LFFL Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 I know this may be a dumb question, but I wondered if Lucy liked all people of all races, particularly Blacks. I would think she did, since she married out of her race. And she had a couple of friends like Nipsey Russell and Flip Wilson. But there wasn't many minority stars on her shows. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 I know this may be a dumb question, but I wondered if Lucy liked all people of all races, particularly Blacks. I would think she did, since she married out of her race. And she had a couple of friends like Nipsey Russell and Flip Wilson. But there wasn't many minority stars on her shows. Thoughts? Both Lucy and Desi had no pejudice against anyone. Lucy always had black maids and nannies, but that was the custom at that time. She certainly was NOT friends with Nipsey Russell. He was merely ONE of the entertainers on her Dean Martin roast and he kidded her about not having blacks on her show. That had nothing to do with her, Southern states would actually NOT broadcast her show if blacks were featured, certain markets would ban the show, as they did with Andy Griffith and many other shows of that time. Then blacks started appearing, shows like I Spy with Cosby, Julia with Diahaan Carroll etc. So by Here's Lucy she was finally able to have black actors appear on her show. Lucy was very close to Sammy Davis and his wife Altovise. Lucy had been friendly with any black performer from Lena Horne in her days at MGM to Ella, to Flip, had great respect for Bill Cosby and many others in the industry. I think Desi even mentionned in his autobiography that he was stunned when he left Cuba for the US and saw how blacks were treated so badly compared to his former country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annaleigh Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 Both Lucy and Desi had no pejudice against anyone. Lucy always had black maids and nannies, but that was the custom at that time. She certainly was NOT friends with Nipsey Russell. He was merely ONE of the entertainers on her Dean Martin roast and he kidded her about not having blacks on her show. That had nothing to do with her, Southern states would actually NOT broadcast her show if blacks were featured, certain markets would ban the show, as they did with Andy Griffith and many other shows of that time. Then blacks started appearing, shows like I Spy with Cosby, Julia with Diahaan Carroll etc. So by Here's Lucy she was finally able to have black actors appear on her show. Lucy was very close to Sammy Davis and his wife Altovise. Lucy had been friendly with any black performer from Lena Horne in her days at MGM to Ella, to Flip, had great respect for Bill Cosby and many others in the industry. I think Desi even mentionned in his autobiography that he was stunned when he left Cuba for the US and saw how blacks were treated so badly compared to his former country. Plus no matter what race the nanny or maid was she treated them like gold. She did confide in them sometimes. Another thing I loved about her, one of those people that accepted people the way they were. Hell! She was all for gay rights too! You have no idea how happy that made me when I saw her quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 I think the biggest misconception out there is that Lucy was racist. I hear rumors out there all the time and it always makes me angry, like on Facebook there was a discussion and someone said, "Loved her comedy but too bad she was a racist." I mean, really?? If you look at the facts, you know that can't be true. She married first a Cuban, then a Jewish man, and had lots of black friends in the entertainment industry and in her personal life. I don't know how the rumors of her being racist were spread, but there was one that while she lay dying in the hospital she had all the black nurses fired from her hospital floor or some such BS. I mean, where the hell do people come up with this crap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivfantoo* Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 Hi LFFL, I think Lucy seemed to like everyone. She & Desi were discriminated against when they were married, so she knew what that felt like & how stupid & unfair prejudice was. CBS didn't want Desi as her husband on I Love Lucy because he was Cuban. It was such a different world then. I always liked that when Lucy had backup dancers she almost always had blacks, asians & hispanics in the group. They frequently danced right up front next to her where they were sure to be in the picture, rather than just a blur in the background. She oversaw every detail of her shows, so my guess was that this were her decision -- maybe a way to show those southern states what she thought of their discrimination & censorship. Taylor, I never heard that before. Where, indeed, do people come up with this slanderous stuff? Sheesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFFL Posted August 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 Thanks you all. That's what I figured. I remember reading somewhere that she and her once personal maid, Harriet were pretty close. She even paid Harriet's hospital fees before she passed away. I've just been hearing rumors that she was racist and I'm glad that's all it is- RUMORS!! Guess this is another reason that I Love Lucy! Ha ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFFL Posted August 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 Hi LFFL, I think Lucy seemed to like everyone. She & Desi were discriminated against when they were married, so she knew what that felt like & how stupid & unfair prejudice was. CBS didn't want Desi as her husband on I Love Lucy because he was Cuban. It was such a different world then. I always liked that when Lucy had backup dancers she almost always had blacks, asians & hispanics in the group. They frequently danced right up front next to her where they were sure to be in the picture, rather than just a blur in the background. She oversaw every detail of her shows, so my guess was that this were her decision -- maybe a way to show those southern states what she thought of their discrimination & censorship. Taylor, I never heard that before. Where, indeed, do people come up with this slanderous stuff? Sheesh. Wow, which ones?? I'm curious lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeySanJoaquin Posted August 20, 2012 Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 Taylor, I never heard that before. Where, indeed, do people come up with this slanderous stuff? Sheesh. Exactly, and WHY is what I'd like to know -- nothing better than trying to taint the memory of a beloved celebrity?? IMHO all one has to do is take a look at the "home movies" featured not only in Lucie's Emmy-Award winning Lucy & Desi documentary but also those most recently featured in DVD releases like Here's Lucy's Season 5 -- that one alone features a family get-together at what appears to be the Palm Springs home, prominently featuring Viv in a big straw hat (which she "tries on" on Desi at one point), as well as whom I believe to be Maury Thompson frolicking in the pool with the kids as well as Nancy Kulp (better known as Jane Hathaway) with her (it would appear) "female friend"...so at least -- and happily to learn! -- she & Desi were quite "progressive" and apparently didn't mind the gays hanging around! Coolness!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted August 21, 2012 Report Share Posted August 21, 2012 I think the biggest misconception out there is that Lucy was racist. I hear rumors out there all the time and it always makes me angry, like on Facebook there was a discussion and someone said, "Loved her comedy but too bad she was a racist." I mean, really?? If you look at the facts, you know that can't be true. She married first a Cuban, then a Jewish man, and had lots of black friends in the entertainment industry and in her personal life. I don't know how the rumors of her being racist were spread, but there was one that while she lay dying in the hospital she had all the black nurses fired from her hospital floor or some such BS. I mean, where the hell do people come up with this crap? There will always be ignorant Lucy detractors out there. That moron at Sitcoms Online, Brain Damage, used to say she was a Communist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivfantoo* Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Wow, which ones?? I'm curious lol I remember seeing several, all from the Here's Lucy shows. But I've only seen each episode once as they came out on DVD, so I don't remember which ones exactly. Can anyone (with a better memory than me ) help out here with some specific episodes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annaleigh Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Lucy was definately forward with being accepting for others. It was said she was definately very conservative but so liberal and very modern when it came to these types of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Lucy was definately forward with being accepting for others. It was said she was definately very conservative but so liberal and very modern when it came to these types of things. I think she was only conservative with her money, and her image. But very broadminded in everything else. I mean what other superstar would have gone to bare her soul in rehab for her son and did not care what anybody thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFFL Posted August 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I think she was only conservative with her money, and her image. But very broadminded in everything else. I mean what other superstar would have gone to bare her soul in rehab for her son and did not care what anybody thought. Whoa! Explain please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annaleigh Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I think she was only conservative with her money, and her image. But very broadminded in everything else. I mean what other superstar would have gone to bare her soul in rehab for her son and did not care what anybody thought. Very true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magster Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Whoa! Explain please. When Desi Jr. went to rehab in the early 1980s to overcome his drug addiction, Lucy attended many of the sessions with him. Desi wrote a very nice article about his mother in 1991, where he goes into this in more detail. You can read it here: My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 When Desi Jr. went to rehab in the early 1980s to overcome his drug addiction, Lucy attended many of the sessions with him. Desi wrote a very nice article about his mother in 1991, where he goes into this in more detail. You can read it here: My link Ted's site is still archived?! Great news! The last Geocities archive I had on file has since disappeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucyilove Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I know this may be a dumb question, but I wondered if Lucy liked all people of all races, particularly Blacks. I would think she did, since she married out of her race. And she had a couple of friends like Nipsey Russell and Flip Wilson. But there wasn't many minority stars on her shows. Thoughts? Lucy didn't marry out of her race; Desi, like most Hispanics, was technically Caucasian. Interracial marriage was illegal I think in every state in 1940. Hispanics seen as "non white" is a fairly new phenomeon and is probably limited to the United States. There has never been a problem with a Hispanic person appearing opposite a "white" person in a romantic part in Hollywood even back in the silent days. I think CBS' initial worry with Desi was he may have seemed a "foreigner" to some audiences, not that he was specifically Hispanic. If "white" and "Hispanic" marriages had been considered interracial in 1951 you can most assuredly note that CBS would have never considered a Lucy/Desi series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 When Desi Jr. went to rehab in the early 1980s to overcome his drug addiction, Lucy attended many of the sessions with him. Desi wrote a very nice article about his mother in 1991, where he goes into this in more detail. You can read it here: My link Wow, that's the first time I read that entire article. Very nice and touching of Desi to write that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annaleigh Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 When Desi Jr. went to rehab in the early 1980s to overcome his drug addiction, Lucy attended many of the sessions with him. Desi wrote a very nice article about his mother in 1991, where he goes into this in more detail. You can read it here: My link Beautiful article! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFFL Posted August 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 Beautiful article! Agreed, wow very touching. If he moved from home in 1968, that meant he was just starting Here's Lucy. I wonder if there was tension around the set? I'm guessing not since Lucy taught her children to be professionals. But it just popped in my head lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 That was a great piece written by Desi Jr. Thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 When Desi Jr. went to rehab in the early 1980s to overcome his drug addiction, Lucy attended many of the sessions with him. Desi wrote a very nice article about his mother in 1991, where he goes into this in more detail. You can read it here: My link Incredibly beautiful and so typical of HIM, so moving and touching. Hadn't read that in years, thanks for posting it. If only all family members could be like that, maybe someone should send a copy of that to Olivia and Joan, LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Oh, brother. This thread is going nowhere fast and getting wildly off-topic. It's a shame that a thread about being an equal opportunity person has devolved into revisiting this badly beaten dead horse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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