Write a commentThe recent rapid fire demise of Carrie Fisher and then her mother, Debbie Reynolds, hit home with me. I was deeply affected. It was also seriously felt by my fellow aging boomers in a profound way.
People who grew up in the fifties, as did I, had a special relationship with Debbie Reynolds. She was beautiful, gracious, and stoic in the face of her treatment by her cad of a husband, Eddie Fisher, who dumped her for that siren of a seductress, Elizabeth Taylor. She became an American icon in Jackie Kennedy like fashion well before Jackie Kennedy.
I remember when Debbie Reynolds visited Fulton's new " Easy Bargain Center" which was then located in an old mill building on West First St. along the river, which has been long since demolished. The Easy Bargain Center was a discount department store precursor of Walmart. It later moved into a new one-story box-type store building across the street. We have experienced a whole series of discount stores ever since, with Weston's and Jamesway, K-Mart and others, finally all succumbing to the staying power of Walmart. But in 1962, there was no Walmart yet, and a trip to the Easy Bargain Center in Fulton for a 13-year-old kid was always exciting. When you had the added appearance of actress Debbie Reynolds to promote her new husband Harry Karl's shoe line, you had an event of major proportions .
Hundreds of people, myself included, showed up to catch a glimpse of Debbie Reynolds. She was a superstar, and it was a thrill to be there. Events like that one are forever seared in your brain as a teenager growing up.
I also remember the Lone Ranger and Tonto coming to the Strand theatre in Oswego, which was across the street from the still existing Oswego theater on West Second St. And I remember when Buffalo Bob and Howdy Doody came to the Oswego theatre for a special Saturday kiddies matinee. Those experiences stick with you for a lifetime. As the years roll on, I may not be able to tell you what I had for breakfast, but I can tell you everything you want to know about Howdy Doody, Phineas T. Bluster, Dilly-Dally, Clarabelle the Clown, Chief Thunder Thud, and Princess Summer -Fall -Winter -Spring. That's just the way it is. So when a Debbie Reynolds dies, even at the age of 84, and after just losing her daughter who was an icon for the next generation, you can't help but be deeply affected. Add to that the death of pop stars like George Michael, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Lesley Gore, actress Patti Duke and even country crooner Merle Haggard, and it makes for a year of profound loss in the entertainment world that is deeply felt by many, especially those of us who are among the baby boomer generation. The world is still turning, time matches on, and change is inevitable. It often comes without warning.
If Debbie Reynolds was the American queen of her time, her daughter Carrie became a princess for the next generation.
Star Wars and its characters infected a whole new generation in a profound way. Princess Leia Organa of Alderon had a firm grip on her own persona, and she had True Grit to boot. I saw Carrie Fisher's one woman show "A Drinking Life" in Schenectady a few years back, and she connected with the audience in a smart, sincere, take no prisoners, profoundly honest way, with lots of humor thrown in. Seeing her perform live, as well as on the screen, deepens my connection to her, but it will never be as deep as my connection to Debbie Reynolds. In my mind's eye, there was a princess, and there was a queen, and we have lost them both, but they have left a legacy of memories for us to cherish, and performances to continue to watch and revel in. God bless film. God bless video recordings. As a result, legacies live on, memories are reinforced, and great performances are forever preserved, and that's a good thing. A really good thing.
