Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher: Hollywood’s Mother-Daughter Fable

But you have to remember the context. Carried Fisher battled bi-polar disorder her entire life....and she worked hard for the benefit of other people with mental health issues. She was so much more than an actress who was famous for a particular part. She was a real human being, with real human issues, and she didn't use her fame to hide away from those issues. Read Wishful Drinking. I think you'll understand her more.

A write who can put this in a book, from Wishful Drinking, is not unreadable: "Mom and Dad were great friends with Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Mike Todd. Mike died in a plane crash in 1958, when I was two, and my dad flew to Elizabeth's side, making his way slowly to her front."

The point is that they were two unique people in the public eye. They entertained and brought joy to others. They were important icons of Americana. Both women went through very difficult times in their lives, and it is often that people who are not famous feel a connection to the famous by seeing that celebrities, too, suffer along with the rest of us. And these two, Debbie and Carrie, didn't try to hide their sufferings. Additionally, anyone as multi-talented as Debbie Reynolds deserves to be remembered, eulogized, appreciated...As 19 year old kid she danced AMAZINGLY with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. She went on to entertain us for a very long time with her singing, dancing, acting, and general adorableness. HUGE talent. She was beyond wonderful in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. And, Carrie, who had some of her mother's talent was much better at writing: Brilliant, funny, wise, all-out-there. It would have been great, I admit, if they could have cured cancer, too--that would have been absolutely incredible in view of what they actually did do! It would have been a real WOW if besides being entertainers they had also cured cancer. But, alas, they will be remembered for being in the entertainment field...mostly because entertainers are not usually cancer researchers and vice verse. Everyone we revere and appreciate does not have the same job; we do not just remember and appreciate people who research diseases, ruminate on the universe, or come up with Apps.

well... Debbie was the star. Carrie was the daughter of the stars.

He's been dead for years. I wouldn't want to be him, either.

Eddie Fisher died in 2010. Did you mean Todd Fisher, Debbie's son and Carrie's brother?

I don't think that Vera Rubin was "consigned" to the science section--SHE WAS A SCIENTIST! Al three women, Vera Rubin, Debbie Reynolds, and Carrie Fisher were important and valuable for what each of them contributed to their respective fields. I will tell you that Carrie Fisher's being forthcoming, brutally honest, and having a sense of humor about her psychiatric illnesses helped many people who suffer from the same illnesses, and helped many people who live with those people. She did not sweep the ugliness in her life under the rug, but shared it, which most people do not do. And in sharing it, she helped others. She brought herself DOWN from a celebrity to just-the-lady-next-door. And she did it with humor, grace, and class. People in the entertainment field do just that--Entertain. To many people entertainment is MORE interesting than astronomy. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. And it would be a very sad world if we did not have these "move stars" to cheer us, delight us, and distract us. Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher had both a lot of talent, and a lot of heart...and although you cannot equate the contributions of Ms. Rubin against those of Ms. Fisher and Ms. Reynolds, I feel that the input of ALL their contributions is very valuable. Different, but just as important.

It was not necessarily the mother's fault that the daughter was getting electro-shock treatments! Bipolar disorder is genetic, and Carrie Fisher probably inherited this from her father, Eddie Fisher. (Some of his behaviors, like impulsivity, are classically bipolar.) While poverty is horrible, horrible, horrible...bipolar disorder is also horrible, horrible, horrible. You could be swimming in money, and living in a mansion, but if you have a dreadful disease, believe me, you suffer. Terminal diseases and chronic diseases are one way of suffering, but mental illnesses create unimaginable suffering, too--for those who have the illnesses, and for those who love them. I do not find that Carrie Fisher was an example of a person who was not raised well; she was a very intelligent, seemingly kind, and certainly a productive human being, despite her illnesses/addictions. Very important is that she had a mother who loved her very much, even though she had a fairly absent father. Even some of the very best-raised people for one reason or another succumb to mental illness.

performed, performed, performed...
I so wish the NYT let us have five minutes to edit. I am one who simply cannot easily edit my own writing.
Hugh

Perhaps what you say is true, however, Carrie Fisher brought mental illness to the public, speaking about it, not ashamed of it, and I feel that is a great service for a country who doesn't have good mental health treatment facilities for people other than the very wealthy.

We are sadly lacking in decent facilities for treatment of mental illness. I grew up with a bipolar parent, believe me, it was not fun. When she had to be hospitalized, it was in a state mental hospital that was one of the most horrible,frightening places I ever had to visit as a teenager. That said, most of the state run facilities are closed and the mentally ill are either in jail or on the streets.

As far as alcoholism in a mentally ill person, it should be referred to as self treatment. Until you have lived with mental illness you have no idea what it's like.

So, thank you Carrie Fisher for sharing your problems, maybe it will help just one person seek treatment.

I have to agree, the outpouring of media love is baffling. They were both pop icons, but how can they have lived in a world of make believe yet still have anything relevant to teach the rest of us? If the mental illness community finds in them examples of truth-telling that supports their struggles, all well and good. But "work ethic", "monumental", "inimitable"?

Earthling, mental illness is a horrible thing. I do not think that she was "proudly" mentally ill. She did not have a choice about being mentally ill. If she seemed to talk about it and write about it a lot, it was because it CONSUMED her. And I feel that by being very upfront to the public with her sickness and despair, she helped a lot of people. I am sure if she had had a choice, she would have chosen not to be mentally ill. As for a "sad drunkard," well, alcoholism is also a mental illness, and when it impacts upon those who love you, it can be a killer, literally, for all involved. If Carrie was a pleasant drunk, then as NOT acceptable as that is, it is better than being a MEAN drunk. Carrie Fisher also sought and got help for her mental illness. And because she spoke publicly about that, many sick people who would not have otherwise gotten help, perhaps did. She brought the shame out into the open using many techniques in her writing, only one of which was humor. It helps. As far as being "lacking in moral direction," that is a symptom of bipolar illness. They are impulsive, and often promiscuous. Multiple suicide attempts are also indicative of mental illness. No well person would make multiple suicide attempts. I believe that she LOVED her family! SHE WAS ILL! There is still so little understanding of mental illness that it is just amazing. At any rate, despite all her psychiatric conditions, she was very funny, very bright, and very productive.

I thought Postcards from the Edge was really insightful, as were Carrie Fisher's quotes in the various articles I read over the last few days. She probably was unhappy, and her mum looked so happy in those movies, and in her quotes. Instructive lives, both of them.