Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Raynolds

Debbie Reynolds

This is a photo of Debbie Reynolds during the 1960s. "Reynolds was born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas on April 1, 1932 the second child of Maxine N. (née Harmon; 1913–1999) and Raymond Francis Reynolds (1903–1986), who was a carpenter for the Southern Pacific Railroad. She has a Scottish-Irish and English ancestry." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debbie_Reynolds "EL PASO -- Debbie Reynolds hasn't been back to El Paso in nearly 60 years (until the year 2010), so her memories of the dusty little town where she was born are sketchy. "It will be shocking," she said. "Everybody tells me it's now a metropolis with tall buildings. I remember walking down the street and tumbleweeds followed me." Her memories of El Paso are vague and bittersweet. "I always felt very fortunate, but understand when I say it was not a pleasant experience, that it wasn't easy for me," she said, noting that her family had to scrape by during the tough, Depression-era economy. El Paso city directories from 1931 to 1939 list several addresses for the Reynolds, including 815 N. San Marcial, where they lived with her maternal grandparents, Owen and Maxine Harman. The Reynolds family also lived at 3117 N. Piedras and 2208 Erie before living for five years at the Magnolia address. Magnolia Street holds the most memories for Reynolds, though she doesn't recall the short time she spent at Houston Grammar School, now the recently closed Houston Elementary School. Reynolds credits those hard times and her family's hard-work ethic for her success and a career that is still active 62 years since she started. She starred in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown "(1964), a biographical film about the famously boisterous Margaret Brown, for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1973 Reynolds was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in "Irene". She was also nominated for an Emmy Award for playing Grace's mother on "Will & Grace", and recently landed the role of a grandmother in Katherine Heigl's next movie, "One for the Money." "I made it. I came from a tough family," she said. "I guess they build 'em tough in El Paso." http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15649924

Area: Central / Five Points

Source: UTEP Special Collections

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

mount sinai

mount sinai located on concordia cementery

mount sinai

mount sinai located on concordia cementery

Buffalo Soldier Memorial - El Paso, Texas

The memorial has 42 engraved granite markers and hundreds of ...

Buffalo Soldier Memorial

The memorial has 42 engraved granite markers and hundreds of ...

Buffalo Soldier Memorial

The memorial has 42 engraved granite markers and hundreds of ...

Robert E. McKee Five Points Terminal

The picture shows the bus terminal Robert E. McKee Five Points ...

Train crossing Birch at Chico 12-19-08b

The El Paso and Northeastern Railroad Company was chartered on ...

5 Points Depot

"A plaque at the depot says this “transit terminal” was ...

Railroad crossing

Railroad crossing in El Paso, Texas.

Italian Kitchen, El Paso, TX, circa 2015

The Italian Kitchen is located at 2923 Pershing Drive and can be ...

Unknown house

Unknown house in Five Points area at the corner of Pershing and ...

Fire Station No. 7

At Estrella and Pershing.

Pershing Theatre

This is now Rocketbuster Boots.

Five Points history in murals

El Paso Police Headquarters, 911 N. Raynor St., El Paso, Texas, ...

Five Points history in murals

El Paso Police Headquarters, 911 N. Raynor St., El Paso, Texas, ...

Joyeria Internacional

"Founded in 1993, Joyeria International is a small organization ...

Joe, John, and Mark Club

Address: 601 N Piedras St, El Paso, Texas 79903 Hours are Mon ...

3609 Tularosa Back View - El Paso, Texas - 1950's

Photograph taken by Thurman Studio Portraits & Commercial ...

Alamo Ballroom

The "Alamo" is a local ballroom in El Paso that host wide ...

Prices

Price's Creameries was founded in 1906 by Mary Price and was the ...

KEZB Billboard

The KEZB billboard on Piedras near Pershing stands in front of ...

Concordia Cemetery

- The cemetery had its beginnings as a ranch settled by pioneer ...

Concordia Cemetery, El Paso, TX circa 2005

The picture shows Concordia Cemetery. It had its beginnings as a ...

home.search_collection