THE TIME IS COMING FOR A MOTHER/DAUGHTER TALK

By Abe Aamidor, Indiana Living 

January 17, 2004

Dancing, singing and crying - that pretty much sums up entertainment legend Debbie Reynolds' life.

She'll tell you why when she appears in Indianapolis on June 2 with her daughter, actress and novelist Carrie Fisher, as part of the Smart Talk Women's Lecture Series at the Murat Centre.

"It's a mother-daughter (presentation)," Reynolds said during a phone interview. "We come out together. Being (how) I love to sing, I do a couple of numbers. We tell stories and jokes. We've both been married and divorced. We kid about Eddie. We kid about life in general."

Readers past a certain age don't need a full citation for "Eddie." That's singer Eddie Fisher, who abandoned Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor, then got dumped on his own derriere when Taylor fell for actor Richard Burton.

Carrie Fisher (who portrayed Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" films) was married to and divorced from singer Paul Simon.

The Smart Talk series primarily attracts female audiences. Besides Reynolds and Fisher, Naomi and Wynonna Judd will speak at the Murat on April 14, and Joan and Melissa Rivers will appear May 12.

"Men don't know what we're talking about," Reynolds said. "If there are men in the audience, we have them take a big bow. There are so few who ever come."

Besides divorce, Reynolds said the audience can expect frank talk about the loss of two of her children, as well as Carrie Fisher's battle with manic-depressive disorder.

Reynolds and Fisher have appeared together on stage as part of the Smart Talk series four or five times, Reynolds said. There is no script.

"There is a floor plan, but also we wing it," she said.

Reynolds, who began her Hollywood career at age 16, became an established star when she appeared with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor in "Singin' In The Rain" in 1952.

Now she often appears in casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, as well as on Indian reservations.

She tours about 42 weeks a year as an entertainer.

"I love my work," she said, "because I don't have a hobby. My hobby is work. I love to sing and entertain, and I plan to do that until I can't anymore."