Sharon Horgan nearly missed saying one final farewell to her Catastrophe co-star Carrie Fisher. Though she didn’t know it would be their last time together, Horgan has now shared the story of how, after wrapping filming on Catastrophe’s third season a day earlier, Fisher dragged a hungover Horgan to join her and Salman Rushdie for dinner. “So I did. Thank the dark lord, I did,†Horgan writes in the Guardian. A day later, Fisher suffered a heart attack while on her flight back to Los Angeles, and died two days later in the hospital. In her “no-bullshit†remembrance, which follows Horgan’s co-star Rob Delaney’s own colorful musings on his TV mom, Horgan recalls feeling too inadequate to be in Rushdie’s company and how Fisher rolled her eyes at the thought: “Are you kidding? He’s just gonna talk about girls.†The three spent the evening chatting and exchanging gifts (Fisher gave Horgan an antique cocktail stick holder and Rushdie “a pair of chocolate titsâ€), while Fisher’s dog Gary farted in the background. Fisher encouraged Horgan to talk more about herself, but, as Horgan explains, “Who would want to do anything but listen to a lady like her with a life like that?â€
“It was, as she described it, something of a soap opera. She was no ordinary celebrity. She was, she said, Mickey Mouse. Everybody owned a piece, or felt they had the right to a piece. But the beautiful truth about Carrie is that she was genuine,†Horgan writes. “She was so real that it was almost dangerous. Actually, it was dangerous. Because she didn’t play the game. She said what she thought and, in an industry where that’s not always welcome, it sometimes came back to bite her. But she couldn’t help herself. She had very little filter.†And for her unwavering feminism and tireless fight against ageism, Horgan says the next generations of actresses are indebted to her: “My God, girls, we owe her a lot.†Horgan continues: “And I want everyone to remember her and all the great things she was. A wonderful writer, a fine actress, a great mother, a caring daughter, a loyal friend, a wit, a prolific present giver, a lunatic, a legend.â€