Eddie Fisher Biography

Fast Facts

• One of his daughters, with Debbie Reynolds, is Carrie Fisher, the actress who played Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" trilogy
• Began singing professionally in 1940, when he sang on the Philadelphia radio program "When I Grow Up" at the age of 12
• Performed on radio shows like "Junior Music Hall" and "Teen Time" and later dropped out of high school to pursue his music career, allowing him to aid his impoverished family
• Was a talented singer from a very young age and claimed to have never taken a voice lesson in his life
• Quote: "Everything that has happened in my life, the fame I've enjoyed, the fortunes I've earned, the marriages, the affairs, the scandals, even my drug addictions, everything I owe to the fact that when I opened my mouth this sound, this music, came out․"
• Quote: "(On his impoverished childhood): "Somehow I knew I was going to get out of that world, and I knew that my voice was going to take me out of it․""
• Published two autobiographies: "Eddie: My Life, My Loves" in 1984 and "Been There, Done That: An Autobiography" in 2000
• Best known as a singer and television host whose hit songs included "Thinking of You" and "Wish You Were Here․"