El Paso, Texas. She was given a new first name by the studio chief who deemed “Mary Frances” too old-fashioned.
“I didn’t want to be called Debbie, but that’s the name Jack Warner gave me,” she later said.