The Lucy Book of Lists

Michael Karol

Description

Lucy lovers - and who isn't one? - will adore this unique book of lists about America's legendary first lady of comedy, by the author of the best-selling Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia.
Best-selling author Michael Karol (Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia) is at it again, with a book of lists honoring Lucy’s 100th birthday and the 60th anniversary of I Love Lucy — both of which occur in 2011! Chapter titles include Headline News, Lucy by the Numbers, The Lucy Show Mystery, Mam’selle Mame, and many more...with an exclusive list by Lucille Ball’s and Desi Arnaz’s good friend, comedian Kaye Ballard (The Mothers-In-Law). You’ll laugh, learn and love this unique peek into the Lucyverse.

Sujets

• Performing Arts
• Lucy McGillicuddy Ricardo
• Biography
• Fred Mertz
• Ricky Ricardo
• Ethel Mertz
• Here's Lucy
• The Lucy Show
• Entertainment
• I Love Lucy
• Autobiography
• William Frawley
• Vivian Vance
• Desi Arnaz
• Lucille Ball

Informations

• Publié par: iUniverse
• Date de parution: 28 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781450274166
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Lucy Book of Lists
Celebrating Lucille Ball’s Centennial and
60 years of I Love Lucy
 
By Michael Karol
Series Title Page
 
This is a TV Tidbits book.
Other books in the series include:
Barnabas & Company: The Cast of the Classic TV Series Dark Shadows , by Craig Hamrick
Big Lou: The Life and Career of Actor Louis Edmonds , by Craig Hamrick
The TV Tidbits Classic Television Trivia Quiz Book , by Craig Hamrick
Sitcom Queens: Divas of the Small Screen , by Michael Karol
The Lucille Ball Quiz Book , by Michael Karol
The Comic DNA of Lucille Ball: Interpreting the Icon , by Michael Karol
The TV Tidbits Classic Television Book of Lists , by Michael Karol
 
Other books by Michael Karol:
Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia
The ABC Movie of the Week Companion
Lucy in Print
KISS KILL
For more information, visit www.sitcomboy.com .
 
 
 
 
 
 
mak
The Lucy Book of Lists
 
 
Celebrating Lucille Ball’s Centennial and 60 Years of I Love Lucy
 
 
Michael Karol
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Lucy Book of Lists
Celebrating Lucille Ball’s Centennial and 60 Years of I Love Lucy
Copyright © 2010 Michael Karol.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
 
iUniverse
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.iuniverse.com
844-349-9409
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-4502-7414-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4502-7415-9 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4502-7416-6 (e)
 
 
iUniverse rev. date: 07/11/2023
 
Cover, Back Cover and Frontispiece illustrations, and cover and back cover design, by Michael Karol
Dedication
 
For your legacy of laughter, and the joy you’ve brought to so many people, this one’s for you, Sassafrassa (see the Introduction ).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“History is merely a list of surprises.
It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.”
— Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Oh, Kaye!
Introduction
1. Lucy & Me: A Chronology
2. Just the Facts, Ma’am: Lucy by the Numbers
3. 20 Questions
4. 10 New York City Lucy & Co. Locations
5. Headline News
6. I Love Lucy vs. The Lucy Show
7. Ethel Mertz Atwitter
8. Where in the World Was Lucy (Ricardo, Carmichael and Carter)?
9. The Lucy Show Mystery
10. Lucy Q&As
11. 18 Lesser-Known Books About Lucille Ball That You Should Read
12. Lucille Ball’s Emmy Award Show Appearances
13. Top Lucille Ball Memorabilia Items Sold by Heritage Auction
14. Mam’selle Mame
15. Not Forgotten
16. The All-Time Sitcom Queen Episode Champs
17. Ratings Record
18. Dancing With the Star
19. The Top TV Series of All Time
20. They’re Gonna Live Forever
Appendix: Heritage Auction Addendum
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Thanks to all in the Lucyverse who have supported my work. Your questions, good wishes and kind communiqués are truly a tonic. Thanks also to Noah Fleisher, public relations director at Heritage Auction Galleries, and Heritage itself, a fabulous online repository of our history, for allowing me to use photos from various auctions, and the text for chapter 13; editor Steven Biller at Palm Springs Life for allowing use of its January 2002 cover; Karen Herman, director, Archive of American Television, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation for permission to use part of the 2008 Emmy invitation; and Stuart W. Ackley, president/CEO of the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce for his help. Special thanks to the fabulous Kaye Ballard for sharing her memories with me, and to the lovely Linda Jaeger for help with the proofreading.
Oh, Kaye!
When I decided to try and get Kaye Ballard—who lives in Desi Arnaz’s former house in Rancho Mirage, Calif., near Palm Springs—to comment for this book, I didn’t reckon with something I’d written about her in Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia : In Ballard’s entry, I began by referring to her as “short, stout and with a foghorn voice.” Um, er, well…I guess that’s how I saw her as a young kid watching The Mothers-In-Law : a boisterous, loud, nosy, interfering Italian wife.
Of course, that was her character , Kaye Buell, not Kaye Ballard. When my friend, artist Dave Woodman, suggested sending a copy of Lucy A to Z to Kaye along with my letter, I hesitated. I realized that Ms. Ballard might not appreciate what I wrote about her, and that might put the kibosh on the whole thing. Dave assured me that she had a great sense of humor and wouldn’t take it personally.
He was right…mostly. Three days after I sent out the package, I got a mid-afternoon call and answered, “Michael Karol,” as I always do when I don’t recognize the number.
“Michael—it’s Kaye Ballard,” came a familiar voice.
OMG!
I thanked her profusely for calling, and she said, “No problem.” Then she paused. “Michael,” Kaye continued, “ Lucy A to Z is a beautiful book and a wonderful tribute to Lucy.” Another pause. “But you stabbed me in the heart by describing me as short and stout !” She continued on in a similar vein for a few minutes, as I unsuccessfully tried to change the subject.
One thing I learned: Kaye Ballard does not admit defeat. And, in truth, I felt horribly guilty about the whole thing. I promised her I’d make up for it with this interview. And I thought that was that—until the end of the interview. Here’s how it went:
 
Michael: Thank you so much for your time.
Kaye: Okay, dear. ( Pauses .) Michael…I’m heavy now, but don’t you ever say that again!
Michael: I never would! In fact, I want to write about it. I think it would be hysterical.
Kaye: Uh, huh ( laughs )! Well, I was maybe ten, fifteen pounds over, but I was never stout and short. It’s just that Eve Arden was a giant ( laughs )!
Michael: Before I run the interview, I’m going to write “A Personal Note to Kaye Ballard,” or something similar, and apologize.
Kaye: ( laughs ) That’s adorable! Okay.
Michael: Okay.
Kaye: You take care, Michael. You’re a damned good writer.
 
Hmm…I guess I’m off the hook (or maybe not; see No. 3 below). For the record, Kaye, you’re a funny, charming lady, with too many showbiz stories for me to cover here, and I apologize for giving you any agita over what I wrote. Still going strong, you haven’t lost one bit of your sense of humor, and you’ll never know how grateful I am to have gotten the chance to speak to you about Lucy and Desi and The Mothers-in-Law . Mea culpa, and much love.
Here’s a list based on what Kaye had to say about Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and other people, places and things in the Lucyverse. Kaye’s comments are in quotes; mine are in brackets.
1. On meeting Lucy: “Lucy was absolutely great. She’d just split with Desi. But she never got over him. Never . I met Lucy when she came—with Gary Morton, on their first date—into the Blue Angel [a classy nightclub that closed in 1964] where I was performing. It was in New York on East 55th Street. I had a ring and she loved it, so I gave it to her. Oh, she was doing Wildcat on Broadway! And she only took that role because she didn’t want to change costumes a lot. She told me, ‘That’s the reason I did it.’”
2. On Lucy’s personality: “Lucy was stingy, I’ll tell you that. When we’d go there for dinner, she’d lock up the refrigerator ( laughs ). You couldn’t get seconds. I remember a time Milton Berle came in and said, ‘Hey, rich lady, unlock the freezer!’… She wasn’t funny offstage at all. Of course, I had to play games like Scrabble with her. She’d say, ‘Call me when you learn backgammon!’ She was a toughie, but pretty magnificent.”
3. On meeting Desi: “A few years later [at Lucy’s recommendation], Desi sent his writers Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Pugh to see me in Detroit…and that was during a race riot! I had to do a show with a 103-degree fever; Bob just loved me. He said, ‘You’re perfect for this pilot.’ What’s really interesting is that when I went to Los Angeles for the first time with Spike Jones [in the 1940s; Ballard toured with the Spike Jones Orchestra for two years as featured vocalist…and tuba player!], I went to Desi’s opening night at Ciro’s, and Lucy was sitting in the audience. I was sitting with Spike’s party, including Peter Lawford and Helen Walker. But that was the first time I saw Desi. And then I met him when I was cast and came to California to do The Mothers-in-Law . ( Pauses .) And you know, dear Michael, today is the first time I’ve put on the DVD of The Mothers-In-Law …I watched the pilot and episode one, and I said, ‘I gotta get Michael to watch that again.’ Because I was not heavy ( laughs loudly )!”
4. On Desi’s personality: “He was wonderful! He had great joie de vivre, you know. He made things so pleasant all the time. But he was drinking, too. Too sad. Desi adored his