Liz Smith looks back on Eddie Fisher

 

Longtime entertainment columnist Liz Smith recalls Eddie Fisher's personal and professional life in Monday's column, calling him "Poor Eddie."

Eddie Fisher died last week, age 82. All the obits pictured him with Miss Taylor, or else ran the famous shot of Eddie standing in between the opulent Widow Todd and his pert, trim wife, Debbie. Within weeks of this picture being taken, Eddie had been "taken." He was the property of Miss Elizabeth Taylor. His wonderful singing voice and huge pre-scandal popularity were duly noted, but the collapse of his career and reputation overshadowed all tributes.

Not only does Smith recount the 1950s pop music idol's marriages to Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor and Connie Stevens, but she also has an Eddie Fisher-Jackie Kennedy anecdote. Read the rest of Liz Smith's column here, and click here for Dennis McLellan's obituary of Fisher that appeared in The Times.

-- Claire Noland

Photo: At the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas on April 3, 1957, Eddie Fisher poses with his current wife, Debbie Reynolds, right, and his future wife, Elizabeth Taylor, left. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[Mike Dudnikov]

While it is the smallest part of his legacy Eddie certainly had the knack for attracting beautiful women. Liz had the occupational "good fortune" to almost die from a case of pneumonia and to labor in an industry where the public taste does not change overnight, which led disapproving audiences into quick forgiveness. On the other hand Eddie's attempt to overcome the taint of scandal and a musical revolution was a much tougher task. However his real difficulty came from getting innocently hooked on methaphetamine at the hands of a quack, but highly regarded physcian, who also ruined the careers of other celebrities and was supplying the same 'medicine' to a sitting President.

But none of this obscures the fact that Eddie was a singer beyond compare as attested to in the Times' fine obit that kept its focus on Fisher's special artistry at the expense of a tragic and tempestuous private life. The obituary contains high praise for Eddie from contemporaries and current performers.

Fellow singers such as Perry Como and Dean Martin gushed over the quality of his voice. Eddie managed to combine power, sweetness, range and an emotional wallop in a package laced with boyish charm that thrilled and delighted audiences and listeners. He still holds the mark for having 22 consecutive hit records.

On stage he always gave energetic peformances and never cheated an audience. So many of the better talents of his era seemed to slow their pace, lower their voices to avoid disappointing on those high notes, but not Eddie who went full bore, always challenging himself to excellence. And even as he aged he continued till his voice lost its punch, no slow decline. When his voice eventually did succumb to the ravages of addiction, he quit rather than try to talk his lyrics as others had. And having seen him perform in person, I can attest to his kindness and courtesy toward fans.

With that shock of black hair slightly covering his forehead, Fisher seemed to ever youthful, but now the Eternal Boy is gone. However thanks to CDs and DVDs his voice and presence are still with us. Youtube abounds with examples of his appeal and talent. In that Times obit there are even links in the form of blue highlighted words to some of them. Looking at youtube I read some of the comments attached to those videos and was surprised to find a number of them were written teenagers and people in their 20s. Seems new generations are discovering a talent of special quality.

In the movie, The Seven Year Itch, there is a scene where Marilyn Monroe has someone play some classicl music for her. When the man inquires as to her tastes in music and performers, Marilyn excitedly responds saying, "You know, I got the biggest thing for Eddie Fisher." A sentiment understandable to so many.

I have only one small disagreement with that obit, calling Eddie a crooner. Crooners baby a song and hide their vocal limitations in muted tones. Fisher took everything a song had, be it brash or sentimental, thus revealing to the audience its full force and meaning.