TV Guide: Celebrating Lucy

[Magster]

Here is a terrific TV Guide interview with Lucie Arnaz about Lucille Ball and "I Love Lucy." I wasn't quite sure where to post this - I almost posted it in "Desilu Productions" but then decided to post it here since it IS about Lucy and just in case some people don't visit the other boards as much. Anyway, I think Lucie really offers a lovely, touching tribute to her mother in this interview.

 

"Celebrating 60 Years of I Love Lucy"

 

Celebrating 60 Years of I Love Lucy

 

 

 

 

Sep 29, 2011 07:00 AM ET

by Ileane Rudolph

 

 

I Love Lucy

 

I Love Lucy premiered 60 years ago this month, and our adoration for Lucille Ball has only grown over time. To honor the comedian and her storied history with TV Guide Magazine (she's been on more covers than any other star), we asked her daughter, Lucie Arnaz, 60, to share some of her favorite memories of that period. Arnaz, an actress and singer, has kept her mother and father Desi Arnaz's legacies alive by donating scrapbooks and arrangements to museums and producing shows that honor the legendary couple. Currently, she is developing a tribute to the Latin music of I Love Lucy.

 

TV Guide Magazine: This is a big year for your mom, Lucille Ball. It's not only I Love Lucy's 60th anniversary, but the 100th anniversary of her birth. What's it been like?

Arnaz: Fabulous! There have been tons of celebrations, including at the Hollywood Museum, the Library of Congress and the Paley Center for Media. Even Google did a salute partnered with the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy that's in her hometown, Jamestown, New York.

 

TV Guide Magazine: Let's start from the beginning. You never appeared on I Love Lucy, did you?

Arnaz: My mother was pregnant with me in the pilot — does that count?

 

TV Guide Magazine: Sure! What's your favorite Lucy episode besides the pilot?

Arnaz: [Laughs] "Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana" [11/6/57]. It's a flashback to when Lucy and Ricky met in Cuba. My mom and dad have a drum duel in a nightclub and it is so sexy. When I [watch it], I see such an amazing amount of love and romance and sexual heat. There's powerful passion in their eyes even though in real life, they were close to divorcing.

 

TV Guide Magazine: Did your mom have a favorite episode?

Arnaz: She said she had two. The sweet one when Lucy has to tell Ricky she's having a baby ["Lucy Is Enceinte," 12/8/52]. The emotion of the scene got the better of them and they started to tear up. They thought they'd have to redo that shot, but everyone on the set said, "No, no, no!" The wild and crazy [favorite episode] was when Lucy dresses up as the Queen of the Gypsies ["The Operetta," 10/13/52]. She said, "I loved getting into costumes with my teeth all blacked out. I thought I looked hysterical, and I never had such a good time as with that silly-ass song and trying to hit that note."

 

TV Guide Magazine: Did your mother get a lot of pleasure from doing I Love Lucy?

Arnaz: It was her only pleasure! She and Viv [Vivian Vance], Dad and Bill [William Frawley] had so much fun at work they never wanted to go home. She loved the whole process.

 

TV Guide Magazine: Did she feel that joy with her other TV shows?

Arnaz: My mother absolutely loved going to the studio every day and being that Lucy character. Nothing in her life ever made her happier, and that's why when it ended and she didn't have it anymore, I watched her deteriorate emotionally.

 

TV Guide Magazine: So many stories, including those in TV Guide Magazine, talked about how Lucy may have been the biggest TV star, but she still was a typical wife and mom. Truth or spin?

Arnaz: A lot of that came from public relations people, but before I Love Lucy hit, she considered herself just a married woman with a gorgeous husband. [Laughs] She didn't cook very well but she enjoyed being in the kitchen and getting all homemaker-y. When they moved the radio show to television, she convinced [CBS] to put Desi on as her husband. She thought she was just getting a chance to work with her husband so he wouldn't be on the road all the time. Then the show took off like Seabiscuit and she never looked back.

 

TV Guide Magazine: Was your mom anything like her iconic on-screen character?

Arnaz: She was opinionated and professorial and not the person that you would expect. People thought she was like Lucy Ricardo. And she wasn't at all.

 

TV Guide Magazine: Do you love — and hate — I Love Lucy at the same time?

Arnaz: Yes. Of course I longed for those moments that I never had with my mother, just the ordinary stuff that other kids take for granted. That part was hard. The rest was wonderful.

 

TV Guide Magazine: When you look at the Lucy shows, what makes you most proud of your mother?

Arnaz: Unfathomable talent! She wrung every last bit of humor and fun out of everything they gave her.

 

TV Guide Magazine: You worked with your mom on Here's Lucy for six years. What were the most special moments?

Arnaz: When we were doing a dance number or singing. That wasn't her bailiwick, so I would be all excited and she would go, "I can't do this!" We would help each other. When we got it right, we'd be, "Yay! We did a dance together!" It was a wonderful bonding experience.

 

TV Guide Magazine: Why do you think people are still laughing at Lucy 60 years later?

Arnaz: The brilliant writing and execution! None of the actors played it like it was funny. They played it for real and [the audience] bought into it. It's the best medicine ever. My mom made a tonic that never had to be renewed. The date on it never expires. You can always drink it and feel better.

 

TV Guide Magazine: Which female comics today would make your mom laugh?

Arnaz: She would adore Ellen DeGeneres and Debra Messing. When I'm watching Debra, she reminds me a little of my mother. And Tina Fey!

 

TV Guide Magazine: On her centenary, what would you like to say about Lucille Ball, your mom?

Arnaz: I miss her — along with Dad — more than anybody. I just know that she had a great life and she was always grateful to all the people who loved her.

[vivfantoo*]

Thanks for posting this, Magster. I enjoyed reading it.

[C L A U D E]

Yeah, very nice.

[HarryCarter]

This is featured in the October 3 issue. Also featured is a full page ad promoting the Paley Center's Lucy TV Guide cover exhbition. TV Guide is doing a special online only Lucy edition that goes onsale October 3. I don't have the magazine with me at the moment, unfortunately, so I don't have all the details.

[Irene Kampen Tripp]

I LOVE the HONESTY that comes through with Lucie's answers... She had a "difficult" relationship with her mother I would gather and I think she is making the best out of it. I don't think many of us have easy relationships with everyone.. and sometimes partents can be more difficult than friends or siblings... I am glad to see Lucie's frankness about how her mother wasn't at all like the character she played and how her mother kinda "deteriorated" when she wasn't playing that character consistantly... I have nothing but the highest respect for the lovely Miss Arnaz.. it is reassuring that many of us long to be with LUCY.

[Taylor]

Yeah, I liked the interview too. It was pretty honest and I like it when people tell how celebrities really were behind the scenes; it just reaffirms that they are just like us with the same problems, etc. I think most mother-daughter relationships have their ups and downs, even in a celebrity household. At least Lucie didn't sound as bitter about it like she did in the documentary 18 years ago. She must've worked things out on her own.

[trickyrickyricardo]

Thank you SO much for posting this! I really enjoyed it! Glimpses of Lucille Ball through the eyes of Lucie are always a treat!

[MONALISAISMONALUCY]

This is a great article. I must get the guide!!!

[C L A U D E]

Yeah, I liked the interview too. It was pretty honest and I like it when people tell how celebrities really were behind the scenes; it just reaffirms that they are just like us with the same problems, etc. I think most mother-daughter relationships have their ups and downs, even in a celebrity household. At least Lucie didn't sound as bitter about it like she did in the documentary 18 years ago. She must've worked things out on her own.

She's had a lot of therapy since then, says it helped her a lot. Says also that it's a shame therapy didn't exist for people in the early days, unless you wanted to risk the whole world finding out about your problems. By telling the blabbermouths like Hedda or Louella.

[Magster]

Yeah, I liked the interview too. It was pretty honest and I like it when people tell how celebrities really were behind the scenes; it just reaffirms that they are just like us with the same problems, etc. I think most mother-daughter relationships have their ups and downs, even in a celebrity household. At least Lucie didn't sound as bitter about it like she did in the documentary 18 years ago. She must've worked things out on her own.

 

Taylor, I LOVE your new signature! That picture has always been one of my favorites!

[Magster]

Thank you SO much for posting this! I really enjoyed it! Glimpses of Lucille Ball through the eyes of Lucie are always a treat!

 

No problem! I agree - any interview with Lucie is a treat, but this is the best "Lucie about Lucy" interview I've read in awhile. I need to go out and get this in hard copy!

[Taylor]

Taylor, I LOVE your new signature! That picture has always been one of my favorites!

 

Yeah, she's pretty cute there, no? I wonder if that's the mailbox to Chatsworth or just some random mailbox she's standing by.

[Will]

Yeah, I liked the interview too. It was pretty honest and I like it when people tell how celebrities really were behind the scenes; it just reaffirms that they are just like us with the same problems, etc. I think most mother-daughter relationships have their ups and downs, even in a celebrity household. At least Lucie didn't sound as bitter about it like she did in the documentary 18 years ago. She must've worked things out on her own.

Lucie gave a great interview. I like how she said her most special moments on Here's Lucy is when they bonded together to do the musical numbers. Watching Lucy and Lucie sing and dance together you can see the sparkle in their eyes and their great talent. You can tell they are having fun. Lucy was very supportive of young talent besides her kids and I love to watch her expressions while watching Frankie Avalon, Wayne Newton, in particular. Lucy and Lucie are great dancers. Lucie seems more appreciative of her mother now and it is nice to see her reflect love for both her parents in her tribute.

[C L A U D E]

Yeah, she's pretty cute there, no? I wonder if that's the mailbox to Chatsworth or just some random mailbox she's standing by.

Nope,that was INDEED her address at Devonshire Rd in Chatsworth and it really looked like a ranch in this picture.

[C L A U D E]

Lucie gave a great interview. I like how she said her most special moments on Here's Lucy is when they bonded together to do the musical numbers. Watching Lucy and Lucie sing and dance together you can see the sparkle in their eyes and their great talent. You can tell they are having fun. Lucy was very supportive of young talent besides her kids and I love to watch her expressions while watching Frankie Avalon, Wayne Newton, in particular. Lucy and Lucie are great dancers. Lucie seems more appreciative of her mother now and it is nice to see her reflect love for both her parents in her tribute.

Yeah, nice CHANGE indeed. Lucy supported BOTH Avalon and Newton, attending his shows so often she was afraid people would suspect they were having an affair when it came to Avalon, as for Newton, he always acknowledged the way she helped him when starting out, including making a pilot for him but then warnming him if he played it, he would be typecast as that character forever.

[Taylor]

Nope,that was INDEED her address at Devonshire Rd in Chatsworth and it really looked like a ranch in this picture.

 

Cool. I thought so.

[C L A U D E]

Cool. I thought so.

We've seen SOME pics of the inside, old fashioned, small, unpretentious, but very little of the outside except when they were working on it, adding things, or having parties, LOL!

[Magster]

I had to go to three different stores after work this afternoon, but I finally picked up a hard copy of this TV Guide! Lucie's interview is a beautiful two-page spread. Now I've got to check out the online Lucy edition!

[Annaleigh]

I loved it, a lot we knew already but great to hear and see a lot of again. Very honest. This quote got me..

TV Guide Magazine: Did she feel that joy with her other TV shows?

Arnaz: My mother absolutely loved going to the studio every day and being that Lucy character. Nothing in her life ever made her happier, and that's why when it ended and she didn't have it anymore, I watched her deteriorate emotionally.

We all as Lucy fans know this to be the truth, but just to hear it out of her just added more emotion to it. So sad.

[C L A U D E]

[quote name=DroopyDrawers ' timestamp='1317799322' post='22204]

I loved it, a lot we knew already but great to hear and see a lot of again. Very honest. This quote got me..

TV Guide Magazine: Did she feel that joy with her other TV shows?

Arnaz: My mother absolutely loved going to the studio every day and being that Lucy character. Nothing in her life ever made her happier, and that's why when it ended and she didn't have it anymore, I watched her deteriorate emotionally.

We all as Lucy fans know this to be the truth, but just to hear it out of her just added more emotion to it. So sad.

True, she always said without her work she was nothing, that's what she really thought.

[Mmadluv7]

[quote name=DroopyDrawers ' timestamp='1317799322' post='22204]

I loved it, a lot we knew already but great to hear and see a lot of again. Very honest. This quote got me..

TV Guide Magazine: Did she feel that joy with her other TV shows?

Arnaz: My mother absolutely loved going to the studio every day and being that Lucy character. Nothing in her life ever made her happier, and that's why when it ended and she didn't have it anymore, I watched her deteriorate emotionally.

We all as Lucy fans know this to be the truth, but just to hear it out of her just added more emotion to it. So sad.

 

She deteriorated after 1975 when Here's Lucy went off the air? Because the Lucy character was NEVER planned to come back in a series based on how

Lucy felt recreating the role or the older shows. It wasn't until 84 or so that she finally thought to bring "Lucy back"

 

Well I guess I shouldn't enjoy anything Lucy was in after 75 because it's too sad to believe that Lucy was depressed after 75...a lil saddened after reading that.

[JoeySanJoaquin]

She deteriorated after 1975 when Here's Lucy went off the air? Because the Lucy character was NEVER planned to come back in a series based on how

Lucy felt recreating the role or the older shows. It wasn't until 84 or so that she finally thought to bring "Lucy back"

 

Well I guess I shouldn't enjoy anything Lucy was in after 75 because it's too sad to believe that Lucy was depressed after 75...a lil saddened after reading that.

 

You prompt lots of thoughts with your remark but most notably, I think you're overreacting! Did you miss Lucie's key word, "deteriorated emotionally"? She's not intimating she literally fell apart after her show stopped but as often happens with people who lose their jobs or retire, they don't quite know what to do with themselves as their work was their reason for getting up in the morning. (And as one to whom it happened involuntarily -- and more than once! -- I can relate!)

 

I think we should take anything we read that's an interview whether in print/magazine or online with a grain of salt, but I think this latest exchange with LA by a reputable source is perhaps one of the most telling, and compelling we've ever been given access to as it seems she's made much peace with her parents legacy, her role in carrying the torch, and that at this point in her life, realizing her mom, if only in her own "unique" way, did love her and brought her up the best way she could given the circumstances.

After all, I think she turned out pretty well!

[Mmadluv7]

You prompt lots of thoughts with your remark but most notably, I think you're overreacting! Did you miss Lucie's key word, "deteriorated emotionally"? She's not intimating she literally fell apart after her show stopped but as often happens with people who lose their jobs or retire, they don't quite know what to do with themselves as their work was their reason for getting up in the morning. (And as one to whom it happened involuntarily -- and more than once! -- I can relate!)

 

I think we should take anything we read that's an interview whether in print/magazine or online with a grain of salt, but I think this latest exchange with LA by a reputable source is perhaps one of the most telling, and compelling we've ever been given access to as it seems she's made much peace with her parents legacy, her role in carrying the torch, and that at this point in her life, realizing her mom, if only in her own "unique" way, did love her and brought her up the best way she could given the circumstances.

After all, I think she turned out pretty well!

 

 

LOLOL This is ridiculous and silly.

One moment, every one wants me to admit that Lucy was depressed until her death and now Im overacting? lol

 

FIRST OF ALL- Almost every one who has had two or more jobs, in school, in their career, in their home etc. have made it apart of them

and losing it can bring a question of value or worth within that previous job or work, so involuntarily or not, almost every one can relate- you're not the only one-, I certainly can as it's happened to me way more than once okay

 

What was really fulfilling to me, and enjoyable and healthy for me in my work had come to an end, and I was forced to look other places- but I didn't die.

It didn't kill me, neither did it start an emotional deterioration. WHICH IS WHY it was hard for me to really understand how it could happen to Lucy, since I thought I understood her tenacity to stay busy and

happy in the business- but to hear that she did take a loss in 75 after the Lucy character ended is sad to read. Now, that's what I wrote, and that's what I meant. It's not overreacting, it's seeing things as a lot of you have for the

first time.

[leenorman]

You prompt lots of thoughts with your remark but most notably, I think you're overreacting! Did you miss Lucie's key word, "deteriorated emotionally"? She's not intimating she literally fell apart after her show stopped but as often happens with people who lose their jobs or retire, they don't quite know what to do with themselves as their work was their reason for getting up in the morning. (And as one to whom it happened involuntarily -- and more than once! -- I can relate!)

 

I think we should take anything we read that's an interview whether in print/magazine or online with a grain of salt, but I think this latest exchange with LA by a reputable source is perhaps one of the most telling, and compelling we've ever been given access to as it seems she's made much peace with her parents legacy, her role in carrying the torch, and that at this point in her life, realizing her mom, if only in her own "unique" way, did love her and brought her up the best way she could given the circumstances.

After all, I think she turned out pretty well!

 

My 2 cents' worth; and that's all it's worth;

 

Hope she recognizes she gets her beauty and talent from two beautiful and talented individuals, who set the groundwork for her to live a pretty nice adult life.

[Mister Hepburn]

You prompt lots of thoughts with your remark but most notably, I think you're overreacting! Did you miss Lucie's key word, "deteriorated emotionally"? She's not intimating she literally fell apart after her show stopped but as often happens with people who lose their jobs or retire, they don't quite know what to do with themselves as their work was their reason for getting up in the morning. (And as one to whom it happened involuntarily -- and more than once! -- I can relate!)

 

I think we should take anything we read that's an interview whether in print/magazine or online with a grain of salt, but I think this latest exchange with LA by a reputable source is perhaps one of the most telling, and compelling we've ever been given access to as it seems she's made much peace with her parents legacy, her role in carrying the torch, and that at this point in her life, realizing her mom, if only in her own "unique" way, did love her and brought her up the best way she could given the circumstances.

After all, I think she turned out pretty well!

 

I felt like Lucie's anger really raged when the museum was going through so much turmoil, and who can blame her? All the same, it is nice to see this change of tone from her.