Letter: Debbie Reynolds should be appreciated for her efforts

Wednesday, May 28, 1997 | 10:48 a.m.

I would not presume myself to be a personal friend to Debbie Reynolds. Our paths have crossed on occasion, all the way back to "Tammy and the Bachelor," but by no means are we buddies. I would dub it an honor to be considered one, but no such relationship exists.

As an onlooker, a spectator seated in the bleachers, I have watched her efforts to promote that Hollywood Museum over these past 25 years, and I've been witness to her constant defeat in terms of finding locations that were suddenly yanked out from under her down to a lack of interest from the very people her museum applauds. I have watched her work her tail off, repaying debts that belonged to former husbands, only because she felt that was the right thing to do. She could have walked away from responsibility at any time, and no one would have faulted her. She elected to stand and be counted, to make good above and beyond what was expected, because that is the way she is.

I don't give one solitary hoot about some investor or investors who now suddenly feel as though they have been taken advantage of -- most investors feel the same way when the property doesn't deliver whatever their minds made them believe it would. When things go wrong, deals turn sour because of any number of reasons.

I do care when the slings and arrows are aimed at the one person who probably tried the hardest to make it a go.

Why she ever picked that location and that building I'll never know, but, instead of climbing all over her now, making the usual insinuations and storming the castle much like the villagers in the old Frankenstein films, wouldn't this be the time to re-group, to finally assist her, to, for once, help her instead of kicking her again. What a concept!

Stick with it, Debbie. You never know from where help might come.

G. Peter Collins

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