Days before Christmas, Carrie Fisher reportedly stopped breathing on a flight from London to Los Angeles.  People close to Carrie tell me that she suffered from sleep apnea, which may have been a contributing factor in this incident.  While she had little hope for recovery, being on a ventilator allowed her loved ones time to say goodbye.

One of the people who couldn’t say goodbye was Carrie’s mom, Debbie Reynolds.  She simply wasn’t strong enough to see her daughter like that. What can I say about Debbie Reynolds?  She was exactly what you’d expect – no airs about this legend.  Fun, bawdy, outrageous, but also quite poignant.  If you could get her alone (which was tough even for her family), she showed depth and empathy – particularly for those suffering from mental illness.  She was incredibly devoted to Carrie.  When discussing her daughter’s problems, she once said, “I always feel, as a mother does, that I protect her.  Who will do that when I’m gone?”    The day after Carrie’s death, Debbie also passed away.  Debbie’s son Todd believes she willed herself to die so that she could be with (and continue to take care of) Carrie.   Once Carrie was gone, so was the center of Reynolds’ life and her reason to live.

Even to the last, the pair continued their complicated and somewhat-codependent relationship.  Their life in adjoining properties led some to compare them to the Beales, immortalized in Grey Gardens.  The lines between fact and fiction often blurred in Carrie’s writing – particularly in Postcards from the Edge.  Reynolds desperately wanted to play the mother when the book was made into a film.  Director Mike Nichols felt she was “not right”, and cast Shirley MacLaine.  Debbie backed off, feeling it was payback.  MacLaine had been originally cast in the film version of The Unsinkable Molly Brown, but circumstances brought the role to Debbie.  “Shirley ‘gave’ me Molly and my only Oscar nomination.  This is her turn and her role,” said Debbie.  Even without Reynolds playing the part, Postcards hit close to home.  Reportedly, Debbie once told Todd, “I don’t want to attend my daughter’s funeral.”  If there is a Hereafter, I can just picture Carrie rolling her eyes at the sight of Debbie.  “My God, mother, did you have to upstage me even at the very end?”  Rest in peace, ladies.