Debbie Reynolds brings her charm, memories and memorabilia to Pigeon Forge

Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Motion Picture Museum - Featured at Belle Island Village will be the world's largest private collection of Hollywood memorabilia - preserved by Debbie Reynolds. The museum will feature interactive exhibits including two large state of the art theaters and 10 themed pavilions showing original clips and displaying artifacts from almost every Academy Award-winning film.

The collection is valued at over $50 Million and contains more than 3,500 costumes, including:

• Marilyn Monroe's white dress made famous in "The Seven Year Itch"
• Dorothy's ruby-red slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz".

"The area here is so beautiful," Reynolds explains when talking about the decision to locate the museum in Sevier County. "I lived in Roanoke, Va., for five years and thought this whole side of the world was wonderful. We had an offer (for the museum) in Branson, but it just didn't come at the right time. Here, I love the river, the water and the trees and the people are so America. This place is what we all want America to be like. It's part of the Bible Belt. I think they (Sevier County) will receive this with great warmth.


And we just acquired Davy Crockett (TV show) items. What perfect timing."The museum will be housed inside a replica showboat. "The showboat design was Glen Bilbo's idea," Reynolds said, referring to the Belle Island developer. "He and the others wanted it to be really musical and I had bought the original 'Showboat' costumes from MGM. Items from Kathryn Grayson and Ava Gardner are so colorful and wonderful and we're going to have so much music around the exhibits. There were just a million ways you could go and I thought it was a great idea."

Visitors will also have an opportunity to take home their own piece of Hollywood's history - the museum gift shop will carry original pieces of memorabilia. You can find out more about the collection, the museum and Debbie at the following sites:

• www.debbiereynolds.com

www.hmpc.tv

Belle Island Fact Sheet 2008Belle Island Village is located in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., about 35 miles southeast of Knoxville, Tenn., in the eastern part of the state. The development is situated on an actual island where the Little Pigeon River splits, located between the Parkway and Teaster Lane on the south side of Wears Valley Road. Pigeon Forge is a gateway community to the nation's most-visited national park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Click here for more information