Movie star Debbie Reynolds
sparkled and smiled as she greeted about 50 adoring fans at
the Rivoli on Wednesday, 46 years after her film "This
Happy Feeling" opened the theater.
She accepted a key to the
city of Myrtle Beach, all the while cracking jokes.
"Theaters like this
remind me of me because the old girl is falling apart a little
bit, and some men want to tear her down," the 72-year-old
said. "All we have to do is give the girl a new paint
job, a new face lift, and she's still here."
Reynolds' appearance was the
kickoff for fund-raising efforts to renovate the Rivoli
Theatre.
The Myrtle Beach Corp. for
the Arts is using money raised by the sale of carousel horses
to fund the drive.
Reynolds, a native Texan who
says she has gotten many city keys in the past, said she
identifies with people from Myrtle Beach.
"I like the way y'all
talk," she said in a slow, Southern drawl. "You get
everything done, but you take your time about it."
Reynolds said she would like
to come back to see the Rivoli when it is renovated.
She is in town to perform in
"The Spirit of Christmas" at the Palace Theatre
through Sunday.
The city has no records of
whom they have given keys, and there are no formal procedures.
"Council says it wants
to approve all the keys," city spokesman Mark Kruea said.
Reynolds' key was made and the plaque engraved before City
Council approved it.
City officials said not many
keys have been granted in the past few years, and City Council
members have talked at their past few meetings about making
the process more official - a topic they debated but made no
decisions on in 1999 when awarding a key to radio talk show
host Ken Hamblin.
"This would be a good
time to start talking about this criteria," Councilwoman
Judy Rodman said at Tuesday's council meeting. She suggested
Mayor Mark McBride lead a committee to develop it.
The recent approval of keys
for Reynolds and jazz musician Jimmy Smith set off the debate.
"I still believe we
should have some kind of standard in the way we give the key
out. I can't support [awarding the key to Smith] because every
day we have some famous person in town," McBride said. He
referred to the recent appearance of country singer Kenny
Chesney.
Smith will receive a key when
he performs Nov. 27 and 28 at The Jasmine Supper Club.
"Jimmy Smith is a
goodwill ambassador to the entire world, like Louis Armstrong
was, like Dizzy Gillespie was," said Herbert Riley, of
the performance group Jazz Etc., who asked for the key.
"Jazz is considered the
only art form that came out of America and came out of the
South, too," he said.
Councilman Phil Render said
the city has qualifications for awarding a key.
"I think we do have a
standard, and it's a lifetime of achievement," he said.
