mikidiki Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 But did she really want another Desi, especially one involved heavily in her show? Seems to me that was one of the things that drove Lucy and Desi apart. He was overworked, stressed out, and obviously distracted. Personally, I think it would've been better for Gary to keep a hands-off attitude. But, of course, his own career was nothing spectacular, and perhaps Lucy was afraid of him becoming "Mr. Ball." So, she threw him a bone with her show, much to the chagrin of everyone else involved. I doubt he really had much of a clue. I wonder, have any of you seen and read the letters Lucy wrote to Gary? They're all in her own hand and appear on eBay regularly. From the ones I've seen, Lucy seems head over heels in love with the man, while he strikes me as distant. One of them led me to believe he was about to leave her. Very interesting stuff. Yeah, just had a look then at some of the letters - she sure is head over heels for him. They really did share a very special bond. I find it hard to believe that he would leave her, I didn't get that impression from the letter - I just got the impression that she missed him very much. I wonder where he had to go? Maybe one of his "golf trips"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Yeah, just had a look then at some of the letters - she sure is head over heels for him. They really did share a very special bond. I find it hard to believe that he would leave her, I didn't get that impression from the letter - I just got the impression that she missed him very much. I wonder where he had to go? Maybe one of his "golf trips"? Yeah, like he'd ever leave THE BANK, besides, he had signed a prenup, without her asking for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvsbway Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Are these letters currently on ebay? I've read some letters that were in that auciton from a few years ago where everyone was suing everyone. Those I believe were only letters Lucy wrote to Gary, are there any he wrote to her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 I'm somebody that only watched my first Lucy episode in the mid-1990s (I'm one of those weird young Lucy fans). It was one of the endless I Love Lucy reruns, of course. So, obviously I missed all the drama around Life With Lucy a decade earlier. But as a huge Lucy fan, having collected every season of her series on DVD and many of the movies, I really really want to see LWL released restored on DVD with extras. A documentary explaining all the circumstances and the bad press would be very helpful to put things in context and perspective. I hope a set of the entire series is being prepared as we speak! Have to keep the Lucy momentum going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikidiki Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Are these letters currently on ebay? I've read some letters that were in that auciton from a few years ago where everyone was suing everyone. Those I believe were only letters Lucy wrote to Gary, are there any he wrote to her? They sure are - just type in "Lucille Ball letter" and it will come up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 They sure are - just type in "Lucille Ball letter" and it will come up Yeah, like when Lucy would type a cheque to him and IT WOULD COME UP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 I'm somebody that only watched my first Lucy episode in the mid-1990s (I'm one of those weird young Lucy fans). It was one of the endless I Love Lucy reruns, of course. So, obviously I missed all the drama around Life With Lucy a decade earlier. But as a huge Lucy fan, having collected every season of her series on DVD and many of the movies, I really really want to see LWL released restored on DVD with extras. A documentary explaining all the circumstances and the bad press would be very helpful to put things in context and perspective. I hope a set of the entire series is being prepared as we speak! Have to keep the Lucy momentum going. As long as i have the other 500 plus shows, i can petty much wait for these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 This according to the National Enquirer (which in those days was more reliable than most newspapers are now) After the show was in trouble ratings-wise, Lucy courted Cary Grant to come out of retirement and guest star on "Life With Lucy" however he declined. She must have been persistent because to get out of doing the show, Cary.....died (November 1986). Maybe they were reaching for a Burtons-like landmark episode which would have been even more of a coup considering Cary hadn't worked in 20 years. tjw: is this true and if so, how serious was this pursuit? And HERE'S a piece of trivia (I'm DETERMINED to stump Senors Know-it-Alls) What actress who appeared on one Lucy episode was once engaged to Cary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 What actress who appeared on one Lucy episode was once engaged to Cary? Queenie Smith! She was actually in two episodes "Lucy and Joan" and "Lucy Goes to Prison." I've only seen old Queenie Smith and it's so hard to picture her being involved with Cary Grant! Cary's a rare star that outside of award shows and tributes to particular people, he never appeared on television. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjw Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 This according to the National Enquirer (which in those days was more reliable than most newspapers are now) After the show was in trouble ratings-wise, Lucy courted Cary Grant to come out of retirement and guest star on "Life With Lucy" however he declined. She must have been persistent because to get out of doing the show, Cary.....died (November 1986). Maybe they were reaching for a Burtons-like landmark episode which would have been even more of a coup considering Cary hadn't worked in 20 years. tjw: is this true and if so, how serious was this pursuit? And HERE'S a piece of trivia (I'm DETERMINED to stump Senors Know-it-Alls) What actress who appeared on one Lucy episode was once engaged to Cary? The Enquirer story about Grant was totally false. The ONLY major guest-star we had lined up for a future episode was Bob Hope... It probably would have been done a week or two after the Christmas show. He was still so damned active that you had to get him when he was in town and available... Someone at the Enquirer ran a couple of stories about Lucy and Grant, one of which apparently quoted him as having said an unkind remark about "Life With Lucy." He was furious, and called her one evening to tell her it was not true -- that he had NEVER spoken to any reporter about her or the show... I happened to be with her when the call came in, and she laughed and told him not to worry, and that she had been falsely quoted or misquoted by those supermarket rags so many times that she never believed a word they said... The Hope episode sounded kinda cute on paper: it had Lucy Barker out for her morning jog in the park when she finds a man's billfold, and it turns out to belong to Bob. She naturally wants to return it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 I've only seen old Queenie Foiled again! But WATCH IT!! Some of us a little sensitive to the phrase "old Queenie". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yendor1152 Posted November 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 The Enquirer story about Grant was totally false. The ONLY major guest-star we had lined up for a future episode was Bob Hope... It probably would have been done a week or two after the Christmas show. He was still so damned active that you had to get him when he was in town and available... Someone at the Enquirer ran a couple of stories about Lucy and Grant, one of which apparently quoted him as having said an unkind remark about "Life With Lucy." He was furious, and called her one evening to tell her it was not true -- that he had NEVER spoken to any reporter about her or the show... I happened to be with her when the call came in, and she laughed and told him not to worry, and that she had been falsely quoted or misquoted by those supermarket rags so many times that she never believed a word they said... The Hope episode sounded kinda cute on paper: it had Lucy Barker out for her morning jog in the park when she finds a man's billfold, and it turns out to belong to Bob. She naturally wants to return it... Wow. While I think it would've been nice to see Lucy and Bob together again, how would that have added new life to "Life with Lucy?" Bob was the epitome of square during the latter part of his life, in my opinion...and I'm 60! I remember going to see his painfully awful films in the 60s, like "Call me Bwana" and "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number," and they were just terrible. You could tell Bob was reading all his dialogue off cue cards, and the humor was old, old, old. If Lucy wanted to add some spice to the show, she should've had Dick Van Dyke as her love interest. Now there would've been an interesting pairing. I think a new sitcom with Lucy could've worked--even with the premise of LWL. But first, they needed to cast good actors as her daughter, son-in-law and kids. Not the loud, square people they got, with those obnoxious kids. And they NEVER should've trucked out routines already done to death by Lucy, like the "eating something sour or putrid" schtick, and the "chasing a bug" schtick. And I didn't particularly find Audrey Meadows funny--she wouldn't have made a good match for Lucy because she was too strong. Lucy needed someone who could easily be manipulated, like Ethel/Viv. Betty White would've been perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjw Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Wow. While I think it would've been nice to see Lucy and Bob together again, how would that have added new life to "Life with Lucy?" Bob's TV specials were still very potent in the ratings, and having Bob and Lucy together in a show was a sure winner... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 What actress who appeared on one Lucy episode was once engaged to Cary? It was Ruth Buzzi, right? She and Cary were CLOSERTHANTHIS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Betty White would've been perfect! But i thnk she was rather busy with Golden Girls at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Bob's TV specials were still very potent in the ratings, and having Bob and Lucy together in a show was a sure winner... But what would they do the other 21 weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yendor1152 Posted November 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 But i thnk she was rather busy with Golden Girls at the time. No, really? She could've easily guested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Wow. While I think it would've been nice to see Lucy and Bob together again, how would that have added new life to "Life with Lucy?" Bob was the epitome of square during the latter part of his life, in my opinion...and I'm 60! I remember going to see his painfully awful films in the 60s, like "Call me Bwana" and "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number," and they were just terrible. You could tell Bob was reading all his dialogue off cue cards, and the humor was old, old, old. If Lucy wanted to add some spice to the show, she should've had Dick Van Dyke as her love interest. Now there would've been an interesting pairing. I think a new sitcom with Lucy could've worked--even with the premise of LWL. But first, they needed to cast good actors as her daughter, son-in-law and kids. Not the loud, square people they got, with those obnoxious kids. And they NEVER should've trucked out routines already done to death by Lucy, like the "eating something sour or putrid" schtick, and the "chasing a bug" schtick. And I didn't particularly find Audrey Meadows funny--she wouldn't have made a good match for Lucy because she was too strong. Lucy needed someone who could easily be manipulated, like Ethel/Viv. Betty White would've been perfect! 60 huh? No wonder you're so good at this. Listen, i've said it before, but i'll say it again, THIS THREAD HAS NO END, CONGRATULATIONS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 No, really? She could've easily guested. I just don't understand if they were such good friends, even their moms were, why the hell they never got together for something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Foiled again! But WATCH IT!! Some of us a little sensitive to the phrase "old Queenie". Look it up in the dictionary, our pictures are there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Queenie Smith! She was actually in two episodes "Lucy and Joan" and "Lucy Goes to Prison." I've only seen old Queenie Smith and it's so hard to picture her being involved with Cary Grant! Cary's a rare star that outside of award shows and tributes to particular people, he never appeared on television. What part did she play in both shows so we can all remember who this person was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 She must have been persistent because to get out of doing the show, Cary.....died (November 1986). Possibly your BEST line ever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 What part did she play in both shows so we can all remember who this person was. Queenie Smith played Keith Andes' mother in "Lucy and Joan" and one of the prison inmates in "Lucy Goes to Prison." I forgot that she was in the 1936 version of Show Boat, so I have seen a young Queenie Smith in action. Queenie Smith in the '70s. Queenie Smith, I guess around the time she was romancing Cary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Posted November 15, 2012 Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 Queenie Smith played Keith Andes' mother in "Lucy and Joan" and one of the prison inmates in "Lucy Goes to Prison." I forgot that she was in the 1936 version of Show Boat, so I have seen a young Queenie Smith in action. Queenie Smith in the '70s. Queenie Smith, I guess around the time she was romancing Cary. Well she was a hot piece of ass back in the day! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yendor1152 Posted November 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 What about Ruth McDevitt? Didn't Lucy do something mean to her once? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.