At the peak of her career, actress Debbie Reynolds was America's sweetheart, the archetypal girl-next-door; best remembered for her work in Hollywood musicals, she appeared in the genre's defining moment, Singin' in the Rain, as well as many other notable successes. Born in El Paso, Texas, she entered the film industry by winning the Miss Burbank beauty contest in 1948, resulting in a contract with Warner Bros. She soon exited for the greener pastures of MGM, where 1950's Two Weeks with Love garnered Reynolds strong notices. Reynolds acquitted herself more than admirably in 1952's Singin' in the Rain, a film that remains one of the greatest Hollywood musicals ever produced. A series of less distinguished films followed, with the studio continuing to insert Reynolds into lackluster projects. Finally, in 1955 she appeared opposite Frank Sinatra in the hit The Tender Trap, and two years later starred in Tammy and the Bachelor, the first in a series of popular teen films. In 1959, Reynolds' marriage to Eddie Fisher ended in divorce when he left her for Elizabeth Taylor. The effect was an outpouring of public sympathy which only further increased her growing popularity, and it was rumored that by the early '60s she was earning millions per picture.
Though she earned an Academy Award nomination for 1964's The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Reynolds' star began waning soon after. She essentially retired from movie-making, instead hitting the nightclub circuit and appearing on Broadway. By the 1980s, Reynolds had opened her own hotel and casino in Las Vegas, reguarly performing live in the venue's nightclub. After tentative steps towards returning to Hollywood on a regular basis, she accepted the title role in the acclaimed 1996 comedy Mother, delivering what many critics declared the best performance of her career. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: Kiki's Delivery Service, It Started with a Kiss, In & Out
First Major Screen Credit: Two Weeks With Love (1950)
Biography
At the peak of her career, actress Debbie Reynolds was America's sweetheart, the archetypal girl-next-door. Best remembered for her work in Hollywood musicals, she appeared in the genre's defining moment, Singin' in the Rain, as well as many other notable successes. Born Mary Frances Reynolds on April 1, 1932, in El Paso, TX, she entered the film industry by winning the Miss Burbank beauty contest in 1948, resulting in a contract with Warner Bros. However, the studio cast her in small roles in only two films -- 1948's The June Bride and 1950's The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady -- and she soon exited for the greener pastures of MGM, where she first appeared in Three Little Words. A more significant turn in 1950's Two Weeks With Love garnered Reynolds strong notices, and soon she was touted as the new Judy Garland, with a role in 1951's Mr. Imperium also on the horizon.
Though star Gene Kelly initially opposed her casting in his 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain, Reynolds acquitted herself more than admirably alongside the likes of Donald O'Connor and Jean Hagen, and the film remains one of the greatest Hollywood musicals ever produced. A series of less distinguished musicals followed, among them 1953's I Love Melvin, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, and Give a Girl a Break. On loan to RKO, she scored a major success in 1954's Susan Slept Here, and upon returning to MGM she was awarded with a new and improved seven-year contract. However, the studio continued to insert Reynolds into lackluster projects like the health-fad satire Athena and the musical Hit the Deck. Finally, in 1955, she appeared opposite Frank Sinatra in the hit The Tender Trap, followed by a well-regarded turn as a blushing bride in The Catered Affair a year later.
Additionally, Reynolds teamed with real-life husband Eddie Fisher in the musical Bundle of Joy. The couple's children also went on to showbiz success: Daughter Carrie Fisher became a popular actress, novelist, and screenwriter, while son Todd became a director. In 1957, Reynolds starred in Tammy and the Bachelor, the first in a series of popular teen films which also included 1961's Tammy Tell Me True, 1963's Tammy and the Doctor, and 1967's Tammy and the Millionaire. Her other well-received films of the period included 1959's It Started With a Kiss, 1961's The Pleasure of His Company, and 1964's The Unsinkable Molly Brown, for which she earned an Academy Award nomination. In 1959, Reynolds' marriage to Fisher ended in divorce when he left her for Elizabeth Taylor. The effect was an outpouring of public sympathy which only further increased her growing popularity, and it was rumored that by the early '60s, she was earning millions per picture.
By the middle of the decade, however, Reynolds' star was waning. While described by the actress herself as her favorite film, 1966's The Singing Nun was not the hit MGM anticipated. Its failure finally convinced the studio to offer her roles closer to her own age, but neither 1967's Divorce American Style nor the next year's How Sweet It Is performed well, and Reynolds disappeared from the screen to mount her own television series, the short-lived Debbie Reynolds Show. In 1971, she appeared against type in the campy horror picture What's the Matter with Helen?, but when it too failed, she essentially retired from movie making, accepting voice-over work as the title character in the animated children's film Charlotte's Web but otherwise remaining away from Hollywood for over a decade.
Reynolds then hit the nightclub circuit, additionally appearing on Broadway in 1974's Irene. In 1977, she also starred in Annie Get Your Gun. By the 1980s, Reynolds had become a fixture in Las Vegas, where she ultimately opened her own hotel and casino, regularly performing live in the venue's nightclub and even opening her own museum of Hollywood memorabilia. In 1987, she reappeared in front of the camera for the first time in years in the TV movie Sadie and Son, followed in 1989 by Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder. In 1992, Reynolds appeared briefly as herself in the hit film The Bodyguard, and a small role in Oliver Stone's 1993 Vietnam tale Heaven and Earth marked her second tentative step toward returning to Hollywood on a regular basis. Finally, in 1996 she accepted the title role in the acclaimed Albert Brooks comedy Mother, delivering what many critics declared the best performance of her career. The comedies Wedding Bell Blues and In and Out followed in 1996 and 1997. Reynolds subsequently continued to pop up in a variety of projects, ranging from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (to which she lent her voice) to children's animated films and documentaries. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Debbie Reynolds as Kathy Selden, after her identity is revealed
Career
Reynolds regularly appeared in movie musicals, most notably Singin' in the
Rain, during the 1950s and chalked up several hit records despite an only intermittent career as a recording artist.
Her song "Aba Daba Honeymoon" (featured in the 1950 film "Two Weeks With Love" as a duet with Carleton Carpenter) was a top
3 hit in 1951. She is also remembered for her smash recording of the theme song "Tammy"
which earned her a gold record and was the best-selling single by a female vocalist in 1957 and was number one for 5 weeks on the
Billboard pop charts. Reynolds also scored two additional top 25 Billboard hits
with "A Very Special Love" in 1958 and 1960s "Am I That Easy To Forget", a pop version of Skeeter
Davis' country hit (interestingly, Davis' real first names are also Mary Frances).
In what Reynolds called the "stupidest mistake of my entire career", she made big headlines in 1970 after instigating a fight
with NBC over cigarette advertising on her TV show. NBC canceled the show.[2]
On May 17, 2007, she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada, Reno, where she had contributed for many years to the film studies
program. In her acceptance speech, she referred to the University as "Nevahda...Arizona".[citation needed]
Personal life
She married and divorced three times. She and first husband Eddie Fisher wed in
1955. They are the parents of Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher. A public scandal ensued when
Eddie and Elizabeth Taylor fell in love, and the Fishers were divorced in 1959.
Reynolds' second marriage, to millionaire businessman Harry Karl, lasted from 1960 to 1973. At the end, she found herself in
financial difficulty due to Karl's gambling and bad investments. (Under the community
property laws of California, both spouses in a marriage are legally responsible for debts incurred by either.) Reynolds
was married to real estate developer Richard Hamlett from 1984 to 1996. They purchased a small hotel and casino in Las Vegas, but
it was not a success. In 1997, Reynolds was forced to declare bankruptcy.[3]
Reynolds has been active in the Thalians Club, a charitable organization.
She has amassed a large collection of movie memorabilia and displayed them, first in a museum at her Las Vegas hotel and
casino during the 1990s and later in a museum close to the Kodak Theater in
Los Angeles, California. She
has on several occasions auctioned off items from the collection.
Now, at last, there is a new home for this irreplaceable collection - right in the heart of the USA in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee. The Museum will be located at Belle Island Village ([1]), and is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2008.
She currently resides in Los Angeles next door to her daughter Carrie, and her granddaughter, Billie.
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