The Neon Museum in Las Vegas is reigniting the legacy of a vintage Hollywood starlet. On Wednesday, a portion of the neon signage from the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel and Casino will be relit during a private ceremony at the museum’s Neon Boneyard.
Opened in 1992 by the 61-year-old former Hollywood A-lister, the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel and Casino was located at 305 Convention Center Drive. Extensive renovations had transformed the 200-room Paddlewheel, originally built in 1983, into a new entertainment venue.
The Debbie Reynolds was renowned for housing its own MGM movie museum, which boasted iconic artifacts such as a pair of Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz.” Despite this unique appeal, the gaming operations, managed by Jackpot Enterprises, failed to generate enough revenue to sustain Reynolds’ ambitious venture. After going public in 1994 to raise funds, the casino was forced to close its doors in 1996. Escalating financial difficulties left Reynolds unable to secure a gaming license to reopen the facility, leading to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997.
The neon sign, based on Reynolds’ signature and installed above a movie reel that replaced the previous casino’s paddlewheel, was delivered to the Neon Museum in 2004. It became part of the museum’s collection of over 250 non-functional neon signs. Recently, the “Debbie” portion of the sign was restored through donations from Todd Fisher, Reynolds’ son, the Debbie Reynolds Estate, and the YESCO sign company.
A year after the casino’s closure, the World Wrestling Foundation (today’s World Wrestling Entertainment) purchased the property at auction for $10.6 million. Plans by Vince and Linda McMahon to replace it with a $100 million new casino hotel never materialized. From 2001 to 2009, the site operated as the Greek Isles Hotel, and then as the Clarion Hotel and Casino from 2009 to 2014. It was ultimately demolished in 2015, with developer Lorenzo Doumani’s $850 million Majestic Las Vegas hotel now slated for the location.
Reynolds’ legacy extends far beyond her casino venture. She is best remembered for her roles in films like 1952’s “Singin’ in the Rain,” her chart-topping 1957 single “Tammy,” and her 1969 TV variety show. Reynolds became a Las Vegas resident in 1962, the same year she launched her holiday spectacular at the Riviera, earning a then-record $1 million for three months of annual shows.
For many Gen-Xers and Millennials, Reynolds is best known as the mother of Carrie Fisher, the actress who portrayed Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Mother and daughter shared a close bond throughout their lives. In a poignant turn of events, Reynolds died on December 28, 2016, just one day after her daughter’s untimely death.