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Memorial Service Held For Iconic Actresses, Debbie Reynolds And Carrie Fisher

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 21:28 PST, Jan 5, 2017

A joint private memorial service for family and friends held Thursday for legendary actresses, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.

According to CBS News, the service held at Fisher’s home located in the Tony Coldwater Canyon area of Los Angeles, north of Beverly Hills. Many celebrities were spotted entering the family compound to pay their respects to the iconic actresses who both died a day between each other. The celebrities included, Meg Ryan, Penny Marshall, Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin, Meryl Streep, Ed Begley Jr, and Lea Michele. Other celebrities were George Lucas, Courtney Love, Ellen Barkin, and Taylor Lautner who is reportedly dating Billie Lourd.

Family members included Carrie’s ex-husband, Bryan Lourd and Debbie Reynolds’ only surviving child, Todd Fisher. Carrie’s half-sisters, Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher as well as her beloved dog, Gary Fisher were all there. A family friend revealed to People, that “Billie wanted the people her mother loved to gather in that living room one last time.”

Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts who both star with Billie Lourd in the TV series, Scream Queens were also spotted, alongside Eric Idle, a long-time friend of Carrie who rented her his home when she was filming 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back. The eulogies to the Hollywood actresses were delivered by Carrie’s daughter, Billie Lourd, comedian Stephen Fry, Tracey Ullman, and Meryl Streep.

Streep was seen carrying white roses as she walked up the driveway into the wooded compound. The 67-year-old actress had starred in an adaptation of Fisher’s semi-autobiographical novel. Postcards from the Edge, published in 1987. The novel hinged on the life of a movie actress trying to put her life back together after a drug overdose. During her eulogy, the Devil Wears Prada star sang Carrie Fisher’s favorite song, Happy Days Are Here Again and everyone sang along with her. Meryl Streep was also close to Debbie Reynolds having presented her with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2015.

Fisher was famous for throwing laid-back parties for celebrities in her eclectic house. The art-filled house was regarded as a haven of Hollywood history because it was previously inhabited by costume designer, Edith Head and Bette Davis. The 125 guests in attendance dined on Fisher’s usual party menu of collard greens, fried chicken, and cornbread. Debbie Reynolds also had a house and lived on the property.

Billie Lourd chose to have a joint memorial at her mother’s because she wanted to create an intimate, but yet casual setting, reminiscent of the parties that her mother used to throw. A family insider agreed completely with the move saying the “only things missing were Carrie and Debbie.”

“Debbie would sit in the corner and everyone there would come up and pay homage. Even the biggest stars were starstruck by her. Carrie would walk around barefoot with a can of Coca-Cola, making sure everyone was having a good time, saying the funniest things you’ve ever heard.”

Fisher and Reynolds passed on last week barely a day apart. Carrie Fisher, who starred as Princess Leia in the original Star Wars movies suffered a heart attack onboard a transatlantic flight and died December 27 after spending four days in the hospital. Her 84-year-old mother, Debbie Reynolds who rose to fame at age 19, as the star of Singin in the Rain, passed on December 28. Her son, Todd Fisher revealed that his mother suffered a suspected stroke while they were discussing plans for his sister, before she eventually died.

“She said, ‘I want to be with Carrie…and then she was gone.”

The well-loved actresses will be buried together at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills Friday. The expansive cemetery is the final resting place of many celebrities including Florence Henderson, Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Dick Van Patten, David Carradine, Liberace, Rod Steiger, and silent film star Buster Keaton. Todd Fisher confirmed that in accordance with his sister’s wishes, she had been cremated and some of her ashes will be buried with their mother.

The 58-year-old director and cinematographer, speaking to New York Daily News, revealed the family monument would resemble the one used for Bette Davis who died in 1989. Todd Fisher said a public memorial service for the fans was being planned to pay their respects, but that a date had not being finalized.

The spirit of the family was lifted when they received word that Broadway theaters would dim their marquee lights on Friday for one minute at 7:45 p.m. in memory of Fisher and Reynolds. Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie both starred in the musical comedy reboot, Irene in 1973. Reynolds received a Tony Award nomination while it marked Carrie’s professional acting debut. Reynolds went on to appear in Woman of the Year and Debbie whereas Fisher’s Broadway credits included Censored Scenes from King Kong, Agnes of God, and her one-man show Wishful Drinking.

HBO has pushed forward plans to air a Fisher Stevens-directed documentary about the inseparable mother and daughter. Bright Lights which was scheduled to be released in March will now air Saturday, January 8 at 8 p.m. The documentary was shot between 2014 and 2015. At the time, Fisher was making plans to reprise her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars: Episode VII-The Force Awakens and Reynolds was in line to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from SAG

[Featured Image by Vince Bucci/AP Images]

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