Fisher, fourth of seven children, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants Kate (née Minokur) and Joseph Fisher.[1][2] His father's surname was originally Tisch or Fisch, but was anglicised to Fisher upon entry into the United States.[3] 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).[4]
Fisher attended Thomas Junior High School,[5] 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,[5] a local Philadelphia radio station. He also performed on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, a popular radio show which later moved to TV. Because he became a local star, Fisher dropped out of high school in the middle of his senior year to pursue his career.[6]
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 Resort in the Borscht Belt. After performing on Cantor's radio show he was an instant hit and gained nationwide exposure. He then signed with RCA Victor.
Fisher was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951, sent to 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. After his discharge, he became even more popular singing in top nightclubs. He also had a variety television series, Coke Time with Eddie Fisher (NBC) (1953–1957), appeared on Perry Como's 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).
A pre-Rock and Roll vocalist, Fisher's strong and melodious tenor made him a teen idol and one of the most popular singers of the early 1950s. He had seventeen songs in the Top 10 on the music charts between 1950 and 1956 and thirty-five in the Top 40.
In 1956, Fisher costarred with then-wife Debbie Reynolds in the musical comedy Bundle of Joy. He played a serious role in the 1960 drama Butterfield 8 with second wife Elizabeth Taylor. His best friend was showman and producer Mike Todd, who died in a plane crash in 1958. Fisher's affair and subsequent marriage to Taylor, Todd's widow, caused a show business scandal because he and Reynolds had a very public divorce. It was because of the unfavorable publicity surrounding the affair and divorce that NBC cancelled Fisher's television series in March 1959.
In 1960, he was dropped by RCA Victor and briefly recorded on his own label, Ramrod Records. He later recorded for Dot Records. During this time, he had the first commercial recording of "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof. This technically counts as the biggest standard Fisher can claim credit for introducing, although it is rarely associated with him. He also recorded the album Eddie Fisher Today which showed that he had more depth than his singles from earlier years had shown. The Dot contract was not successful in record sales terms, and he returned to RCA Victor and had a minor single hit in 1966 with the song "Games That Lovers Play" with Nelson Riddle, which became the title of his best selling album. During the time Fisher was the most popular singer in America[citation needed], in the mid 1950s, singles, rather than albums, were the primary recording medium. His last album for RCA was an Al Jolson tribute, You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet. In 1983 he attempted a comeback tour but this was not a success. Eddie 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 worked with Eddie countless hours to better his vocals but it became useless. His final recordings (never released) were made in 1995 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. According to arranger-conductor Vincent Falcone 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.
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.
Fisher had five marriages and four children:
In 1981, Fisher wrote an autobiography, Eddie: My Life, My Loves (ISBN 0-06-014907-8). He wrote another autobiography in 1999 titled Been There, Done That (ISBN 0-312-20972-X). The later 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. His daughter Carrie declared, upon publication: "That's it. I'm having my DNA fumigated."
When interviewed, Debbie Reynolds will characteristically say that she could understand being dumped "for the world's most beautiful woman (Taylor)", previously a close friend. Taylor and Reynolds later resumed their friendship, and mocked Fisher in their TV movie These Old Broads, wherein their characters ridiculed the ex-husband they shared, named "Freddie."
Fisher broke his hip on September 9, 2010 and died 13 days later on September 22, 2010 at his home in Berkeley, California, due to complications from hip surgery. He was 82 years old.[7]
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Fisher_(singer)
The Lyrics
I'm Always Hearing Wedding Bells
American Idol' judges will be picked by mid-September Hope it works the link If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything. Nancy |
LOS ANGELES — Walking away from a five-year contract worth tens of millions of dollars, Ellen DeGeneres said Thursday evening that she was leaving "American Idol" on Fox after just one season because it was not a "right fit" for her. In bowing out, she joins the infamous judge Simon Cowell, who departed in May.
Ellen DeGeneres arrived for the season finale of "American Idol" in May.
The latest on the arts, coverage of live events, critical reviews, multimedia extravaganzas and much more. Join the discussion.
The departures of two of the show's four judges denotes that a wholesale makeover is under way as "Idol," the nation's most popular entertainment show, heads into its 10th season this winter. Singer auditions are already under way.
The Web site Deadline.com said Thursday night that the singer Jennifer Lopez secretly reached a deal earlier this week to replace Ms. DeGeneres. Fox declined to comment but a person familiar with the deal confirmed the report.
More details about the changes to "Idol" could come on Monday, when Fox executives are scheduled to answer questions at a conference for TV critics here.
Hardly a day goes by without a new name being floated for one of the seats on the judges' panel, one of the most enviable jobs in television and music. Trade publications and entertainment Web sites have said recently that the musicians Harry Connick Jr., Chris Isaak, Elton John, Jessica Simpson and Justin Timberlake have all been considered.
Separately, people familiar with the show's production said this week that one of the original executive producers of "Idol," Nigel Lythgoe, is in negotiations to return in the same position. He would supplement, not replace, the other executive producers.
Mr. Lythgoe, who now produces and judges another Fox reality show, "So You Think You Can Dance," said earlier this year that if he were back in charge, he would replace every judge on "Idol."
Despite slowly sagging ratings, "Idol" continues to generate huge profits for Fox and the show's producers, 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia. Each year it mints new pop stars and generates at least $800 million in advertising revenue.
The two judges who remain are Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi.
Because Ms. DeGeneres had a longer-term contract than they do, she remarked in a CNN interview in May, "I'm going to be the last one in there."
But in that same interview, she also said that she had a hard time hurting the feelings of the young contestants who try out for "Idol" but get voted off each week during the live telecasts. On Thursday, she cited that as one of several reasons why she was leaving.
Ms. DeGeneres said in a statement that she informed Fox "a couple months ago" that the show "didn't feel like the right fit for me."
"I told them I wouldn't leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next," she said.
