"OH, MY PA-PA"

One of my favorite singers died last week at the age of 82. If I had missed the obituary in the Boston Globe I wouldn't have learned of Eddie Fisher's death. Didn't see anything about it on TV and none of my friends mentioned it either.

LOS ANGELES—Entertainer Eddie Fisher, whose singing career was overshadowed by scandals of his marriages to Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor, has died. He was 82.

His daughter, Tricia Leigh Fisher, told The Associated Press that Fisher died Wednesday night at his home in Berkeley of complications from hip surgery.

Fisher sold millions of records in the 1950s with hit songs including "Thinking of You," "Any Time" and "Oh, My Pa-pa."

His singing and good looks brought him a devoted following with teenage girls.

He married movie darling Debbie Reynolds in 1955 and they were touted as "America's favorite couple." Their daughter Carrie Fisher later became a film star herself.

But amid sensational headlines, Fisher divorced Reynolds and married Taylor in 1959. Taylor dropped him a few years later when she fell in love with Richard Burton.

Eddie got his big break in radio, television and records when the comedian Eddie Cantor adopted him as his protege.

When Cantor promoted Eddie Fisher I paid attention because I admired him and respected Cantor's opinion. It turned out, he picked a winner. Even though I was far from being a teenager at the time I still took a shine to Fisher's looks and his dramatic voice.

I read that one of the promotional gimmicks was to hire girls to scream and swoon when Mr. Fisher appeared on stage. They did that when Frank Sinatra appeared at the Paramount Theater in New York - I don't know whether that was before Eddie or after - anyway it created a lot of excitement and it worked.

I can still hear him singing songs like "Thinking of You," "Any Time," "I'm Yours," and my favorite "Oh,My Pa-pa."



Unfortunately his personal life shattered his stardom and even though he attempted a comeback, it was unsuccessful.

I think it had to be somewhere in the 80's when I saw Eddie Fisher at the Newport Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. That had to be the time he was trying a comeback tour. Well I tell you I still remember that performance! He was Great!!

Remember when Ingrid Bergman had a child out of wedlock - she was banished from this country. Look what's going on today!!

The times they are changing, I wonder if what happened at that time would turn the fans off today. What do you think?