![]() He showed promise as an actor opposite his new bride in "Butterfield 8" (1960), which earned her an Academy Award. "The Eddie Fisher Show" was axed that same year, and his records plummeted to the bottom of the charts. Audiences were less willing to return to Fisher after he married Taylor in 1959. The two fell into a passionate affair that destroyed Fisher's marriage to Reynolds the public and very ugly divorce that followed cast a pall over the singer's golden boy persona. ![]() Fisher rushed to the side of his widow, actress Elizabeth Taylor, to provide comfort. In 1958, his close friend, producer Mike Todd, was killed in a plane crash. However, it was not a film role, but rather Fisher's own off-stage actions that capsized his meteoric rise. ![]() Fisher had designs on meatier roles, most notably an adaptation of Budd Schulberg's 1941 novel What Makes Sammy Run? Wasserman dissuaded his client from pursuing the film, citing its aggressive lead character as a possible hindrance to his career. Fisher himself loathed the project he had been forced into it by agent Lew Wasserman, who saw the picture as a means of capitalizing on the arrival of their daughter. In 1956, the pair starred together in "Bundle of Joy" (1956), a harmless comedy about a store clerk (Reynolds) who finds and cares for an abandoned baby that her co-workers assume is hers by the son (Fisher) of the storeowner. The public soon embraced the couple as national sweethearts the arrival of daughter Carrie in 1956 and son Todd in 1958 only solidified their standing as the model nuclear family. In 1956, Fisher married actress Debbie Reynolds, whose star in both movies and recordings was on a similarly vertical path. By the end of the 1950s, Fisher had scored 17 Top Ten hits and 35 in the Top 40, which was all the more impressive due to the onset of rock and roll, which had succeeded in unseating numerous established pop acts. A second, longer variety program, "The Eddie Fisher Show" (NBC, 1957-59), followed in its wake. That same year, he signed an unprecedented $1 million deal to become the national spokesperson for Coca-Cola, which gave him his own series, a weekly 15-minute variety show called "Coke Time with Eddie Fisher" (NBC, 1953-57). 1 record, "Wish You Were Here," in 1952, which was followed in 1953 by his third chart-topper, "Oh! My Pa-Pa," another signature number. After his discharge, his career resumed its stratospheric ascent he landed his first No. His golden voice and youthful charm held considerable appeal for audiences, with young women in particular responding with hysteria to his romantic overtures.įisher was drafted into the Army in 1951, where he served as the official vocalist for the United States Army Band, with which he performed for servicemen in Korea. It was the first of a series of major hits for the singer, including "Any Time" (1952), his signature song and first million seller. The following year, his first single, "Thinking of You," from the film "Three Little Words" (1950), reached No. Cantor provided the younger man with crucial performances on tour and television, and paved the way for Fisher to be signed by RCA Victor Records in 1949. His "big break" came in 1949 when his agent staged a discovery by beloved entertainer Eddie Cantor at Grossinger's, one of the most popular of the region's resorts. By 1946, he was performing as a vocalist with big bands in the Catskills. His score of wins earned him his radio debut on the Philadelphia airwaves at the age of 15 soon after, he dropped out of high school to pursue his singing career in earnest. His vocal talent was evident from an early age, leading Fisher to earn a living as a singer at bar mitzvahs while competing in local amateur talent contests. 10, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA, he was one of seven children born to Russian-Jewish parents. ![]() Fisher remained, even in death, one of the most harrowing cautionary tales about the price of fame in Hollywood.īorn Edwin Jack Fisher on Aug. The resulting scandal was irrevocably linked to Fisher's career for the remainder of his life by the time of his death in 2010, obituaries devoted more space to the details of the affair than to his music and acting careers. Like Icarus, he plummeted from the uppermost ranks of stardom to persona non grata when he indulged in an affair with Elizabeth Taylor shortly after the death of her husband, producer Mike Todd. Blessed with matinee idol looks and a honeyed voice, he enjoyed over 15 Top Ten hits on the music charts, as well as favored-nation status among the public thanks to his marriage to actress Debbie Reynolds. From 1950 to 1956, singer Eddie Fisher was arguably among the most popular entertainers in America. ![]()
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