Home Forums Blogs Articles Photos Videos Contact FAQ

Debbie Reynolds - Singer and actor

Debbie Reynolds - Singer and actor: Encyclopedia II - Debbie Reynolds - Singer and actor

She was born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas, the second child of Raymond Francis Reynolds (1903-1986) and Maxine N. Harman (1913-1999). Her family moved to Burbank, California, in 1939. In 1948 she won the Miss Burbank Beauty Contest which resulted in a motion picture contract with Warner Bros. They gave her a new first name and cast her for small roles in two movies. Reynolds then signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was cast in Three Little Words which starred Fred Astaire and Red Skelton. Her appearance ...

Debbie Reynolds: Encyclopedia II - Debbie Reynolds - Singer and actor

Debbie Reynolds - Singer and actor

She was born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas, the second child of Raymond Francis Reynolds (1903-1986) and Maxine N. Harman (1913-1999).

Her family moved to Burbank, California, in 1939. In 1948 she won the Miss Burbank Beauty Contest which resulted in a motion picture contract with Warner Bros. They gave her a new first name and cast her for small roles in two movies.

Reynolds then signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was cast in Three Little Words which starred Fred Astaire and Red Skelton. Her appearance in her second movie at MGM, Two Weeks With Love, received strong notices. She then appeared in Mr. Imperium opposite Lana Turner.

She was chosen for the female lead in Singin' in the Rain despite the fact that Gene Kelly, who had starred in the musical comedy, was initially opposed. Reynolds was inexperienced and did not know how to tap dance. She worked hard and turned in a well-received performance with Kelly and Donald O'Connor.

Reynolds went on to star in numerous motion pictures, record hit songs (most notably "Tammy" from her 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor) and headline major Las Vegas showrooms. Her starring role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) led to a Oscar nomination, but she lost to Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins. As of 2005 she was still making appearances in film and television, one of the few actors from MGM's "golden age of film" (including Anita Page, Mickey Rooney, Lauren Bacall, Cyd Charisse, Margaret O'Brien, Jane Powell, Rita Moreno, Leslie Caron, Dean Stockwell, Van Johnson, Angela Lansbury, Russ Tamblyn and June Lockhart) who was still active in filmmaking. From 1999 to the present, she has played the recurring role of Grace's mother Bobbi Adler on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace.

Reynolds has been active in the Thalians Club and has also displayed her collection of movie memorabilia, first in a Las Vegas resort during the 1990s and later in a museum close to the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, California. She has auctioned off some of these items several times.