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Lucy Clippings- The 1970s


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As great as she is in everything she does, i think the best thing i have of her and play all the time is HER version of Gypsy, she was perfect in that role.  And this is a woman who COULD have gotten an Oscar for The Rose, Beaches and For the Boys.  

COULD have perhaps for Beaches and maybe FTB but SHOULD HAVE for The Rose! As she's said many times -- in part in jest, but with more than a kernel of truth: Thanks to Sally Field, "I was robbed!!" :HALKING:

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COULD have perhaps for Beaches and maybe FTB but SHOULD HAVE for The Rose! As she's said many times -- in part in jest, but with more than a kernel of truth: Thanks to Sally Field, "I was robbed!!" :HALKING:

Field in Norma Rae or Field in Places in the heart, she deserved it for the first but not the second, but the voters obviously LIKED HER, THEY REALLY LIKED HER, LOL!

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BOTH of them always exhibited nothing but candor n anything they talked about, these people didn't DO bullshit like so many stars of their generation.  Sometimes they were forced to edit because of the times or the restraints of the medium they were in but usually, especially if it was in private, it was no holds barred for them.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here is a letter written by Lucie to Lucy in the 70's that I thought was very sweet and shows a different side to their relationship

 

A letter Lucie Arnaz wrote to her mom, Lucille Ball, on her sixty-second birthday; Lucie was twenty-two.

August 6, 1973

Dear Mother (from your “1st born”),

What could I give you that would truly show how much I care? I’m not really rich enough to buy the world and fill it with lilacs and snowman and crackling fires and hundreds of sunny weekends with a hundred people waiting in line to play scrabble - and a henna rinse that never needs “retouching”!

If I could, I would build a special place like that, and make everyone in it eternally youthful and call it “Lucyland” - for you to live in forever; and everyday would be Christmas and every minute your birthday you’d never have to ask for anything because it’d be yours - always from me - which I’d have purchased with, “I love you.”

Happy birthday, Mom.  

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Here is a letter written by Lucie to Lucy in the 70's that I thought was very sweet and shows a different side to their relationship

 

A letter Lucie Arnaz wrote to her mom, Lucille Ball, on her sixty-second birthday; Lucie was twenty-two.

August 6, 1973

Dear Mother (from your “1st born”),

What could I give you that would truly show how much I care? I’m not really rich enough to buy the world and fill it with lilacs and snowman and crackling fires and hundreds of sunny weekends with a hundred people waiting in line to play scrabble - and a henna rinse that never needs “retouching”!

If I could, I would build a special place like that, and make everyone in it eternally youthful and call it “Lucyland” - for you to live in forever; and everyday would be Christmas and every minute your birthday you’d never have to ask for anything because it’d be yours - always from me - which I’d have purchased with, “I love you.”

Happy birthday, Mom.  

 

Wow, didn't think she had it in her, very beautiful indeed.

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1919?  Lucy's husbands just kept getting younger and younger.  Gary's YOB went from 1917 to 1922 to 1924 and in some publications 1926!

I was always disappointed that the book ended with the divorce.  Would have been interesting to hear his side of leaving Desilu in 1962.   Did he decide to walk away?  Or did Lucy force him out with their buy-out clause?  --the clause that stated one or the other could force the other to buy them out or sell to them.  Sort of a strange clause for two married people to insert.  It's like they knew their marriage wouldn't last.

I don't know that I've ever read that he felt buying RKO and becoming a tycoon was a mistake.  I've always thought that's what put Desi over the edge.  He may have been intuitive and creative but heading a huge business is something else again and I think he was out of his element. The stress was really just too much--- aged him and caused him to drink and carouse more. 

And what was the name of the man Lucy was seeing on the side?  He handed Lucy a piece of paper with the man's name.  Please tell me it wasn't Maury Thompson!

I wonder how candid he would have been about his attitude towards "Barry Norton" since he and Lucy came close to reconciling during "Wildcat".   Desi was involved in Wildcat and attended the premiere, but less than a year later Lucy and Gary were married.

The oft-told end of Ernie Kovacs kiss and "Cut goddamit" makes for a great story but anyone who has seen the show knows that's not how it was filmed.  May have been talking about the dress rehearsal.

Two things about Desi's book: If I recall correctly, he suggests that Lucy pulled what she thought was a real gun on him and didn't know it was a cigarette lighter, suggesting she was actually trying to murder him  (which would have made her next series something that co-starred Iris Adrian and Jody Gilbert.) I don't know that any reviewer picked up on the magnitude of this accusation.  But was even more unbelievable is that in Lucy's anger, she kept the flame going so he could calmly light his cigarette off it and nonchalantly walk away.  The way Desi writes it: he comes off as Noel Coward and Lucy as Lupe Velez.

Also he wrote that he was the one who suggested the divorce and Lucy didn't want one.

My favorite line in the whole article.  Lucy in a letter about the book: "You're right.  Our marriage certainly wasn't made in heaven but neither was it made in hell."

 

3.24.76

 

3.24.76.png

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I was always disappointed that the book ended with the divorce.

 

Me too. Other than the letter he wrote outlining what the second book would have covered the post 60’ years are hardly ever talked about. Only finding fleeting information in articles.

 

 

 

Would have been interesting to hear his side of leaving Desilu in 1962. Did he decide to walk away? Or did Lucy force him out with their buy-out clause?

 

There are a lot of reasons I have heard that caused him to leave. He clearly wanted out some point in the 50s when he gave Lucy the option of get bigger or retire. If you read the Desilu book you get the picture that many people were encouraging him and I think Lucy as well that due to how bad the drinking became he should give it up. I’ve also heard Bernie Weitzman in an interview suggest that emotionally it was getting to hard for him to be around Lucy when they were no longer married. Especially with the new husband hanging around.

 

 

 

I've always thought that's what put Desi over the edge. He may have been intuitive and creative but heading a huge business is something else again and I think he was out of his element. The stress was really just too much--- aged him and caused him to drink and carouse more.

 

It’s pretty clear from his book that the size of everything had its increasing stressful effect on him. He wanted out long before he bought RKO but he went with Lucy’s pick to get bigger. I don’t think he was out of his element in the business end, I think he just preferred the creative side more. The business end was what was causing all the stress. Then you start drinking, then you start making bad decisions when drunk and then your whole life starts falling apart.

 

 

 

And what was the name of the man Lucy was seeing on the side? He handed Lucy a piece of paper with the man's name.

 

I’ve always wanted to know this too and what kind of relationship it was. Companionship, an ear to vent problems to, sex?

 

 

I wonder how candid he would have been about his attitude towards "Barry Norton" since he and Lucy came close to reconciling during "Wildcat".

 

You get a little of his thoughts in some post late 60s/70s articles I have posted. Yes I would really love to have known his true thoughts and given the little bit he expressed in some of the articles I’m sure it would have been good.

 

 

 

The oft-told end of Ernie Kovacs kiss and "Cut goddamit" makes for a great story but anyone who has seen the show knows that's not how it was filmed.

 

He does burry his face behind hers. Who knows how long they stayed like that.

 

 

 

 

He suggests that Lucy pulled the cigarette lighter gun on him thinking it was the real thing, suggesting she was actually trying to murder him. I don't know that any reviewer picked up on the magnitude of this accusation.

 

This could be just an exaggeration on his part. Remember in Lucy’s book how she talked about knocking him out with a hammer and she and Harriet thought he was dead and started coming up with a plan to cover it up.

 

 

 

Also he wrote that he was the one who suggested the divorce and Lucy didn't want one.

 

From what I understand I think that in both their minds they knew divorce was the only option. Lucy I believe said in her book that she couldn’t bring herself to ask and he would have to be the one to do it. Evidently the fight in the office that day was the breaking point he need to ask her. What I’m sort of disappointed in Lucy was all the things she called him after he asked. If she knew that was the only solution that should have been a relief that it was finally out in the open and one person said it. She was the one to file and I think that was something they agreed upon.

 

So here’s a question that puzzles me. In the divorce proceedings it’s stated that they separated in Feb 59’. I thought he was still living at home for at least half of 59’. Not sleeping in the same bed/room but still at home. It’s stated that after coming home from the Europe trip is when he moved out.

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I was always disappointed that the book ended with the divorce.

Me too. Other than the letter he wrote outlining what the second book would have covered the post 60’ years are hardly ever talked about. Only finding fleeting information in articles.

Would have been interesting to hear his side of leaving Desilu in 1962. Did he decide to walk away? Or did Lucy force him out with their buy-out clause?

There are a lot of reasons I have heard that caused him to leave. He clearly wanted out some point in the 50s when he gave Lucy the option of get bigger or retire. If you read the Desilu book you get the picture that many people were encouraging him and I think Lucy as well that due to how bad the drinking became he should give it up. I’ve also heard Bernie Weitzman in an interview suggest that emotionally it was getting to hard for him to be around Lucy when they were no longer married. Especially with the new husband hanging around.

Yes he wanted to retire in the 50s but I think that was more about having time to restore their marriage and spend with their children then really wanting no more of it. He clearly always enjoyed it much less than Lucy and I think her liked producing the show rather than the studio. I think leaving tans selling was about the emotions. Interestingly if you read the summary for desi's second book he addresses this question and says it wasn't primarily about lucy and Gary although that was part it. Whether he was completely aware of it or not I think it was about Gary and his and Lucy's changed relationship. To still love her but see her clearly with another man must have hurt him and made him feel unwelcome. The show and studio ewe were about her and them, where was his motivation without her? Having Gary his place (let's be honest he did) would have been incredibly awkward. In the behind the scenes commentary for season 1 of the lucy show, lucie does mention the terrible discomfort on the set with both Desi and Gary. One of them had to go.

 

If you know which interview it was with Bernie I'd love e to see it?

 

I've always thought that's what put Desi over the edge. He may have been intuitive and creative but heading a huge business is something else again and I think he was out of his element. The stress was really just too much--- aged him and caused him to drink and carouse more.

So true. That was when the real deterioration in their marriage started. It's a shame that nobody, including Lucy, could have seen the problem and done more before it became what they did. He needed help and he didn't get it.

 

And what was the name of the man Lucy was seeing on the side? He handed Lucy a piece of paper with the man's name.

I’ve always wanted to know this too and what kind of relationship it was. Companionship, an ear to vent problems to, sex?

I don't think we've ever contemplated just friendship or a vent before? Friendship I think Robert Stack, relationship maybe Henry Fonda.

 

 

I wonder how candid he would have been about his attitude towards "Barry Norton" since he and Lucy came close to reconciling during "Wildcat".

You get a little of his thoughts in some post late 60s/70s articles I have posted. Yes I would really love to have known his true thoughts and given the little bit he expressed in some of the articles I’m sure it would have been good.

That timing is just very strange. She was close to reconciling because she knew she loved him and yet she took a huge leap into marriage with another man so quickly. It would seem she was so desperate to get over a Desi that she rebounded hard.Lucie described this fast marriage as like a knife through the heart, so obviously a questionable decision for everyone involved. Very sad for all of them including the kids.

The oft-told end of Ernie Kovacs kiss and "Cut goddamit" makes for a great story but anyone who has seen the show knows that's not how it was filmed.

 

I

Also he wrote that he was the one who suggested the divorce and Lucy didn't want one.

From what I understand I think that in both their minds they knew divorce was the only option. Lucy I believe said in her book that she couldn’t bring herself to ask and he would have to be the one to do it. Evidently the fight in the office that day was the breaking point he need to ask her. What I’m sort of disappointed in Lucy was all the things she called him after he asked. If she knew that was the only solution that should have been a relief that it was finally out in the open and one person said it. She was the one to file and I think that was something they agreed upon.

It had hit that point but I think that neither of them actually wanted it. They just wanted a break from the tension. I don't know why they didn't sit down and talk about what had to change for them to stay together and be happy. A separation for a couple of months while Lucy took a break from Hollywood and Desi sought help for the drinking would have actually addressed their problems. Instead they both split and nothing improved, they just never got over each other.

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It had hit that point but I think that neither of them actually wanted it. They just wanted a break from the tension. I don't know why they didn't sit down and talk about what had to change for them to stay together and be happy. A separation for a couple of months while Lucy took a break from Hollywood and Desi sought help for the drinking would have actually addressed their problems. Instead they both split and nothing improved, they just never got over each other.

Maybe this would have worked. Who knows? Sounds like something that may have been suggested if they had actual marriage counseling that both had their hearts in but then at that time in society you didn’t seek that out. In the Desilu book I believe it does talk about the fact that Desi was trying to knock off the drinking in the post-divorce filing time in 60’. Lucy should have gone to NY and done Wildcat however long that lasted, came back and then reexamine the marriage again. Being around each other as much as they were was also a huge problem that in retrospect was mentioned by at least one of them. It’s sort of interesting that in the Hollywood Byline radio interview from 1950 Lucy mentions that being together 24 hours a day was good for them. She had no idea how this would become a problem. Probably because those times were in such short spurts in those fist 10 years that they appreciated the time together. When she got her wish and added working pressure on it I think she eventually learned that it was not a good thing.

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1919?  Lucy's husbands just kept getting younger and younger.  Gary's YOB went from 1917 to 1922 to 1924 and in some publications 1926!

I was always disappointed that the book ended with the divorce.  Would have been interesting to hear his side of leaving Desilu in 1962.   Did he decide to walk away?  Or did Lucy force him out with their buy-out clause?  --the clause that stated one or the other could force the other to buy them out or sell to them.  Sort of a strange clause for two married people to insert.  It's like they knew their marriage wouldn't last.

I don't know that I've ever read that he felt buying RKO and becoming a tycoon was a mistake.  I've always thought that's what put Desi over the edge.  He may have been intuitive and creative but heading a huge business is something else again and I think he was out of his element. The stress was really just too much--- aged him and caused him to drink and carouse more. 

And what was the name of the man Lucy was seeing on the side?  He handed Lucy a piece of paper with the man's name.  Please tell me it wasn't Maury Thompson!

I wonder how candid he would have been about his attitude towards "Barry Norton" since he and Lucy came close to reconciling during "Wildcat".   Desi was involved in Wildcat and attended the premiere, but less than a year later Lucy and Gary were married.

The oft-told end of Ernie Kovacs kiss and "Cut goddamit" makes for a great story but anyone who has seen the show knows that's not how it was filmed.  May have been talking about the dress rehearsal.

Two things about Desi's book: If I recall correctly, he suggests that Lucy pulled what she thought was a real gun on him and didn't know it was a cigarette lighter, suggesting she was actually trying to murder him  (which would have made her next series something that co-starred Iris Adrian and Jody Gilbert.) I don't know that any reviewer picked up on the magnitude of this accusation.  But was even more unbelievable is that in Lucy's anger, she kept the flame going so he could calmly light his cigarette off it and nonchalantly walk away.  The way Desi writes it: he comes off as Noel Coward and Lucy as Lupe Velez.

Also he wrote that he was the one who suggested the divorce and Lucy didn't want one.

Although i laughed uproariously about your moron thompson joke, i think Desi never intended to insinuate that Lucy wanted to kill him, she used that cigarette lighter gun and he just lit his cigarette with it, no big deal but great story nonetheless.

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1919?  Lucy's husbands just kept getting younger and younger.  Gary's YOB went from 1917 to 1922 to 1924 and in some publications 1926!

I was always disappointed that the book ended with the divorce.  Would have been interesting to hear his side of leaving Desilu in 1962.   Did he decide to walk away?  Or did Lucy force him out with their buy-out clause?  --the clause that stated one or the other could force the other to buy them out or sell to them.  Sort of a strange clause for two married people to insert.  It's like they knew their marriage wouldn't last.

I don't know that I've ever read that he felt buying RKO and becoming a tycoon was a mistake.  I've always thought that's what put Desi over the edge.  He may have been intuitive and creative but heading a huge business is something else again and I think he was out of his element. The stress was really just too much--- aged him and caused him to drink and carouse more. 

And what was the name of the man Lucy was seeing on the side?  He handed Lucy a piece of paper with the man's name.  Please tell me it wasn't Maury Thompson!

I wonder how candid he would have been about his attitude towards "Barry Norton" since he and Lucy came close to reconciling during "Wildcat".   Desi was involved in Wildcat and attended the premiere, but less than a year later Lucy and Gary were married.

The oft-told end of Ernie Kovacs kiss and "Cut goddamit" makes for a great story but anyone who has seen the show knows that's not how it was filmed.  May have been talking about the dress rehearsal.

Two things about Desi's book: If I recall correctly, he suggests that Lucy pulled what she thought was a real gun on him and didn't know it was a cigarette lighter, suggesting she was actually trying to murder him  (which would have made her next series something that co-starred Iris Adrian and Jody Gilbert.) I don't know that any reviewer picked up on the magnitude of this accusation.  But was even more unbelievable is that in Lucy's anger, she kept the flame going so he could calmly light his cigarette off it and nonchalantly walk away.  The way Desi writes it: he comes off as Noel Coward and Lucy as Lupe Velez.

Also he wrote that he was the one who suggested the divorce and Lucy didn't want one.

About as likely as a rendevous with Herb Kenwith, if you know what I'm sayin'!  :lucythrill:

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