The New Favourite Lucy Photos Thread (Vol. 4)

[C L A U D E]

That's the thing about BIG and REAL fans, we feel we have devoted our lives to her and therefore feel we CAN criticize her.  But knowing how she hated looking bad in a photo and had thousands of photos retouched because she never wanted to look BAD, I just find it disrespectful to search out ugly photos as she herself called them and then blow them up so they look the worst they can be.  Hey, maybe it's just me, sorry!

[Mmadluv7]

That's the thing about BIG and REAL fans, we feel we have devoted our lives to her and therefore feel we CAN criticize her.  But knowing how she hated looking bad in a photo and had thousands of photos retouched because she never wanted to look BAD, I just find it disrespectful to search out ugly photos as she herself called them and then blow them up so they look the worst they can be.  Hey, maybe it's just me, sorry!

 

Same way people can criticize her looks and still claim to be fans?

 

 

BOOM!! HA HA HA HA!!! lmbo. 

[Mmadluv7]

That's the thing about BIG and REAL fans, we feel we have devoted our lives to her and therefore feel we CAN criticize her.  But knowing how she hated looking bad in a photo and had thousands of photos retouched because she never wanted to look BAD, I just find it disrespectful to search out ugly photos as she herself called them and then blow them up so they look the worst they can be.  Hey, maybe it's just me, sorry!

It is. I think that you have some issues with age. You want a person to look flawless. I LOVE Those pictures, Just because you DONT doesn't mean that Im not a real fan...and if I didn't know how you can be, I"d be offended at the insinuation! lol 

No one has to justify how much of a fan they are, just because you think Lucy is ugly in her later years.

 

but just to satisfy your "touched up and perfect" Lucy needs, heres something just for you. 

[C L A U D E]

I never said she was, I said Y O U make a point of showing these horrible pictures of her.  If you recall, I hated the drawings you did where you showed more wrinkles than anything else and I made my displeasure clear at the time.  I'm allowed to have an opinion, aren't I?  We are discussing her looks and wrinkles and you then post a pic of her, the most horrendous I've ever seen where she has been made up to look older in Stone Pillow, she was made up to look her worst and YOU enjoyed putting that up for a joke, I just didn't think it was funny.  I do not wish to discuss this ever again, so enjoy making fun of her.  I'm outta here for good this time. 

[Brock]

Did I miss something? Who on earth was making fun of her?

[Annaleigh]

That's the thing about BIG and REAL fans, we feel we have devoted our lives to her and therefore feel we CAN criticize her. But knowing how she hated looking bad in a photo and had thousands of photos retouched because she never wanted to look BAD, I just find it disrespectful to search out ugly photos as she herself called them and then blow them up so they look the worst they can be. Hey, maybe it's just me, sorry!

Hey, now. I think she looks gorgeous in every single photo taken of this lady. If I post a photo with wrinkles it isn't to poke fun at her. It's because it's Lucy and if it's Lucy it's gorgeous. Like for instance the one with the glasses in the car that was posted? I adore that photo. Nothing wrong with aging at all. She looked stunning to me whether 23 or 77!

[Brock]

 

[Mmadluv7]

 

 

I love the angle on this one. thanks for sharing

[Mmadluv7]

[Mmadluv7]

[JoeySanJoaquin]

That's the thing about BIG and REAL fans, we feel we have devoted our lives to her and therefore feel we CAN criticize her.  But knowing how she hated looking bad in a photo and had thousands of photos retouched because she never wanted to look BAD, I just find it disrespectful to search out ugly photos as she herself called them and then blow them up so they look the worst they can be.  Hey, maybe it's just me, sorry!

No, it's not just you, I find this to be a bit...cruel, for lack of a better word.  She aged.  People do, doesn't mean we need to point out to what degree.... a little respect would be nice.  Just sayin'...

[Mmadluv7]

No, it's not just you, I find this to be a bit...cruel, for lack of a better word.  She aged.  People do, doesn't mean we need to point out to what degree.... a little respect would be nice.  Just sayin'...

 

 

Just like some people DONT need to say nasty and mean things about her wrinkles, age, and nostrils- we all could NOT do a lot lot things that others find cruel or disrespectful, but having the freedom to express our selves and our love for Lucy , no matter what she looks like- is okay- it's not that serious.

[Mmadluv7]

[Mmadluv7]

[Neil]

I've never watched Facts of Life and looked at the costumes but nothing stood out as Oscar-worthy. There was a separate category for color costumes.  Edith won for b/w costumes, a category they got rid of somewhere along the way.  What was the competition?  Wasn't "Judgement at Nuremburg" the same year?

Edith Head and Edward Stevenson both designed Lucy's costumes for The Facts of Life and both won Oscars for the movie. Several of the costumes had already appeared in Lucy Ricardo's wardrobe. Edith Head was famous for getting credit for work she did not do. One of her eight Oscars was for Sabrina, even though Givenchy was responsible for Audrey Hepburn's costumes. During the studio era, credit for many of the design categories was given solely to the head of that department at the studio. This was the case with Edith Head and Paramount.

[Neil]

I'm on board with posting any pictures...flattering or un-.  I find her look interesting no matter what.  I find the "Stone Pillow" look fascinating: the fact that she threw vanity to the wind.  I just wish the TV-movie had been better.  It was OK, but could have been Emmy-worthy.  I think her performance deserved a nod, though.

Just like some people DONT need to say nasty and mean things about her wrinkles, age, and nostrils- we all could NOT do a lot lot things that others find cruel or disrespectful, but having the freedom to express our selves and our love for Lucy , no matter what she looks like- is okay- it's not that serious.

[Brock]

I find this whole debate over the posting of flattering or, to some viewers, “unflattering”, photos of Lucy fascinating. Personally, I think they are all interesting. That black and white photo of her from the 1960s Henry posted a while back with her “Meets Dean Martin” wig but not retouched and complete with some well-earned, character building wrinkles one of the most beautiful and arresting portraits of Lucy I have ever seen. So much so, in fact, that I put it as the wallpaper on my phone.

These pictures are all very interesting. In the photo recently posted of her sitting in the car, glasses on, and de-wigged, she looks ecstatically happy and confident in her appearance and that, in my opinion, should be celebrated, rather than causing the level of dramatics it did.

As for Stone Pillow, let’s all remember that is the specific look Lucy was going for, so why would it be cruel or disrespectful to post it?

I don’t want to offend anyone on here, so I hope nobody takes it as a personal criticism, but why is it so difficult for people to see a regal and mature Lucille Ball as how she actually looked, and not as she looked in a glossy 8x10 or in specific lighting? Up until a certain point in her career, I get the impression that doing things such as “the contraption” was more about career longevity in a cruel business for women over the age of 40, rather than Lucille Ball (the woman, not the actress/professional) being self-conscious about her appearance.

That didn’t seem to come later until more people started to criticise her for her age or how time gradually took its toll, criticising her for looking more “tired” than she did anywhere between 1933 and 1974, being too “old” to perform her regular physical comedy even though she was, generally speaking, still in tip-top physical condition in 1986, and my all-time favourite criticism of her for its sheer ridiculousness, “puffy.”

Perhaps it is my own age informing my position. I was not quite four when Lucy died so by the time I really became truly conscious of “Lucy”, she was already immortal. The people who seemed most conscious and uncomfortable with images from her later years were contemporaries or even boomers that grew up with her, and saw the “aging” in real time. Does that have an impact?

[Luvsbway]

I marvel at every photo I see of Lucy because I’m amazed at how different she looks from decade to decade. They each had their own individual looks and I think she looked beautiful all her life. Along with that though I could pull a bad photo out from each decade so to me age had nothing to do with it. I personally love the candid photos because they hold a story. Same with all the home movies I see. I think it is the realness factor I look for. We’ve seen tons of the perfectly lit retouched gorgeous shots of her, but those glimpses we get of her working, going to an event, at home, etc… I look at far longer. Take a look at the rehearsal footage of her learning the dance for the HL Jack Benny Bio show. Minimal makeup, headband in her hair, cute little top tied at her waist. She looked great. Even ILL has some great shots of her on rehearsal days where she looks very casual and makeup free. In those photos she just looks her age but still wonderful. I often try and compare any instances in HL and LS where she had to use natural hair and if her face looked any different. To me it is a minimal difference. Maybe not as tight, maybe some wrinkles around the eyes, but still looking great.

 

I often wish she would have gone more natural in the 60’a and 70’s. The glimpses I’ve seen of her real hair in those decades it was beautiful. I’m always partial to longer hair on her but her natural hair had more longer layers in it had a lot more volume. The wigs did let her have the lovely flow.

 

She was unfairly criticized in 86’. I don’t know what it was with the age thing people kept throwing at her. It seemed like this was the overwhelming criticism. She showed numerous times at appearances in the 80s she wasn’t some frail broken down creature and could even do a whole movie on location the previous year. Anyone would have gotten sick in the heat and conditions she was working in. In Mike’s book he tells a story where she was doing a phone interview with a Jamestown reporter, of all places, who seemed to really keep harping on her age. She ended up getting really upset to the point Mike had to go get Gary to calm her down.

[Mmadluv7]

I can understand ones preference for a more polished, retouched look- but not every one CARES about Lucy looking refined and perfect all of the time- and you shouldn't be called cruel, or mean, or disrespectful, or said Not to be a "real fan" because of that, ya know.

I know some people wouldn't want me to be included- for different reasons I guess- but it shouldn't be for posting a picture.

I guess I was never considered a "real" fan or "included"-I've been accepted like DeDe accepted Desi, as a toleration. Maybe people only tolerate my posts and my art and all of that, enjoy it and then dismiss it or ignore it, and thats fine- but that shouldn't happen because you don't agree with my taste in pictures of Lucy.

heres an untouched pic, next to a touched up studio pic- but I think both are beautiful 

Quiet as its kept, though Irma Kusley designed the wigs for Stone Pillow, she thought it was a horrible project for Lucy and thought she looked horrible in it.

She preferred the glamorous and gorgeous Lucy- after all she helped to frame that gorgeous artistic face with the curls of those pretty wigs- 

 to others, Stone was some of the most artistic and sacrificial work of her later career- so it does boil down to preference, but every one should be respected for their own particular preference- so long as it isn't vulgar or inappropriate.

 

For me, I love almost any picture of Lucy, not just those cranked out by the studio or sent to her retouch people.

Just the face, whenever I see it, makes me feel like Ive found a picture of an old favorite relative or one of my favorite movie star or something- 

My eyes light up! lol Seeing a picture of Lucy never gets old for me.  

 

I know this is so strange, but sometimes, if I see a book that has some reference to Lucy, Ill go straight to the back and look for the B's in the index lol lol Its like Finding Waldo lol but I just love seeing the pics and reading the info- its weird- i know.lolbut I NEVER look at Lucy and say, thats a bad picture- EVERY PERSON takes an unflattering picture at one point and time- and this woman had been photographed for most of her life, when you think about it. Every decade of her life, from the 1930s? can be represented by about 200-300 pictures. AT LEAST.

Now, of all those pics, one is going to capture her in a way that not every one thinks is flattering- but to me, it doesn't matter. 

Plus the fact that she's gone now, and theres no need to hold her as some shrine of beauty- we can GO THERE now, and dissect her look and appreciate it,

because thats what REAL fans do- love and appreciate the artist and their look, no matter what.

 

 

 

[Mmadluv7]

[Brock]

 

 

 

This is a great example -- I personally prefer the version that is not retouched. In the unretouched version, Lucy simply looks a little bit older but although her skin is smoother in the other one, she actually looks more grandmotherly.

[Mister Hepburn]

The direction of this discussion is, in essence, why I left the Lounge and merely lurk these days. But I'll log in long enough to say my bit...

 

I think a real fan accepts Lucy warts and all. They can discern a good picture from a bad one (and likewise, a good film/tv show) and enjoy it either way, on their own terms. I don't think it's fair to harangue fellow fans for sharing a picture you find displeasing due to Lucy's age. (Nor is it fair to give the same treatment when a fan shares an opinion with which you do not agree.)

 

Everyone is here for the same reason: for the love of Lucy and we all love Lucy differently (ie. some watch just ILL, some watch ILL and TLS, some watch it all!). But love does not necessarily entail total idol worship; just because someone doesn't like Mame doesn't make them a lesser fan. This isn't a competition. Lucy is long gone, it's not as if sycophantry will get you into the Roxbury house. I'd dare say EVERYONE here is a REAL fan. No question.

[Brock]

The direction of this discussion is, in essence, why I left the Lounge and merely lurk these days. But I'll log in long enough to say my bit...

 

I think a real fan accepts Lucy warts and all. They can discern a good picture from a bad one (and likewise, a good film/tv show) and enjoy it either way, on their own terms. I don't think it's fair to harangue fellow fans for sharing a picture you find displeasing due to Lucy's age. (Nor is it fair to give the same treatment when a fan shares an opinion with which you do not agree.)

 

Everyone is here for the same reason: for the love of Lucy and we all love Lucy differently (ie. some watch just ILL, some watch ILL and TLS, some watch it all!). But love does not necessarily entail total idol worship; just because someone doesn't like Mame doesn't make them a lesser fan. This isn't a competition. Lucy is long gone, it's not as if sycophantry will get you into the Roxbury house. I'd dare say EVERYONE here is a REAL fan. No question.

 

Very well said! And stick around. It has been a long time!

[Luvsbway]

[HarryCarter]

I've never watched Facts of Life and looked at the costumes but nothing stood out as Oscar-worthy. There was a separate category for color costumes. Edith won for b/w costumes, a category they got rid of somewhere along the way. What was the competition? Wasn't "Judgement at Nuremburg" the same year?

Here's Edith and Eddie winning their Oscars for The Facts of Life.

 

 

http://www.lucylounge.com/index.php?/topic/2558-the-facts-of-lifes-oscar-win/&do=findComment&comment=73220

 

There are so many Lucy films that were worthy for an Oscar nod for Best Costume Design like Mame, Du Barry Was a Lady, Lover Come Back, even Critic'a Choice. I think The Facts of Life was the least worthy of her films for a costume design nomination. I'm very happy it won an Oscar for something, though.

 

The black and white technical and design categories lasted until 1966. Judgement at Nuremberg was in 1961, the year after The Facts of Life. The Facts of Life wasn't released in New York until 1961, so Lucy's New York Film Critics Circle nomination was from that year.