THE LIVES OF EDDIE FISHER, CARLOS ALCARAZ AND JEREMY LIN

Five years ago I had a note about Eddie Fisher.  To quote:  

Lady of Spain was written by Tolchard Evans and Erell Reaves in 1931, first recorded by Al Bowlly that year.  Eddie Fisher with Hugo Winterhalter and his orchestra made it a hit in 1952, but reached only #6.  However, even though he had 17 hits in the top ten, his dumping of Debbie Reynolds to marry Liz Taylor cannot be forgiven.  This was kind of like Tennessee Waltz, for Taylor, Fisher, Reynolds and Mike Todd were the best of friends.  Debbie Reynolds had recently been in Singing in the Rain, and she served as matron of honor when Taylor and Todd got married, with Fisher as best man.  You know how long ago this was?  Well, the daughter of Reynolds and Fisher is Carrie Fisher of Star Wars fame, who was born in 1956 and died nearly four years ago at the age of 59.  Of all the things, Reynolds and Taylor again became friends much later on.

I was nostalgically reminiscing about those 50s, and happened to see Every Billboard #1 Hit from 1950-1959.  Fisher had four #1s:

• "Wish You Were Here" (1952)
• "I'm Walking Behind You" (1953)
• "Oh! My Pa-Pa" (1954)
• "I Need You Now" (1954) 

Eddie Fisher was born in Philadelphia on 10August 1928, the fourth of seven children to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant parents from Russia.

• Dropped out of high school to pursue a singing career.
• At age 21 performed on Eddie Cantor's radio show, gained nationwide exposure, signed with RCA Victor, and became their best selling pop artist.

• 
  Was drafted in the Army in 1951, and supposedly served a year in Korea during the Korea War.  Its possible that he "only" had a tour there was serving as the vocalist for the U.S. Army Band.

• 
  Between 1950 and 1956 had 17 songs in the Top Ten, and 35 in the Top 40.
• Any Time in 1953 sold a million copies.
• Co-starred with then-wife Debbie Reynolds in the 1956 film Bundle of Joy, Rotten Tomatoes score of 64.  
• In 1957 signed a deal with  Tropicana Las Vegas to appear a minimum of 4 weeks for 5 years.

• 
  Was the best friend of showman Mike Todd, husband of Elizabeth Taylor.  Todd in 1958 died in a plane crash.
• Played  dramatic role in the 1960 Butterfield l8 with second wife Elizabeth Taylor.
• Has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and the second for television.

• 
  Had a rather scandalous personal life.
• Five marriages and four children.
• Debbie Reynolds, 1955-1959, Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher.

• Elizabeth Taylor, 1959-1964.
• 
  Connie Stevens, 1967 to 1969, Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher.
• Terry Richard, 1975-6
• Benny Lin, 1993 to her death in 2001.

• 
  While performing in The Tropicana Hotel in 1957, had numerous affairs.
• Throughout his life had affairs with Ann-Margaret, Juliet Prowse, Stefanie Powers, Sue Lyon, Edie Adams, Judith Campbell, Mia Farrow and Michelle Phillips.
• Watch:  Scandals of Fisher.
• Died in 2010 at the age of 82, complications from hip surgery.

In other news of the day, Carlos Alcaraz beat Arthur Rinderknech today to make the U.S. Open quarterfinals.  I report on this tennis outcome only because of how attire has changed from the days when only white was allowed.  His shoes were also purple.

Did you know that Jeremy Lin was still playing professional basketball?

• Well, until just now, when he announced his retirement as the Most Valuable Player of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League at the age of 37.
• Who is he?  From Wikipedia:

Jeremy Shu-How Lin (Chinese: 林書豪; born August 23, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American^[1][2] former professional basketball player. He unexpectedly led a winning turnaround with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2011–12 season, sparking a cultural phenomenon known as "Linsanity". Lin is the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, and is one of the few Asian Americans to have played in the league. He is also the first Asian American player to win an NBA championship, having done so with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

• 
  Was born in Torrance, California on 23August1988 and raised in Palo Alto.
• Was Player of the Year in the Northern California Division II.  
• Went to Stanford?  Nope, did offer him a scholarship.  
• So fled to Harvard, which does not offer sports scholarships.

• 
  In his freshman season, a Harvard coach remembered Lin for being the weakest guy on the team.
• But he developed well, and in his senior year, Harvard set numerous program records, like most wins (21), and became the first player in Ivy League history to record a combination of stats.  He also graduated in 2010 with a degree in economics and a 3.1 GPA.
• 
  No one drafted him, but he signed a deal with his hometown Golden State Warriors.
• Gained a cult following because he was Asian, but played very little.
• Went to China in 2011 and did well.
• During the offseason:

During the offseason, Lin worked to improve his jump shot by abandoning the shooting form he had used since the eighth grade. He also increased his strength, doubling the weight he could squat (from 110 pounds (50 kg) to 231 pounds (105 kg)) and almost tripling the number of pull-ups that he could do (from 12 to 30).^[69] He increased his body weight from 200 pounds (91 kg) to 212 (96), including 15 pounds (6.8 kg) of muscle. He added 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) to his standing vertical jump and 6 inches (15 cm) to his running vertical jump, and improved his lateral quickness by 32 percent.^[33][71] 

• 
  The Warriors weren't aware that he was a changed person, and waived him.  So did the Houston Rockets.
• The New York Knicks had several injuries, so picked him up.
• Arrived first at practice, and left last.  
• The Knicks was playing so bad in in January of 2012 that he played a little, but was on the team.  
• Lost 11 of 13 games, so Lin started over All-Star guard Deron Williams.  Scored 25 points with five rebounds and 7 assists, leading the Knicks in a victory over the New Jersey Nets.
• Started the next game and led them to a 7-game winning streak.
• On February 10 scored 38 points over the Las Angeles Lakers.  Won Player of the Week for averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2 steals in four starts, while the Knicks went undefeated for those games.
• 
  Metta World Peace of the Lakers coined the term LINSANITY.
• At the end of the season, The New York Times called Lin the Knicks most popular player in a decade.
• However, there was some resentment on the team, and Lin moved on to Houston the next season, where he attained normality, meaning mediocrity.
• Traded to the Lakers, Hornets, Nets, Hawks, then Raptors inn 2019.  Played in the finals to become the Asian American and Harvard grad to help win an NBA title.
• 
  But was unsigned in 2019, so left for the Beijing Ducks for $3 million/year.
• Moved to Taiwan in 2023, where he had a record game:  50 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, a triple double.
• Spent his final years with the New Taipei Kings, and retired yesterday after a 15-year careeer at the age of 37.

Incidentally, watch this if you want to view Every Billboard Hot 100 #1 single from 1958 to 2023.  Only takes a little over two hours.

Tropical Storm Kiko formed today in the East Pacific, and will become a hurricane.  However, the present projection has Kiko remaining south of Hawaii.

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