Debbie Reynolds and her second husband, Harry Karl enjoying Mardi Gras.


 Debbie Reynolds married her second husband, Harry Karl, just a year after her humiliating divorce from her first husband, Eddie Fisher, with whom she had two children, Todd and Carrie.


At the time, Harry seemed like a safe harbour. He appeared mature and got along well with the children, especially Todd. He had built a fortune as the owner of Karl’s Shoe Stores, the nation’s largest privately held retail shoe chain at the time.


Reynolds’ close friend, actress Ruta Lee, later revealed that Debbie viewed Karl as a potential “father figure” for the children — someone who could provide emotional and financial security after Fisher’s abandonment. Ruta later quipped that Debbie “was better at choosing friends than husbands.”On the negative side, Karl had been married four times previously — which she knew about— he was also a serial womaniser and chronic gambler, which she did not know about. In her memoir *Unsinkable* (2013), Reynolds described Karl as initially “a sweet man who loved my children and me,” though she added wryly that “he just loved my money more.

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Karl doted on Reynolds’ children, treating them as his own. Todd Fisher later recalled Karl’s affection, saying, “He loved me and my sister,” though he acknowledged the man’s flaws. Carrie, then a teenager for much of the marriage, benefited from the stability, though her later writings hinted at underlying tensions in the household.Todd later wrote that when Debbie was away filming, Harry would have women over — and leave them $200 afterward. (There’s a word for that kind of woman.)

Karl also had access to Debbie’s money, which he made good use of. Karl’s attitude was, why leave good money lying around when you can spend it? During their marriage, he went through an estimated $100 million on high living and gambling. Unfortunately, they never had $100 million, and when Debbie finally called time on the marriage, she was $3 million in debt.


After the divorce, Reynolds rebuilt her career through stage shows, television, and memorabilia collecting, eventually amassing a fortune again. Karl remarried briefly to Joan Perry (the ex-wife of Harry Cohn) before his death in 1982 from complications after heart surgery, leaving his final wife $2 million in debt. He just couldn’t break the habit!

She remained beloved right up to the end, dying in 2016 — one day after Carrie. I thought at the time, of a broken heart.The marvellous Ruta Lee. Her acting career goes back to 1952 and Roy Rogers. I remember her for Maverick, Cheyenne, Hawaiian Eye and other great Warner Brothers shows. Still with us aged 90 and still enjoying life. Just missing a good friend... Continue reading 

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