Sunday March 29, 2009

ON TODAY'S SHOW - www.crntalk.com


Actress & Singer Debbie Reynolds - Hollywood Legend

DEBBIE REYNOLDS was born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso Texas . Her family moved to Burbank , California in 1939 and while a High School student, at age sixteen, Reynolds won the Miss Burbank Beauty Contest, a motion picture contract with Warner Brother, and acquired her new first name (complements of Jack Warner). For over six decades, our lives have been enriched by the talents of this singer, dancer and actress. She regularly appeared in movie musicals, most notably Singin’ in the Rain, during the 1950s and chalked up several hit records. She is still making appearances in film and television, one of the few actors from MGM’s “golden age of film” who are still active in filmmaking. By the 1970s Debbie knew that the real golden era was gone and developed a passion to preserve it. She purchased thousands of items from the great MGM auction of 1970 and formed a non-profit corporation laying the groundwork for the future Hollywood Motion Picture Museum. In 1984 the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas showcased her extensive collection of Hollywood props, sets and costumes. The financial collapse of the hotel and casino saw much of her collection go to storage. (There are plans to open Debbie’s Hollywood Motion Picture Museum in Tennessee ). Ms. Reynolds is currently actively involved in an initiative from Warner Brothers whereby the studio will “open the WB vault” to the public for movies and television shows that have never been available to the public. (This “Warner Archive Collection” can be previewed on-line by fans who can then purchase their own collection (on DVD) which is individually created for them. While waiting for your own collection to arrive, consumers are provided a digital copy of the film or show to watch on their PC immediately. 150 movies will be offered at launch (including Debbie Reynold’s first film for Warner, “The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady,”) and many more to be added later this year. From 1999 to its 2006 finale she played the recurring role of Grace’s ditzy mother Bobbie Adler in the NBC sitcom “Will & Grace” (for which she received an Emmy nomination) and also plays a recurring role in the Disney Channel Original Movie “Halloween Town ” series. Ms. Reynolds currently resides in Los Angeles next door to her daughter Carrie, and her granddaughter, Billie. She is and will always be, AMERICA ’S SWEETHEART.