I Love Lucy and the career of Lucille Ball

[scottydog]

I grew up watching I Love Lucy. In fact, my entire family would watch together and roar with laughter. The show has withstood the test of time; it's still funny today.

I'm a big fan of Lucille Ball's talent. She certainly had an amazing career.

Any other fans out there?

 

[John Picard]

We used to watch The Lucy Show back in the 70's when it was syndicated. I didn't see I Love Lucy until the 80's, when an upstart independent station showed it and The Dick Van Dyke show weeknights from 6:00pm - 7:00pm.

Ms Ball was absolutely brilliant, and when I saw on the news that she died I damn near cried. I've never been affected by someone like that before.

 

[stoneroses]

They never show it much in the UK, never infact however when ever I have been in the US it seems like it's on all the time. I like what I have seen of it.
However I will always owe her a debt of thanks for letting that writer make that entertainment show with star guests back in the early sixties before finding out she had started a legend.

 

[Mistral]

They never show it much in the UK, never infact however when ever I have been in the US it seems like it's on all the time. I like what I have seen of it.
However I will always owe her a debt of thanks for letting that writer make that entertainment show with star guests back in the early sixties before finding out she had started a legend.

?????



If not Lucy-probably no Star Trek. So she has my gratitude, even if I associate her with being sick. I only ever saw the show when I was home sick from school.

 

[Smiley]

She is one of the all-time great comedy stars, and I Love Lucy is one of my favorite shows.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

They never show it much in the UK, never infact however when ever I have been in the US it seems like it's on all the time. I like what I have seen of it.
However I will always owe her a debt of thanks for letting that writer make that entertainment show with star guests back in the early sixties before finding out she had started a legend.

?????

He's referring to an anecdote Herb Solow tells in Inside Star Trek about Ball's confusion regarding the nature of Trek - in one studio business meeting she seemed to think that the pilot was for a series about a USO troupe.

 

[TemporalFlux]

He's referring to an anecdote Herb Solow tells in Inside Star Trek about Ball's confusion regarding the nature of Trek - in one studio business meeting she seemed to think that the pilot was for a series about a USO troupe.

A Hollywood star trek with the USO?

 

[J.T.B.]

I Love Lucy was never my favorite rerun comedy when I was young or now, it was too formulaic and I really don't like the Lucy Ricardo character much. But it was certainly a hugely innovative and influential show. A great share of credit is also due Desi Arnaz, who by most all accounts had a brilliant show business mind and basically invented the live audience three-camera sitcom format.

The Lucy Show was not too good, as I remember it. Her voice seemed to have dropped at least an octave by then, too.

--Justin

 

[John Picard]

I Love Lucy was never my favorite rerun comedy when I was young or now, it was too formulaic and I really don't like the Lucy Ricardo character much. But it was certainly a hugely innovative and influential show. A great share of credit is also due Desi Arnaz, who by most all accounts had a brilliant show business mind and basically invented the live audience three-camera sitcom format.

Aw, c'mon. Vita-Veeta-Vegamin is one of the all time classics! That, and when Lucy and Ethel worked the candy assembly line.

The Lucy Show

was not too good, as I remember it. Her voice seemed to have dropped at least an octave by then, too.

--Justin

That tends to happen to chain smokers.

 

[scottydog]

I Love Lucy was never my favorite rerun comedy when I was young or now, it was too formulaic ...

This could be a compliment, inasmuch as I Love Lucy invented the formula.

 

[Zachary Smith]

Frankly, Desi was the genius behind it all and he NEVER got his proper due. The man was absolutely brilliant, inventing the three-camera technique for shooting for television, which is still used today, making sure to preserve the episodes for later broadcast (including keeping the rights to those later broadcasts). He even had DAY-CARE centers at Desi-Lu studios in the late 1950's so working mothers had a place for their children. The man all but single-handedly INVENTED the way modern television is STILL produced and had a huge number of progressive ideas.

But he's mostly known as "Lucy's husband".

True story: Desi vowed that HE would have top billing on the show and when told he'd never pull it off due to Lucy's huge ego, he just smiled. Later, when the name of the show was finalized, someone was teasing him about his failure and pointed out Desi's name didn't even appear in the show's title. Desi asked the guy, "What's the name of the show?" The guy replied, "I Love Lucy. You're not even IN the title." Desi responded by asking the guy who he thought the "I" was in the title. Of course, the "I" referred to Desi. In the title. Ahead of Lucy's name. Apparently she NEVER caught on that Desi managed to finagle top billing.

The man WAS brilliant.

 

[scotpens]

Aw, c'mon. Vita-Veeta-Vegamin is one of the all time classics! That, and when Lucy and Ethel worked the candy assembly line.

I assume you're referring to Vitameatavegamin?

 

[Amaris]

Frankly, Desi was the genius behind it all and he NEVER got his proper due. The man was absolutely brilliant, inventing the three-camera technique for shooting for television, which is still used today, making sure to preserve the episodes for later broadcast (including keeping the rights to those later broadcasts). He even had DAY-CARE centers at Desi-Lu studios in the late 1950's so working mothers had a place for their children. The man all but single-handedly INVENTED the way modern television is STILL produced and had a huge number of progressive ideas.

But he's mostly known as "Lucy's husband".

True story: Desi vowed that HE would have top billing on the show and when told he'd never pull it off due to Lucy's huge ego, he just smiled. Later, when the name of the show was finalized, someone was teasing him about his failure and pointed out Desi's name didn't even appear in the show's title. Desi asked the guy, "What's the name of the show?" The guy replied, "I Love Lucy. You're not even IN the title." Desi responded by asking the guy who he thought the "I" was in the title. Of course, the "I" referred to Desi. In the title. Ahead of Lucy's name. Apparently she NEVER caught on that Desi managed to finagle top billing.

The man WAS brilliant.

Ha!

Actually, while I do love Lucy, and she was a truly funny woman, you're right. Desi deserves his due. I happened to like him anyway. He was very slick, very professional, and I think even though they later divorced, that Lucy & Desi worked great together. It was also obvious that he believed in Lucy to carry her weight in the show, which she did.

 

[John Picard]

Aw, c'mon. Vita-Veeta-Vegamin is one of the all time classics! That, and when Lucy and Ethel worked the candy assembly line.

I assume you're referring to Vitameatavegamin?

You say "potato", I say "spud".

 

[Kira Nerys]

I am not a fan of the show but,I have seen a few movies she made and I do like those.

 

[JiNX-01]

If not Lucy-probably no Star Trek. So she has my gratitude, even if I associate her with being sick. I only ever saw the show when I was home sick from school.

I was going to mention that.

 

[Kail]

I Love Lucy. I have all the shows on DVD.

 

[Orac Zen]

Lucille Ball had an extraordinary gift for physical comedy, pretty much unmatched as far as I'm concerned, and she was also an underrated actress. Vitameatavegamin is just priceless and is a prime example of both her comedic brilliance and her acting skill. It was great material but her abilities made it even better. She did that time and again - took something good and made it exceptional.

I Love Lucy was one of those rare shows where the final product was greater than the sum of its parts, and for mine one of the funniest shows ever made.

 

[scotpens]

Parody is the sincerest form of flattery . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwld8BZCo_Q

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I watched a lot of reruns in the 70's, in the days of several channels.

I always liked her kind of comedy.

This is a short scene from a 1934 Three Stooges short, Three Little Pigskins, which Lucy (as a blonde) appeared in:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zPEktgZ0lY[/yt]

Three Little Pigskins also marked one of Lucille Ball's earliest appearances on film - as a blond, as this was before she dyed her hair red.
Later in her career, when this short was brought up, Ms. Ball (apparently referring to the seltzer squirting scene) would remark,
"The only thing I learned from The Three Stooges was how to duck!" noting "I still got wet!"