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Vanda is still alive. Well, she was last year but I haven't heard anything otherwise.

 

Ah. Then it is too bad she wasn't available for the Here's Lucy DVDs for whatever reason. Are there any interviews with her out there? I don't think she or Sid were interviewed by Fidelman for the Lucy Book either. Were there some hard feelings after the show ended?

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The way Lucie talks about her on the HL DVD sets I figured they were good friends. Shame she hasn't had any involvement with the DVD's. I would think she was asked.

 

You'd think so. MPI has done a fantastic job of gathering people together from the show to do the intros, but it's ashame there haven't been more. Carol Burnett could've done intros to her 3 episodes, and Vanda would've been an excellent addition; she and Carole Cook are the last surviving "Lucy" girlfriends, aren't they?

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You'd think so. MPI has done a fantastic job of gathering people together from the show to do the intros, but it's ashame there haven't been more. Carol Burnett could've done intros to her 3 episodes, and Vanda would've been an excellent addition; she and Carole Cook are the last surviving "Lucy" girlfriends, aren't they?

 

If we are counting all the Lucy series, we still have Shirley Mitchell. :D The actress who played Lucy's girlfriend Dorothy in "Lucy and Robert Goulet, Lucie Arnaz, is also still very active. ;) I believe Joan Swift, who played Lucy's friend at the bank whose name kept changing, is still alive.

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If we are counting all the Lucy series, we still have Shirley Mitchell. :D The actress who played Lucy's girlfriend Dorothy in "Lucy and Robert Goulet, Lucie Arnaz, is also still very active. ;) I believe Joan Swift, who played Lucy's friend at the bank whose name kept changing, is still alive.

 

Oh yes, I forgot about Shirley. I guess I was just focusing on her frequently recurring gal pals; Shirley only did 3 episodes.

 

And touche on Lucie Arnaz! :marionstrong:

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  • 4 weeks later...

I am thrilled to say I just spoke to Vanda for The Gale Gordon Archive, and I am pleased to report that she sounds very well and sounds exactly like she did on Here's Lucy. When I told her that so many people had been asking about her lately, she expressed amazement that there were still people out there who cared let alone even knew who she was! She was, in fact, almost dumbfounded. She said she is amazed that the legacy of TLS and HL has continued throughout the years and is very surprised (and she sounded very pleased) that so many young people are into it!

 

I think the article is going to take me quite a while to write, but it's going to be a goodie!

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I am thrilled to say I just spoke to Vanda for The Gale Gordon Archive, and I am pleased to report that she sounds very well and sounds exactly like she did on Here's Lucy. When I told her that so many people had been asking about her lately, she expressed amazement that there were still people out there who cared let alone even knew who she was! She was, in fact, almost dumbfounded. She said she is amazed that the legacy of TLS and HL has continued throughout the years and is very surprised (and she sounded very pleased) that so many young people are into it!

 

I think the article is going to take me quite a while to write, but it's going to be a goodie!

 

 

That's awesome Brock! I can't wait to read it. She absolutely needs to know there are people who still enjoy and appreciate her work today. :)

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I am thrilled to say I just spoke to Vanda for The Gale Gordon Archive, and I am pleased to report that she sounds very well and sounds exactly like she did on Here's Lucy. When I told her that so many people had been asking about her lately, she expressed amazement that there were still people out there who cared let alone even knew who she was! She was, in fact, almost dumbfounded. She said she is amazed that the legacy of TLS and HL has continued throughout the years and is very surprised (and she sounded very pleased) that so many young people are into it!

 

I think the article is going to take me quite a while to write, but it's going to be a goodie!

 

That's thrilling! Go Brock! And goooo Vanda!!! :HALKING: :HALKING: :HALKING: Glad to hear she sounds so well and is so touched that people still appreciate her talent. I can't wait to read your article!

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That's thrilling! Go Brock! And goooo Vanda!!!

 

Speaking of wardrobe mistress's assistant, how would you like to have been the unofficial, sporadically used sidekick's unofficial, and even more sporadically used sidekick??

 

Her HL years are an example of how nobody running the ship had any concern about continuity. I don't know when she showed up as the 2nd friend to Lucy and Mary Jane, but she would appear as her character "Vonda Barra" and then in the next episode be a customer at Harvey's Welcome Inn. And "Vonda" made most (if not all) her appearances solely in Bob and Madelyn scripts.

"Goodbye Mrs. Hips" gave her her most screen time as the Vonda character, one of the few times she was ever at the Carter house. By the way, her "Roly Polly's" were not part of the original script; and Bob and Madelyn were annoyed that their script was altered so much. They were quite disappointed with the final show. I think it's not stellar but a cut above the average HL product.

 

I always loved Vonda's optimism when Lucy points out that on the singles cruise Vonda's going on, there's usually only about 10 men. "Well, that's 10 more men than I know now."

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Near the end of our conversation yesterday I asked Vanda if she had any message for the fans out there, and here is what she said about the enduring "Lucy" legacy and the message to fans:

 

I believe they’re all there because of Lucy. She really answered a real thing. I think in those days all the women...life was really difficult. They all lead those lives where it was the house and the cooking and the kids and all that, and then along came Lucy with this whole slant on being a wife. It was a tremendous relief for those women and she became an icon because of it. I have to tell you how ridiculous it – well, not ridiculous, but how uncanny it is that I should have fans. I can’t imagine how I could or why I should. It is wonderful that you [fans] can get so much joy out of it all. It’s a great mystery to me, but I think it is wonderful that you can and it still means so much all this way into the future. I can’t tell you how incredible that is that people want to talk about it when it is such a far, far away mystery to me.

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I am thrilled to say I just spoke to Vanda for The Gale Gordon Archive, and I am pleased to report that she sounds very well and sounds exactly like she did on Here's Lucy. When I told her that so many people had been asking about her lately, she expressed amazement that there were still people out there who cared let alone even knew who she was! She was, in fact, almost dumbfounded. She said she is amazed that the legacy of TLS and HL has continued throughout the years and is very surprised (and she sounded very pleased) that so many young people are into it!

 

I think the article is going to take me quite a while to write, but it's going to be a goodie!

Wow this is wonderful! I cannot wait to read it, I'm so happy for you to be able to contact her. Hopefully one year she could make it to Lucy Fest, and she can see that not only do we know who she is, but we love and appreciate her!! :vanda:

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Speaking of wardrobe mistress's assistant, how would you like to have been the unofficial, sporadically used sidekick's unofficial, and even more sporadically used sidekick??

 

Her HL years are an example of how nobody running the ship had any concern about continuity. I don't know when she showed up as the 2nd friend to Lucy and Mary Jane, but she would appear as her character "Vonda Barra" and then in the next episode be a customer at Harvey's Welcome Inn. And "Vonda" made most (if not all) her appearances solely in Bob and Madelyn scripts.

"Goodbye Mrs. Hips" gave her her most screen time as the Vonda character, one of the few times she was ever at the Carter house. By the way, her "Roly Polly's" were not part of the original script; and Bob and Madelyn were annoyed that their script was altered so much. They were quite disappointed with the final show. I think it's not stellar but a cut above the average HL product.

 

I always loved Vonda's optimism when Lucy points out that on the singles cruise Vonda's going on, there's usually only about 10 men. "Well, that's 10 more men than I know now."

 

 

Vanda's first appearance as "Vanda" was in "Lucy Meets the Burtons." She is billed as "Woman Fan," but called Vanda by Lucy. Vanda's next appearance wasn't until "Won't You Calm Down, Dan Dailey?" She had one more non-Vanda role as Connie the waitress in "Lucy's Bonus Bounces," but after that she was always "Vanda Barra." The exception to this was the final episode "Lucy Fights the System." Sid, of course, was still playing tons of non-Sam roles simultaneously with his role as Sam. The only time Vanda and Sam appeared in a non-Bob and Madelyn episode was "A Home is Not an Office." I don't think Sid is billed as Sam, but is mentioned by Kim as Sam in the episode. That's very interesting about Bob and Madelyn's script for "Goodbye, Mrs. Hips." I love that episode and Vanda's a big reason why.

 

That is a wonderful quote from Vanda, Brock!

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Vanda's first appearance as "Vanda" was in "Lucy Meets the Burtons." She is billed as "Woman Fan," but called Vanda by Lucy. Vanda's next appearance wasn't until "Won't You Calm Down, Dan Dailey?" She had one more non-Vanda role as Connie the waitress in "Lucy's Bonus Bounces," but after that she was always "Vanda Barra." The exception to this was the final episode "Lucy Fights the System."

 

According to imdb, Vanda will be 88 in a couple months.

It also lists her 19 Here's Lucy episodes including these other post-Dan Daily non-Vanda parts---none of which I remember.

Candid Camera--bank teller

Chinese Curse---Sally

Group Encounter---"Female hippy"

These may have been nothing more than glorified extra parts.

 

One curious pre-Dailey HL credit for "Lucy Loses Her Cool" lists her character as "MR. Carol Carol"...??

 

It's lists her in only 3 Lucy Shows, all in the last season and these are her earliest TV credits. Could this have been when she and Sid married? IMDB only says her spouse was Sid Gould but lists there years being married as ?-? followed by 'divorced'. Do you know when they divorced?

 

Sid, born in 1912, was 12 years older than Vanda and died in 1996 at age 83.

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It's lists her in only 3 Lucy Shows, all in the last season and these are her earliest TV credits. Could this have been when she and Sid married? IMDB only says her spouse was Sid Gould but lists there years being married as ?-? followed by 'divorced'. Do you know when they divorced?

 

 

Not to spoil the upcoming article, but Vanda said she and Sid were married well before Lucy and Gary and it was Gary (and Dean Martin) that convinced him to come to California with him after the Mortons got hitched. Vanda still had her sights on a theatre career and it was several years before they could convince her to come to California permanently and shift her focus to TV.

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According to imdb, Vanda will be 88 in a couple months.

It also lists her 19 Here's Lucy episodes including these other post-Dan Daily non-Vanda parts---none of which I remember.

Candid Camera--bank teller

Chinese Curse---Sally

Group Encounter---"Female hippy"

These may have been nothing more than glorified extra parts.

 

One curious pre-Dailey HL credit for "Lucy Loses Her Cool" lists her character as "MR. Carol Carol"...??

 

It's lists her in only 3 Lucy Shows, all in the last season and these are her earliest TV credits. Could this have been when she and Sid married? IMDB only says her spouse was Sid Gould but lists there years being married as ?-? followed by 'divorced'. Do you know when they divorced?

 

Sid, born in 1912, was 12 years older than Vanda and died in 1996 at age 83.

 

To the best of my knowledge, Vanda and Sid married in 1956. Vanda was also a regular on The Jonathan Winters Show in 1967. You're right, Neil. I forgot about those Here's Lucy appearances for Vanda. In "Lucy and Candid Camera," Vanda is the bank teller who in response to Lucy claiming they are not really bank robbers says, "They gotta be. They certainly can't earn a living by singing!" In "Lucy and the Chinese Curse," Vanda is a customer at Mr. Fong's laundry who brings her laundry down from San Francisco in fear of the curse of his ancestors. In "Lucy and the Group Encounter," Vanda and Sid are hippies in the group encounter. Neither has any lines. In "Lucy Loses Her Cool," Vanda plays an Art Linkletter Show audience member.

Art: What's your name?

Vanda: Mrs. Carol Carol.

Art: Where are you from?

Vanda: I'm from Walla Walla.

Art: Really really?

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To the best of my knowledge, Vanda and Sid married in 1956. Vanda was also a regular on The Jonathan Winters Show in 1967. You're right, Neil. I forgot about those Here's Lucy appearances for Vanda. In "Lucy and Candid Camera," Vanda is the bank teller who in response to Lucy claiming they are not really bank robbers says, "They gotta be. They certainly can't earn a living by singing!" In "Lucy and the Chinese Curse," Vanda is a customer at Mr. Fong's laundry who brings her laundry down from San Francisco in fear of the curse of his ancestors. In "Lucy and the Group Encounter," Vanda and Sid are hippies in the group encounter. Neither has any lines. In "Lucy Loses Her Cool," Vanda plays an Art Linkletter Show audience member.

Art: What's your name?

Vanda: Mrs. Carol Carol.

Art: Where are you from?

Vanda: I'm from Walla Walla.

Art: Really really?

 

She was also the cashier in the second season "Lucy & Carol Burnett" who slams open the drawer and gets yelled at by Carol.

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She was also the cashier in the second season "Lucy & Carol Burnett" who slams open the drawer and gets yelled at by Carol.

 

And IMO the only true LOL moment of the entire episode, followed by Carol "You heard me: a BEAUTY contest. Ya wanna make something of it?!!" and Carol's glare at Vonda as she walks away.

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