Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds got the memorial service they had always wanted on Thursday— being remembered together with friends and family coming together to share stories about two incredible women who were loved dearly. It was held at Carrie’s home in Beverly Hills, with celebrity friends like Ed Begley Jr. and Meg Ryan joining in on the remembrances. As fans of the duo may know, Debbie also lived next door so Fisher’s home was a perfect place to honor them both.
According to Entertainment Weekly, other celebrity guests included long-time friends of Carrie and the family like Penny Marshall, Richard Dreyfuss, Buck Henry, Candice Bergen, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Billie Lourd, Carrie’s only daughter and Debbie’s granddaughter, gave a eulogy and friends of the family like Meryl Streep, Tracey Ullman, and many others. Reportedly more than 125 people were in attendance for the bittersweet party held in the same living space Carrie had entertained in dozens upon dozens of times. Streep even sang “Happy Days Are Here Again,” a Carrie favorite and the song she and Debbie sang in one of the most lovely (and now poignant) clips of the pair out there.
Sunday’s Golden Globes will acknowledge both deaths in some way, and Broadway will dim the lights for both women on Friday. Carrie of course wrote and starred in one-woman show Wishful Drinking, and Debbie was a theatre star through and through. Thursday’s outpouring of love and admiration for both ladies proves their incredible reach and variety of talents, as even the Great White Way mourns the loss of these actresses and shows respect for the careers they left behind.
(via Entertainment Weekly)
