Look up fisher in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Fisher is an archaic term for fisherman, revived as gender-neutral.

Fisher or Fishers may also refer to:

• Fisher (animal) (Martes pennanti), a North American mustelid
• Fisher (band), a rock band featuring Kathy Fisher as lead singer
• Fisher (yachts), famous British motorsailers
• Fisher (comic strip), a Canadian comic strip by Philip Street
• The Fisher:
  • A brand of high fidelity audio equipment marketed by Avery Fisher
  • Sergey Golovkin (1959-1996), a Russian serial killer known as "The Fisher"

Places[link]

Australia

• Fisher, Australian Capital Territory
• Fisher Island (Queensland)
• Fisher Island (Tasmania)
• Fisher Island Reef, Tasmania
• Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland
• Electoral district of Fisher, a state electoral district in South Australia

United Kingdom

• Fisher Bank, a sea area of the UK shipping forecast

United States

• Fisher, Arkansas
• Fisher, California (disambiguation), multiple locations
  • Fisher, Humboldt County, California
  • Fisher, Shasta County, California
• Fisher, Illinois
• Fisher, Louisiana
• Fisher, Minnesota
• Fisher, Pennsylvania
• Fisher Island, Florida
• Fishers, Indiana
• Fishers, New York
• Fishers Island, New York

People[link]

See Fisher (surname)

Other[link]

• the Fisher meteorite of 1894, which landed in Minnesota, United States (see meteorite falls)
• Max M. Fisher College of Business (also known as 'Fisher College'), a unit of The Ohio State University
• Fisher Athletic F.C., defunct football club in England
• Fisher Electronics, a Sanyo subsidiary producing low-cost hi-fi equipment
• Fisher F.C., football club based in England
• Fisher Site, archaeological site in the USA
• Fisher Farm Site, archaeological site in the USA
• Fisher's exact test, a statistical significance test
• Fisher's method, also known as Fisher's combined probability test
• Sam Fisher (disambiguation), multiple people
• Elena Fisher, character from the Uncharted video game series
• Fisher equation, an equation in financial mathematics and economics
• Fisher transformation, a transformation in statistics used to test some hypotheses
• Fisher Space Pen Co. (see Space Pen and Paul C. Fisher)

See also[link]

• Fisherman
• Fishery

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2010)

Derek Fisher

Fisher with the Lakers
No. 37 – Oklahoma City Thunder
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1974-08-09) August 9, 1974 (age 37) Little Rock, Arkansas
Nationality	American
High school	Parkview Arts and Science Magnet (Little Rock, Arkansas)
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College	Arkansas–Little Rock (1992–96)
NBA Draft	1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 24th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Pro career	1996–present
Career history
1996–2004	Los Angeles Lakers
2004–2006	Golden State Warriors
2006–2007	Utah Jazz
2007–2012	Los Angeles Lakers
2012–present	Oklahoma City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
5× NBA Champion (2000–2002, 2009–2010) Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year (1996)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9, 1974) is an American professional basketball point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the National Basketball Association (NBA). His NBA career has spanned more than 15 years, during which he won five NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He currently serves as the president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).^[1]

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Fisher started out his basketball career at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Selected with the twenty-fourth pick by the Lakers in the 1996 NBA Draft, Fisher spent his first eight seasons with the franchise. During that time, he played a role in the Lakers' "three-peat", and was the third-leading scorer on the team behind Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. After his success with Los Angeles, Fisher signed with the Golden State Warriors, but was later traded to the Utah Jazz, where he helped lead the team to the Western Conference Finals. Due to his daughter's health, he asked to be released from his contract and rejoined the Lakers in 2007.^[2] In 2010, he won his fifth NBA Championship with the Lakers. Only he and Kobe Bryant have played in all five of the Lakers' most recent championships. The Lakers, in 2012, traded Fisher to the Houston Rockets, who bought out his contract and waived him. He was subsequently claimed by the Thunder.

As of 2011, Fisher had played in 209 career playoff games, the fourth highest total in NBA history.^[3] He ranks second all time in NBA Finals three-pointers made (43), behind former teammate Robert Horry. He has the highest three-point field goal percentage in NBA Finals history (42.6%). The NBA listed his "0.4 Shot" as the 18th-greatest playoff moment of all time.^[4]

Early life[link]

Fisher attended the Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School in Little Rock, where he was a letterman in basketball.

He went on to attend the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) for four years, with a major in communications. Fisher concluded his collegiate career at Arkansas-Little Rock second on the school’s all-time lists in points (1,393), assists (472) and steals (189). He averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists over 112 games and led the team in assists and steals every year. Fisher also set a school record for free throws made in a career (399) and ranked third among all-time UALR leaders in three-point field goals made (125). As a senior, he earned Sunbelt Conference Player of the Year honors after averaging 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.^[5][6]

In 2005, Fisher pledged $700,000 to UALR towards the construction of its Jack Stephens Center auxiliary gym, since named in his honor, and the establishment of the Fisher Fellows Life Skills program, a mentoring series for UALR student-athletes.^[7]

NBA career[link]

Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)[link]

Fisher was selected 24th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, and spent his first eight seasons with them.^[5]

He made his NBA debut in an early season game against the Phoenix Suns, tallying 12 points and five assists. Over the course of his rookie season, Fisher appeared in 80 games, averaging 3.9 points, 1.5 assists and 1.2 rebounds. He was selected to the Schick Rookie Game during the All-Star Weekend in Cleveland and had 16 points and six assists.

Due to a stress fracture in his right foot, Fisher missed 62 games out of the 2000–01 season. By 2002–03, Fisher had firmly established himself as the Lakers' primary point guard, starting in all 82 games. But after the team was eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinals by the eventual champion Spurs that spring, followed by the signing of veteran point guard Gary Payton in the summer, Fisher was demoted back to the bench for the 2003–04 season.

The 0.4 shot[link]

One of Fisher's finest playoff moments came in Game 5 (May 13, 2004) of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals between the Lakers and the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. The series was tied at 2, and Game 5 was a closely contested affair. With 11 seconds remaining, Kobe Bryant hit a jump shot to put the Lakers up 72–71. Tim Duncan then made a fadeaway 18-footer over Shaquille O'Neal to give the Spurs a 73–72 lead with 0.4 seconds on the clock.

To devise strategies, three consecutive time-outs were called: the first by the Lakers, the second by San Antonio to set up the defense, and the last by the Lakers to re-set up the offense. When the game resumed, Gary Payton inbounded the ball to Fisher, who managed to catch, turn, and shoot the game-winning basket all in 0.4 seconds. Fisher sprinted off the court, as he later admitted he was uncertain he beat the buzzer and wanted to exit before the play could be reviewed. The Spurs immediately filed a dispute regarding the shot and after reviewing video footage of the play, the referees concluded that the ball indeed left Fisher's hands before the clock expired. The "0.4" shot counted and the Lakers won the game 74–73.^[8]

The Lakers closed out the Spurs in Game 6. They proceeded to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves to clinch the Western Conference championship, but were upset in the NBA Finals by the Detroit Pistons 4 games to 1.

Golden State Warriors (2004–2006)[link]

On July 16, 2004, Fisher signed with the Golden State Warriors as a free agent. Fisher's two-season term with Golden State proved to be somewhat of a disappointment. While he was a reliable spot-up shooter, Fisher saw limited openings without a star player such as Bryant or O'Neal to command a double-team. The team as a whole continued to struggle mightily and languished near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Speedy Claxton started more games than Fisher in 2004–05 season, and then newly-acquired point guard Baron Davis was a starter the following season. In the 2005–06 season, Fisher averaged 13.3 points a game, the highest season scoring average of his career.

Utah Jazz (2006–2007)[link]

Fisher was acquired by the Utah Jazz on July 12, 2006 in a trade that sent Keith McLeod, Andre Owens, and Devin Brown to the Golden State Warriors. He appeared in all 82 games of the 2006–07 season, averaging 10.1 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.01 steals while scoring in double figures 40 times.

In November 2006, Fisher was voted President of the National Basketball Players Association, succeeding Antonio Davis. Fisher had previously served as vice president.^[9] He has also been the color commentator for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA since July 1, 2008.

2007 Playoffs[link]

Candace and Tatum Fisher at the White House in 2010

Several days before the Western Conference Semifinals between the Jazz and the Golden State Warriors began, Fisher stated that one of his four children was ill, avoiding going into further detail other than to say he needed to be with his family and his playing status was uncertain.

Fisher had asked head coach Jerry Sloan to leave him on the active list for Game 2, but could not guarantee he would make it in time to play. But with permission from their doctors, he and his family flew from New York after his daughter's surgery and landed in Salt Lake City with the game in progress. When they landed, Fisher found out starting point guard Deron Williams was in foul trouble and his backup Dee Brown had been injured. The Jazz had been using Andrei Kirilenko as a point guard and desperately needed Fisher. Given a police escort, Fisher arrived at the arena, suited up, and was given a standing ovation as he walked onto the floor. Not even given a chance to sit down, Fisher was put in the game in the middle of the third quarter. Late in the fourth, Fisher made a key defensive stop on Baron Davis that helped send the game into overtime. In the closing minutes, the Jazz held a three-point lead when Deron Williams found an open Fisher for a three-pointer that sealed the victory.^[10] After the game, a tearful Fisher was interviewed, where he revealed the situation involving his then-11-month-old daughter, Tatum. She had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a degenerative and rare form of eye cancer, which required an emergency three-hour surgery and chemotherapy at a New York hospital.^[11]

The Jazz eventually defeated the Warriors 4 games to 1, but fell to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals in five games. Fisher's dramatic Game 2 entrance and performance against the Warriors was nominated for Best Moment in the 2007 ESPY Awards.

On July 2, 2007, Fisher asked the Jazz to release him from his contract so he could relocate to a team and city that would have the "right combination" of specialists that could help fight his daughter's retinoblastoma.^[12][13] The Jazz honored his request.^[13][14]

Second run with Lakers (2007–2012)[link]

After much speculation, on July 19, 2007, Fisher officially rejoined the Los Angeles Lakers by signing a three-year contract worth roughly $14 million.^[13][14] He had given up roughly $8 million over three years, as he was due about $22 million over the next three years in his prior contract with the Jazz. Jazz owner Larry Miller noted that "[i]t did look funny" that Fisher signed with the Lakers, but he did not believe Fisher or Lakers owner Jerry Buss would do anything underhanded.^[15] Jazz fans have taunted him, suspecting that he simply wanted to return to the Lakers.^[16]

When the 2007–08 season began, Fisher resumed his role as the Lakers' starting point guard. He contributed a solid season, shooting 40% from the three point range and 88% from the free throw line, the highest percentage of his career. He made a controversial defensive play in Game 4 of the Lakers-Spurs Western Conference Finals, when late in the game Fisher jumped into Brent Barry's path without a foul called, causing Barry to miss a potential game winning shot. The Lakers eventually ousted the Spurs 4–1, but lost the NBA Finals to Boston.

Fisher (left), Kobe Bryant (center) with President Obama (right) on January 25, 2010.

Throughout the 2009 NBA Playoffs, Fisher faced criticism about his age and lackluster defensive performances against younger, quicker opposing point guards. However, Fisher helped the Lakers win Game 4 over the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals, hitting a three pointer over Jameer Nelson with 4.6 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime, and a tie-breaking three pointer with 31.3 seconds remaining in overtime to help send the Lakers to a 3–1 series lead and soon after, the franchise's 15th NBA title. Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times described these shots by stating, "After his two jaw-flooring three-pointers led the Lakers to a 99–91 overtime victory against the Orlando Magic in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, you'll now officially be seeing him forever."^[17] Fisher's 11.0 points per game, 50% shooting average, and 44% three-point percentage over the course of the Finals were an improvement over his regular season numbers and a departure from his post-season struggles to that point. He had shot 23.5% from behind the three point line and 35.6% from the field in the three prior playoff series. This was Fisher's fourth NBA championship.

On September 8, 2009, Fisher released a book, Character Driven: Life, Lessons, and Basketball.^[18] He is credited as the author of the book with Gary Brozek contributing. On February 3, 2010, Fisher made the 1,000th 3-pointer of his career against the Charlotte Bobcats.^[19] On February 10, 2010, Fisher played his 1,000th career game against his former team, the Utah Jazz, beating Kobe Bryant to the milestone by one game.^[20] On February 23, 2010, Fisher made the 9,000th point of his NBA career against the Memphis Grizzlies.

On June 8, 2010, in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Fisher played a pivotal role down the stretch to help the Lakers take a 2–1 series lead. In the 4th quarter, he scored 11 of his 16 points, including a 3-point-play lay-up that helped the Lakers wrap up a 91–84 road victory.^[21] In Game 7, the Lakers came all the way back from a 13-point 3rd-quarter deficit when Fisher hit a critical 3-pointer to tie the game with 6:11 remaining. The Lakers ultimately defeated the Celtics 83–79, and Fisher went on to win his fifth NBA championship.

After his fifth Championship win, Fisher became a free agent, fielding offers from several teams, including the Miami Heat. However, on July 12, 2010, he agreed to a three-year, $10.5 million deal with a player option in the third year to continue with the Lakers. Though their contract offer was not the most lucrative, Fisher considered it "the most valuable" option.^[22][23]

On March 15, 2012, Fisher and a 2012 first round draft pick were traded to the Houston Rockets for Jordan Hill.^[24] Three days later, media sources began reporting that Fisher's contract would most likely be bought out by the Rockets, making him eligible to sign with any team other than the Lakers.^[25] On March 19, 2012, Fisher was officially waived by the Rockets, without appearing in a game.^[26]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2012–present)[link]

On March 21, 2012, after clearing the waivers at 6 pm Eastern time, Fisher signed a contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the remainder of the 2011-2012 season.^[27] The Thunder organization called a pre-game press conference prior to its 7pm game to formally announce the signing of Fisher.^[28] He chose jersey number 37, his age at the time because all his old numbers were taken. Fisher made his Thunder debut on the very same night against the Los Angeles Clippers, scoring 5 points.

Player profile[link]

This section requires expansion.

Phil Jackson said that Fisher was "definitely the spokesman for [the Lakers] as far as leadership goes."^[29]

In a 2011 poll of NBA players by Sports Illustrated, Fisher received the fourth most votes, six percent, for being the best flopper in the game. "Fish takes the contact. He does draw and sell offensive fouls," Jackson said. "We're happy he does what he does."^[30]

NBA career statistics[link]

Correct as of April 22, 2012

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

Players union[link]

Fisher was a player representative for the NBPA before becoming a member of the union's executive committee. He was elected the union's president in 2006. He supported the NBA's referees during their lockout in 2009. During the 2011 NBA lockout, Fisher took a more active role than his predecessors, and he shared the lead with Billy Hunter, the union's full-time executive director.^[31] Jason Whitlock of Foxsports.com wrote that Fisher was privately working with Stern on a deal to accept a lower percentage of revenues for the players and that Hunter confronted Fisher about the issue.^[32] In a letter to the players, Fisher called the reports questioning his loyalty "absurd" and demanded "a retraction for the libelous and defamatory stories" through his attorneys.^[33][34] Hunter said his "relationship with Derek is very good. There was no confrontation."^[34][35]

Personal[link]

Fisher is the younger brother of former NBA player Duane Washington,^[36] who is ten years Fisher's senior.

In 2009, Fisher had a temporary restraining order placed on a 40-year-old female stalker, Symone Fisher, who had been victimising him since 2001.^[37] She had insisted she and Derek Fisher were married, and had even changed her surname to match his.^[38] He had the order extended by three years, expiring in May, 2012.^[38]

In 2010, it was initially reported on an Oklahoma City radio station that Fisher was involved in an altercation at an Oklahoma City Waffle House. While he admitted he was a police witness to a fight that broke out between two customers at a Waffle House in Oklahoma City during a visit with the Lakers after a regular season game in 2009, Fisher denied having been a participant in the latest allegation, which he labeled as false.^[39]

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Jackson, Phil (2004). The Last Season: A Team in Search of its Soul. Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-035-1. 
• "Derek Fisher's Career Statistics". NBA.com. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/derek_fisher/?nav=page. Retrieved March 15, 2005. 

External links[link]

• Official Web Site of Derek Fisher
• NBA.com Profile

Miles Fisher (born June 23, 1983) is an American film and television actor and musician. Born as James Leslie Miles Fisher, he was raised in Dallas, Texas until his family moved to Washington, D.C. He was educated at the St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. and attended Harvard University.

He had a role in the 1997 CBS adaptation of the book True Women and had a starring role in the 2000 film Lone Star Struck. In 2001, he won Best Actor at the International Teen Movie Festival (ITMF) in Vaughan, Canada for his role in his short film Head Shot. He also received praise in 2001 in an article in Newsday, and this helped further his career. He appeared as a member of the First Regiment of Virginia Volunteers in the 2003 Civil War film Gods and Generals, which starred Robert Duvall. Fisher parodied actor Tom Cruise in the 2008 film Superhero Movie; a clip of Fisher from the film became popular on the Internet. He had a recurring role as a rookie police officer in 2008 on the television series The Cleaner on A&E Network. Fisher appeared in 2009 on Gossip Girl. On the third season of the television series Mad Men, Fisher portrayed a friend of character Paul Kinsey.

Family and education[link]

Miles Fisher's full name is James Leslie Miles Fisher, and he is known to his hometown friends in Dallas simply as James.^[1] Fisher is the son of Richard W. Fisher, who is currently the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.^[2] His mother Nancy Fisher serves on the national board of the American Film Institute (AFI).^[2] Fisher's maternal grandfather was Representative James Collins.^[1] He was raised in Dallas, Texas.^[2] After his family moved to Washington, D.C., he attended the St. Albans School.^[1]

Fisher graduated from Harvard University, where he was an English major.^[3] While at Harvard, Fisher was a member of the a cappella singing group the Krokodiloes.^[4] Fisher served as the Krokodiloes tour manager, and planned events for the group in 24 countries.^[5] Fisher was one of the two students chosen to deliver a Harvard Oration at the 2006 Harvard graduation ceremony.^[6][7] His undergraduate thesis, which won the LeBaron Russell Briggs prize at Harvard, was a "screenplay about a Harvard graduate who avoided the Vietnam draft by teaching in a military prep school".^[8] Fisher described film as his passion and said that after graduation he intended to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry.^[8] In 2009 Fisher resided in Los Angeles, California.^[9]

Acting career[link]

1997–2008[link]

Fisher appeared in the 1997 CBS television movie adaptation of the book True Women as the character Travis,^[10] and had a starring role in the 2000 film Lone Star Struck.^[5] He received the Best Actor award at the 2001 International Teen Movie Festival (ITMF) in Vaughan, Canada,^[11] for his own short film titled: Head Shot, which was among 10,000 other entries at the festival.^[12] In a 2001 article in Newsday titled: "Miles Fisher, 'It' Boy", columnist Liz Smith referred to Fisher as "wunderkind" and "the next Tom Cruise".^[12] Smith's comparison of Fisher to Tom Cruise led to meetings with influential managers and agents, and he signed with the talent agency Endeavor Talent Agency in 2002.^[13] Fisher appeared in the 2003 Civil War film Gods and Generals with Robert Duvall.^[2] Director Ron Maxwell picked Fisher to portray a heroic member of the First Regiment of Virginia Volunteers in the film; Duvall played Robert E. Lee.^[12]

He parodied actor Tom Cruise in the 2008 film Superhero Movie.^[14] Fisher's role in the film was popularized on the Internet on sites including Defamer, as well as on television on Entertainment Tonight and the CNN program Showbiz Tonight.^[15][16] The clip of Fisher was viewed on the Internet over 10 million times.^[9] In a review in The Baltimore Sun, Roger Moore commented that Fisher's appearance in Superhero Movie was the highlight of the film, and wrote: "Actor Miles Fisher replicates Tom Cruise's 'I am the Way, the Thetan, the Light' Scientology recruiting video of last year to hilarious effect."^[17] He had a recurring role on A&E Network's television series The Cleaner, portraying a rookie police officer named Kenneth Herman.^[2][14]

2009–present[link]

Fisher wrote and produced a short film called Heatshot in 2009 with Evan Nichols; the film was selected to be screened at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival.^[9] Alan Peppard of The Dallas Morning News reported in March 2009 that Fisher had been cast in the pilot of a television show set in 1983 in Southern California; a spinoff of Gossip Girl.^[9] He portrayed a "sleazy" coke dealer on the television series of the same name.^[18]

On the third season of the television series Mad Men, Fisher portrayed Geoff Graves, a friend of character Paul Kinsey.^[19] Jessica Gelt of the Los Angeles Times described his character as a "preppy drug dealer".^[20] In 2010, Fisher was cast in the Steven Quale film, Final Destination 5.^[21][22][23] In an interview with Collider.com, Fisher revealed that the film was set in a workplace environment, and was a 3-D film.^[24] Fisher appeared in Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar Hoover biopic, J. Edgar, playing Agent Garrison, an FBI employee who interviews Leonardo DiCaprio's Hoover throughout the film.^[25]

Music career[link]

In July 2009, Fisher released an independently produced self-titled EP, Miles Fisher, as well as a music video for his cover of the Talking Heads song "This Must Be The Place."^[18][26] The video is a homage to the 2000 film American Psycho, with Fisher imitating Christian Bale's performance as Patrick Bateman.^[18] Lydia Hearst-Shaw appeared as a character in the video, modeled off actress Cara Seymour from American Psycho.^[18][26] Students from the American Film Institute helped film the video, which was shot in Los Angeles.^[26] The video was posted on YouTube and various other web sites, and received 200,000 hits on Break.com alone within the first 24 hours.^[18] Darrell Hartman of Interview called the usage of the Talking Heads song with the American Psycho theme "a brilliant combo", and noted that Fisher "created a viral hit".^[26] Fisher released the song "New Romance" in video and mp3 form on iTunes and on his personal website on 19 July 2011.^{[27][28][29][30][31]} The video parodies the Final Destination series and Saved By the Bell.^[30][31]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

Discography[link]

EPs[link]

• Miles Fisher^[18][26] (2009)

Singles[link]

• "This Must Be the Place"^{[18][26][29][30][31]} (2009)
• "New Romance"^[29][30][31] (2011)
• "Don't Let Go"^[18] (2011)

Music videos[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikinews has related news: Tom Cruise spoofed in film 'Superhero Movie'

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Miles Fisher

• Miles Fisher's official website
• Miles Fisher's official YouTube site
• Miles Fisher at the Internet Movie Database
• Miles Fisher at TV.com
• Miles Fisher at Yahoo! TV

Carrie Fisher
Fisher at WonderCon 2009
Born	Carrie Frances Fisher (1956-10-21) October 21, 1956 (age 55) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, novelist, screenwriter, performance artist
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Paul Simon (1983–1984)
Partner	Bryan Lourd (1991–1994)
Children	1
Parents	Eddie Fisher Debbie Reynolds

Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and performance artist. She is best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge and screenplay for a film of the same name, and her autobiographical one-woman play, Wishful Drinking.

Early life[link]

Fisher was born in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. Her father was Jewish, the son of immigrants from Russia, and her mother was Protestant.^[1][2][3] Her younger brother is producer and actor Todd Fisher, and her half-sisters are actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher. Joely and Tricia's mother is the singer/actress Connie Stevens.

When Carrie Fisher was two, her parents divorced after her father left Debbie for her best friend, actress Elizabeth Taylor, the widow of Eddie's best friend Mike Todd. The following year, her mother married shoe store chain owner Harry Karl, who secretly spent her life savings. It was assumed from an early age that Carrie would go into the family show business, and she began appearing with her mother in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 12. She attended Beverly Hills High School, but she left to join her mother on the road. She appeared as a debutante and singer in the hit Broadway revival Irene (1973), starring her mother.

Career[link]

1970s[link]

Fisher with Wim Wenders in 1978

In 1973, Fisher enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, which she attended for 18 months. She made her film debut in the Columbia comedy Shampoo (1975) starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn, with Lee Grant and Jack Warden. In 1977, Fisher starred as Princess Leia in George Lucas' science fiction film Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) opposite Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, a part she sarcastically claims to have obtained by sleeping "with some nerd."^[4] At the time she thought the script for Star Wars was fantastic but didn't expect that many people would agree with her and although her fellow actors weren't close they bonded after the commercial success of the film.^[5] The huge success of Star Wars made her internationally famous and the character of Princess Leia became a merchandising triumph; there were small plastic action figures of the Princess in toy stores across the United States. She appeared as Princess Leia in the 1978 made-for-TV film, The Star Wars Holiday Special.

In May 1978, she appeared alongside John Ritter in the ABC-TV film Leave Yesterday Behind as a horse trainer who helps Ritter's character after an accident leaves him a paraplegic. At this time, Fisher appeared with Laurence Olivier and Joanne Woodward in the anthology series Laurence Olivier Presents in a television version of the William Inge play Come Back, Little Sheba.

In November 1978, Fisher was the guest host for Saturday Night Live with musical guests The Blues Brothers and special guest Don Novello as Father Guido Sarducci. Dressed in a gold bikini, she reprised her Princess Leia character from Star Wars in "Beach Blanket Bimbo from Outer Space", a parody sketch of 1960s beach party films. Bill Murray and Gilda Radner imitated the Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello characters. John Belushi played biker Eric Von Zipper, and Dan Aykroyd, with whom Fisher was romantically involved, portrayed Vincent Price.

Fisher appeared in the music video for Ringo Starr's cover of "You're Sixteen" as the love interest in 1978 on his TV special of that year.^[6][7]

1980s[link]

Fisher later appeared in The Blues Brothers film as Joliet Jake's vengeful ex-lover, listed in the credits as "Mystery Woman". She appeared on Broadway in Censored Scenes from King Kong in 1980. That year, she appeared again as Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. She made her third and final appearance as Leia in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, for which she became a sex symbol due to her appearance wearing a golden metal bikini (the slave girl outfit which almost immediately rose to pop culture icon status). She is one of the few actors or actresses to star in films with both John and James Belushi, later appearing with the latter in the film The Man with One Red Shoe. She also was a replacement in the Broadway production of Agnes of God (1982). She appeared in the Woody Allen film Hannah and her Sisters in 1986.

In 1987, Fisher published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge. The book was semi-autobiographical in the sense that she fictionalized and satirized real life events such as her drug addiction of the late 1970s.^[8] It became a bestseller, and she received the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel. Also during 1987, she was in the Australian film The Time Guardian. In 1989, Fisher played a major supporting role in When Harry Met Sally, and in the same year, she appeared opposite Tom Hanks as his wife in The 'Burbs.

1990s[link]

In 1990, Columbia Pictures released a film version of Postcards from the Edge, adapted for the screen by Fisher and starring Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, and Dennis Quaid. Fisher appeared in the fantasy comedy film Drop Dead Fred in 1991, and played a therapist in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). During the 1990s, Fisher also published the novels Surrender the Pink (1991) and Delusions of Grandma (1993).

2000s[link]

Fisher at Star Wars Celebration IV, 2007

In the film Scream 3 (2000), Fisher played an actress mistaken for Carrie Fisher. Director's commentary on the Scream 3 DVD suggests that the sequence was in fact penned by Fisher herself.

In 2001, Fisher played a nun in the Kevin Smith comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The title spoofs The Empire Strikes Back and the film, which includes Mark Hamill, satirizes many Hollywood movies, including the Star Wars series.

She also co-wrote the TV comedy film These Old Broads (2001), of which she was also co-executive producer. It starred her mother, Debbie Reynolds, as well as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins and Shirley MacLaine. In this, Taylor's character, an agent, explains to Reynolds' character, an actress, that she was in an alcoholic blackout when she married the actress's husband, "Freddy".

Besides acting and writing original works, Fisher was one of the top script doctors in Hollywood, working on the screenplays of other writers.^[9][10] She has done uncredited polishes on movies starting with The Wedding Singer and Sister Act,^[9] and was hired by the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, to polish scripts for his 1992 TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.^[9] Her expertise in this area was why she was chosen as one of the interviewers for the screenwriting documentary Dreams on Spec in 2007. However, during an interview in 2004 she said that she no longer does much script doctoring.^[10]

Fisher also voices Peter Griffin's boss Angela on the animated sitcom Family Guy and appeared in a book of photographs titled Hollywood Moms (2001) for which she wrote the introduction. Fisher published a sequel to Postcards, The Best Awful There Is in 2004. In August 2006, Fisher appeared prominently in the audience of the Comedy Central's Roast of William Shatner.

Fisher wrote and performed in her one-woman play Wishful Drinking at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles from November 7, 2006, to January 14, 2007.^[11] Her show played at the Berkeley Repertory Theater through April 2008,^[12] followed by performances in San Jose, California in July 2008, Hartford Stage in August 2008^[13] before moving on to the Arena Stage in Washington, DC in September 2008^[14] and Boston^[15] in October 2008. Fisher published her autobiographical book, called Wishful Drinking based on her successful play in December 2008 and embarked on a media tour. On April 2, 2009, Fisher returned to the stage with her play at the Seattle Repertory Theatre with performances through May 9, 2009.^[16] On October 4, 2009, Wishful Drinking then opened on Broadway in New York at Studio 54 and played an extended run until January 17, 2010.^[17][18] In December 2009, Fisher's bestselling memoir Wishful Drinking earned her a nomination for a 2009 Grammy Award in the Best Spoken Word Album category.^[19]

In 2007, she was a full-time judge on FOX's filmmaking-competition reality television series On the Lot.

Fisher joined Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne on Saturday evenings for The Essentials with informative and entertaining conversation on Hollywood's best films. She guest-starred in the episode titled "Sex and Another City" from season 3 of Sex and the City with Sarah Jessica Parker. This episode also featured Vince Vaughn, Hugh Hefner and Sam Seder in guest roles. On October 25, 2007, Fisher guest-starred as Rosemary Howard on the second season episode of 30 Rock called "Rosemary's Baby", for which she received an Emmy Award^[20] nomination. Her last line in the show was a spoof from Star Wars: "Help me Liz Lemon, You're my only hope!". On April 28, 2008, she was a guest on Deal or No Deal. In 2008, she also had a cameo as a doctor in the Star Wars related comedy Fanboys.

Fisher's Wishful Drinking aired as a feature-length documentary on HBO.^[21]

Fisher appeared on the seventh season of Entourage in the summer of 2010.^[21]

Personal life[link]

Fisher was briefly engaged to the actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd, who proposed on the set of their film The Blues Brothers in 1980. She has stated: "We had rings, we got blood tests, the whole shot. But then I got back together with Paul Simon."^[22]

Fisher dated musician Paul Simon from 1977 until 1983, then was married to him from August 1983 to July 1984, and they dated again for a time after their divorce. During their marriage, she appeared in Simon's music video for the song "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War".

Subsequently, she had a relationship with Creative Artists Agency principal and casting agent Bryan Lourd. They had one child together, Billie Catherine Lourd (born July 17, 1992). The couple's relationship ended when Lourd left to be in a homosexual relationship. Though Fisher has described Lourd as her second husband in interviews, according to a 2004 profile of the actress and writer, she and Lourd were never legally married.^[23]

Fisher also had a close relationship with James Blunt. While working on his album Back to Bedlam in 2003, Blunt spent much of his time at Fisher's residence. Vanity Fair's George Wayne wanted Fisher to explain if their relationship was sexual. Fisher dismissed the suggestion: "Absolutely not, but I did become his therapist. He was a soldier. This boy has seen awful stuff. Every time James hears fireworks or anything like that, his heart beats faster, and he gets 'fight or flight'. You know, he comes from a long line of soldiers dating back to the 10th century. He would tell me these horrible stories. He was a captain, a reconnaissance soldier. I became James’s therapist. So it would have been unethical to sleep with my patient."^[24]

On February 26, 2005, R. Gregory "Greg" Stevens, a lobbyist and advisor for the Republican Party, was found dead in Fisher's California home due to an overdose of OxyContin compounded by obstructive sleep apnea.^[25] In an interview, Fisher claimed that Stevens' ghost haunted her mansion. Fisher was unsettled by this: "I was a nut for a year," she explained, "and in that year I took drugs again."^[26]

Fisher has described herself as an "enthusiastic agnostic who would be happy to be shown that there is a God."^[27] She was raised Protestant,^[1] but often attends Jewish services, the faith of her father, with Orthodox friends.^[28] She was a spokesperson for Jenny Craig, Inc. Television ads airing in late January 2011.^[29]

Bipolar disorder and drug problems[link]

Fisher has publicly discussed her problems with drugs, her struggle with bipolar disorder, and her overcoming an addiction to prescription medication, most notably on ABC's 20/20 and The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive with Stephen Fry for the BBC. She discussed her 2008 memoir Wishful Drinking and various topics in it with Matt Lauer on NBC's Today on December 10, 2008 and also revealed that she wishes she had turned down the role of Princess Leia.^[30] This interview was followed by a similar appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on December 12, 2008, where she discussed her electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments.^[31] She has said that she receives ECT every six weeks to "blow apart the cement" in her brain.^[32]

While in Sydney, Australia, Fisher revealed in another interview that she had a cocaine addiction during filming of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and also survived an overdose. "Slowly, I realized I was doing a bit more drugs than other people and losing my choice in the matter" she said in an interview.^[33][34]

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

Novels

• Postcards from the Edge, 1987, ISBN 0-7434-6651-9
• Surrender the Pink, 1990, ISBN 0-671-66640-1
• Delusions of Grandma, 1993, ISBN 0-684-85803-7
• Hollywood Moms, 2001, (introduction)
• The Best Awful There Is, 2004, ISBN 0-7434-7857-6

Non-fiction

• Wishful Drinking, 2008, ISBN 1-4391-0225-2
• Shockaholic, 2011, ISBN 978-0-7432-6482-2

Screenplays

• Postcards from the Edge, 1990
• These Old Broads, 2001
• E-Girl (2007)
• doctored screenplays for Hook (1991), Sister Act (1992) and The Wedding Singer (1998)^[36]

Plays

• Wishful Drinking, 2006
• Wishful Drinking,^[37] 2008
• A Spy in the House of Me, 2008

References[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Carrie Fisher

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carrie Fisher

• Official website
• Carrie Fisher at the Internet Movie Database
• Carrie Fisher at the Internet Broadway Database
• Carrie Fisher at the TCM Movie Database
• Carrie Fisher at AllRovi
• Working the Edge, a 1990 Entertainment Weekly cover story profiling Fisher
• Works by or about Carrie Fisher in libraries (WorldCat catalog)