September 16, 1969 –
The hardest working person in Hollywood had her series, The Debbie Reynolds Show, starring (besides her,) Don Chastain, Patricia Smith, Tom Bosley, and Debbie Thompson debuted, on NBC TV, on this date
Debbie Reynolds‘ contract with NBC guaranteed a two season run, promised her a starring role in a feature film to be produced by the network and would also have given her partial ownership of a future series in which she needn’t star. But the adverse publicity resultant from Reynolds‘ vociferous objections to a cigarette ad appearing on the initial broadcast caused that sponsor to withdraw their advertising from the network and eventually resulted in a lawsuit which gave NBC the right to revoke the guaranteed second season, cancel the proposed feature film and void the entire deal. Reynolds’ career never fully recovered, and at one point she found herself homeless and literally living in her car.
The Haus of Dcaligari 