BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — It was 1996 and Debbie Reynolds hadn’t done a movie for 25 years when she was cast in Albert Brooks’ comedy, “Mother.” She was delighted and surprised to find herself emoting in front of the camera again and sat down with me for an hour to talk about it.
She was so distinctive in the way she spoke and the things she said that what follows is verbatim what she told me that cloudy day:
“This is such a surprise to me that Albert believed in me enough that he felt I could do it. Now, one does not forget how to act. I’ve studied it my whole life and love to act, but you don’t have the offers if you’re not in the swim of it.
“I don’t go to parties with the heads of studios — my daughter does. She put in a word for me. She was my ‘agent.’ The phone rang. I’m in Las Vegas ’cause I bought a hotel in Las Vegas with my third husband. I don’t know why I did.
“We bought this hotel thinking we could run it because he’s a businessman and I’m in show biz. We were married for 12 years. I didn’t worry about running this huge place. We built a theater for me to perform in and a motion picture museum. And about one year after we bought it — he’s from Virginia — and he kept saying, ‘I miss Virginia. I miss Virginia.’ And he did. And that was her name.
“So there I was with this hotel, restaurant, casino. Luckily I have this wonderful son, Todd Fisher. So he comes in to save his mother. I’m on stage Monday through Friday doing my show. It was Carrie on the phone. ‘Mother, you have to fly to L.A. and read for Albert, you know Albert.’
“Oh, that young man you used to date. He’s very cute. ‘Mother, it’s Albert Brooks, he’s a producer and director.’ She said, ‘You’ve got to fly in!’ I said, ‘No, I can’t do that I have to paint the ladies’ room tomorrow. I’m too busy.’ She says, ‘Just get on the plane and come in.’
“Well, I’ve never auditioned before. I wondered how do you do that? He would send only one scene … There’s Albert — I remember Albert — he’s still cute just like Carrie’s date. I said, ‘I’m not sure what this is about.’ And he said, ‘That’s fine.’ I said, ‘What does that mean?’ He says, ‘You have the part.’ I said, ‘How can you tell from just ONE scene?’ He said, ‘Now you’re bossing me around already.’
“I said, ‘Where are all the people, the producers and chiefs? You go to meetings and there are nine people under 21. They’ve never heard of me. And I say, ‘I’m Princess Leia’s mother.’
“They say, ‘What have you done?’ Well, I say, ‘I’ve made 47 films, 48 years in the business. I sing and dance,’ — SNORE — I just want to leave.
“Albert says, ‘You’re looking at them. I’m the producer and director and I wrote it and I’m starring in it.’
“‘This is it? I don’t have to have meetings with people who don’t know me?’ He said, ‘You’ve got the part. We start shooting in December.’ He said, ‘Have your agent call me.’ I said, ‘I don’t have an agent. Carrie will call you.’ She did. She told them what I should make, ‘Mother needs this.’ (Pausing) And that mother’s NOT giving her 10 percent. I already spent a lot on her. She went to school in London. This girl has had a good life.”
Reynolds was married three times. When we talked this is what she had to say about that: “I can’t even date. My children won’t allow me to date. It’s not depressing. I have a cook at home and lots of friends. I pick the wrong men. If a bad guy is around, I find him. I have no taste. I mother them. I take good care of them. I do everything. I obviously do it the wrong way. My mother was married 56 years but they never talked. Daddy stayed in the garage and mother lived in the house. Perfect marriage.
“My second husband I actually left ’cause he was a very wealthy man and I was a wealthy woman, and he lost it all. I really felt I couldn’t continue with him. He was a gambling-holic. At the end of that marriage I was 39 years old and dead broke, so I had to start all over again. I had his three children and my two because husbands leave, but they leave the children and dogs and cats, and miscellaneous items like that.
“I thought my career would be in New York on stage. I did ‘Irene’ in ’72 and Gower Champion directed, and it was a big hit, and it reactivated my career. It took 10 years to pay all the debts. Then I was single 13 years. I should’ve stayed single. Instead, I married Mr. Virginia.”
About “Singing in the Rain,” she said: “A remarkable picture. Think of the story, a spoof on Hollywood, it’ll just last forever. It’s a brilliant film, but I had nothing to do with that. Mr. Mayer told poor Gene Kelly, ‘Here’s your leading lady.’ Gene remembers it as HE picked me. Mr. Mayer said to Gene Kelly, ‘Gene, here’s your leading lady.’ And Gene just stared at me. He said, ‘Do you dance?’ I said, ‘No.’ He said to Mr. Mayer, ‘She doesn’t dance.’
“‘You’ll teach her.’ ‘Do you sing?’ ‘Not much.’ Mr. Mayer says, ‘We’ll teach her.’ ”
• MORGAN FREEMAN GUIDES VIEWERS TO GOD.
It seemed like perfect casting when the National Geographic Channel chose Morgan Freeman to play God in the series “The Story of God,” which returneth for its second season on Jan. 18.
Freeman takes viewers around the world to visit those who believe in a variety of ways and the hallowed sites that have proved sacred to many. As for Freeman himself, he says, “My own code is filtered through all different levels of existence. You study different forms of orthodoxies and filter out what feeds you and you function from there.”
