Amanda Horak, Parker Miele, and Isaac Zucker
Staff Writers
Debbie Reynolds, an incredible actress and singer, died on Dec. 26, 2016 due to a “broken heart.” This was said to have caused a stroke after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, passed away. She was born April 1, 1932 in El Paso, Texas. She was discovered later by Warner Brothers Studio while she was working in beauty pageants. Reynolds made her first cinematic debut in the 1948’s film June Bride.
After June Bride, she started to excel and leave her mark in Hollywood. At the young age of 19, Debbie Reynolds sang along with Gene Kelly and Donald O’conner in the 1952’s Singing in the Rain. She then had a number one hit in 1957 in singing the emotional ballad “Tammy” from the film Tammy and the Bachelor. Reynolds continued her acting in comedies, romances, and westerns, a few of the most notable being The Rat Race, Pleasure of His Company, and How the West was Won. She was nominated for an Academy Award in 1964 for her lead role in The Unsinkable.
Reynolds decided to take on a new role with starting on television and performing on stage. She starred in a short sitcom in 1969 on The Debbie Reynolds Show and later on What’s the Matter Helen? in 1971. After a few years in television, she started doing stage work. Reynolds spent the next several years performing in Las Vegas and on Broadway. She received a Tony Award nomination for her role in Irene in 1976.
In her later life, she returned to films in The Bodyguard and then Heaven and Earth in 1993. In 1996, Reynolds performed in Mother, followed by In & Out. She also started out on a recurring show on NBC called Will & Grace. In November of 2015, she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award.
In her personal life, Reynolds went against Frank Sinatra’s advice not to marry a singer and married crooner Eddie Fisher, who later left Reynolds for actress Elizabeth Taylor. Before their divorce in 1959, the couple had two children, Carrie and Todd. The year after her first divorce Reynolds married another man, Harry Karl, but they later got divorced in 1973 because of his gambling addiction. After 12 years Reynolds got married again to a real estate developer Richard Hamlett and the couple again had problems with money so they divorced in 1996.
Debbie Reynolds did amazing things in her life, which she will always be remembered for.
