Day Tripping: October 21
A Public Life
The daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher was born in 1956. As a child, Carrie was a bookworm immersing herself in classic literature.
Her parents had divorced when she was three, and her mother married again and divorced when she was 17. In the same year, Fisher appeared in her first film, Shampoo with Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn.
“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”
Two years later in 1977, Carrie Fisher became the iconic character, Princess Leia in the original Star Wars. After that, she appeared in Ringo Starr’s semi-autobiographical film, Ringo, and The Blues Brothers. She was planning to marry the film’s star, Dan Akroyd. But Carrie never went through with the marriage, reuniting with Paul Simon instead.
Carrie continued to take supporting roles on TV and film, including her recurring role as the Princess. In 2010 she starred in a one-woman show called Wishful Drinking, which she was preparing a sequel for at the time of her death.
She talked openly about her bipolar disorder and years of drug abuse. In an interview, Fisher revealed she would have turned down Star Wars if she’d known how much celebrity it would bring.
Today is:
Pumpkin Cheesecake Day — No thanks.
Reptile Awareness Day — Definitely no thanks.
Musical Ride
At Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in 1976, Keith Moon played his last live concert before his death with The Who. No one, of course, knew it would his last, but I for one remember it well.
Interesting Notes
Heir to the Getty oil fortune John Paul Getty III was kidnapped in Italy in 1973. The perpetrators sent a note to a Rome newspaper with one of Getty’s ears inside the package. The note read, “This is Paul’s ear. If we don’t get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits.”
Gone But Not Forgotten
Founder of the French New Wave movement in the cinema, Francois Truffaut directed 400 Blows and Jules et Jim among several other acclaimed works. Truffaut died in 1984 at the age of 52.
Notable Births
1917 — Dizzy Gillespie said, “It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.”
1959 — Ken Watanabe said, “I try to differentiate between what I need and don’t need. I talk to my wife and children before buying things.”
K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan
All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present
A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping
