DR
Debbie Reynolds
Actor, Writer
Died December 28, 2016 (84 years)
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, businesswoman, film historian, and humanitarian. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portrayal of Helen Kane in the 1950 film Three Little Words, and her breakout role was her first leading role, as Kathy Selden in Singin' in the Rain (1952). Other successes include The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), Susan Slept Here (1954), Bundle of Joy (1956 Golden Globe nomination), The Catered Affair (1956 National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress Winner), and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), in which her performance of the song "Tammy" reached number one on the Billboard music charts.[1] In 1959, she released her first pop music album, titled Debbie.
She starred in How the West Was Won (1963), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), a biographical film about the famously boisterous Molly Brown. Her performance as Brown earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other films include The Singing Nun (1966), Divorce American Style (1967), What's the Matter with Helen? (1971), Charlotte's Web (1973), Mother (1996) (Golden Globe nomination), and In & Out (1997). Reynolds was also a cabaret performer. In 1979 she founded the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio in North Hollywood, which still operates today.
In 1969 she starred on television in the eponymous The Debbie Reynolds Show, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In 1973 Reynolds starred in a Broadway revival of the musical Irene and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance in A Gift of Love (1999) and an Emmy Award for playing Grace's mother Bobbi on Will & Grace. At the turn of the millennium, Reynolds reached a new younger generation with her role as Aggie Cromwell in Disney's Halloweentown series. In 1988 she released her autobiography titled, Debbie: My Life. In 2013, she released a second autobiography, Unsinkable: A Memoir.
Reynolds also had several business ventures, including ownership of a dance studio and a Las Vegas hotel and casino, and she was an avid collector of film memorabilia, beginning with items purchased at the landmark 1970 MGM auction. She served as president of The Thalians, an organization dedicated to mental health causes. Reynolds continued to perform successfully on stage, television, and film into her eighties. In January 2015, Reynolds received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. In 2016 she received the Academy Awards Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. In the same year, a documentary about her life was released titled Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds; the film premiered on HBO on January 7, 2017.
On December 28, 2016, Reynolds was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following a medical emergency, which her son Todd Fisher later described as a "severe stroke". She died that afternoon, one day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher.
Filmography
| 2014 | The 7D (TV Series) · as Great-Great-Grandmommers Whimsical |
| 2013 | Behind the Candelabra · as Frances |
| 2012 | One for the Money · as Grandma Mazur |
| 2011 | |
| 2010 | Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil (TV Series) · as Mary Van Der Deth |
| 2008 | The Penguins of Madagascar (TV Series) · as Granny Squirrel |
| 2005 | Return to Halloweentown · as Agatha Cromwell |
| 2004 | Halloweentown High · as Aggie Cromwell |
| 2003 | Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales · as Unknown |
| 2002 | What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain' · as Debbie Reynolds |
| 2002 | First Monday (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 2002 | Kim Possible (TV Series) · as Nana Possible (voice) |
| 2001 | Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge · as Agatha Cromwell |
| 2001 | These Old Broads · as Piper Grayson |
| 2000 | Rugrats in Paris · as Lulu Pickles (voice) |
| 2000 | Virtual Mom · as Gwen |
| 2000 | Rugrats: Acorn Nuts & Diapey Butts · as Lulu Johnson |
| 1999 | A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story · as Shirlee Allison |
| 1999 | Family Guy (TV Series) · as Mrs. Wilson (voice) |
| 1998 | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie · as Mrs. Claus / Mitzi / Mrs. Prancer / School Teacher (voice) |
| 1998 | The Christmas Wish · as Ruth |
| 1998 | Zack and Reba · as Beulah Blanton |
| 1998 | Will & Grace (TV Series) · as Bobbi Adler |
| 1998 | Halloweentown · as Aggie Cromwell |
| 1997 | In & Out · as Berniece Brackett |
| 1996 | Mother · as Beatrice Henderson |
| 1994 | Touched by an Angel (TV Series) · as Betty Poplovich |
| 1993 | Heaven & Earth · as Eugenia |
| 1992 | The Bodyguard · as Debbie Reynolds |
| 1991 | Rugrats (TV Series) · as Lulu Pickles (voice) |
| 1990 | Wings (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1989 | Kiki's Delivery Service · as Madame |
| 1989 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder · as Amanda Cody |
| 1988 | Roseanne (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1987 | Sadie and Son · as Sadie |
| 1985 | That's Dancing! · as Unknown |
| 1985 | The Golden Girls (TV Series) · as Truby |
| 1983 | Hotel (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1983 | Do It Debbie's Way · as Unknown |
| 1977 | The Love Boat (TV Series) · as Sheila Evans |
| 1976 | That's Entertainment, Part II · as (archive footage) |
| 1976 | America at the Movies · as Lily Prescott |
| 1976 | Alice (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1973 | Charlotte's Web · as Charlotte A. Cavatica |
| 1971 | What's the Matter with Helen? · as Adelle Bruckner |
| 1969 | The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1969 | The Debbie Reynolds Show (TV Series) · as Debbie Thompson |
| 1968 | How Sweet It Is! · as Jenny |
| 1967 | Divorce American Style · as Barbara Harmon |
| 1967 | The Carol Burnett Show (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1967 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1966 | The Singing Nun · as Sister Ann |
| 1964 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown · as Molly Brown |
| 1964 | Goodbye Charlie · as Charlie Sorel / Virginia Mason |
| 1963 | My Six Loves · as Janice Courtney |
| 1962 | How the West Was Won · as Lily Prescott |
| 1961 | The Pleasure of His Company · as Jessica Poole |
| 1961 | The Second Time Around · as Lu Rogers |
| 1960 | Pepe · as Debbie Reynolds |
| 1960 | The Rat Race · as Peggy Brown |
| 1959 | The Gazebo · as Nell Nash |
| 1959 | The Mating Game · as Mariette Larkin |
| 1959 | Say One for Me · as Holly LeMaise |
| 1959 | It Started with a Kiss · as Maggie Putnam |
| 1958 | This Happy Feeling · as Janet Blake |
| 1957 | Tammy and the Bachelor · as Tammy Tyree |
| 1956 | Bundle of Joy · as Polly Parish |
| 1956 | The Catered Affair · as Jane Hurley |
| 1956 | Meet Me in Las Vegas · as Debbie Reynolds (uncredited) |
| 1955 | The Tender Trap · as Julie Gillis |
| 1955 | Hit the Deck · as Carol Pace |
| 1954 | Susan Slept Here · as Susan Beaurgard Landis |
| 1954 | Athena · as Minerva Mulvain |
| 1953 | I Love Melvin · as Judy Schneider / Judy LeRoy |
| 1953 | Give a Girl a Break · as Suzy Doolittle |
| 1953 | The Affairs of Dobie Gillis · as Pansy Hammer |
| 1952 | Singin' in the Rain · as Kathy Selden |
| 1952 | Skirts Ahoy! · as Debbie Reynolds (uncredited) |
| 1951 | Mr. Imperium · as Gwen |
| 1950 | Three Little Words · as Helen Kane |
| 1950 | Two Weeks with Love · as Melba Robinson |
| 1950 | The Colgate Comedy Hour (TV Series) · as Unknown |