R.I.P. Debbie Reynolds

The dreadful year of 2016 is really just messing with us now. Just one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher died, Hollywood screen legend Debbie Reynolds has passed away as well.

The actress was rushed to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after suffering what is believed to be a stroke. Her death was confirmed later that evening. She was 84.

Reynolds started her movie career at a young age and was only 20-years-old when she was cast as the female lead opposite Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor in ‘Singin’ in the Rain‘. Although only a modest hit at first, the film had amazing longevity and is frequently cited as the greatest movie musical. Reynolds’ fresh-faced image and bubbly personality quickly made her a star in numerous other musicals and comedies during the 1950s and ’60s. She was nominated for an Oscar in 1965 for ‘The Unsinkable Molly Brown’. In later years, she settled into playing motherly and grandmotherly roles in movies and TV. In 1997, she received a Golden Globe nomination for the title role in the Albert Brooks comedy ‘Mother’. Her most recent screen appearance was in Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace bio-pic ‘Behind the Candelabra‘.

At times, Reynolds was more famous for her off-screen life than her on-screen performances. Her marriage to pop crooner Eddie Fisher fell apart after just four years when she caught him cheating on her with her friend Elizabeth Taylor. Fisher married Taylor within hours of his divorce from Reynolds, but Reynolds got the last laugh when Taylor later dumped Fisher for Richard Burton. (Reynolds claimed that she and Taylor eventually reconciled their friendship.)

The actress was said to be in the process of planning her daughter’s funeral when she fell ill. She is survived by a son, Todd Fisher, and a granddaughter, actress Billie Lourd.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]

2 comments

  1. “Mother” is probably my favorite Albert Brooks film and I loved her performance of his mother in it. Rest in peace, Debbie.

    It truly has been a tragic year. 2017 can’t come soon enough.

  2. Thulsadoom

    Another Hollywood legend. 🙁 I haven’t watched Singin’ in the Rain in years, but it was always my favourite musical. Think it’s about due another viewing.

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