Who is Eddie Fisher? Father of Carrie Fisher and ex-husband of Debbie Reynolds – all you need to know
HE WAS the man who broke Debbie Reynold’s heart when he left her for “the most beautiful woman in the world”.
Eddie Fisher was also one of the most successful American pop acts of the 1950s and hosted his own TV show, but it’s his love affairs and marriages that he is often remembered for.
As the world get's ready to say goodbye to his daughter Carrie and his ex wife Debbie Reynolds in a live-streamed memorial service, we look back over the life of Eddie.
Who is Eddie Fisher?
He was born Edwin Jack Fisher in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in August 1928 to Russian-born Jewish immigrants Gitte and Joseph Tisch. His father’s surname was changed by the time of the 1940 census.
Eddie, who was the fourth of seven children, was educated at his local high school and became interested in singing in amateur school contests, most of which he would win.
He made his radio debut on the local station WFIL and performed on the Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts radio show that later moved to TV and with the start of his career already on track, Eddie dropped out of school to pursue his dreams.
How did Eddie become well-known?
In 1946 he signed a contract with record label RCA Victor after he was discovered by entertainer Eddie Cantor.
After he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Korea while also being the official vocal soloist for the US Army band. He would also make TV appearances dressed in his uniform and once discharged, he found work winging in top nightclubs.
He then got his own variety TV series called Coke Time with Eddie Fisher on NBC which ran from 1953 to 1957 and then The Eddie Fisher Show, which ran from 1957 to 1959. But that was cancelled after his affair with Elizabeth Taylor was exposed.
How long was Eddie married to Debbie Reynolds?
Eddie married Debbie in 1953 and they had two children, daughter Carrie and son Todd.
The couple, who starred together in the 1956 musical comedy Bundle of Joy, were good friends with actress Elizabeth Taylor and her third husband Mike Todd.
Mike was then killed in a plane crash in 1958 and Taylor and Fisher began an affair which led his divorce from Reynolds. Fisher then married Taylor in 1959 but they were divorced in 1964.
He went on to marry actress Connie Stevens in 1967, with whom he two children, but the marriage only lasted two years.
He was also briefly married to Miss Louisiana Terry Richards, who was half his age, before marrying businesswoman Betty Lin, who he married in 1993 and remained so until her death in 2001.
In 1999, his second autobiography called Been There, Done That, mostly focused on his marriages and women and in sexual detail, prompting daughter Carrie to declare upon its publication: “That’s it. I’m having my DNA fumigated.”
Is Eddie still alive?
In September 2010, he broke his hip and died 13 days later at the age of 82 following complications from the hip surgery.
He was cremated and his ashes were buried alongside the grave of his wife, Betty.
In March 2011, Taylor passed away and on December 28 2016, a day after the death of Carrie, Reynolds suffered a stroke and died in hospital.
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