'I'm done with men!'

After three tumultuous marriages Debbie Reynolds says she's had enough

CEBU, Philippines - Actress Debbie Reynolds admits she has more luck selecting restaurants than men. ‘I can pick good food,’ she laughs, ‘but I can’t pick a good man.’

Her first husband, Eddie Fisher, famously ran off with Elizabeth Taylor, her second cheated on her and gambled away her money, while the third lost what was left.

Debbie is old-school, ‘the-show-must-go-on’ Hollywood, and while she may look sweet with her candyfloss hair and immaculate make-up, there’s a core of steel underneath.

Lesser women might have been tempted to hire a hitman. ‘But I couldn’t do that because of my faith and religion,’ she says serenely. ‘Besides, I would have done the job myself.’

Now 79, she’s relaxing in her Beverly Hills home before she embarks on a tour of the States with her one-woman show and puts the finishing touches to an auction of the Hollywood memorabilia she’s been collecting for almost 50 years.

The first auction in June, which included Marilyn Monroe’s ‘subway’ dress from The Seven Year Itch and Charlie Chaplin’s bowler hat, made £8 million. This week’s auction will feature more Marilyn memorabilia. Debbie and Marilyn were friends.

‘She had a terrible time with men – instead of adoring her, they took advantage of her because she was so sweet.’ Debbie tried for years to have a museum built to house her memorabilia, ‘But I realised it wasn’t going to happen. I can’t leave everything to my children [Carrie and son Todd, both by Eddie] to sort out.’

Another reason for Debbie to be contemplating her future was the death of Elizabeth Taylor in March. The two had been great friends before Eddie ran off with Elizabeth in 1958, and although an understandable froideur existed between them after that, they reconciled on a cruise ship seven years later.

‘It can be lonely sometimes, but I’m not going to attempt to walk down that avenue. again. In any case, dogs are less demanding,’ Debbie says sweetly. ‘And they don’t spend all the money.’ (FREEMAN)