Dan Aykroyd’s Tribute to Carrie Fisher: An Engagement, Acid Trips and Actual Trips
Tributes poured in following actress, author and mental health activist Carrie Fisher's death on December 27, 2016, with everyone from her Star Wars costars to her daughter Billie Lourd sharing what Fisher meant to them. Now, Dan Aykroyd has opened up about "how much of a privilege and honor it was for me to have known this one-off, broke-the-mold woman as a great friend" in a tribute in the March 2017 issue of Empire.
Carrie Fisher was engaged to Aykroyd until the early 1980s, when she ended their relationship and began dating musician Paul Simon (to quote People, Simon and Fisher married, divorced in 1984 "and continue(d) to date on and off for about a decade before finally ending their relationship after a psychedelic trip in the Amazon." In case you somehow haven't realized, the woman was a legend.
"I met Carrie at Saturday Night Live. She and John Belushi became instant pals. I remember how much she made him laugh," Aykroyd writes, saying they then fell in love while filming Blues Brothers (Fisher played "Mystery Woman" in the 1980 movie).
"One of the most brilliant and hilarious minds of our eon, Carrie would say things like: 'I love tiny babies. When they cry they turn red and look like screaming tomatoes.' OR 'This romance is finished the second you let out even a threep. I’ll be sick for a year.' AND 'You have a jawline, hold your chin up otherwise you look like a tuna.' From then on I would identify myself on the phone as Tuna Neck," Aykroyd wrote of their quirky relationship.
"Carrie embraced my friends and I was embraced in warmly human and Hollywood-glamorous emotional comfort, elegance and excitement," the Ghostbusters star continued, providing a glimpse into what it was like knowing the heavyweight Hollywood family. "Debbie [Reynolds] would cook for us and Carrie’s tech-wizard brother Todd would take me on high-intensity cruises in muscle cars and on motorcycles through Beverly Hills with great young people, José Ferrer and Donna Ebsen."
After several highly entertaining anecdotes from Aykroyd and Fisher's love affair involving "wholly satisfying physical intimacy," "blood tests for compatibility from an East Indian female doctor" and "one of the planet’s greatest occasions where LSD was a factor," (seriously, it's a fun read from start to finish), the actor confirms their relationship did end when she moved on with Simon.
"Architectural reservations notwithstanding, 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."
Photos: Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd Through the Years