Debbie Reynolds’ Son Reveals Her Final Moments During Emotional Joint Memorial with Carrie Fisher
Fans, friends and family honoured the legacies of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds at an emotional public memorial.
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Ale Russian and Brianne Tracy
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Fans, friends and family honoured the legacies of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds at an emotional public memorial on Saturday.
The beloved actresses were remembered at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles at a celebration organised by Reynolds’ son Todd Fisher, three months after the film icons died tragically within a day of each other. The public memorial was also streamed live on Reynolds’ website.
During the memorial, Todd spoke to the audience, revealing Reynolds’ heartbreak after Fisher died last year.
“When Carrie died, my mother decided to change her plans a bit. My mother always said to me, ‘I never want to go to my daughter’s funeral service. I would like to be buried with Carrie.’ I didn’t know she was going to leave us that very next day and when she looked at me to ask permission to leave, she said she wanted to be with Carrie, and she closed her eyes and went to sleep. It was a beautiful exit.”
The memorial included an original tribute song written by James Blunt. The British musician, who was extremely close to Carrie, did not attend the memorial but the new song played over a video montage.
“You left without saying goodbye/ I’m here to let you know/ I’m here to let you go,” Blunt sang during the song.
Earlier on Saturday, Carrie’s half-sister Joely Fisher shared a tribute to the two actresses on Twitter.
Todd, who organized the memorial with his wife, Catherine, previously said he decided to invite the public in keeping with his mother’s wishes.
“The public is invited because that’s how my mother would want it,” Fisher told attendees earlier this month at a screening of Bright Lights — the HBO documentary about his mother and sister — at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival in California, according to Variety. “She was very connected to her fans and felt they were a part of her, so we’re opening it to the public.”
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The actresses were laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles on Jan. 6. Reynolds was buried with some of Fisher’s ashes. Forest Lawn — Hollywood Hills is also the final resting place of a number of other notable stars, and Todd Fisher told 20/20 after his mother and sister’s deaths that they will be buried “among friends.”