Sad for the loss of two ladies I've never met but who taught me so much
I'm not normally one to write blog posts about celebrity deaths. I leave it up to other people usually. But waking up the news today that Debbie Reynolds has died only one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, moves me to write this post.
I know there are other turmoils in the world, and I'm not belittling those. Yes, there are deaths every day and wars continue and cause chaos and rip lives apart. I am someone who wears my heart on my sleeve and regularly cries at the news. But it's one of those strange twists in life that because we see celebrities and, in this case, know their films well, can read about their lives etc that we feel we know them, even if all we truly know is their public persona.
For me both these women have given a great deal of inspiration. I consider myself an actor. I've deviated from this as a professional career as I had children instead but it remains my first true love. Two films I love (and I mean are my go to films when I'm ill/tired/sad) are Singing in the Rain and Star Wars (yes, I'm cheating and talking about the original trilogy under one umbrella). So, for me, the deaths of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher means two of the faces that have comforted me at the darkest times in my life have been taken from us.
I could point out how great they both were and share anecdotes of their experiences. I'm not going to save for two facts each (both of which you can find on numerous websites including IMDb):
Debbie Reynolds still lived with her parents when making 'Singing in the Rain' and had to get the bus to set. This meant, on long days, she couldn't get home and had to find somewhere on set to sleep! Also, one day on set Gene Kelly told Reynolds she wasn't a good enough dancer. The person who found her in tears was Fred Astaire and he helped her learn her dance for that day's shoot.
Debbie Reynolds is the reason I tried (and failed) to learn to tap dance but she's also the reason I know if you really want something you have to work hard, sometimes very hard.
Carrie Fisher is well known for having had fought an addiction to drugs. She spoke candidly about her struggles. Also, she saw herself as Princess Leia. She really identified with the character and saw the similarities between Leia and herself.
Leia was the first princess I wanted to be. As a girl growing up pretending to be a princess is common. For me I wanted to be Leia, a kick-arse princess in my eyes. She started my slight childhood obsession with warrior princesses!
I'm sad for the family who have lost two family members this festive season. My condolences goes out to them, even though I know they'll never read this.
One line in Star Wars: A Force Awakens sums up this blog post for me and is true of both women as I discovered, through some darkness as well as light, who I am: "To me she's royalty"
Rest in peace ladies, together, in your summer lands.
I know there are other turmoils in the world, and I'm not belittling those. Yes, there are deaths every day and wars continue and cause chaos and rip lives apart. I am someone who wears my heart on my sleeve and regularly cries at the news. But it's one of those strange twists in life that because we see celebrities and, in this case, know their films well, can read about their lives etc that we feel we know them, even if all we truly know is their public persona.
For me both these women have given a great deal of inspiration. I consider myself an actor. I've deviated from this as a professional career as I had children instead but it remains my first true love. Two films I love (and I mean are my go to films when I'm ill/tired/sad) are Singing in the Rain and Star Wars (yes, I'm cheating and talking about the original trilogy under one umbrella). So, for me, the deaths of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher means two of the faces that have comforted me at the darkest times in my life have been taken from us.
I could point out how great they both were and share anecdotes of their experiences. I'm not going to save for two facts each (both of which you can find on numerous websites including IMDb):
Debbie Reynolds still lived with her parents when making 'Singing in the Rain' and had to get the bus to set. This meant, on long days, she couldn't get home and had to find somewhere on set to sleep! Also, one day on set Gene Kelly told Reynolds she wasn't a good enough dancer. The person who found her in tears was Fred Astaire and he helped her learn her dance for that day's shoot.
Debbie Reynolds is the reason I tried (and failed) to learn to tap dance but she's also the reason I know if you really want something you have to work hard, sometimes very hard.
Carrie Fisher is well known for having had fought an addiction to drugs. She spoke candidly about her struggles. Also, she saw herself as Princess Leia. She really identified with the character and saw the similarities between Leia and herself.
Leia was the first princess I wanted to be. As a girl growing up pretending to be a princess is common. For me I wanted to be Leia, a kick-arse princess in my eyes. She started my slight childhood obsession with warrior princesses!
I'm sad for the family who have lost two family members this festive season. My condolences goes out to them, even though I know they'll never read this.
One line in Star Wars: A Force Awakens sums up this blog post for me and is true of both women as I discovered, through some darkness as well as light, who I am: "To me she's royalty"
Rest in peace ladies, together, in your summer lands.
Comments
Post a Comment