My all-time favorite actress
It isn't often that I'm "shocked" by the death of a celebrity, but I had to do a double-take in the wee hours this morning when I read that Debbie Reynolds had died. It was only two days ago that I heard her daughter, Carrie Fisher, passed away, and Miss Reynolds had posted a thank you on her Facebook to everyone who had expressed their condolences. Then, less than 24 hours later, there's the news that Debbie, herself, was gone.
I'm absolutely crushed. Debbie Reynolds appeared in more of my personal favorite media than any other Hollywood personality. When I was just a toddler, my mom used to play her song "Tammy" to me as a lullaby. It's still one of my most-loved melodies ever.
I was 10 when the movie "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" first came out (1964), and it was definitely one of my top 5 favorite movies from my childhood days, all because of Debbie Reynolds' exuberant portrayal of the lead character (and the great songs by Meredith Willson). I'm certain I've watched this movie over 200 times in my life; probably at least two dozen times just this past year, maybe even three dozen. 52 years after it premiered, and I've never gotten tired of it.
How in the world could someone dance like this with high heels on? ;)
Then, in 1973, Debbie Reynolds voiced Charlotte in "Charlotte's Web," yet another childhood favorite, though I didn't actually see the movie until about 5 years after it came out. (It was a VERY early furry influence on me. In fact, it was probably the first furry film I allowed myself to enjoy as an adult, or at least in that sense it's tied with "Watership Down" - the author of which, Richard Adams, passed away just days ago, himself, as I'm sure you've already heard.)
"Mother Earth and Father Time" is as fitting a eulogy for Debbie Reynolds as I could imagine for one so influential to me.
And she was in still another furry favorite of mine: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie" (1998), where she voiced the character of Rudy's mother, Mitzi.
(I put this clip up on YouTube, myself, just a few hours ago. I'm risking a copyright strike by doing that, but I don't care.)
Finally, almost exactly a year ago, I posted about having watched the classic "Singin' in the Rain" for the first time, which almost unbelievably I did not know until then had starred Debbie Reynolds in her first big role. And it was only this morning that I learned that she had little experience as a dancer before this, yet here she is dancing with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor as effortless as can be...
I still can hardly believe it. This is only the second time I can remember openly sobbing at the news of a celebrity death. The last time was 36 years ago, when John Lennon was murdered...
I'm absolutely crushed. Debbie Reynolds appeared in more of my personal favorite media than any other Hollywood personality. When I was just a toddler, my mom used to play her song "Tammy" to me as a lullaby. It's still one of my most-loved melodies ever.
Click to viewI was 10 when the movie "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" first came out (1964), and it was definitely one of my top 5 favorite movies from my childhood days, all because of Debbie Reynolds' exuberant portrayal of the lead character (and the great songs by Meredith Willson). I'm certain I've watched this movie over 200 times in my life; probably at least two dozen times just this past year, maybe even three dozen. 52 years after it premiered, and I've never gotten tired of it.
How in the world could someone dance like this with high heels on? ;)
Then, in 1973, Debbie Reynolds voiced Charlotte in "Charlotte's Web," yet another childhood favorite, though I didn't actually see the movie until about 5 years after it came out. (It was a VERY early furry influence on me. In fact, it was probably the first furry film I allowed myself to enjoy as an adult, or at least in that sense it's tied with "Watership Down" - the author of which, Richard Adams, passed away just days ago, himself, as I'm sure you've already heard.)
"Mother Earth and Father Time" is as fitting a eulogy for Debbie Reynolds as I could imagine for one so influential to me.
And she was in still another furry favorite of mine: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie" (1998), where she voiced the character of Rudy's mother, Mitzi.
(I put this clip up on YouTube, myself, just a few hours ago. I'm risking a copyright strike by doing that, but I don't care.)
Finally, almost exactly a year ago, I posted about having watched the classic "Singin' in the Rain" for the first time, which almost unbelievably I did not know until then had starred Debbie Reynolds in her first big role. And it was only this morning that I learned that she had little experience as a dancer before this, yet here she is dancing with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor as effortless as can be...
I still can hardly believe it. This is only the second time I can remember openly sobbing at the news of a celebrity death. The last time was 36 years ago, when John Lennon was murdered...