Working with Lucy

[Neil]

Actors and staff who have worked with Lucy tend to be polarized about the experience. She's either a thorough professional or something of a tyrant. We tend to believe the stories about Lucy being difficult or rude without considering extenuating circumstances. At least the stories are related with that slant. My "jiggle it a little, it'll open" reminded me of the infamous Joan Blondell toilet-miming. MAYBE Lucy was saying the MATERIAL didn't work and it wasn't a personal slam against Joan; and Joan took it the wrong way and did her "FU Lucille Ball!" exit which wouldn't have sat well with LB.

The other one I think was taken (and quoted) wrong was during "Calls the President" when Viv showed her the dress she was going to where and Lucy ALLEGEDLY said "You'd look like a cow in anything you wear". That exchange is usually quoted to show how cruel Lucy could be. But maybe she was trying to be 'bosom buddy'-like funny with a jab she didn't really mean.

You also have to look at the possible agenda of the interviewee--such as Herbert Kenwith who seems to have nothing good to say about good friend Lucy.

[C L A U D E]

Actors and staff who have worked with Lucy tend to be polarized about the experience. She's either a thorough professional or something of a tyrant. We tend to believe the stories about Lucy being difficult or rude without considering extenuating circumstances. At least the stories are related with that slant. My "jiggle it a little, it'll open" reminded me of the infamous Joan Blondell toilet-miming. MAYBE Lucy was saying the MATERIAL didn't work and it wasn't a personal slam against Joan; and Joan took it the wrong way and did her "FU Lucille Ball!" exit which wouldn't have sat well with LB.

The other one I think was taken (and quoted) wrong was during "Calls the President" when Viv showed her the dress she was going to where and Lucy ALLEGEDLY said "You'd look like a cow in anything you wear". That exchange is usually quoted to show how cruel Lucy could be. But maybe she was trying to be 'bosom buddy'-like funny with a jab she didn't really mean.

You also have to look at the possible agenda of the interviewee--such as Herbert Kenwith who seems to have nothing good to say about good friend Lucy.

Oh so true, horror stories sell books, when these unknowns are interviewed for articles or books, they are remembering stories from forty, fifty years before, there's also a lot of resentment about NOT getting their share of the money pie Lucy enjoyed, the fact that Lucy was a woman but their B O S S and loads of men from that era are not too fond of being told what to do by a mere woman. Many have quoted the line, if you're a man and are professional, that's fine but a woman doing the same thing is a bitch from hell. Was it moron thompson who was upset that she would not take his money to invest for him, was she supposed to be his accoountant on top of being his boss? Moron has never had anything good to say about her, yet she promoted him to director and after he left he never got any job directing as he was so full of himself but empty of directing prowess. They later offred him a job, to which he answered, I'M A DIRECTOR NOW, at what? Traffic on the corner where he lived? I agree about the Blondell story and the Viv story, Lucy L O V E D her like a sister and the woman had suffered a recent stroke and now found out she had cancer as Lucy sent her to her own doctor, so Viv tells her YOUR DOCTOR TELLS ME I HAVE ****ING CANCER! That's just the way they talked to each other after all those decades. As for humble herbie nitwit, and his version of Lucy treating his good friend Joan Crawford so badly, yeah, the woman comes on her set late, drunk and not knowing her lines, Lucy should have run lines with her at night on Roxbury and given her lessons on professional behavior on a set. Ever see Mommie Dearest? Joan replaced her young daughter on a soap opera and was shaking with bad nerves and reading lines off of cue cards L I V E on television, that's what she had become at that point. The Burton Lizzie show is another great example, if Lucy sees the man does not know how to get laughs, she tells him, that's the kind of pro she was, they were both used to having smoke blown up their respective asses everywhere, Lucy probably did not give lizzie the gifts she requires on the set every day also. Lucy was not pampered so she did little pampering herself. By the way Neil, did you read Howard Rafael's book and hear the story of the Streisand trailer that gary promised to lizzie after shooting ended? It's a riot!

[JoeySanJoaquin]

Oh so true, horror stories sell books, when these unknowns are interviewed for articles or books, they are remembering stories from forty, fifty years before, there's also a lot of resentment about NOT getting their share of the money pie Lucy enjoyed, the fact that Lucy was a woman but their B O S S and loads of men from that era are not too fond of being told what to do by a mere woman. Many have quoted the line, if you're a man and are professional, that's fine but a woman doing the same thing is a bitch from hell. Was it moron thompson who was upset that she would not take his money to invest for him, was she supposed to be his accoountant on top of being his boss? Moron has never had anything good to say about her, yet she promoted him to director and after he left he never got any job directing as he was so full of himself but empty of directing prowess. They later offred him a job, to which he answered, I'M A DIRECTOR NOW, at what? Traffic on the corner where he lived? I agree about the Blondell story and the Viv story, Lucy L O V E D her like a sister and the woman had suffered a recent stroke and now found out she had cancer as Lucy sent her to her own doctor, so Viv tells her YOUR DOCTOR TELLS ME I HAVE ****ING CANCER! That's just the way they talked to each other after all those decades. As for humble herbie nitwit, and his version of Lucy treating his good friend Joan Crawford so badly, yeah, the woman comes on her set late, drunk and not knowing her lines, Lucy should have run lines with her at night on Roxbury and given her lessons on professional behavior on a set. Ever see Mommie Dearest? Joan replaced her young daughter on a soap opera and was shaking with bad nerves and reading lines off of cue cards L I V E on television, that's what she had become at that point. The Burton Lizzie show is another great example, if Lucy sees the man does not know how to get laughs, she tells him, that's the kind of pro she was, they were both used to having smoke blown up their respective asses everywhere, Lucy probably did not give lizzie the gifts she requires on the set every day also. Lucy was not pampered so she did little pampering herself. By the way Neil, did you read Howard Rafael's book and hear the story of the Streisand trailer that gary promised to lizzie after shooting ended? It's a riot!

 

Ah, so much of this perspective and who's saying what about whom. For example, I take the Lucy/Viv "President" story with a grain of salt: Lucy had just lost her beloved mother, who up to that point, had pretty much been in attendance and in evidence at every single Lucy filming before that production; the fact they had to stop tape because she "lost her way" for a moment -- in front of 300+ people -- and had to not only pull herself together but explain why, makes me think that if -- IF she did in fact talk harshly to Viv it was because she'd just lost her mom. Not saying it excuses her behavior, just perhaps explains it.

 

While I hate to speak ill of those departed, I have a "theory" about why Kenwith and Maury Thompson may have acted the way they did, but I don't think it'd be appropriate to state it in a public forum. Ahem. I will say in their defense -- and only as a reminder that there are "two sides to every story", as I recall they at one point both attended one of our wonderful Tom Watson led Loving Lucy conventions here in LA, wher e they both seemed to be happy to partipate as they were both on panels relaying their stories of knowing and working for her (wish I could remember what year it was!), but I don't honestly recall if any animosity toward her was shared or not, it was simply too long ago. I would think though that if they had only ill feelings about their past associations, that they wouldn't have bothered.

 

Just my two centavos!

[HarryCarter]

Maury Thompson did at least have some positve things to say about Lucy through the years. He was quite complimentary at a seminar with him, Gregg Oppenheimer, Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf, Dann Cahn, and Herb Browar in 1998 at the Museum of Television & Radio. Herbie, on the other hand, seemed to go out of his way tearing Lucy down. There's that Joan Rivers interview Herbie and Maury did that was nothing but negativity. Good thing Carole and Robert Osborne were there for balance. Robert said the Lucy he knew was nothing like the Lucy Herbie described.

[mikidiki]

Actors and staff who have worked with Lucy tend to be polarized about the experience. She's either a thorough professional or something of a tyrant. We tend to believe the stories about Lucy being difficult or rude without considering extenuating circumstances. At least the stories are related with that slant. My "jiggle it a little, it'll open" reminded me of the infamous Joan Blondell toilet-miming. MAYBE Lucy was saying the MATERIAL didn't work and it wasn't a personal slam against Joan; and Joan took it the wrong way and did her "FU Lucille Ball!" exit which wouldn't have sat well with LB.

The other one I think was taken (and quoted) wrong was during "Calls the President" when Viv showed her the dress she was going to where and Lucy ALLEGEDLY said "You'd look like a cow in anything you wear". That exchange is usually quoted to show how cruel Lucy could be. But maybe she was trying to be 'bosom buddy'-like funny with a jab she didn't really mean.

You also have to look at the possible agenda of the interviewee--such as Herbert Kenwith who seems to have nothing good to say about good friend Lucy.

 

Totally agree with you. It was just banter between friends, nothing more than that. I used to work with someone who always used to say stuff like that to me and we were very close friends and we'd always have a giggle about it. If you are not friends with someone then of course that sort of thing would be taken as nasty and cruel but when you are friends with someone and they say stuff like that you just both laugh about it. I mean, Viv once said "I'd go tell you to f**k yourself but it looks like Desi already did that" ;-)

[Mister Hepburn]

RE: Joan Crawford

 

It was no secret that Joan had a drinking problem by the time they were filming that episode in '67, so I have to wonder what Lucy & Co. expected when they hired her. They had gone through a similar situation 10 years prior with Tallulah Bankhead on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, maybe Lucy just expected things to be different with Joan?

 

RE: Mommie Dearest

 

If we want to talk about contrived, one sided stories, no doubt Mommie Dearest should come up. Christina Crawford is a buffoon, out to make money on someone she had long since abandoned. She claims she began writing the book after her mother died, but so many people (including Joan) knew she was working on the book while Joan was slowly fading into nothing, cancer consuming her. Christina Crawford wanted to be Joan Crawford, and when she couldn't have that she decided to destroy Joan's name. Don't you think its a bit interesting that the twins Joan adopted in '47 have vehemently claimed there was never any abuse as portrayed in Christina's book? And even more damning to her story, in recent years Christina has rescinded several of her claims in the book. Joan Crawford might not have been mother of the year, she might have spanked her children when they misbehaved, she might have tipped the bottle too often, but I do not believe that woman abused those children as her skunk of a daughter Christina claims.

[JoeySanJoaquin]

RE: Mommie Dearest

 

If we want to talk about contrived, one sided stories, no doubt Mommie Dearest should come up. Christina Crawford is a buffoon, out to make money on someone she had long since abandoned. She claims she began writing the book after her mother died, but so many people (including Joan) knew she was working on the book while Joan was slowly fading into nothing, cancer consuming her. Christina Crawford wanted to be Joan Crawford, and when she couldn't have that she decided to destroy Joan's name. Don't you think its a bit interesting that the twins Joan adopted in '47 have vehemently claimed there was never any abuse as portrayed in Christina's book? And even more damning to her story, in recent years Christina has rescinded several of her claims in the book. Joan Crawford might not have been mother of the year, she might have spanked her children when they misbehaved, she might have tipped the bottle too often, but I do not believe that woman abused those children as her skunk of a daughter Christina claims.

No, most of those things probably didn't happen....but it sure gave Dunaway one of her most memorable (cough, cough) roles EVER! I haven't been able to see her as anything else in any other role since.....unfortunately.

[JoeySanJoaquin]

Maury Thompson did at least have some positve things to say about Lucy through the years. He was quite complimentary at a seminar with him, Gregg Oppenheimer, Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf, Dann Cahn, and Herb Browar in 1998 at the Museum of Television & Radio. Herbie, on the other hand, seemed to go out of his way tearing Lucy down. There's that Joan Rivers interview Herbie and Maury did that was nothing but negativity. Good thing Carole and Robert Osborne were there for balance. Robert said the Lucy he knew was nothing like the Lucy Herbie described.

 

Now THERE'S one for the books!! SOOOOOOOO wish I'd lived here then to get to see that! Wonder if it's in the Paley's archives for viewing?? Will have to research that one! Was the Joan Rivers one -- it sounds familiar but I don't remember -- was that from her FOX show?? Or sometime when she was still guest-hosting for Carson?? I'd love to see that one too.

[HarryCarter]

Now THERE'S one for the books!! SOOOOOOOO wish I'd lived here then to get to see that! Wonder if it's in the Paley's archives for viewing?? Will have to research that one! Was the Joan Rivers one -- it sounds familiar but I don't remember -- was that from her FOX show?? Or sometime when she was still guest-hosting for Carson?? I'd love to see that one too.

 

It is in the Paley collection to view. Maury's actually pretty funny in it. The Joan Rivers interview was her daytime talk show. It was to promote the Desilu book. Authors Sanders and Gilbert were there too.

[Neil]

Without the buffer of Desi, Lucy felt the burden of making sure things progressed in a way that would give them a show in four days was HERS. This responsibility might have made her uptight and short, bordering on rude. If she had had someone she trusted implicitly, I think she would have handed the reigns over gladly. When directors would come on the scene, she didn't have the luxury of time to find out whether they could be trusted with the whole thing, hence her confrontations with the likes of Jerry Paris, a seasoned TV director who was used to more control. I talked to him personally about 5 or 6 years after the Burton show and he railed against Lucy in the most unflattering terms. Quoted in print, he made at least one good point: "It's very hard for a performer to see themselves from the other side of the camera." I think she trusted the team of Desi, Jess, and Asher to point her in the right direction. I don't know of the 60-70s directors. Jack Donahue lasted the longest, but I don't know how much directing he did of Lucy's performance...Could he ever say "Lucy, don't do it that way. Try this..."?

 

I remember Maury being on a Loving Lucy panel, but not Herb. I remember seeing him at one but just wandering around and not part of the program. Am I forgetting?

I think Maury did a few Mothers-in-Laws, but I don't think his career lasted much past that; and he was still relatively young--about 50.

 

It seems like more than one book quotes people who were 'insulted' by the Christmas presents Lucy gave. To quote Jerry Carmichael "Whatever happened to 'Tis the season to be jolly'?"

 

And being a boss myself, I know the resentment some people can feel because you have that control over them. You can't always be popular!

[C L A U D E]

RE: Joan Crawford

 

It was no secret that Joan had a drinking problem by the time they were filming that episode in '67, so I have to wonder what Lucy & Co. expected when they hired her. They had gone through a similar situation 10 years prior with Tallulah Bankhead on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, maybe Lucy just expected things to be different with Joan?

 

RE: Mommie Dearest

 

If we want to talk about contrived, one sided stories, no doubt Mommie Dearest should come up. Christina Crawford is a buffoon, out to make money on someone she had long since abandoned. She claims she began writing the book after her mother died, but so many people (including Joan) knew she was working on the book while Joan was slowly fading into nothing, cancer consuming her. Christina Crawford wanted to be Joan Crawford, and when she couldn't have that she decided to destroy Joan's name. Don't you think its a bit interesting that the twins Joan adopted in '47 have vehemently claimed there was never any abuse as portrayed in Christina's book? And even more damning to her story, in recent years Christina has rescinded several of her claims in the book. Joan Crawford might not have been mother of the year, she might have spanked her children when they misbehaved, she might have tipped the bottle too often, but I do not believe that woman abused those children as her skunk of a daughter Christina claims.

Everybody knew Joan Crawford was an alcoholic, that did not mean she would actually WORK that way. That was the part that did her in with Lucy, Lucy expected a person to be professional.

[C L A U D E]

Without the buffer of Desi, Lucy felt the burden of making sure things progressed in a way that would give them a show in four days was HERS. This responsibility might have made her uptight and short, bordering on rude. If she had had someone she trusted implicitly, I think she would have handed the reigns over gladly. When directors would come on the scene, she didn't have the luxury of time to find out whether they could be trusted with the whole thing, hence her confrontations with the likes of Jerry Paris, a seasoned TV director who was used to more control. I talked to him personally about 5 or 6 years after the Burton show and he railed against Lucy in the most unflattering terms. Quoted in print, he made at least one good point: "It's very hard for a performer to see themselves from the other side of the camera." I think she trusted the team of Desi, Jess, and Asher to point her in the right direction. I don't know of the 60-70s directors. Jack Donahue lasted the longest, but I don't know how much directing he did of Lucy's performance...Could he ever say "Lucy, don't do it that way. Try this..."?

 

I remember Maury being on a Loving Lucy panel, but not Herb. I remember seeing him at one but just wandering around and not part of the program. Am I forgetting?

I think Maury did a few Mothers-in-Laws, but I don't think his career lasted much past that; and he was still relatively young--about 50.

 

It seems like more than one book quotes people who were 'insulted' by the Christmas presents Lucy gave. To quote Jerry Carmichael "Whatever happened to 'Tis the season to be jolly'?"

 

And being a boss myself, I know the resentment some people can feel because you have that control over them. You can't always be popular!

Blame the cheapo gifts on gary, not Lucy. In Desi's day, they served champagne to the crew at parties, with gary, it was beer.

[C L A U D E]

Maury Thompson did at least have some positve things to say about Lucy through the years. He was quite complimentary at a seminar with him, Gregg Oppenheimer, Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf, Dann Cahn, and Herb Browar in 1998 at the Museum of Television & Radio. Herbie, on the other hand, seemed to go out of his way tearing Lucy down. There's that Joan Rivers interview Herbie and Maury did that was nothing but negativity. Good thing Carole and Robert Osborne were there for balance. Robert said the Lucy he knew was nothing like the Lucy Herbie described.

Yes moron was funny on Joan's afternoon talk show but all the jokes were detremental to Lucy, the woman who gave him his job, he was ungrateful. As for herbie nitwit, he hated the fact that Lucy was The Queen of Television, being an old queen himself, he just hated to be topped, LOL! He was the Robert Wagner of his day, friendly with all the old ladies who had been something he would never be, a success in show business.

[Irene Kampen Tripp]

I'm sure she was a handfull.. even before her stint on television.. I'm sure she was a pain in the ass. She definately was not the sweet character she played on TV. She could be tactless at times, often to the point of rude. Maybe she never learned basic social skills, maybe she didn't think she needed them. I doubt if she constantly intended to hurt people's feelings, but all involved knew she had that side to her so why didn't they develop a thicker skin? Desi would say "She just destroys me with the things she says, the words she uses." Who knows, certainly she won't get any awards for deplomacy. Reguardless, she was incharge and did it her way. Look at all the successful entertainers.. have any of them ever been held up as the poster child for polietness??

[C L A U D E]

I'm sure she was a handfull.. even before her stint on television.. I'm sure she was a pain in the ass. She definately was not the sweet character she played on TV. She could be tactless at times, often to the point of rude. Maybe she never learned basic social skills, maybe she didn't think she needed them. I doubt if she constantly intended to hurt people's feelings, but all involved knew she had that side to her so why didn't they develop a thicker skin? Desi would say "She just destroys me with the things she says, the words she uses." Who knows, certainly she won't get any awards for deplomacy. Reguardless, she was incharge and did it her way. Look at all the successful entertainers.. have any of them ever been held up as the poster child for polietness??

Pretty one sided there, read the books, hear the stories, there are more that show her being incredibly nice to people then there are showing this tactless behavior.

[mikidiki]

I think she just got frustrated. She was a pro and expected other people to be pros. She was a stickler for regimentcy (sp?) and sometimes probably just spoke what came out of her mouth before actually thinking about it............. as well all do!

[C L A U D E]

I think she just got frustrated. She was a pro and expected other people to be pros. She was a stickler for regimentcy (sp?) and sometimes probably just spoke what came out of her mouth before actually thinking about it............. as well all do!

Well, you dun't make it to the top by being a meek wallflower who constantly worries about making a good impression, ask Bette Davis or Katie Hepburn.

[mikidiki]

Well, you dun't make it to the top by being a meek wallflower who constantly worries about making a good impression, ask Bette Davis or Katie Hepburn.

 

That post deserved a thumbs up and you know what?! IT GOT ONE!

[Irene Kampen Tripp]

Pretty one sided there, read the books, hear the stories, there are more that show her being incredibly nice to people then there are showing this tactless behavior.

[Irene Kampen Tripp]

I am not trying to paint her as a "Bitch".. but Joan Crawford said.. "And they call me a bitch.. Lucy can out bitch me any day of the week".. I am just trying to be real.. she was a tough cookie.. and you have to be to get anywhere.. people will walk all over you if you don't stand up for yourself.. and she stood up for herself.. maybe there were times she couldn't turn it off.. One of her writter's has said.. "Desi would tell you your script was poor and needed some work, and you would love him for it, Lucy would say your script was OK and you'd hate her for it".. It simply is a matter of deplomacy. Desi came from a privliaged society in Cuba, Lucille had a hard road to travel.. I'm sure Gary Morton had some stories to tell.. I am just saying.. no one goes to a job and has a blast every minute they are earning their living.. Things that you tolerate while being employed are not necessarily the things you tolerate in a friendship or marriage.. HOWEVER, she was respected because she also gave 110% and didn't coast on anyone's coat tails.. so her demeanor was tolerated since she delivered the goods.. I absolutely LOVE her even more knowing she was a no B.S. woman. I find this side of her very interesting and applaud her "get on with it" attitude... I wish I could have worked with her.. I would've enjoyed letting her see what I am capable of.

[mikidiki]

I am not trying to paint her as a "Bitch".. but Joan Crawford said.. "And they call me a bitch.. Lucy can out bitch me any day of the week".. I am just trying to be real.. she was a tough cookie.. and you have to be to get anywhere.. people will walk all over you if you don't stand up for yourself.. and she stood up for herself.. maybe there were times she couldn't turn it off.. One of her writter's has said.. "Desi would tell you your script was poor and needed some work, and you would love him for it, Lucy would say your script was OK and you'd hate her for it".. It simply is a matter of deplomacy. Desi came from a privliaged society in Cuba, Lucille had a hard road to travel.. I'm sure Gary Morton had some stories to tell.. I am just saying.. no one goes to a job and has a blast every minute they are earning their living.. Things that you tolerate while being employed are not necessarily the things you tolerate in a friendship or marriage.. HOWEVER, she was respected because she also gave 110% and didn't coast on anyone's coat tails.. so her demeanor was tolerated since she delivered the goods.. I absolutely LOVE her even more knowing she was a no B.S. woman. I find this side of her very interesting and applaud her "get on with it" attitude... I wish I could have worked with her.. I would've enjoyed letting her see what I am capable of.

 

Joan Crawford was a bitch all round, even to her loved ones. She was a great actress but that's about it I'm afraid - I can't find one other redeeming quality about her!

[chedderchester]

I even read in "Ball of Fire" that at the beginning of I Love Lucy, she and Viv didn't get along, hence Viv's quote "If this show actually goes anywhere I'm gonna learn to love that bitch." It even said that once when Viv was wearing false eyelashes, Lucy ripped them off and said "Nobody wears false eyelashes on this show but ME." This was according to the makeup man. I don't really believe that because in Lucy's autobiography, she says herself that they hit it off right from the start.

 

Carol Burnett said in an interview, she was tough but in a good way. And I agree. She was the boss and it was her show. I mean, if I was an extra, playing one of her kid's friends, I wouldn't be joking around. It's all serious business. I would def. want to look good in the eyes of Miss Ball. I'm sure she took it easy on the extras who didn't have major parts. Anyone who didn't want to do work deserved to be snapped at, like Joan Crawford who would've gotten fired if she didn't show up at 10 AM SHARP the next morning.

 

Me, personally would've loved it if Lucy made me feel right at home on set--by showing me how things work, giving me a nice costume, and looking out for me. I mean, one of my nicknames is "Mister Innocent." How could she not love a guy like me to play a small part?

[C L A U D E]

I am not trying to paint her as a "Bitch".. but Joan Crawford said.. "And they call me a bitch.. Lucy can out bitch me any day of the week".. I am just trying to be real.. she was a tough cookie.. and you have to be to get anywhere.. people will walk all over you if you don't stand up for yourself.. and she stood up for herself.. maybe there were times she couldn't turn it off.. One of her writter's has said.. "Desi would tell you your script was poor and needed some work, and you would love him for it, Lucy would say your script was OK and you'd hate her for it".. It simply is a matter of deplomacy. Desi came from a privliaged society in Cuba, Lucille had a hard road to travel.. I'm sure Gary Morton had some stories to tell.. I am just saying.. no one goes to a job and has a blast every minute they are earning their living.. Things that you tolerate while being employed are not necessarily the things you tolerate in a friendship or marriage.. HOWEVER, she was respected because she also gave 110% and didn't coast on anyone's coat tails.. so her demeanor was tolerated since she delivered the goods.. I absolutely LOVE her even more knowing she was a no B.S. woman. I find this side of her very interesting and applaud her "get on with it" attitude... I wish I could have worked with her.. I would've enjoyed letting her see what I am capable of.

I'm just saying, for the thousanth time, that people in the fifties and sixties were not used to a woman running things, taking orders from a woman and men hated it for the most part so they resented her authority, when she owned the studio it got even worse, poor woman was running a home, a studio and her own show, all on her own as her second hubby was too stupid to handle much on his own without ruining it. There are other STARS who go on and on about how she knew everything and was so professional that she got it all done effortlessly as she had been doing it so long, so when someone like the Crawford woman came in without being prepared, drunk, and incapable of working in front of an audience as she was used to the filming process in a studio, Lucy had to get her show IN THE CAN as they say, in the usual four days. So she stood up to her and gave her an ultimatum, get your act together or get out! Can you imagine the pressure of running a number one show, a studio with thousands of employees, interviews, guest shots on other shows, specials, and personal appearances, charity events and everything else Lucy accomplished and then this MOVIE QUEEN comes in and is totally unprofessional, and then egged on by moron herbie kenwith the nitwit, drunk and slurring her words at 10am? Let's not forget that Crawford was still doing feature films at this point and Lucy never forgot that Hollywood attached more importance to FILM stars than TV ones, so i will grant you that she might have enjoyed it a bit to bring crawford down a notch to reality and have her face facts, she was making lousy exploitation movies at this point, hatchet killers, so someone needed to tell her that to go on she would have to straiten herself out and try and act like a true pro, as Lucy did.

[mikidiki]

You got it in one sentence Claude : "that people in the fifties and sixties were not used to a woman running things, taking orders from a woman and men hated it for the most part so they resented her authority"

 

Sadly it still happens today!

[C L A U D E]

You got it in one sentence Claude : "that people in the fifties and sixties were not used to a woman running things, taking orders from a woman and men hated it for the most part so they resented her authority"

 

Sadly it still happens today!

But it was more than that, there's also the fact that she was a perfectionist, and people took it from a man but never from a woman. And she'd been doing this for years and knew exactly how to get the end product in the can, so she was fast and got to the point, she didn't care if it was her all time favorite actor, Dickie Burton who was NOT getting his laughs by murmoring them or throwing thenm away as the SPRESSION goes, she didn't care who it was, it was HER show and she was brave enough to tell him and he got so good at it after learning about comedy from the master that he went on the road with a play with comedy and was a hit!