Carrie Fisher’s 50th Birthday

My friend James is one of Carrie Fisher’s nephews. I know James because he is a skateboarder. I have filmed with him many times over the years. We became pretty close, even though we live a couple of hours away from each other. We are both into skating, film, and music, so we clicked easily.

A little over 10 years ago, James hit me up and asked me if I wanted to go to his Aunt Carrie’s 50^th birthday party. He told me it was going to be a big event with celebs, and food and an open bar. He had gone to events at her house before, and from what he told me, this was not to be missed. Of course I said yes.

We drove down to L.A. to James’ sister Vanessa’s house on the outskirts of Beverly Hills. James kept telling me how “shit-faced” we were going to get at this party. I was just like, “whatever you say”, figuring this is his territory. I mean, it’s his family and I’ve never been to a fancy Hollywood party before.

So we jumped in Vanessa’s car and took a short drive into Beverly Hills. We pulled up to the property and valet the car. I remember it being pretty early. Like maybe the sun was just going down. We walked up the driveway, and there were two houses on the property. The first house belonged to the very famous actress (and Carrie’s mom) Debbie Reynolds. We walked past her house and up to Carrie’s house. At this time I realized that we were pretty much the first guests to arrive.

We went into the house and James introduced me to Carrie and then her assistants and staff. These are people that have worked for Carrie for a long time. James knew them by name. Like family.

So we grabbed a couple of drinks and went to sit out front on the patio. This was perfect for a people-watcher like myself. We could see all the guests arriving. One of the first people I saw was George Lucas. That’s when it hit me. This is no joke! George fucking Lucas just walked in and he was squinting at me! I need another drink!

We walked out onto the back patio and it was all decked out for the party. I decided to step it up and order a mixed drink. I’ve ordered Gin and Juice before, and usually the bartender just stares at me like I’m speaking a foreign language. So I say to the bartender, “can you make me a Gin with orange and pineapple juice”? She’s like, “you mean a Gin and Juice”? My eyes lit up. “Yeah”! She’s like, “Well alright”! She’s excited, I’m excited, all the other bartenders get fired up. The party has officially started!

Vanessa gave me a quick little tour around the house, and then a couple of her friends showed up. We continued drinking and chatting. Made friends with the DJ, and got a table close by his setup. More and more people showed up and the party was in full swing. Everywhere I turned there was someone famous. I definitely caught a few heads staring at me every once in a while. People like Robert Downey Jr. looking at me like, “who the fuck is this guy”? Ha! I think I may have been having a little bit more fun than everyone else.

At one point Todd, Carrie’s brother, played a home movie that he had put together. A bunch of film clips of the family from years gone by. It was really cool to see that. Another cool moment was when I was waiting in line for the bathroom. Debbie Reynolds walks up and sees me, grabs my hand, and walked me to a back bedroom where there was another restroom with no line. The perks of being with the family.

Then dinner was served. It was a long buffet with all kinds of awesome food prepared by Carrie’s staff. Fried chicken with all the trimmings, greens, and mac’n cheese. I grabbed my plate, and on my way back to the table, decided I needed some champagne. I went and visited my friends at the bar, and ordered a glass. Then I thought that maybe the others would want some. “Actually, is it ok if I get a bottle?” The bartenders got all fired up again. “Sure”! So I walk back to the table juggling my food, a bottle of champagne and some glasses.

So here I am with James and his crew. The meal is winding down, the music is bumping, and we start dancing. By this time we had more people that I didn’t know with us because, and I mean no disrespect, all the celebs were just kind of lingering. We were the ones putting the party in full swing. Anyway, we were dancing and drinking and just having one hell of a good time in general, when one of the guys that was hanging with us pulls out a joint. Now, I should have known better, but we were just having such a good time that I was like, “sure!” and took a couple of rips. That was a mistake.

Over the years I have had some minor blackout experiences. You know, like you drink too much and then the next day your friend is like “you did blah-blah-blah” and then you go “oh yeah”, and it jogs your memory. This was different. I genuinely lost a couple of hours. To this day, I still don’t know what happened in those two hours. I went from dancing with a drink in my hand and a smile on my face with a couple hundred people around me, to waking up in a seated position staring at Carrie’s assistant. Everyone at the party was gone. And I mean everyone.

So I come to, and Carrie’s assistant (who was very sweet) goes, “Hey dude, how’s it going?” What’s going on?” I explained to her that I was with James and Vanessa. I was really out of it. I remember everything being so foggy. So she says, “oh, ok. Let’s go find them. We get up and walk to the front of the house, and there’s James. Passed out on the front lawn! Shitfaced? Mission accomplished! Oh man.

We got James to wake up enough to put him into a bed. Then the assistant took me to the living room where Carrie and like 5 of her other assistants were waiting. They were all standing in a line with Carrie at the front next to a couch. They had a bunch of sheets and blankets. And no freakin’ joke, Carrie Fisher proceeds to make me a bed. And I’m not talking about throwing a blanket on the couch and saying here ya go. I mean, she tucked the sheet under the cushions and made me an actual bed out of the couch! It was surreal. The whole time I was just going, “oh, you don’t have to do that”. And then, to my total amazement, Carrie Fisher, Princess Leia, tucked my sorry ass into bed.

I slept on and off for a few hours, but they were cleaning up the party until after the sun came up so I never got any real sleep. James eventually woke up and we went out and sat on the back patio with a few others that had stayed the night. We said goodbye to Carrie and ended up walking to Hollywood through Beverly Hills. I remember having lunch on the Sunset Strip, and then after that? Most likely we went skating.

I’ve been wanting to write this story for a while, and with Carrie passing, I figured this was the right time. She was so cool. Such a gracious host. And oh! I can’t leave out the best part! At one point in the evening, I was out on the front porch and I saw Carrie walking around the side of the house, from the front, to the back where the party was. She was about to go make some kind of announcement or entrance. She was wearing a beanie that had the Princess Leia buns sewn into it. Apparently she wore it quite often.

 

Rest in peace and thank you Carrie Fisher. You will always be one of the best.

 

-EH