Waking up this morning to the tragic news that the Hollywood
film star Debbie Reynolds has sadly passed away, only a day after the death of
her daughter, Carrie Fisher.
I first remember watching Ms Reynolds in the TV series, The
Debbie Reynolds Show, a sitcom which appeared in the UK during the early seventies,
however it was the 1959 movie, ‘It Started with a Kiss’ that no doubt makes
Debbie more notable to readers of this blog.
Although it starred Glenn Ford as an American Air Force
Sergeant and Debbie Reynolds as his wife, it is a rather unique car they win in
a raffle that is the real star and makes the
film of extreme interest to fans of classic automobiles and a certain
cult TV series.
The custom built 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, which
appeared in the film with a bright red paint job and an electric opening canopy was the same car (there was
only one) customised by George Barris and used as the iconic Batmobile in the
sixties TV series Batman.
Although Ms Reynolds, a prolific actress, singer, dancer and
businesswoman, and humanitarian, working for the Hollywood mental health charity, The Thalians ,will be
probably best known for her breakout part in the film, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, I
suspect I’ll always remember her in a little known movie starring alongside
the Batmobile before it was famous.
Rest in peace, Ms
Reynolds
The TV series, The Debbie Reynolds Show, is best remembered by the Monty Python parody by John Cleese as Attila the Hun using the theme tune and 'swings' of the opening credits.
ReplyDeleteA sad event to close a year of unfortunate events. I like to remember the movie 'Mother' with Debbie Reynolds keeping cheese frozen in the freezer and using an electric knife to cut it. She seemed to revel in playing the eccentric.