Random Things We Learned About Carrie Fisher (15 items)

(#15) She Was Supposed To Play Miss Scarlet In 'Clue'

Carrie Fisher was set to portray Miss Scarlet in the movie Clue. But when the film came out, Lesley Ann Warren played the role. Filmmakers made the casting change at the last minute.

Fisher had checked into an outpatient rehabilitation clinic 10 days before filming began, and the film's insurance company refused to cover her. She was replaced, and the film continued production.
(#14) She Left Dan Aykroyd For Paul Simon

Carrie Fisher and Dan Aykroyd really hit it off, and the two were engaged on the set of The Blues Brothers. Unfortunately, the couple had a lingering problem, according to Fisher:

We had rings, we got blood tests, the whole shot. But then I got back together with Paul Simon.

Fisher previously dated the musician beginning in 1977, and the two were on-and-off until 1983. Aykroyd and Fisher got engaged in 1980, but when Simon came back into the picture, that was it.

Simon and Fisher wed in August 1983, but the marriage ended in July 1984, although they dated for a little while after. Paul Simon's song "Hearts and Bones" is about their relationship.
(#9) She Used To Show The 'Star Wars Holiday Special' To Close Out Parties

Ask any fan what they think is the worst thing to come out of the Star Wars franchise, and they'll be happy to tell you about the Star Wars Holiday Special. The 98-minute television special, which aired on CBS in 1978, is arguably one of the worst things ever produced.

If you've never seen it, you should take everyone at their word and never press the play button. Carrie Fisher didn't heed that advice, and often played a copy to close out a party.

She got the copy from Lucas in exchange for recording commentary on the Star Wars trilogy so she would "have something for parties... when [she] wanted everyone to leave." She was one of only a handful of people who owned an official copy of the Holiday Special, as it hasn't been commercially released or rebroadcast... for obvious reasons.
(#12) She Taped Down Her Breasts In 'Star Wars'

George Lucas may not have wanted Carrie Fisher to wear a bra while filming Star Wars because "there was no underwear in space," but that wasn't his only note regarding her chest.

In Brian Jay Jones's biography George Lucas: A Life, he wrote, "Lucas didn't want her looking too aggressively feminine, using gaffer's tape to hold down her breasts." He quoted Fisher in the book as saying, "No breasts bounce in space, no jiggling in the Empire. (Producer) Gary Kurtz had to tell me that. George didn't have the nerve."

Lucas's opinions on Fisher's sexuality must have taken a U-turn by the third film, based on that gold bikini she wore in Return of the Jedi.
(#4) Dan Aykroyd Saved Her Life

Carrie Fisher appeared in The Blues Brothers as "mystery woman," and while she was in Chicago filming the movie, she nearly perished - while choking on a Brussels sprout.

Dan Aykroyd rushed to her rescue to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Fisher said the actor saved her life.

At the time of the incident, Fisher and Aykroyd were engaged, and he explained what happened at her memorial service:

I once saved her life, applying the Heimlich [maneuver] to dislodge a Brussels sprout from her throat. If I'd been with our beloved showboat, I might have been able to save her again.
(#13) She Once Dated A US Senator

Fisher's sixth book, Shockaholic, was filled with interesting revelations, but the one that few could have suspected was her relationship with Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut. She wrote that he was "not a handsome man, but he was far from unattractive."

The couple was set up on a blind date, where they were joined by Ted Kennedy, his date, and an unnamed couple. They went on a few more dates, and the relationship fizzled out. When Dodd ran for president, he described their relationship as a "courtship."

From that comment, Fisher wrote, "Is that what they call sleeping together a few times?" When Dodd was later asked about their relationship, he simply remarked, "It was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."