Mike Downey is a former Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune columnist and a frequent contributor to CNN. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

(CNN) Being "unsinkable" is practically impossible when others keep trying to hold you down. Debbie Reynolds spent a great deal of her life dealing with men who tried to take advantage of her.

An adviser to the President of Mexico once tried to force her onto a bed, a ruby-and-diamond bracelet in his free hand as a bribe, she wrote in her 2015 autobiography "Make 'Em Laugh." A member of the British royal family, groped her on a dance floor, Reynolds wrote.

The comedian Buddy Hackett put a hand up her skirt and another hand down her blouse, she said. And a country pop star amorously pinned her to a pool table, she said.

Awkward or upsetting as such experiences were, they were almost minor in the life of an actress whose husbands abandoned and bankrupted her. Reynolds was publicly humiliated in 1959 by singer Eddie Fisher (father of her daughter Carrie, who died this week) and financially devastated during her marriages to businessmen Harry Karl (1960-73) and Richard Hamlett (1984-96). She wrote in her 2013 memoir "Unsinkable" that she even feared the latter might try to murder her for her money.

She kept fighting back for her life.

The lesson from her life, said her daughter (paraphrasing her mother), was "If my life wasn't funny, it would just be true, and that's unacceptable."

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Nothing sank her for long. Nothing got her down permanently, not even the sharks that swirled near Celeste Holm and her when the two Hollywood actresses went swimming one day. Nothing totally overwhelmed her, not daughter Carrie's youthful drug abuse or the time son Todd accidentally shot himself in the leg with a blank cartridge from Reynolds' unregistered gun.

Absurdly asked if it was a publicity stunt, Reynolds told reporters yes, it was, "which I hope works because I only have one more child to shoot."

A wicked sense of humor served her well, on or off camera. It helped her to overcome just about anything bad that interrupted a charmed and generally glamorous life.

Except at the very end.

No built-in defense mechanism could save this mother after her daughter's sudden death. No pluck she showed while singin' in the rain could get Reynolds through this. No willpower to keep on living would work the way it had for her unsinkable Molly Brown on that night the Titanic and its passengers went down around Debbie on film. No sweet, sad ballad like the one her make-believe "Tammy" sang could see her through this very real darkness.

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When she died on Wednesday, a day after Carrie, we can't say it was Reynolds voluntarily giving up. But there was understandable, if melodramatic, speculation that the 84-year-old died from a broken heart. Not even the most resilient woman in Hollywood could have easily bounced back from this.

Reynolds was tiny but tough. She prided herself on it.

When she was booked as a guest on a talk show, she would end up in wrestling matches on stage, tackling Jack Paar from beneath his desk, grappling on a floor with Regis Philbin before a roaring audience, not merely for everyone's amusement but to demonstrate she could give as well as take.

Roseanne Barr physically tussled with Reynolds' character during an episode of Barr's television series. She just rolled with it and kept going, even when Barr accidentally broke one of her ribs.

Humor got her through it. Reynolds was funny. Audiences think of Carol Burnett being funny, Tina Fey being funny, but they often neglect to include one of entertainment's greatest stars whenever listing some of the funniest women of all time. Comedy was second nature to Reynolds, who starred in farces, sang silly songs, did standup, did impressions, wore ridiculous wigs, made 'em laugh, made 'em laugh, made 'em laugh.

"If I learned nothing else from my mom," Fisher wrote in a foreword to one of her mother's books, "I learned this: 'Life is hilarious — especially when it's not.' "

What better epitaph could there be? How else could a life end for a woman of humor, with a philosophy like that?

Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Carrie Fisher is seen as Princess Leia on the set of George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope" in 1977. The American actress and writer is best-known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" movie franchise. Fisher was hospitalized December 23 in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack. Fisher died on Tuesday, December 27. She was 60. Hide Caption 1 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher was born in Beverly Hills on October 21, 1956, to Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Here, they gaze proudly at their newborn daughter on January 2, 1957. Hide Caption 2 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher is photographed with her parents and brother, Todd, who was born in 1958. Hide Caption 3 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Debbie Reynolds makes her first appearance on Broadway in a remake of the 1919 musical "Irene" in 1973. Fisher, seated on the floor, dropped out of high school at age 15 and was featured in the musical as part of the chorus. Hide Caption 4 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Warren Beatty and Fisher, then 17, take a break during filming of the movie "Shampoo" in 1974. Fisher has acted in films, plays and television shows, and has written a number of best-selling books. Hide Caption 5 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Fisher and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) on the set of "Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope" in 1977. Hide Caption 6 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher with fellow actresses Amy Irving, left, and Teri Garr in 1978. Hide Caption 7 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher on the set of "Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980. Hide Caption 8 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Harrison Ford and Fisher embrace during filming of "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980. On November 16, 2016, Fisher revealed to People magazine that she and co-star Ford had an affair during the 1976 filming of "Star Wars." Hide Caption 9 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher smiles for a photograph in 1980. Fisher is a well-respected script doctor of such movies as "The Wedding Singer" and "Sister Act." Hide Caption 10 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher stars in the film, "Star Wars: Episode VI -- Return of the Jedi" in 1983. The 'gold bikini' is one of her most famous costumes as Princess Leia. In addition to her acting career, Fisher -- who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 24 -- has lobbied as an advocate for mental health awareness and treatment and has spoken before the California state Senate. Hide Caption 11 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Musician Paul Simon poses for a picture with Fisher in 1983. The two were married in August and divorced about one year later in July 1984. Hide Caption 12 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Meryl Streep, left -- who portrayed a character based on Fisher in the film adaptation of Fisher's 1987 novel, "Postcards from the Edge" -- is seen at the film's premiere in Century City, California, on September 10, 1990. Hide Caption 13 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher carries Billie Catherine Lourd -- her daughter with talent agent Bryan Lourd. Hide Caption 14 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher attends a book signing for her novel, "The Best Awful," in Beverly Hills, California, in 2004. The semi-autobiographical novel fictionalized events from Fisher's life. Hide Caption 15 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess "Star Wars" trio Mark Hamill, left, Fisher and Harrison Ford speak during a tribute to filmmaker George Lucas at the 33rd American Film Institute Life Achievement Award event in Hollywood on June 9, 2005. Hide Caption 16 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher takes part in a dress rehearsal for her play "Wishful Drinking" at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in 2006. Hide Caption 17 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher poses with her mother Debbie Reynolds and daughter Billie Catherine Lourd at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on January 25, 2015. Hide Caption 18 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher takes part in a "Star Wars" celebration event on April 16, 2015, in Anaheim, California. Hide Caption 19 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher salutes as she poses with a storm trooper at the European premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in central London on December 16, 2015. Hide Caption 20 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Domhnall Gleeson, left, Hugo Sigman, Fisher, and Damian Szifron pose for a photo at the EE British Academy Film Awards in London on February 14, 2016. Their film, "Wild Tales," won the BAFTA Award for best film not in the English language. Hide Caption 21 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Tom Hiddleston looks on as Fisher and her dog, Gary, arrive for the 102nd White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington on April 30, 2016. Hide Caption 22 of 23 Photos: Carrie Fisher: The galaxy's princess Fisher signs copies of her book, "The Princess Diarist," in Los Angeles on November 28, 2016. Hide Caption 23 of 23

The circumstances of the last few days were no laughing matter. The back-to-back sudden deaths of Fisher and Reynolds were heart-wrenching, horrifying and almost macabre. Yet two funnier women never lived. Women who could tell a joke and take a joke. Women who understood pain and loss and kept coming back for more, usually with a great comeback line.

While hosting an Academy Awards segment in 1997, Reynolds paused while reading a TelePrompter and asked: "Who wrote this drivel?" Out stepped Fisher from the wings. Just cut it, said Carrie, a writer for that night's show. "This show could be shorter anyway," Fisher added.

"You couldn't," Reynolds replied.

They loved each other. They kidded each other. They were there for each other. They still are.