A Tribute to Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds

2016 claimed a long list of entertainers, but the grim reaper’s most unexpected one-two punch came between the final two holidays with the death of movie icons Carrie Fisher on December 12 and her mother Debbie Reynolds a mere 36 hours later. With the premiere of the documentary about the pair, “Bright Lights” on HBO this weekend, we at the Geeks site thought we should take a look at their considerable contributions to film.

Let’s start with Carrie, who was born in Hollywood, USA on October 21, 1956, the daughter of Debbie and singer/actor Eddie Fisher. She appeared on stage with her mother throughout the late 60’s and early 70’s, even getting her first small screen credit in the 1969 TV movie “Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children”. It wasn’t until 1975, when she would make her big screen debut opposite Warren Beatty (quite an arrival) in Hal Ashby’s hit SHAMPOO. Watch out, this clip is definitely NSFW!!

Yes, that flick did well at the box office, but it was paled in comparison to her follow-up film, a blockbuster that changed the face of the industry: 1977’s STAR WARS.

 

Princess Leia Organa was the role that gave Carrie screen immortality. She would return to the character in 1980’s THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK , 1983’s THE RETURN OF THE JEDI, and 2015’s STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. When George Lucas was the recipient of the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, she shared some stories of that time…

But Carrie’s film career encompassed more than that blaster-totin’ royal rebel. She appeared in many comedies opposite a long list of impressive leading men. She was the ballistic ex of John Belushi in THE BLUES BROTHERS.

She would co-star with another SNL castmate, Chevy Chase, in UNDER THE RAINBOW. Carrie would work with Tom Hanks twice, first in THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE, and later in the cult classic THE BURBS.

Woody Allen cast her as Dianne Wiest’s “frenemy” in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, But she was a much better pal to Meg Ryan in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY.

Carrie balanced lots of supporting film roles, like the nun in JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, along with many TV appearances (new episodes of Amazon’s “Catastrophe” will be streaming soon). However the majority of her time the last couple of decades has been devoted to her writing. Carrie adapted her book POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE for director Mike Nichols who assembled a star-studded cast led by Meryl Streep and Shirley MacLaine.

Soon after, she was in demand as an uncredited “script doctor” brought in to “punch up” the dialogue for films such as LETHAL WEAPON 3, OUTBREAK, THE WEDDING SINGER, and STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT. Happily her work in this December’s next Star Wars flick, Episode VIII, was completed, so fans will get to spend a bit more time with that princess who has a thing for scoundrels.

Now, it’s mama’s turn! She was born Mary Frances Reynolds on April first, 1932 in El Paso, Texas. After making Debbie her official first name, she was a beauty queen (Miss Burbank of 1948) who caught the eye of Hollywood talent scouts, and her first two films were for Warner Brothers (JUNE BRIDE in 48 and THE DAUGHTER OF ROSIE O’GRADY in 1950). Soon the smart folks at MGM scooped her up. She “lip-synced “I Wanna Be Loved by You” as Helen Kane (the inspiration for Betty Boop) in the musical biopic THREE LITTLE WORDS. IN TWO WEEKS WITH LOVE she captivated movie goers with her duet with Carleton Carpenter, “Aba Daba Honeymoon”. MR IMPERIUM followed, but her next film would be her entry into super-stardom. Some say it’s the greatest movie musical of all time, while it was included in the top ten comedies of all time by AFI. We’re talking about that 1952 gem…SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN.

…and here’s one of many memorable musicals numbers, “Good Morning”

Debbie was now one of MGM’s most popular stars. After a couple more musicals, she would branch out into more adult romantic comedies, such as THE TENDER TRAP with Frank Sinatra and SUSAN SLEPT HERE opposite Dick Powell.

After co-starring in THE CATERED AFFAIR, written by Paddy Chayefsky and Gore Vidal, and BUNDLE OF JOY with real-life hubby Eddie Fisher, Debbie launched a film franchise (and later TV series) as an innocent backwoods girl finding love in TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR. Her rendition of the theme song even became a juke box fave.

As the 1960’s began Debbie was at the top of the box office, scoring a major role in the Cinerama spectacle HOW THE WEST WAS WON. In 1964 she would finally be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress as the lead in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (a role she would later say was her favorite of all her films).

Two years later she would win praise in the biography, THE SINGING NUN. As the decade ended, Debbie appeared in two very adult marriage comedies, DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE, with Dick Van Dyke, and HOW SWEET IT IS! with James Garner, along with forays into horror (1971’s WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HELEN?) and animation (1973’s CHARLOTTE’S WEB). Work on stage and television then occupied most her time, along with collecting movie memorabilia for a possible future museum. Happily she might a triumphant return to the big screen in the 1990’s with a supporting role in Oliver Stone’s HEAVEN & EARTH. Her last truly great movie role might be as the title character in Albert Brooks’s MOTHER in 1996.

The next year Debbie would go on to play Kevin Kine’s mum in Frank Oz’s IN & OUT. Her last feature film role was in 2012’s ONE FOR THE MONEY. Three years later she would be given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Screen Actors’ Guild. And almost a year ago Debbie would finally be honored by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

We at this site join movie fans across the globe in saluting one of the greatest dynasties in cinema history. Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, thank you for being a part of films that will studied and enjoyed forever. Your legacy will never be forgotten.