I might have married Frank Sinatra
She may be a Hollywood legend, but veteran actress Debbie Reynolds is in no doubt where her weakness lies: ‘I was useless with men,’ she laughs.
Married and divorced three times, she lost her first husband, Eddie Fisher, to none other than Elizabeth Taylor.
‘People say, “Why didn’t you fight for him?” But she was the world’s most beautiful woman and I was this innocent beauty queen who got lucky and landed a movie deal – I never actually planned to become a movie star.
‘I could not have taken her on. Come on, she was a legend at like 12, so what chance did I have anyway? Looking back, it was a blessing really – but of course you don’t know that at the time…
‘I adored Elizabeth and we became such good friends later in life, which I think always happens,’ she laughs, again. ‘Women grow up and laugh at the problems they had in life whereas men… Well, it doesn’t work out quite so well for them, does it?’
Her latest film is Behind The Candelabra, the story of Hollywood’s most secret gay man – the world-famous performer, Liberace, also known as Lee, played to critical acclaim by Michael Douglas. She also stars alongside Matt Damon, who plays Scott Thorson, Liberace’s chauffeur and lover. She was certainly impressed by Damon, calling him ‘divine, darling, really divine.’
‘If he had been in the movies back when I made them, the studios would have snapped him up and he would be a legend. It’s so different today... there is very little left of Hollywood as I knew it.’
Debbie plays Liberace’s mother, Frances, a role she relished. She is almost unrecognisable in the part, thanks to heavy make-up and a totally different voice, but perhaps knew the real woman better than most.
‘I met and knew Lee’s [Liberace] mother well... Frances was a very clever lady and Lee adored her. To such an extent that she ruled him in many ways. ‘She was also instrumental in getting his career to the great heights that it reached. She knew how to work Lee and make him take control. All successful men like Lee had someone like that behind them... It let him focus on doing what he did best, which was being the great entertainer.’
Frances was a challenging role to play, though. She says that Frances was ‘quite serious in many ways but had a great life and above all else she knew that he adored her... so much so that he had slot machines in his house for her, as she liked to play them all the time like she did in Vegas. He also made sure she would win, and if the machine ran out of money, he would write her a cheque.’
But Debbie was less keen on the real Scott Thorson. ‘I used to go to Lee’s house quite a lot as he was such a good cook with his Polish heritage and all, but I would suggest that Scott took Lee’s many dogs for a long walk so that I could gossip with Lee. We would camp it up, sing songs and all that. But I felt that Lee was so besotted with Scott – that is what love can do…’
Debbie has also written her memoir, Unsinkable. ‘It’s great fun at my age putting it all down... Hell, I can’t think of anyone I have not met. I was lucky enough to live through a golden era and meet all these wonderful people. I don’t want to dish the dirt because people like Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly are icons and will remain so, but people love a bit of gossip and that is fun in itself.
Debbie is also transfixed by the new digital cameras used by so many film companies now. ‘At MGM, we had these huge cameras – and they had presence. I always look at these new things now and wonder where all that stuff we had has gone – how it was shrunk down.
Debbie and Frank Sinatra in The Tender Trap
‘MGM was a wonderful place to grow up. It was the most deluxe studio in Hollywood and I lived through the last throes of the golden studio-system days. If you were lucky, you got a seven- year contract and they built you up and gave you a career.
‘Mr Mayer, who ran the studio, was a powerful figure, but also a gentle giant. If you respected him, he respected you. She also sings the praises of Gene Kelly, alongside whom she starred in Singin’ In The Rain.
‘He was without doubt a wonderful man... although he was tough on me while making that film. But look at what he created – the movie is still shown around the world today and that is partly down to Gene and his professionalism.
Frank Sinatra was another favourite. ‘He was a great guy. We made a movie together called The Tender Trap and he advised me not to marry my first husband, Eddie Fisher. And we all know how that turned out.
‘At that time, it was me in love and Frank told me, “Look, he is a singer and he is hot. There are chicks all over the place and he won’t stay loyal to you – but I know I am not getting through to you”.
‘Of course, in the end, he told me that I would meet and fall in love with someone who cared. I liked Frank so much. In a way, if he had asked, who knows, I might have married him – but he never asked…’
She certainly still looks wonderful – so what’s her secret? ‘Simple,’ she answers. ‘Enjoy it and don’t dwell on the bad things. We all have them but hey, it’s not worth wasting time on what cannot be fixed.’
And then, with a swish of glamour, she exits the studio and I feel like I have just witnessed a little piece of Hollywood history.
◆ She has two children from three marriages.
◆ Her first leading role, as Kathy Selden in Singin’ In The Rain (1952), shot her to fame.
◆ Other notable roles include Wedding Breakfast (1956) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964).
◆ She was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe (three times) and an Emmy.
◆ She reached No1 with the ballad Tammy from the 1957 film Tammy And The Bachelor.
◆ Her collection of film memorabilia, including Marilyn Monroe’s ivory dress from The Seven Year Itch, is being sold off because it outgrew its place in her home.
◆ Debbie stars in new lm Behind The Candelabra as Liberace’s mother.
Married and divorced three times, she lost her first husband, Eddie Fisher, to none other than Elizabeth Taylor.
‘People say, “Why didn’t you fight for him?” But she was the world’s most beautiful woman and I was this innocent beauty queen who got lucky and landed a movie deal – I never actually planned to become a movie star.
‘I could not have taken her on. Come on, she was a legend at like 12, so what chance did I have anyway? Looking back, it was a blessing really – but of course you don’t know that at the time…
‘I adored Elizabeth and we became such good friends later in life, which I think always happens,’ she laughs, again. ‘Women grow up and laugh at the problems they had in life whereas men… Well, it doesn’t work out quite so well for them, does it?’
Her latest film is Behind The Candelabra, the story of Hollywood’s most secret gay man – the world-famous performer, Liberace, also known as Lee, played to critical acclaim by Michael Douglas. She also stars alongside Matt Damon, who plays Scott Thorson, Liberace’s chauffeur and lover. She was certainly impressed by Damon, calling him ‘divine, darling, really divine.’
‘If he had been in the movies back when I made them, the studios would have snapped him up and he would be a legend. It’s so different today... there is very little left of Hollywood as I knew it.’
Debbie plays Liberace’s mother, Frances, a role she relished. She is almost unrecognisable in the part, thanks to heavy make-up and a totally different voice, but perhaps knew the real woman better than most.
‘I met and knew Lee’s [Liberace] mother well... Frances was a very clever lady and Lee adored her. To such an extent that she ruled him in many ways. ‘She was also instrumental in getting his career to the great heights that it reached. She knew how to work Lee and make him take control. All successful men like Lee had someone like that behind them... It let him focus on doing what he did best, which was being the great entertainer.’
Frances was a challenging role to play, though. She says that Frances was ‘quite serious in many ways but had a great life and above all else she knew that he adored her... so much so that he had slot machines in his house for her, as she liked to play them all the time like she did in Vegas. He also made sure she would win, and if the machine ran out of money, he would write her a cheque.’
But Debbie was less keen on the real Scott Thorson. ‘I used to go to Lee’s house quite a lot as he was such a good cook with his Polish heritage and all, but I would suggest that Scott took Lee’s many dogs for a long walk so that I could gossip with Lee. We would camp it up, sing songs and all that. But I felt that Lee was so besotted with Scott – that is what love can do…’
Debbie has also written her memoir, Unsinkable. ‘It’s great fun at my age putting it all down... Hell, I can’t think of anyone I have not met. I was lucky enough to live through a golden era and meet all these wonderful people. I don’t want to dish the dirt because people like Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly are icons and will remain so, but people love a bit of gossip and that is fun in itself.
Debbie is also transfixed by the new digital cameras used by so many film companies now. ‘At MGM, we had these huge cameras – and they had presence. I always look at these new things now and wonder where all that stuff we had has gone – how it was shrunk down.
Debbie and Frank Sinatra in The Tender Trap‘MGM was a wonderful place to grow up. It was the most deluxe studio in Hollywood and I lived through the last throes of the golden studio-system days. If you were lucky, you got a seven- year contract and they built you up and gave you a career.
‘Mr Mayer, who ran the studio, was a powerful figure, but also a gentle giant. If you respected him, he respected you. She also sings the praises of Gene Kelly, alongside whom she starred in Singin’ In The Rain.
‘He was without doubt a wonderful man... although he was tough on me while making that film. But look at what he created – the movie is still shown around the world today and that is partly down to Gene and his professionalism.
Frank Sinatra was another favourite. ‘He was a great guy. We made a movie together called The Tender Trap and he advised me not to marry my first husband, Eddie Fisher. And we all know how that turned out.
‘At that time, it was me in love and Frank told me, “Look, he is a singer and he is hot. There are chicks all over the place and he won’t stay loyal to you – but I know I am not getting through to you”.
‘Of course, in the end, he told me that I would meet and fall in love with someone who cared. I liked Frank so much. In a way, if he had asked, who knows, I might have married him – but he never asked…’
She certainly still looks wonderful – so what’s her secret? ‘Simple,’ she answers. ‘Enjoy it and don’t dwell on the bad things. We all have them but hey, it’s not worth wasting time on what cannot be fixed.’
And then, with a swish of glamour, she exits the studio and I feel like I have just witnessed a little piece of Hollywood history.
DEBBIE REYNOLDS: A LIFE IN BRIEF
◆ The actress, singer and dancer was born Mary Frances Reynolds in Texas, on 1 April 1932.◆ She has two children from three marriages.
◆ Her first leading role, as Kathy Selden in Singin’ In The Rain (1952), shot her to fame.
◆ Other notable roles include Wedding Breakfast (1956) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964).
◆ She was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe (three times) and an Emmy.
◆ She reached No1 with the ballad Tammy from the 1957 film Tammy And The Bachelor.
◆ Her collection of film memorabilia, including Marilyn Monroe’s ivory dress from The Seven Year Itch, is being sold off because it outgrew its place in her home.
◆ Debbie stars in new lm Behind The Candelabra as Liberace’s mother.