Singer, TV star Eddie Fisher, dead at 82

By April MacIntyre Sep 24, 2010, 16:09 GMT

American singer and actor Eddie Fisher died on Wednesday due to complications from a recent hip surgery, his family announced on Thursday.

He was 82.

Fisher, father to actress/writer Carrie Fisher, was one of the most popular singers of the 1950s. His hits included “Thinking of You,” “Walking Behind You,” and “Oh! My Pa-Pa.”

Fisher also had the smallscreen variety show "Coke Time with Eddie Fisher" and "The Eddie Fisher Show."

The changing taste in American music that came fast in the early 1960s changed his career, aided by the fallout of the American public's reaction to his behavior when he left popular actress Debbie Reynolds for screen siren Elizabeth Taylor, consoling the latter actress when her husband Mike Todd died in a plane crash in 1958.

Recently at the Television Critics' Association summer junket, HBO featured Carrie Fisher on panel, who spoke about her new one woman special, and also shared anecdotes about her parents and her relationships with them.

Carrie compared her mother Debbie Reynolds and father Eddie Fisher to being the Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston of their day, saying that Angelina Jolie played the Taylor role.

Promoting her one woman stand-up comedy special, "Wishful Drinking," Carrie Fisher said, "Well, he didn't have as big a career as Brad's to destroy, though it was considerable.  No, it is very similar, and I did point that out to Brad once at a party.  He pretended at least to know what I was talking about.  But, yes, it destroyed my father.  But it wasn't simply divorce that destroyed him, it just was kind of every choice after that.  It was drugs,  it was Connie Stevens, it was the Playmate of the Year, it was, you know, Ms. Louisiana, marrying her.  My dad, he's not the sort of bastion of good judgment, but he's really fun."

On her father's "boy next door" image, Carrie said, "...depending on where your house is on the next-door thing. But, you know, boy-next-door, he grew up in South Philly, you know, in the big families.  His father worked in a luggage store...."

Carrie also gave insight to her parents' relationship with each other. "...not that this is riveting -- but they were never really in love. They loved being loved, in a way.  As a couple -- my mother said, 'We went into Yankee Stadium one time, and 30,000 people stood up and cheered.   So literally they were a concept that was born in a publicity office practically, and they embraced being embraced."

Carrie shared that her distant relationship had mended somewhat with her estranged dad. "Full circle, my dad was never really in my life.  I saw him more on TV than on the planet.  But I have a great relationship with him today.  He is seriously -- you would love my father. He smokes pot.  Oh, actually, he's giving it up for a month.  We call him 'Puff Daddy,' "

Eddie Fisher was married five times. He had two children, Carrie and Todd, with his first wife, actress-singer Debbie Reynolds, and with Connie Stevens, he had two more children, actresses Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher.