Eddie Fisher

Early life

Fisher was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 10, 1928, the fourth of seven children born to Gitte Kathrine "Kate" (née Minicker; c.1901–1991) and Joseph Fisher (né Tisch; 1900–1972), both Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. His father's surname was originally Tisch, but was changed to Fisher by the time of the 1940 census. To his family, Fisher was always called "Sonny Boy", a nickname derived from the song of the same name in Al Jolson's film The Singing Fool (1928). His siblings were Sidney, Nettie, Miriam, Janet, Alvin, and Eileen. Kate and Joseph divorced after 33 years of marriage when Fisher was an adult.

Fisher attended Thomas Junior High School, South Philadelphia High School, and Simon Gratz High School. It was known at an early age that he had talent as a vocalist, and he started singing in numerous amateur contests, which he usually won. He made his radio debut on WFIL, a local Philadelphia radio station. He also performed on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, a popular radio show that later moved to television. Because he became a local star, Fisher dropped out of high school in the middle of his senior year to pursue his career.

Career

1946–1950: Early beginnings

By 1946, Fisher was crooning with the bands of Buddy Morrow and Charlie Ventura. He was heard in 1949 by Eddie Cantor at Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel in the Borscht Belt. Cantor's so-called discovery of Fisher was later described as a totally contrived, "manipulated" arrangement by Milton Blackstone, Grossinger's publicity director.

After performing on Cantor's radio show he was an instant hit and gained nationwide exposure. He then signed a recording contract with RCA Victor and became their best-selling pop artist.

1951–1959: American singing star

Fisher was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951, sent to Fort Hood, Texas, for basic training, and served a year in Korea. From 1952 to 1953, he was the official vocal soloist for the United States Army Band (Pershing's Own) and a tenor section member in the United States Army Band Chorus (an element of Pershing's Own) assigned at Fort Myer in the Washington, D.C. Military District. During his active duty period, he also made occasional guest television appearances, in uniform, introduced as "PFC Eddie Fisher". After his discharge, he began to sing in top nightclubs and had a variety television series, Coke Time with Eddie Fisher on NBC (1953–1957). Fisher also appeared on The Perry Como Show, Club Oasis, The Martha Raye Show, The Gisele MacKenzie Show, The Chesterfield Supper Club and The George Gobel Show, and starred in another series, The Eddie Fisher Show (NBC) (1957–1959, alternating with Gobel's series).

Fisher's good looks and strong, melodious tenor voice made him a teen idol and one of the most popular singers of the early 1950s. He had 17 songs in the Top 10 on the music charts between 1950 and 1956 and 35 in the Top 40. In 1953, "Any Time" became his first record to sell a million copies, followed soon after by "I'm Walking Behind You". That year "Wish You Were Here" topped the US pop charts as well, and another million-seller "Oh! My Pa-Pa" was released. The latter also set an all-time record at that time for RCA Victor; "Oh! My Pa-Pa" sold over 250 thousand copies in one week. In 1954, Fisher topped the US charts a fourth time with "I Need You Now", which also hit the UK top-15 at number 13. When Fisher was at the height of his popularity, in the mid-1950s, singles, rather than albums, were the primary medium for issuing recordings. However, Fisher had several top-10 albums as well. Eddie Fisher Sings, I'm in the Mood for Love, Christmas with Eddie Fisher, and May I Sing to You? all scored within the pop top-5, featuring both original material and cover songs. In 1957, he signed a then-record $1 million deal with the newly opened Tropicana Las Vegas to appear there for at least 4 weeks a year for 5 years.

In his memoir "My Life, My Loves", Fisher recounted turning down a Copacabana engagement that a young tenor named Bill Shirley later accepted, whose successful debut he witnessed from backstage. Fisher recalled Monte Proser telling him, “That could have been you,” a moment he described with lingering regret. In 1954, following growing media attention on Shirley’s relationship with Debbie Reynolds, Fisher reentered Reynolds’ life with the support of his public relations team. His sudden proposal at the Cocoanut Grove shifted public attention and led to Reynolds’ engagement, effectively ending her relationship with Shirley. While Fisher did not reference Shirley directly, the timing and tone of his memoir suggest a desire to reassert presence both personally and professionally.

1960–1969: Decline and eventual comeback with "Games That Lovers Play"

In 1960, RCA Victor dropped him due to declining sales, and he briefly recorded on his own label, Ramrod Records. It had seen only one modestly successful release with a live album. In early 1965, he signed Dot Records, with whom his first release was scheduled to be the single "Sunrise, Sunset", from Fiddler on the Roof. The song was heavily promoted, with Dot buying out advertisements and Fisher performing it on multiple shows, notably The Ed Sullivan Show. It had bubbled under the pop charts and also peaked at number 22 on the Easy Listening charts. This technically counts as the biggest standard Fisher can claim credit for introducing, although it is rarely associated with him. The Dot album Eddie Fisher Today! saw Fisher return to recording a full LP for the first time in three years. It became his first charting studio album in 10 years, peaking at number 52 nationally. Aside from Eddie Fisher Today!, the Dot contract was not successful in record sales terms. The only other recording by Fisher to get any traction during this time was "Young and Foolish", which became the title track for his next Dot album in December 1965.

He returned to RCA Victor and had a single hit in 1966 with the song "Games That Lovers Play" with Nelson Riddle, which became the title of his best-selling album. The single had already sold 150,000 copies in ten days, and eventually peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Easy Listening while also coming close to the reaching the pop top-40. The follow-up single "People Like You" became his final big hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in early 1967. His last album for RCA Victor was an Al Jolson tribute, You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet, released in 1968. Fisher dissatisfied with RCA Victor's lack of promotion of the album, left the label. His final single came in 1969 with Marv Johnson's pop hit "I'll Pick a Rose for My Rose", released by Musicor Records. The song was noted by critics as to giving Fisher a "younger pop sound" than in his previous releases. The song barely made the Record World pop charts at number 140, acting as his final charting release as well.

1970–2005: Later career and performances

In 1983, he attempted a comeback tour, but it was unsuccessful. Fisher's last released album was recorded around 1984 on the Bainbridge record label. Fisher tried to stop the album from being released, but it turned up as After All. The album was produced by William J. O'Malley and arranged by Angelo DiPippo. DiPippo, a world-renowned arranger, worked with Eddie for countless hours to better his vocals, but it became futile. Fisher's final recordings (never released) were made in 1995 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. According to arranger-conductor Vincent Falcone, writing in his 2005 autobiography, Frankly: Just Between Us, these tracks were "the best singing of his life".

Fisher performed in top concert halls all over the United States and headlined in major Las Vegas showrooms. He headlined at the Palace Theater in New York City, as well as London's Palladium. In the culmination of his return to the concert stage in 1962, Fisher headlined a five-week Broadway show at the Winter Garden, calling it a dream of his since his youth to perform in the venue Al Jolson had made famous.

Fisher has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for recording, at 6241 Hollywood Boulevard, and one for television, at 1724 Vine Street.

Personal life

Fisher had five marriages and four children:

Debbie Reynolds (September 26, 1955 – May 12, 1959; divorced)

Carrie Fisher

Todd Fisher

Elizabeth Taylor (May 12, 1959 – March 5, 1964; divorced)

Connie Stevens (February 9, 1967 – June 12, 1969; divorced)

Joely Fisher

Tricia Leigh Fisher

Terry Richard (October 29, 1975 – April 1, 1976; divorced)

Betty Lin (July 14, 1993 – April 15, 2001; her death)

In 1981, Fisher wrote an autobiography, Eddie: My Life, My Loves. He wrote another autobiography in 1999 titled Been There, Done That. The latter book devotes little space to Fisher's singing career, but recycled the material of his first book and added many new sexual details that were too strong to publish before. Upon the book's publication, his daughter Carrie declared: "I'm thinking of having my DNA fumigated."

While performing at The Tropicana Hotel in 1957, Fisher had numerous affairs with women, which contributed to his turbulent marriage to Debbie Reynolds. One of his notable affairs was with model Pat Sheehan. They eventually parted ways after Fisher refused to divorce Reynolds. He would divorce Reynolds two years later in a brief proceeding reportedly lasting ten minutes and costing ten dollars, before marrying actress Elizabeth Taylor. Fisher did not have the money at hand, so he borrowed it from his TV show producer Bernie Rich, saying that it was "worth every penny of his money".

When she was interviewed, Debbie Reynolds said that she could understand being dumped "for the world's most beautiful woman", referring to Taylor, who was previously a close friend. Taylor and Reynolds later resumed their friendship and mocked Fisher in a TV movie written by Carrie Fisher, These Old Broads, in which their characters ridiculed the ex-husband they shared, named "Freddie Hunter".

Death

Fisher fell and broke his hip on September 9, 2010, and died 13 days later on September 22, 2010, at his home in Berkeley, California, from complications from hip surgery, at the age of 82. His ashes were interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park next to his wife Betty Lin, who died in 2001.

Discography

The lists below show the singer's studio albums, compilation albums, and hit songs only. His full discography, singles, and other releases are described in a separate article.