Debbie Reynolds’ New Book: Make ‘Em Laugh: Short-Term Memories of Longtime Friends

Debbie Reynolds can be described with the term used for one of her most memorable characters, Molly Brown. Indeed, her previous memoir is called Unsinkable. On screen, she has appeared in classic films like “Singin’ in the Rain” (when she was still a teenager), “Tammy,” “How the West was Won,” “The Pleasure of His Company,” “The Singing Nun,” and “Mother.” While most often remembered for musicals and comedies, her work in “The Catered Affair” and “The Rat Race” show that she is a gifted dramatic actress as well.

Her new book is Make ‘Em Laugh: Short-Term Memories of Longtime Friends, she tells stories about her friends and colleagues from the golden era of Hollywood, including Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Phyllis Diller, Gary Cooper, Judy Garland, and Bob Hope.

Nathan Smith writes in The Washington Post

“Make ’Em Laugh” recounts — sometimes gleefully, sometimes mournfully — Reynolds’s experiences in and outside the movies, using many items from her archives, scrapbooks and diaries. The book also offers candid shots of “America’s Sweetheart” with the likes of state dignitaries and even circus animals to gauge and eulogize the changing tides of Hollywood and the studio system.

Here she is on Turner Classic Movies.