There are a lot of tributes to Carrie Fisher on the internet right now, so I wanted to take a moment to share my personal experience with the late actress. As people all around the world are mourning the passing of Carrie Fisher I fear they are actually mourning the loss of her iconic character of Princess Leia. And I just wanted to take a moment to talk about Carrie Fisher the person.
Now I can’t offer some great insight from a long friendship with her, but I did get to spend a day with her back in 2012. For those who don’t know I work for/volunteer for a lot of comic book conventions. And in this experience I have worked with a lot of different celebrities. And at NYCC in 2012 I got to work for Carrie Fisher for a day.

So the first thing I can tell you is, when they told me I’d be filling in at her table for the day, I was a nervous wreck. Here is a woman I have had a crush on since I was 7 years old and then grew to respect as she grew in the spotlight that her Star Wars fame thrust her into. But not only would I be working for her, I was working security for her, which I was not thrilled about. My friends and family will be the first to tell you I’m no good in a crisis situation. So of course the thought occurred to me if something was to happen I’d go down in history as the guy that couldn’t protect Princess Leia. The stakes were as high as they could be for me.

But let me tell you, the moment I met the woman all of that nervousness left me. My partner, who’d already been working with her for the majority of the weekend, introduced me to her and she was instantly welcoming. She looked at me and said “I know with you standing behind me, I’ll feel safe today.” Which not only put me at ease, but also revealed a lot about her character. She was telling me that even though she played this larger-than-life character on the big screen that we all looked up to, she was a real person, a real woman, that needed to feel secure where she was and with what she was doing.

Anyone that has gotten a autograph from Carrie Fisher knows that she use to put glitter on the people that came up to meet her. Why did she do this? As she’d explained it to me, that her therapist had suggested it to her.  It is well-known that she suffered from bipolar disorder and as a result she tried to find things to help her avoid uncontrolled mood swings. She was always looking for ways to help her feel in control to help reduce her anxiety.

But here’s one of the things that I’ll never forget about our day together: she went up to my partner for that day and spread some glitter on his face then stopped, turned to me and smiled and said, “No, you don’t need any.” She explained to me while we had lunch that she felt comfortable with me right away, which meant more to me than anything else she could have done that day.

She also bought those working for her lunch – one of the only celebrities that I’ve ever seen do that in my convention experience. It may seem like a small thing, but to me speaks volumes to her kindness and generosity. She was under no obligation to do so and most celebrities don’t. It’s small acts like these that mean more than I can express.

And that generosity of spirit didn’t end with just the people that worked for her; she was even more present when she spoke with her fans. She greeted each one like a long-time friend. Asking each of them how they were doing, listening patiently as they told their Princess Leia stories, laughing with them, giving consoling hugs and getting from them as much as they were getting from her. This was a person that cared about her fans and understood she wouldn’t be where she was with out them. She definitely showed her gratitude to each and every one of them.

And the final noteworthy event that day: she decided on her break she wanted to walk the floor. Again I’ve worked with a lot of celebrities and the bigger ones usually don’t walk the floor as they are aware of the commotion that can come with it. But Carrie, she was a much of a fan of these shows as you or I. And she loved experiencing them. So me, my partner and other guy from the table escorted the Princess of Alderaan to the NYCC show floor.

If you have never been to New York ComicCon before, it’s as crazy as you might think it is. NYCC is just as big as San Diego and just as packed. The autograph area, artist alley and main floor are all separate from one another, and the show floor is where most of the action is. So when Carrie said she wanted to go on the floor it made us all nervous. We formed a circle around her and I watched the people’s face go from “what’s going on here” to “OMG it’s Princess Leia!” and in the midst of it all Miss Fisher was actually looking around at everything and shopping. She was looking for t-shirts for her friends and family, she was genuinely enjoying the experience of NYCC. This impressed me more than anything else. This woman that I’ve been a fan of since I was 7 years old was as much of a nerd as I am.

So when the day was done and we escorted the lovely princess to her awaiting chariot she gave us, her two guardsmen, a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek and sincerely thanked us for helping her feel safe. She took a quick photo with us and as I stood there I realized that I had just lived my 7 year old fantasy: I protected and saved Princess Leia and was awarded with a kiss. So I fulfilled my duty for the day and was forever changed by of it.

It was that experience that first influenced me to start this very podcast. Maybe I was hoping she would be a guest one day, but in all honesty it was seeing that the people who created this world love and care for it as much as we that live in it, that this was the experience I wanted to share with the world.

So I hope people not only mourn the loss of an iconic character from a beloved series of films, and the outspoken advocate of mental health disorders, but also the kind, giving person that Carrie Fisher was. Good night sweet princess, you will be missed.

Thanks for reading and please take a moment to check out our latest episode where we review Rogue One: http://superherospeak.com/wp/185-ersos-eleven/