Todd Fisher facts for kids

Todd Emmanuel Fisher (born February 24, 1958) is an American who works in many different fields. He is a business executive, an architect, a sound engineer, and a filmmaker. He is the son of famous singer Eddie Fisher and beloved actress Debbie Reynolds.

Todd Fisher has a strong background in designing buildings and working with sound. He has designed and built sound stages for movies, recording studios for music, and TV studios. He also manages businesses. He used to be the main leader for the Debbie Reynolds Hotel & Casino and other companies related to his mother. Since 2013, he has been the main leader and manager of the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum. This museum is located at Debbie Reynolds Studios in North Hollywood and at his ranch.

Early life and family

Todd Fisher was born on February 24, 1958, in Burbank, California. His parents were the famous actors Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. His grandparents on his father's side came from Russia. His mother's family had roots in Scotland, Ireland, and England. Todd was named after his father's good friend, Mike Todd. He is the younger brother of the well-known actress Carrie Fisher (who lived from 1956 to 2016).

His parents divorced in 1959. Later, his father married actress Connie Stevens. From this marriage, Todd gained two half-sisters, Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher. In 1960, his mother married Harry Karl, who owned shoe stores. His mother and stepfather divorced in 1973, when Todd was 15 years old.

Todd Fisher went to Beverly Hills High School and finished in 1976. After high school, he studied at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles.

In 1980, Todd became a Christian. In 1982, he became a minister. After that, he started a church called Hiding Place Church with musician Henry Cutrona. The church first met at his mother's studios in North Hollywood. As it grew, it moved to the Beverly Theater in Beverly Hills. By 1986, the church was meeting at Emerson Middle School in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, with about 1,000 people attending each Sunday.

On February 15, 1981, Todd married his high school girlfriend, Donna Freberg. After they divorced, Todd married Christi Zabel in 1989. When they married, Todd became a stepfather to Vanessa, James, and Brandon, who were Christi's children from a previous marriage. Christi passed away from cancer in 2008. Todd then married actress and businessperson Catherine Hickland on December 22, 2012. The couple has homes in Las Vegas and California.

Career in entertainment

Todd Fisher started working in the entertainment world when he was a baby. He appeared in short films and documentaries about his mother. As he grew up, he became interested in how movies are made behind the scenes. He focused on making commercials, short films, and documentaries. He was one of the youngest members of a special group for theater workers called the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). As an adult, he gained a lot of experience in technical and creative work starting in the 1980s. Todd Fisher is also a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, which is a group for top camera operators.

In the early 1980s, Todd worked with Trinity Broadcasting Network. There, he wrote, produced, and directed a comedy TV show called Nightlight. He also starred in it as a funny TV preacher named Reverend Hype. The show was like the famous Saturday Night Live and featured actors such as Dan Aykroyd and Rene Russo.

In 1991, he produced his first full-length movie, Twogether.

Designing buildings and sound

In 1970, Todd's mother, Debbie Reynolds, started collecting many items from Hollywood movies. She bought thousands of items from a big auction at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This was the start of her huge collection of movie history. In 1972, she created the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum (HMPM). This museum became known as the largest private collection of Hollywood items in the world.

In 1992, Debbie Reynolds and her husband bought a hotel and casino in Las Vegas for $2.2 million. They planned to spend a lot of money to fix it up and make a home for the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum there. The hotel reopened in 1993 as The Debbie Reynolds Hotel & Casino. In 1994, Todd Fisher designed the hotel's 500-seat showroom. His mother performed her shows there. This showroom could also be used as a full TV production studio. Todd also designed the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum within the hotel. When his mother had trouble getting enough money to finish the project, she decided to let the public invest in the company. When the museum opened, it was one of the first places in the U.S. to show high-definition video.

Managing the hotel and museum

In March 1994, Todd Fisher became the chief financial officer for the Debbie Reynolds Hotel & Casino. He worked with his mother, who was the chairman. Other important people on the museum's board included Carrie Fisher, director George Lucas, Shirley MacLaine, and Elizabeth Taylor.

When Todd took over, he saw that the hotel and casino was losing money. He worked to fix the financial problems and improve how the hotel, casino, and restaurant were run. The gambling part of the hotel stopped operating in March 1996 because it was losing money. By the end of 1996, the company was in financial trouble and could not pay its bills.

In 1997, Todd tried to sell the property. When that deal didn't work out, the Debbie Reynolds Hotel & Casino had to file for bankruptcy. This was part of a plan to reorganize the company. They tried to merge with another company, which would have saved the hotel. However, the creditors (people they owed money to) said no. They decided to auction off the property instead. The property was sold for $10.65 million to the World Wrestling Federation.

By 1999, Debbie Reynolds and Todd began planning to move the Hollywood Motion Picture Museum to a new spot near the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. It was supposed to open in 2004. However, the museum's lender could no longer provide money for the project. Because of this, the museum could not finish building and could not pay back a loan. This led to a lawsuit against the museum.

While the lawsuit was ongoing, the museum made a deal to be the main attraction at a new tourist spot in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. But the company building that resort also ran into financial problems. In response, the museum itself had to file for bankruptcy in June 2009. There were plans to sell the resort and bring the museum back as the main attraction. However, these plans did not work out. So, Debbie Reynolds and Todd Fisher decided to sell the movie memorabilia collection.

Hollywood memorabilia auctions

In 2011, Debbie Reynolds and Todd Fisher worked with a company called Profiles in History to start auctioning off the Hollywood memorabilia collection. They needed to sell enough items to pay off their debts. Todd told the news that his mother was "heartbroken" to have to sell her collection.

On June 18, 2011, Marilyn Monroe's famous "subway dress" from the movie The Seven Year Itch sold for $4.6 million. This was much more than they expected. Another dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes sold for $1.2 million. A blue cotton dress that Judy Garland wore for test shots for The Wizard of Oz sold for $910,000. In total, the first auction brought in $22.8 million.

In the second auction, held on December 3, 2011, a working camera used to film Star Wars sold for $520,000. This set new records for Star Wars items and old cameras.

Filmography

Acting

• 1959: A Visit with Debbie Reynolds (short film) – as a baby
• 1969: Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children (TV movie) – as a Cub Scout
• 1981: Nightlight (TBN series) – as Reverend Hype
• 2001: These Old Broads (TV movie) – as Timothy

As himself

• 1963: Hollywood Without Make-Up (documentary)
• 2012: Hollywood Treasure

Cinematography (camera work)

• 1988: Find Your Way Back: A Salute to the Space Shuttle (video documentary)
• 1989: Blue Angels: A Backstage Pass (video documentary)
• 2002: Cinerama Adventure (documentary)
• 2013: South Dakota

Directing

• 1991: Movie Memories with Debbie Reynolds (TV series – 12 episodes)

Editing

• 1994: Twogether

Producing

• 1994: Twogether
• 2017: Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (HBO documentary)