Oh, My Papa

Eddie Fisher has died. I am saddened.

I was never a big fan of Eddie Fisher. As a matter of fact, I never very much cared for his work. But I kinda liked the guy. In the Army, it seems everywhere you went there was a guy from Philly. He was always sorta loud, a bit overbearing in the eyes of a shy Midwestern farm boy. Fisher was from Philly. He seemed to fit the mold. But in an okay way.

I admired Fisher's success in the music industry. I pitied him in his multiple failed marriages.

In the early 1950s I was a disk jockey at a Kansas City radio station. One time Eddie Fisher was booked into a a Kansas City nightclub, for perhaps a week. As was the custom in those days, the record distributor for the visiting star arranged for Fisher to visit all the deejays in the city. So, we had had an opportunity to visit with Fisher and he was nice enough.

I am a little fuzzy on dates and details. People ask "How could you forget?". You must remember that in the early 1950s (perhaps also today) thousands of young singers and musicians were trying to make it in the industry. The vast majority failed. Being in radio, we met many of them. None were terribly impressive at the time. Most we just forgot outright. Those few who did make it remain somewhere in our memory, but dimly.

Anyway, Fisher had been in the Army in Korea. As I recall, he talked of a U.S.O. show coming to his Army unit to entertain. Maybe he participated - can't remember. Anyway, Debbie Reynolds had been part of the show, and he fell for her big time. That's all he talked about in Kansas City. So, we were not surprised when he courted her and persuaded her to marry him. In fact, we thought that was great.

But, their marriage broke up. Then came Elizabeth Taylor. We thought she was hotter than Debbie. Did fisher agree? But that marriage also broke up, and I lost track of Fisher's marriages.

Eddie Fisher was a scant three months older than me, born on August 10 before my birth date on November 6 - same year. Don't know what kind of husband he was. As a visiting entertainer, I thought he was a nice guy. When the Korean War broke out, he did not shirk his duty, which made him a patriot in my eyes.

Rest in peace, Eddie Fisher.