Monday, August 8, 2011

Lucille Ball (at 100)

Lucille Ball was one of our greatest comedians.  If she were alive, she would have been 100 this week.  (She died in 1989 at age 77.)  The number 100 is on my mind for some reason...

Unlike most early TV stars, Lucy is known to many of us from the widespread syndication of "I Love Lucy."  That classic show starred her husband at the time (Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo) with Vivian Vance and William Frawley as Ethel and Fred Mertz, their neighbors and friends.

The antics Lucy got into, with their effects on her marriage, were naturally hilarious.  We can all relate to her good intentions and mistaken choices.

One of TV's earliest woman-writers, Madelyn Pugh Davis, was credited by Lucille Ball as helping refine the Lucy Ricardo character.  Davis died only this year at age 90.

Lucy's real-life daughter, Lucie Arnaz, says we should celebrate her mother's life because "she had one of the best lives ever."

Have you seen Lucille in anything?  In addition to her TV show, she did many movies, including "Stage Door" (with Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers) and a 1974 re-make of "Mame".

11 comments:

  1. Oh I love Lucy!! Haha, I loved watching her show on Nick at Night when I was growing up. I spent entire summer nights watching Lucy, the munsters, bewitched, and the brady bunch! I am going to have to check out her movies because I loved her show so much <3

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  2. hi ya!! I remember my mom watching Lucille when I was really really young!! she was pretty funny!! I love the old movies and sitcoms. so much bettter than alot of the stuff on TV these days.. maybe thats why we dont have a tv!!

    hope you had a great day Ralpherooo my fav blogger!!! :) xoxJ

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  3. I've been a HUGE Lucy fan for years!!! She was never afraid to make a fool of herself all the while dressed to the nines...such great style! And she and Ricky together?! Fireworks! ~Serene

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  4. One of the first "classic" actors I ever got into. I still think the show is hilarious! I have three seasons on DVD. I also have another series she did in the '60s after "I Love Lucy" on DVD. Did you read the profile on Madelyn in the New York Times recently? I thought it was great they highlighted someone from behind-the-scenes. Usually, I feel I mostly hear about Lucille and Desi --- not that they aren't great :-) I recently saw the movie they met on, "Too Many Girls," and "The Long, Long Trailer" is a classic!

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  5. I love Lucy was one of the few shows I watched on Nick at Night, along with the Brady Bunch, Bewitched and the Mary Tyler Moore show. I'm honestly not one for "classics" or older tv shows, but I loved Lucy growing up.

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  6. I Love Lucy- the show and her hilarious, beautiful self! I am now tempted to rent old classics- that will be on my to-do list!

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  7. I grew up watching "I Love Lucy" and the other shows she did, back in the 70s. She reminded me of my grandmother, and she's one of the reasons I love red hair!

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  8. What a hilarious show! I still watch reruns.

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  9. I did see her in Stage Door! I was trying to remember the name of that movie. And of course, I used to watch the show all the time with my grandparents! : )

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  10. She was one of the first females that gave women permission to be funny, her goofball antics strike me as more authentic then the smoldering vixens often protrayed in movies of that era. I guess it/she struck a cord in me, as I'm way more nut job than sex kitten;)

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  11. I loved Lucy. I still do. Just last week I was lucky enough to get to watch some re runs of I LOVE LUCY.
    I watched this show along with the Three Stooges, Get Smart... with my grandfather, so it brings back really good memories. I can almost hear his laughter.

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