Carrie Fisher was honored by a dear and old friend at a public celebration of her and her mother Debbie Reynolds' lives, which was livestreamed Saturday.
Star Wars droid R2-D2 made a cameo appearance onstage alongside Carrie's brother and Debbie's son Todd Fisher, who hosted the event at a reception hall at the Hollywood Hills' Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where both actresses were laid to rest together at a private funeral in January.
"My mother didn't like memorials or funerals," Todd, 59, told the crowd Saturday. "She liked shows, parties...so this show was really time for you to be in our living room as if we were all a big family."
Carrie, 60, and her 84-year-old veteran actress mom died within one day of each other last December.
"She said to me many times, 'I never want to go to my daughter's funeral,'" Todd recalled. "So she said, 'I would like to change my burial plans and I would like to buried with Carrie. I didn't know she was going to leave us the very next day."
Home videos of a young Carrie with her family, as well as scenes of her as Princess Leia in four Star Wars films, most recently Star Wars: The Force Awakens, were screened at the event, as was footage of Debbie in her own movies.
Artifacts from the family's life, including Debbie's old Hollywood artifacts, which she famously collected, were also displayed at the entrance to the venue.
Two groups of dancers also performed, including one that tap-danced to Debbie's famous dance from Singin' in the Rain. The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles also performed "True Colors," made famous by Cyndi Lauper, in her honor and a song by James Blunt written and performed for the pair played at the very end of the program.
Dan Aykroyd, who was once engaged to Carrie and starred with her in The Blues Brothers, took the podium to deliver some sweet words about the star.
"Although Carrie and I did not get married, we had taken blood test in anticipation of maybe having a child," he said. "So what would the offspring of Princess Leia and Elwood Blues turn out like? Funny? Quick? Spiritual, haunted, pursued, talented, acerbic...deviant, manic, genius...in other words, we would've had Todd Fisher."
Ruta Lee, who worked closely with Debbie on launching her charity The Thalians, sang a few of her dear friend's favorite songs. Additional speakers included Margie Duncan, who runs Reynolds' world famous dance studio, other close family members and a former roommate of Carrie's, who compared living with the star to a "24-hour long, living musical."
E! News spoke with Todd Fisher about the widely-attended event, a coming together that Debbie would've wished for.
He shared, "Well, we've already said goodbye in many ways but this is the goodbye that we are sharing with friends and family and the public because they are connected to us. It's the way Debbie would've wanted it, it's the way it is. So you can't really be done with the goodbyes until you do it with all of the people."
Fisher called the public memorial a final "sendoff" to Carrie and Debbie, speaking about their extended family, "There are words that are unspoken between any of us. We had a very strong love and so there are no goodbyes. We shall all meet again."
In addition to Todd, Carrie is survived by half-sisters Joely Fisher, 49, and Tricia Leigh Fisher, 48, and daughter and Scream Queens actress Billie Lourd, 24, who is now caring for the actress' French bulldog, Gary.
Debbie's dog, a terrier mix named Dwight, was spotted at the memorial, being led by one of the actress' friends.
LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of fans and friends have paid tribute to Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher at a poignant, laughter-filled memorial for the late actresses.
The two-hour ceremony Saturday was a mix of music and dance spliced with some never-before-seen footage of the mother-daughter duo reflecting on their lives.
The ceremony was led by Todd Fisher, who lost his mother and sister one day apart in late December. Fisher said his mother didn’t like memorials, so he was calling it a show that would reveal his loved ones like never before.
Moments included a dance tribute by performers from the dance studio Reynolds founded to music from “Singin’ in the Rain,” the classic film that made her a star.
The ceremony started with a video montage using “Star Wars” music to show Fisher from infancy, displaying tender moments with her and her mother interspersed with highlights from her career.
At the end of the montage, a working R2D2 unit came on stage and mournfully beeped at a picture of Fisher and at an empty director’s chair with her name on it.
Actress Ruta Lee delivered a touching eulogy about Reynolds and her philanthropy. As with much of the ceremony, Lee sprinkled humor throughout.
Dan Aykroyd also cracked jokes, describing Fisher as a chatterbox who never let him speak during their relationship.
The ceremony also featured a new song Fisher’s friend James Blunt wrote in memory of her.
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