Dec. 27, 2016 was arguably one of the worst days of my life. I remember so clearly what happened. I was at work in the control room getting ready for the noon newscast that I had produced to start.
It was about five minutes before the show started that I got a call from a fellow producer. He asked if I was sitting down and I said yes. That’s when he told me Carrie Fisher, who had gone to the hospital following a medical emergency on a flight four days earlier, had died. I shouted, “WHAT?” and half-listened as he explained he was working on writing up a script for us to break the news during the newscast.
During the newscast, I put aside my feelings to focus on the newscast. I remember feeling odd as we went into the newsroom during the newscast at the breaking news desk for a reporter to break the story. I made sure to tell that reporter how to pronounce the name of Carrie’s most well-known character, Leia, having heard it mispronounced when the news broke of her hospitalization. I powered through the rest of the newscast before returning to the newsroom.
On this day, I had been asked to stay later in order to compromise for a producer who had called in sick. I stayed an additional two hours, for a 10-hour workday. I remember feeling completely numb during those two hours, as it sank in that Carrie was gone. I was asked to help producers with handling tributes to Carrie for the late afternoon newscasts because I was the person in the newsroom who knew how best to pay tribute to her with her role in Star Wars.
Two years since Carrie’s death, not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about her at least once. Sometimes, I’ve been sad knowing that the only Princess I’ve ever had a crush on is gone. Other days, I feel joy because that’s how Carrie made everyone feel: joyful. She was hilarious, smart, honest and incredibly talented. And she was so much more.
I probably watched the Original Trilogy of Star Wars for the first time when I was 3-years-old. I distinctly remember admiring Princess Leia from the start. Although I had trouble pronouncing her name at first (it sounded like I said “Lee-uh”), I adored her character. Princess Leia always seemed like a big sister of sorts who would kick ass and take names.
Later in life, I came to admire Carrie even more than I had in Star Wars. Because of her honesty of dealing with bipolar disorder and addiction, she taught to have compassion for one another and to understand those who suffer with those disorders. Her humor also helped me laugh even on dark days, especially since she died. Anytime I need a laugh, I search for Carrie Fisher videos on YouTube and she never disappoints.
Any time I watched a non-Star Wars movie with Carrie in it, I’d always get excited. My favorite role of hers outside of Leia is in Drop Dead Fred. Carrie played Janie, the best friend of protagonist Elizabeth (played by Phoebe Cates). In the film, Elizabeth stays at Janie’s house in order to escape her imaginary friend Fred (Rik Mayall). But, Fred reappears the next morning and causes havoc on Janie’s boat home, causing it to sink.
When Elizabeth breaks the news to Janie, Fred “appears” at Janie’s workplace. Janie rolls out her chair into a hallway, where Fred gets up and stands next to Elizabeth. Janie then asks if she’s holding onto Fred and Fred shakes Elizabeth’s head yes for her. At that, Janie starts to “beat” Fred, who of course isn’t in the chair. Carrie brilliantly acts out beating up an invisible person, eventually taking off one of her high heels and using it to “smack” Fred and declaring she’s beating him for ruining the one night when her boss’ wife is out of town and she gets to sleep with him. Everyone is silent as Janie realizes what she’s done and she puts her heel back on, asking “It’s very hot in here, isn’t it?”
Another favorite non-Leia role is her cameo in Scream 3, where she plays Bianca, who works for a movie studio. When Gale Weathers and Jennifer Jolie meet with Bianca to get information about Maureen Prescott, they point out how much Bianca looks like Carrie. Bianca says she was up for Princess Leia, but the person who got the role was the one who slept with George Lucas. Classic Carrie.
My favorite Carrie moment had to be when she roasted George Lucas in 2005 at his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony. I’ll leave that YouTube video for you to see why.
Twitter had paid several tributes to Carrie on the second anniversary of her death, with several users posting remembrances of her. Her daughter Billie Lourd posted a tribute on Instagram that features Billie playing at the piano and singing one of Carrie’s favorite songs, These Days by Jackson Browne.
It doesn’t seem like it was 2 years ago already. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it really happened at all. Remembering our Rebel, our Princess, our General on this day…. 😔#CarrieFisher pic.twitter.com/3VNN3bqofL
— Geek To Me Radio (@GeekToMeRadio) December 27, 2018
2 years without our General and Princess #CarrieFisher #EpisodeIX will be the end of a magnificent legacy. pic.twitter.com/NoWmSd67et
— MinnieQuinnie (@theminniequinn) December 27, 2018
“Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” #CarrieFisher, who drowned in moonlight, strangled by her own bra #onthisday two years ago. https://t.co/DqFCdO51dS pic.twitter.com/sq4rXBLWlm
— Biography.com (@biography) December 27, 2018
2 years since we lost our princess
May the Force be with you, always#CarrieFisher pic.twitter.com/lxljoChEhi
— David ⚡️ (@akaspidey) December 27, 2018
Princess. General. Rebel.
May the Force be with you, always. 💚#CarrieFisher #StarWars pic.twitter.com/OqaOTBhXuo— Strawberrypilot (@matt_fragolino) December 27, 2018
For this tribute I leave you with two things, the first of which is an important lesson taught to us by both Carrie and Leia:
“General Kenobi: Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father’s request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack, and I’m afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”
There IS no “right” thing to do on a horrible anniversary like this… but I’m finding solace as Billie “takes her broken heart & turns it into art”-as someone we all loved & will never stop missing once said. #SheTookAPieceOfOurHeartWeWillNeverRecover https://t.co/xZrzvaYMXj
— MarkHoHoHoHamill (@HamillHimself) December 27, 2018
And now I end this tribute with a recording of Princess Leia’s Theme, written by the great John Williams.
May the Force be with you, Carrie. #CarrieOnForever
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