Actress Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds were officially laid to rest on January 6 but there was a bit of a quagmire for the family prior to the interment.
Apparently, the “Star Wars” actress wanted her remains to be cremated while her mother wanted hers to be buried.
So in order to give in to the wishes of both, Carrie Fisher’s remains were cremated first and part of her ashes was placed in the coffin of Debbie Reynolds to give in as well to the desires of the family members to lay the mother and daughter to rest together, details the Rolling Stone.
Instead of the traditional and often gold-colored urn, however, Carrie Fisher’s ashes were placed in a giant antique porcelain Prozac pill urn, which according to her family is the actress’ favorite possession.
The actress is a longtime mental health advocate and she openly discussed her battles with depression and bipolar disorder during her lifetime.
Where she wants to be
Her brother Todd Fisher held the Prozac pill urn during the memorial service at Hollywood Hills’ Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
He explained the unique urn in a subsequent interview by saying that the giant Prozac pill was bought by his sister many years ago. Todd said that Carrie just loved it and it was in her house and her daughter Billie Lourd and he felt that it was where Carrie wanted to be.
Todd added that they could not find anything appropriate and they both agree that Carrie would like that because it was her favorite thing. So that’s how they did it.
Carrie Fisher was always making people crack a smile in life, and she made sure she got just one more out of them in death with the Prozac pill urn of hers, details The Hollywood Reporter.
Todd also said that Carrie and Debbie are together as well and they will be together on earth and in heaven and he and the entire family is okay with that.
He added that the private service was fitting and it was beautiful and that the family was planning for a larger public memorial in the future.
Reynolds and Fisher’s family held a private service at the actresses’ home on January 5, with Meryl Streep, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Dreyfuss, and Penny Marshall among other celebrities in attendance.
Back-to-back death
Carrie Fisher died on December 26 after suffering a heart attack on December 23. She was 60. Her mother, the iconic starlet Debbie Reynolds, died a day later. She was 84.
Fisher was honest and open about her battles with drugs and mental illness throughout her career. She also had a kooky sense of humor, so it makes sense the Princess Leia actress would want her urn to resemble an antidepressant pill.
On January 7, the “Bright Lights” documentary featuring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds aired on HBO.
It was supposed to be a tribute more to the life of the “Singin’ in the Rain” actress. But after the mother-and-daughter actresses died after Christmas one day apart from each other, it has become apparent that the documentary film is actually for them and some critics are saying that it becomes a fitting send off to both Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.
In fact, the official title of the documentary when it came out on HBO is “Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.”
According to filmmakers Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens, they began filming the mother and daughter duo in April 2014. From a mere documentary, it evolved into something different from what they have initially envisioned it to be.