Here's one thing I learned from the movies

[sovay]

My laptop was open on the table behind me as I hugged derspatchel, who therefore saw the first page of the Guardian before I did and said in shock, "Debbie Reynolds died!"

I had heard about her possible stroke on the way home. I was hoping it would be the kind she could recover from. No parent should have to lose a child, no matter what age, but no child should have to lose parent and grandparent in the same two days. Without the death of Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds could have died tonight and we would all have said, "2016, you suck, but she was eighty-four, people have the right to start dropping dead at eighty-four, everybody cue up Singin' in the Rain, dammit." With the death of Carrie Fisher, I am left hoping most of all that Billie Lourd has serious support around her, because it's one thing for the fans, but it's another for the family. And I already wanted one of the arthouses in this town to run a print of I Love Melvin (1953) because of Donald O'Connor's rollerskating dance; in memoriam of Reynolds was not the kind of encouragement I was looking for.

I assume we shall just take it as read that Lifetime Achievement at the Oscars this year is going to Death.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

Wow, yes, that is hard particularly for Billie Lourd. :(

[kore]

Yeah, that's just devastating. She's 24, and losing her mother and grandmother in less than two days....

[sovay]

Yeah, that's just devastating. She's 24, and losing her mother and grandmother in less than two days....

In a matriarchal family, yet. Todd Fisher is almost certainly also not doing so hot. I hope he and his niece share the family sense of humor.

[kore]

Apparently Fisher's daughter is going to adopt Fisher's support dog (the daughter also has a French bulldog and they're "best friends") which made me cry all the more.

[sovay]

Apparently Fisher's daughter is going to adopt Fisher's support dog (the daughter also has a French bulldog and they're "best friends") which made me cry all the more.

Aw.

*hugs*

[kore]

//HUGSback (I know it's dumb, but I am always worried about peoples' beloved animal companions after they die)

[sovay]

(I know it's dumb, but I am always worried about peoples' beloved animal companions after they die)

I don't think it's dumb! You can't explain heart attacks to a dog.

[kore]

Yeah, that's what gets to me -- they know someone's gone, but not why, and not that they won't come back.

[kore]

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH 2016 YOU MOTHER FUCKER

[sovay]

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH 2016 YOU MOTHER FUCKER

This is why children should not predecease their parents: it's bad for the parents!

[kore]

On the 12th Day of Deathmas, the Grim Reaper took from us.... /black humour

[heavenscalyx]

I've been watching Twitter trends all day for the next one.

Unrelated comment is unrelated

[rydra_wong]

but I thought you might like to know that Ben Lyon is one of the interviewees in this:

http://rydra-wong.dreamwidth.org/469015.html

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Just ... damn.

There went Hollywood. In their iconic roles, they embodied a lost America, ebullient and innocent and sparky. But that's the lesser grief.

I am left hoping most of all that Billie Lourd has serious support around her, because it's one thing for the fans, but it's another for the family.

Amen.

Nine

[sovay]

There went Hollywood. In their iconic roles, they embodied a lost America, ebullient and innocent and sparky. But that's the lesser grief.

The private grief is the one that feels, in this case, especially unfair.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

The private grief is the one that feels, in this case, especially unfair.

Truly. A mother and grandmother; a sister and mother. "Out of her breast there sprung a rose, And out of hers a briar..."

Nine

[gwynnega]

Death's performance is starting to seem awfully over-the-top by this point.

[sovay]

Death's performance is starting to seem awfully over-the-top by this point.

Yeah, but you know how the Academy loves that sort of thing. It's probably just a makeup award anyway for that year we didn't actually have World War III.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Death devours scenery, sets, cast, and all.

Nine

[ladyblue56.livejournal.com]

"I was hoping it would be the kind she could recover from. No parent should have to lose a child, no matter what age, but no child should have to lose parent and grandparent in the same two days."

This is what I had hoped too, for Debbie to rally once more as she has done through the years. I can't imagine the loss Billie is feeling, the shock. I do hope she had a good support system to help her in her grief. She is only 24.

[sovay]

I do hope she had a good support system to help her in her grief. She is only 24.

A reasonable if sad age to lose a grandmother; for a mother, completely out of bounds.

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

This is one of those awful situations that would be unbelievable in fiction, and is just wrenching in real life.

I feel especially bad for Billie and Todd. I hope they have the kind of relationship where they can comfort each other without making each other uncomfortable. I can't imagine how they must feel.

Sending you strength and hugs. I may have to watch a bunch of films over the weekend for a proper memorial.

[sovay]

This is one of those awful situations that would be unbelievable in fiction, and is just wrenching in real life.

I called my mother and told her that I am not going to kill myself because I don't want her to have a stroke from having to discuss my funeral plans. She said she was glad to hear it, because she didn't think it would be good for her.

I feel especially bad for Billie and Todd. I hope they have the kind of relationship where they can comfort each other without making each other uncomfortable. I can't imagine how they must feel.

I hope so, too. I said over on Dreamwidth that I hope they share the family sense of humor, because it looked like one of the primary survival mechanisms for both Fisher and Reyolds and I don't know how else you get through loss.

Sending you strength and hugs. I may have to watch a bunch of films over the weekend for a proper memorial.

Seriously, there must be a theater in this town that could double-feature Singin' in the Rain and Star Wars. They'd make out like bandits and could donate the profits to mental health or something.

Todd and Billie

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

They'll both miss their loved ones for ages. In terms of stress levels, my immediate thought was that Todd will not only have to plan two funerals (including arranging for police to cope with mob scenes outside), he'll presumably need to deal with two estates and all that bureaucracy. Billie is in her early 20s, and without knowing either of them at all, just knowing loving uncles, I expect he'll try to take the responsibilities off her shoulders so she can simply grieve. Most adult children (or siblings) have similar problems, but the timing and the fame will make it so much harder for him.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

There was a report that the BBC used 30 percent more of its prewritten obituaries (i.e., the ones they write up in advance for famous people in case they should happen to die) in 2016 than it had in 2015. It truly was a bad year for famous deaths.

[sovay]

There was a report that the BBC used 30 percent more of its prewritten obituaries (i.e., the ones they write up in advance for famous people in case they should happen to die) in 2016 than it had in 2015.

I would believe it. And on top of sheer numbers, so many of the people who died this year seemed to be personally important to people I knew—and to me. That was the strange part, that it wasn't just like losing pillars of the establishment or familiar features of the landscape, it was like losing the stars you always look for at the right time of night.