Princess Leia's bikini, other items added to Reagan library's 'Star Wars' exhibit

Just before she watched the first “Star Wars” movie, Carrie Fisher chain-smoked in the 20th Century Fox Studios parking lot in Los Angeles.

The actress didn’t know what to expect and feared the sci-fi movie would end her career, but she felt reassured when an impressive space battleship filled the screen, said her brother Todd Fisher. They held hands in the theater’s front row and watched the film that launched the young star’s lifetime of fame as Princess Leia.

Todd Fisher, 66, honored his late sister this month by loaning “Star Wars” memorabilia from his collection to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley. The items, which include the blaster Princess Leia fired early in the first movie, are additions to the “Star Wars and SDI: Defending America & The Galaxy” exhibit, running through Sept. 8 at the library, 40 Presidential Drive.

During an interview Tuesday at the library, Todd Fisher said their late mother, "Singin' in the Rain" star Debbie Reynolds, was friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan, which is one reason he loaned the memorabilia. Items include Carrie Fisher's annotated scripts, which Reynolds retrieved from the trash for possible exhibits.

The centerpiece is the metal bikini that Todd Fisher said his sister found uncomfortable to wear in “Return of the Jedi.” Additionally, the bikini scene, in which Princess Leia is a slave chained to the giant Jabba the Hutt, is exploitative and sexist, he said. But he noted Leia turned the scene around when she used the chains to strangle Jabba.

Todd Fisher said his sister essentially played herself, an empowered woman, in the "Star Wars" movies. She later enjoyed seeing male fans dressed in the bikini and young girls wearing Leia’s ceremonial dress at events where she also signed autographs, he said.

“She loved being loved,” he said.

Todd Fisher said he and his family were happy to see his sister reprise Leia as a general in "The Force Awakens" and through additional footage in "The Last Jedi" and "The Rise of Skywalker."

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at [email protected] or 805-437-0232.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Reagan library 'Star Wars' exhibit adds Princess Leia bikini