'One-off, broke-the-mould woman': Dan Aykroyd writes affectionate tribute to former fiancee Carrie Fisher

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 11:25 EST, 25 January 2017 | Updated: 15:39 EST, 25 January 2017

They met on the set of Saturday Night Live in 1978 when she was 22 and he was 26.

And now Dan Aykroyd has written an affectionate tribute to the late Carrie Fisher, to whom he was briefly engaged to be married, in which he recalls her sense of humor and shared partiality for recreational drugs. 

In the essay he penned for Empire magazine, Aykroyd, 64, described the Star Wars star as a 'one-off, broke-the-mould woman.'

'One-off, broke-the-mould woman': Dan Aykroyd, 64, pictured in 2015, has written an affectionate tribute to the late Carrie Fisher, pictured in October, to whom he was briefly engaged to be married

Fresh off the blockbuster success of Star Wars, Fisher hosted SNL and poked fun at her Princess Leia character on an episode where Aykroyd and John Belushi made their third appearance as Elwood and Jake Blues.

'She and John Belushi became instant pals. I remember how much she made him laugh,' Aykroyd recalled.

'Later, while filming Blues Brothers, Carrie and I fell in love and during the shoot she moved in with me.'

Fell in love: Canadian star Aykroyd first met Fisher, fresh off her Star Wars success, on the set of Saturday Night Live in 1978 when she was a guest host

They spent time together in New York, Hollywood and at Fisher's mother Debbie Reynold's home where the Singing In The Rain icon cooked for them and Todd Fisher took him out for rides around LA in muscle cars and on motorbikes.

Both stars were into recreational drug use at the time and the Canadian actor reminisced about one weekend getaway.

'We flew up to Reno, rented a wagon and checked in for three days of full-on weeping to Christmas classics. Certainly one of the planet’s greatest occasions where LSD was a factor,' he wrote.

When they decided to get married, Aykroyd presented Fisher with a sapphire ring while she gave him 'a Donald Roller Wilson oil painting of a monkey in a blue dress next to a tiny floating pencil.' 

Got serious: The actress had a cameo in The Blues Brothers and during the shoot for the John Landis-directed movie, she and Aykroyd moved in together

Akroyd recalled: 'She and John Belushi became instant pals. I remember how much she made him laugh.' Aykroyd and Belushi are pictured as Jake and Elwood Blues in the 1980 film

But the relationship floundered when, by Aykroyd's telling, she returned with him to Martha's Vineyard to a fixer-upper home purchased for him sight unseen by Belushi's wife Judy.

'Carrie said, 'It looks like it was abandoned by Fred and Wilma Flintstone.' The next morning she asked me to drive her to the airport and she flew to New York,' he recalled.

'Carrie wasn’t shallow, we had a great time. She was also in love with Paul Simon. She married him but I hope she kept my ring.'

Fisher, who had dated Simon before hooking up with Aykroyd, wed the singer and songwriter in 1983. The marriage lasted barely a year, although they did date again briefly following their divorce.

Aykroyd went on to marry actress Donna Dixon, also in 1983. 

Moved on: Following her break-up with Aykroyd, Fisher returned to singer and songwriter Paul Simon whom she had previously dated. The two wed in 1983 but split just under a year later

  

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