March 28, 2024 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

Carrie Fisher, 60, dies in Los Angeles

dmb-marina_rinaldi_store-launch01228
Carrie Fisher’s dog, Gary, was often seen walking the red carpet, on planes, at restaurants and out and about wherever Fisher was.

BY TROY MASTERS  |  Talk about a complicated, wild and deeply connected public life in several fishbowls. Carrie Fisher, 60, who died today in Los Angeles, was the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, step-daughter of Elizabeth Taylor, ex-wife of Paul Simon, one-time wife of Hollywood power broker Bryan Lourd (a gay man) and mother of noted actress Billie Lourd.

Bryan Lourd and Carrie Fisher
Bryan Lourd and Carrie Fisher

Billie’s father, Bryan Lourd, is Creative Artists Agency co-chairman.  Lourd famously divorced Fisher after he fell in love with another man and came out of the closet.  The pair remained friends and, according to a 2010 article in The Advocate, continued to take family vacations together.

Her dog, Gary, could be seen with her wherever she was.

gary

In 2005, another gay friend, Republican operative R. Gregory Stevens, died of a heart attack induced by “cocaine and oxycodone use” in Carrie Fisher’s home — in her bed, actually, and with her in it.  The pair had attended an Oscar party, then sat up past midnight watching “Mrs. Miniver.”

Carrie from Star Wars
Carrie from Star Wars

Fisher was much more than an actress in Star Wars; she was an author (Postcards From The Edge), a go-to script and movie consultant, an advocate for people with mental illness, and truth teller.  She struggled quite openly throughout her life with drug and alcohol addiction.

British gay icon Stephen Fry, who also struggles with manic depression and addiction,  described his good friend Fisher as ‘not mad enough to be committed, but not sane enough to lead much of a normal life.’

carrie-fishertweet

Paul Simon wrote several songs about her, she claimed, including She Moves On.


Fisher recently made headlines when she suggested in a Tweet that then Presidential candidate Donald Trump was using cocaine.   “I don’t know because every day something weirder comes out about him, and more awful,” she said.

It remains one of the few high-profile tweets to which Donald Trump has not yet replied (but the day is young).

fisher10f-3-web

Her saltiness made her particularly appealing to LGBT people. Fisher once said she regretted that Princess Leia, her character in the Star Wars movie series, was not campier and had not spawned any drag queen imitators. “I didn’t have a good enough costume,” she said.

Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch

Bruce Vilanch, the Hollywood script writer and bon-vivant, was one of her best friends.

Fisher suffered a major heart attack earlier this week while on a flight from London to Los Angeles.

From Hollywood Reporter:  A child of Hollywood royalty, Fisher carved out her own idiosyncratic career, enjoying her biggest onscreen popularity as Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy before going on to establish herself as an acerbic, truth-telling writer with such books as Postcards From the Edge. Her HBO special, Wishful Drinking, in which she recounted her unusual life, was nominated for an Emmy as outstanding variety, music and comedy special in 2011.

Born to actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher in 1956, Carrie Fisher grew up in a showbiz fishbowl — her parents divorced when she was just two, after Fisher left Reynolds for actress Elizabeth Taylor in what at the time was a major tabloid scandal.

The young Carrie, who grew up in Beverly Hills, first stepped onstage when she was 15 to join her mother in the Broadway musical Irene. She made her film debut four years later in Warren Beatty’s Shampoo (1975), playing a precocious teen who seduces Beatty’s sexually adventurous hairstylist.

Appearing at Cannes in May to promote the documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, which HBO will air in March, Fisher joked, “I didn’t want to be in show business, and I think I did a very good job [of that].”

Nevertheless, she left her mark on the big screen. Star Wars (1977), in which she led the rebellion as Princess Leia, was only her second film and first starring role. She would reprise the part in the two sequels that rolled out in 1980 and 1983, and she returned to the character, in a now-mature incarnation, in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Fisher, who is thanked in the end credits of the new Star Wars spinoff movie Rogue One, was scheduled to appear in the next Star Wars movie, Episode VIII, scheduled for release Dec. 15.

Fisher often spoke with ambivalence about Leia, telling Rolling Stone in 1983: “She has no friends, no family; her planet was blown up in seconds — along with her hairdresser — so all she has is a cause. From the first film, she was just a soldier, front line and center. The only way they knew to make the character strong was to make her angry.”

However, in the wake of the success of The Force Awakens, Fisher appeared to have made peace with her onscreen alter ego, attributing the success of the franchise to the fact that “this movie’s about family, Star Wars is. That’s why it has the appeal.”

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/carrie-fisher-dead-star-wars-actress-was-60-959097

Related Posts

Cantonese Dim Sum Master Chef Tony Opens Hollywood Dim Sum at TCL Chinese Theatre

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Experience Exquisite Dim Sum Creations in the Heart of Hollywood 97 years after its founding, the TCL Chinese Theatre will...

Fleurs et Sel Bakery Opens Storefront in West Adams, Welcomes Customers Three Days a Week

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Indulge in Freshly Baked Cookies at the New West Adams Location Fleurs et Sel Bakery, known for its delectable cookies...

Easter Specials Guide: Brunch Spots, Desserts, and More in West Los Angeles

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Discover the Best Easter Eats and Treats in LA for Your Holiday Celebration Easter is almost here, so here are...

(Video) Director Adam Wingard Talks About His Influences While Making GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Director Adam Wingard Talks About His Influences While Making GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE at the Beyond Fest Screening...

Judy Garland’s Teenage Bel-Air Estate Hits Market for $11.495 Million

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

“Wizard of Oz” Star’s Former Home Offers Piece of Hollywood History A Bel-Air estate commissioned by Judy Garland during her...

Attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs Denounces Investigation as “Witch Hunt”

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

Legal Representative Criticizes Probe Amid Federal Sex Trafficking Inquiry An attorney representing Sean “Diddy” Combs criticized the investigation into the...

Historic Union Contract Ratified by Thousands of Hotel Workers At 34 Hotels

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

UNITE HERE Local 11 Negotiates Agreement Ensuring Wage Increases  Hotel workers, who spearheaded the largest hotel strike in modern U.S....

Human Rights Campaign’s Los Angeles Dinner Celebrates LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Unity

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Notable Figures Gathered to Champion LGBTQ+ Rights and Combat Discrimination By Aneesha Pappy  The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s...

California Bars and Nightclubs Must Offer Drug Testing Devices Starting July 1

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

New Law Mandates License Holders to Provide Drug Testing Kits to Patrons Beginning July 1, establishments with Type 48 licenses...

Opinion: West Los Angeles Needs to Care about Veteran Homelessness

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

By Kelly Kravchuk  Veteran homelessness is a public health concern that impacts my West Los Angeles community. As a USC...

Federal Agents Raid Property Linked to Music Mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs In Holmby Hills

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Authorities Conduct Searches in Los Angeles as Part of Ongoing Sex Trafficking Probe Federal agents from the Department of Homeland...

Biden Signs Government Funding Bill with Ban on Pride Flags at Embassies

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

White House Vows Repeal Amid Controversy Over LGBTQ Provision President Biden signed a huge government funding package on Saturday, which...

City of Los Angeles Pays Nearly Half a Billion in Liability Claims Over Four Years

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

LA Controller’s Report Reveals Significant Payouts from General Fund LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia has continued to audit the City...

Infamous Beverly Hills Mansion Where Menéndez Brothers Committed Murders Sells for $17 Million

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

Notorious Property Closes Deal Exactly 28 Years After Conviction A mansion in Beverly Hills, California, notorious for being the site...

Former Beverly Hills Therapist Indicted for Alleged Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

Suspect Faces Federal Charges Following Investigation into Online Activity A former licensed marriage and family therapist based in Beverly Hills...