A Note to Debbie

Debbie, I miss your wonderful smile already. In your youth, your exuberance and your energetic spunk were marvelous to watch. Later, as you grew older and matured, you blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Your tender rendition of "Tammy" will last for ages. I loved your pizzazz in Singin' in the Rain ( 1952 ) and your winsome country ways in The Mating Game ( 1959 ). MGM would not have been the same without you. 

You were even more beautiful in the 1960s. You were the ideal woman of the West in How the West Was Won ( 1962 ), one of your best films; and you personified Molly Brown herself in The Unsinkable Mollie Brown ( 1965 )....your favorite film. I loved when you let your hair down in The Catered Affair ( 1956 ) - a great performance - and The Pleasure of His Company ( 1961 ).....you should have kept that style. You were wildly funny in Goodbye, Charlie ( 1964 ) and How Sweet it is ( 1968 ) and you even convinced me that you were a woman of habit in The Singing Nun ( 1966 ). 

I look forward to exploring all of the films you made that I have not yet seen, but right now I just miss you. At least, you are happily reunited with your daughter and your old friends. Try not to argue too much with Eddie.....