The mob of reporters, later to be known as the paparazzi, went wild as the beloved star stood forlornly in her doorway with her baby in her arms knowing that Elizabeth Taylor, the most glamorous movie star of the day, had seduced her famous singing husband, Eddie Fisher, who had left her and their children for the beautiful legend.
Mary Frances Reynolds was born April Fool's Day in 1932 in El Paso, Texas. Her father Raymond lost his railroad job at the height of the depression, and the financially strapped family, which included Mary's older brother William and mother Maxene, moved into Maxene's parents home. When she was seven, the family relocated to Burbank, where her father had obtained a good job with the Southern Pacific Railroad. In high school, Mary Frances, nicknamed 'Frannie,' attempted to enter school plays, but people laughed at her when she did serious readings, and she never appeared on stage, though she often helped behind the scenes. At 16, she entered a beauty contest sponsored by Lockheed Aircraft and lip-synched to a frenetic Betty Hutton song, 'I'm A Square Peg in A Social Circle,' and won the title of Miss Burbank. Two of the judges were talent scouts from Warner Bros. and MGM. On the flip of a coin, the Warners scout won the right to test Mary Frances, leading her to a short-term contract and changing her name to Debbie, a moniker that dismayed her.
Debbie Reynolds made her screen debut in June Bride ( 1948 ) . Next she appeared in The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady ( 1950 ) , after which her Warners contract was dropped. Reynolds then obtained a seven-year contract at MGM, and she won a role as Helen Kane, lip-synching the Boop Boop De Boop Girl who had been the voice of Betty Boop, in Three Little Words ( 1950 ) , starring Red Skelton and Fred Astaire. In 1950, she appeared in three films. Her performance in a Busby Berkeley musical, Two Weeks With Love ( 1950 ) , convinced Louis B. Mayer to star her in what is still considered by many to be the finest musical ever, Singin' In The Rain ( 1952 ) , for which she learned to dance opposite the great Gene Kelly.
In the years to follow, Reynolds made dozens films, including I Love Melvin ( 1953 ) with Donald O'Connor; Susan Slept Here ( 1954 ) with Dick Powell; Athena ( 1954 ) with Jane Powell; Hit The Deck ( 1955 ) with Ann Miller; The Tender Trap ( 1955 ) with Frank Sinatra; A Catered Affair ( 1956 ) with Bette Davis; Tammy and the Bachelor ( 1957 ) , with Leslie Nielsen, whose theme song she sang, giving her a smash No. 1 hit; The Mating Game ( 1958 ) with Tony Randall; This Happy Feeling ( 1958 ) with Troy Donahue; and The Rat Race ( 1960 ) with Tony Curtis. In 1960 she visited an executive to ask for a charity donation, and when he grabbed and kissed her, the five-foot-one star dropped her books and punched him hard enough to send him over a coffeetable. She announced, 'I'm gonna call the police unless you write me a check for $10,000 for my charity,' to which he complied.
Reynolds was a huge success in The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( 1964 ) , for which she was nominated for an Oscar. From 1959-1960, she made the exhibitors' poll of the 10 top box-office stars. In the mid 1960s she created a nightclub show and debuted at the Rivera in Las Vegas. Ever since, Reynolds has been a headliner in shows that have kept her working 42 weeks a year. Other films she appeared in include The Singing Nun ( 1966 ) with Ricardo Montalban; What's The Matter With Helen? ( 1971 ) with Shelley Winters; Mother ( 1996 ) with Albert Brooks; and In & Out ( 1997 ) with Kevin Kline.
In 1955, Reynolds married the most popular singer in the world, Eddie Fisher, and after producing two children, Carrie and Todd, and co-starring with her husband in the film Bundle of Joy ( 1956 ) , Eddie left Debbie for her good friend, Elizabeth Taylor, who eventually dumped him for another married man, Richard Burton. It was the biggest scandal of the time, and although Elizabeth's career survived, Fisher's career waned severely. Reynolds divorced Fisher in 1959, and a year later married multimillionaire Harry Karl, who gambled away her money and had Debbie declaring her losses at $30 million. Her last husband, Richard Hamlet, is said to have mismanaged her money and drove her to lose $12 million and lose her beloved Debbie Reynolds Hotel and Casino which had opened in Las Vegas in 1994. Attached was her vast collection of movie memorabilia in a Hollywood Museum. Reynolds was so proud that she was able to acquire these magnificent costumes, sets and relics of the cinema which fortunately were saved when Reynolds went bankrupt and the hotel was sold at auction in 1998. Reynolds is negotiating to soon open another museum.
Reynolds turned to TV and negotiated a three-year deal with a series of yearly specials titled 'A Date With Debbie.' Though the Debbie Reynolds show lasted one season from 1969-1970, she has appeared successfully on dozens of TV specials and sitcoms. In 1973 she starred in a revival of the 1920s musical, Irene. In 1983 she introduced a very popular exercise video called 'Do It Debbie's Way,' and in 1988 published her memoirs titled Debbie, My Life. In 2001, Debbie and Elizabeth Taylor would reunite, along with Joan Collins, in a TV movie named These Old Broads. In 1999 she began a recurring role on television's Will & Grace.
The always hilarious and interesting Reynolds told an audience, 'I think the only person that I know that is dumber than I am about love and romance is Burt Reynolds. Maybe I should marry Burt. I wouldn't have to change my last name, and we could share wigs!!!
Debbie Reynolds will appear at Columbia College April 6, 2006 for Conversation In The Arts: Up Close With Debbie Reynolds. Call ( 312 ) 269-5126.
Steve Starr is the author of Picture Perfect-Art Deco Photo Frames 1926-1946, published by Rizzoli International Publications ( 1991 ) . An artist, designer, writer and photographer, he is the owner of Steve Starr Studios specializing original Art Deco artifacts and photo frames. Starr's personal collection of over 950 original Art Deco frames is filled with photos of Hollywood's most elegant stars. His column, STARRLIGHT, about stars of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, appears in publications including Entertainment magazine Online, the Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine and the Windy City Times.
Visit the Steve Starr Satellite Studios at the Ravenswood Antique Mart, 4727 N. Damen, Chicago, or Visit www.SteveStarrStudios.com .
STARRGAZERS-Radiant Digital Photography by Steve Starr is available privately or at particular Chicago locations including the Seneca Hotel's Chestnut Grill, Kit Kat Lounge, Katerina's, Cornelia's, and the Cabaret where Starr will photograph you and your friends, print it, frame it, sign it and deliver it you on the premises for $10. Call 773-463-8017
Photo of Steve Starr Jan. 28, 2006, at the Whitehall Hotel by NBC News director Harold 'Sandy' Whiteley.
