HER HEART BROKE
Debbie Reynolds dies day after daughter Carrie Fisher
SILVER SCREEN icon Debbie Reynolds died Wednesday after suffering a stroke — following her daughter Carrie Fisher’s death just a day earlier. She was 84.
Reynolds was at the Beverly Hills home of her son, Todd Fisher, discussing funeral plans for her daughter just before she was stricken and taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
“My mom is with my sister,” Todd Fisher told the Daily News Wednesday evening, breaking down in tears. “She wanted to be with her. She always took care of her. That’s all I can say right now.”
Reynolds’ daughter, Carrie Fisher, the 60-year-old “Star Wars” actress famous for playing Princess Leia, died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack on a plane. Fisher was flying from London to Los Angeles Friday when she went into cardiac arrest.
Reynolds had suffered a series of strokes over the past few years and was in weak health for a while, a source told The News.
A prolific actress and singer who endured the depths of personal tragedy and betrayal, Reynolds was born in El Paso, Tex., in 1932. She was spotted by a talent scout from Warner Brothers Studios at 16 while competing in a beauty contest.
Reynolds’ career spanned more than six decades, her vintage Hollywood vivacity and grace endearing her to generations of fans.
Reynolds shot to fame when — at just 19 — she landed the leading role in “Singin’ in the Rain,” opposite Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. She overcame the intimidation of working with two of the most experienced showmen in the business and more than held her own.
“Gene Kelly was hard on me, but I think he had to be,” Reynolds said in a 1999 Associated Press interview. “I had to learn everything in three to six months. Donald O’Connor had been dancing since he was 3 months old, Gene Kelly since he was 2 years old . . . . I think Gene knew I had to be challenged.”
The 1952 film catapulted the ingenue into the spotlight. Reynolds — in much the same way her daughter would go on to fame decades later — went on to appear in dozens of films, television shows, and Broadway plays.
Reynolds became an iconic star of stage and screen, starring in over 50 movies and earning Tony, Emmy and Oscar nominations. She received an Oscar nomination in 1964 for “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and a Tony for best lead actress for her role in 1973’s “Irene.”
She starred with Glenn Ford in “The Gazebo,” Tony Curtis in “The Rat Race,” Fred Astaire in “The Pleasure of His Company,” Andy Griffith in “The Second Time Around,” with the all-star cast in “How the West Was Won” and Ricardo Montalban in “The Singing Nun.” She also provided the voice of Charlotte the spider in the 1973 animated “Charlotte’s Web.”
Reynolds continued to work well into her autumn years, starring in Albert Brooks’ 1996 comedy “Mother” and appearing in the TV series “Will & Grace” and “Roseanne.”
Offscreen, Reynolds lived the tumultuous life of Hollywood royalty. She had two children, Carrie and Todd, with her first husband, crooner Eddie Fisher.
The couple made a movie together, “Bundle of Joy,” which seemed to mirror the 1956 birth of Carrie.
Reynolds had a No. 1 hit on the
pop charts in 1957 with “Tammy,” the Oscar-nominated song from her film “Tammy and the Bachelor.”
The Cinderella story ended in 1959 after Fisher announced he was leaving his wife and two children to marry Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor was assailed as a husband stealer, Fisher as a deserter of his family.
The public was scandalized as details came out that Reynolds, lonely with Fisher on tour, called her best friend Liz in her hotel room on location — and Fisher answered.
“Every generation has their bit of scandal,” Reynolds told The News in 2010. “This generation had Brangelina and Jennifer (Aniston), and back then it was Debbie and Eddie and Elizabeth.”
Her second marriage to Harry Karl, which lasted 13 years, also ended with him cheating and draining the star’s savings. Reynolds’ marriage to Richard Hamlett also ended in divorce.
Reynolds, meanwhile, amassed a fabled collection of museum-worthy Hollywood memorabilia. She started collecting in 1970 when she emptied
her bank account to buy a majority of the items at MGM’s famed prop and costume auction.
Her treasures included a pair of ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” and a Charlie Chaplin bowler. Reynolds sold off the majority of her collection — after filing for bankruptcy in 1997 — to pay off debts.