- LOS ANGELES: Singer Eddie Fisher, a teen idol in the 1950s who sparked an international scandal when he left his wife Debbie Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor, has died at the age of 82.
- Fisher died in Berkeley, California, on Wednesday due to complications and a decline in health from recent hip surgery, his family said on Thursday.
“He was loved and will be missed by his four children: Carrie, Todd, Joely, and Tricia Leigh as well as his six grandchildren. He was an extraordinary talent and a true mensch,” said the statement, using the Yiddish word for a decent, admirable person.
His actress daughter Carrie Fisher highlighted his ailing health earlier this year when she wrote Twitter messages saying her father, who was confined to a wheelchair, was “kind of losing it” with confusion over his whereabouts and friends.
Eddie Fisher started as a nightclub singer and was a chart-topping teen idol in the early 1950s with songs like “Thinking of You” and “Oh! My Pa-Pa.” Legions of adoring female fans sometimes turned his appearances into mob scenes. Coca-Cola gave him a $1 million contract to be its national spokesman and sponsored his television show.