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Bart Andrews Memorial Appreciation Thread


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I just learned of his death in early 2010 recently and it was a total shock to me.  His death predated this website but I suspect the news was on the old one but I suspect many newer members don't know he passed away. I feel Bart deserves a tribute thread here as he did so much to document Lucy and ILL's importance in television and American history books with his definitive books LUCY & RICKY & FRED & ETHEL (later reissued as THE I LOVE LUCY BOOK - and still in print!!!) and LOVING LUCY.  I remember seeing him on tv a time or two in the early 1980's promoting his books.  I'm sure everybody has personal stories about how much they love these books so I thought it would be nice to start a thread in tribute to him in which we can recall how we discovered them.  Here's Bart's obit from The Los Angeles Times: 

 

 http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/21/local/la-me-bart-andrews21-2010jan21

 

I was in high school in the late 70's when I happened up LRFE in our school library - was I ever thrilled!!  There were very few books written on television history at the time and I think this may have been the only one published at that time devoted to a single series.  A year or two later I saw and purchased the massmarket paperback edition and I think a year or so after that LOVING LUCY came out which I got immediately.  I still have my original LL although the binding is shot to hell, really need to buy a new copy.  They are still my favorite Lucy books even though several more lavish ones have been published, I don't think any have been any better or certainly more lovingly written.

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I LOVE his books, such a great Lucy expert.  Did you catch him on the afternoon Joan Rivers talk show when he was promoting that I Love Lucy 40th anniversary Laser disc?  He was one of the main guests.

 

Unfortunately, no.  The only things I can remember him on were early '80's,  Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show and I think Entertainment Tonight.

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I just learned of his death in early 2010 recently and it was a total shock to me.  His death predated this website but I suspect the news was on the old one but I suspect many newer members don't know he passed away. I feel Bart deserves a tribute thread here as he did so much to document Lucy and ILL's importance in television and American history books with his definitive books LUCY & RICKY & FRED & ETHEL (later reissued as THE I LOVE LUCY BOOK - and still in print!!!) and LOVING LUCY.  I remember seeing him on tv a time or two in the early 1980's promoting his books.  I'm sure everybody has personal stories about how much they love these books so I thought it would be nice to start a thread in tribute to him in which we can recall how we discovered them.  Here's Bart's obit from The Los Angeles Times: 

 

 http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/21/local/la-me-bart-andrews21-2010jan21

 

I was in high school in the late 70's when I happened up LRFE in our school library - was I ever thrilled!!  There were very few books written on television history at the time and I think this may have been the only one published at that time devoted to a single series.  A year or two later I saw and purchased the massmarket paperback edition and I think a year or so after that LOVING LUCY came out which I got immediately.  I still have my original LL although the binding is shot to hell, really need to buy a new copy.  They are still my favorite Lucy books even though several more lavish ones have been published, I don't think any have been any better or certainly more lovingly written.

 

Thanks for starting this thread; one of the pioneer, all-time greats publishing Lucille et al material; it has given me much enjoyment putting his facts and figures in order in the chronology.

 

Here is what I have been able to gather about Bart:

 

 

Bart Andrews, Lucy author, The (“I Love Lucy”) Book, 1985, an expanded version of a 1976 book he co-wrote: 'Lucy & Ricky & Fred & Ethel', an early definitive appreciation of the classic sitcom, was the first to write a history of the 'Lucy' show and wrote 4 Lucy books; also worked with Arnazes friend, producer/actor, Sheldon Leonard; [1991 People Interview: “Desi's womanizing was alleviated from the moment little Lucie was born, 7/17/51. Lucille told me that by 1956 it wasn't even a marriage anymore.” is born this date, 2/25, in 1945.  [he passed 12/26/2009]

 

Looked him up again, just now; astonished to discover what follows:

 

(book) "Fabulous Fifties Quiz Book". New York: Signet, 1978. ISBN-10 0451081161; ISBN-13 978-0451081162

 

(book) "The Official TV Trivia Quiz Book 3". New York: Signet, 1978. ISBN-10 0451084012; ISBN-13 9780451084019

 

(book) "The Tolkien Quiz Book". New York: Signet, 1979. ISBN-10 0451085256; ISBN-13 9780451085252

 

(book) "TV Picture Quiz Book". New York: Signet, 1979. ISBN-10 0451086139; ISBN-13 9780451086136

 

(book) "Super Sixties Quiz Book". New York: Signet, 1979. ISBN-10 0451088298; ISBN-13 9780451088291

 

(book, with Brad Dunning) "The Worst TV Shows Ever". New York: E.P. Dutton, 1980. ISBN-10: 0525475923; ISBN-13 9780525475927

 

(book) "TV Fun Book". New York: Scholastic, 1981. ISBN-10 0590316990; ISBN-13 9780590316996

 

(book, with Thomas J. Watson) "Loving Lucy: An Illuystrated Tribute to Lucille Ball". : Robson Books, 1981. ISBN-10 0860511278; ISBN-13 9780860511274

 

(book) "The TV Addict's Notaglia, Trivia and Quiz Book". Greenwich House, 1984.

 

(book) "Super Official TV Trivia". New York: Signet, 1985. ISBN-10 0451135075; ISBN-13 9780451135070

 

(book, with Ahrgus Juilliard) "Holy Mackerel! The Amos and Andy Story". New York: E.P. Dutton, 1986. ISBN-10 0525243542; ISBN-13 9780525243540

 

(book) "The Official Cheers Scrapbook". New York: Signet, 1987. ISBN-10 0451821602; ISBN-13 9780451821607

 

(book, with Vanna White) "Vanna Speaks". New York: Warner Books, 1988.

 

(book) "The I Love Lucy Book". New York: Bantam Dell Publishing Group, 1989.

 

(book) "Out of the Madness: The Strictly Unauthorized Biography of Janet Jackson". New York: Harpercollins, 1994. ISBN-10 0061007900; ISBN-13 9780061007903

 

(book) "The Official TV Trivia Quiz Book: 1001 Fun Questions About Television". New York: New American Library, 1975.

 

(book) "Official TV Trivia Quiz Book 2". New York: Signet, 1976. ISBN-10 0451071875; ISBN-13 9780451071873

 

(book) "Lucy & Ricky & Fred & Ethel: The Story of I Love Lucy". New York: E.P. Dutton, 1976. ISBN-10 0525149902; ISBN-13 9780525149903

 

(book) "Star Trek Quiz Book". New York: Signet, 1977. ISBN-10 0451074971; ISBN-13 9780451074973

 

(book) "TV or Not TV". New York: Signet, 1977. ISBN-10 0451076605; ISBN-13 9780451076601

 

(book) "From The Blob to Star Wars: The Science Fiction Movie Quiz Book". New York: Signet, 1977. ISBN-10 0451079485; ISBN-13 9780451079480

 

(book) "The Fabulous Fifties Quiz Book". New York: Signet, 1978.

 

(book) "The TV Addict's Handbook: A Feast of Small Screen Nostalgia". New York: E.P. Dutton, 1978.

 

 

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I remember getting the yellow cover I Love Lucy book as a birthday gift back in the 90s. It was the first book I had that was just about that show and I loved it. The stories in it on how they did this or that was fascinating. Two I recall reading in this book first was how the 2 large tuna fish were procured and that Lucy was originally to lose an earring in the wine vat. I found the original version of this book in my college library a few years later and read that as well. Bart I’m pretty sure was on an author signing panel at one of the Loving Lucy conventions and I got my copy signed. Does anyone know if he ever made it to Jamestown? I know one year there was a panel discussion with just authors of Lucy books but I don’t recall if he was on it.

 

Thanks to Tom and the great people at CBS for putting those wonderful Laser Disk elements on the new blurays. I remember seeing that Joan Rivers show when it first aired. I was in NYC with my parents and we were checking out of the hotel that morning. I didn’t want to leave as Lucy people were on TV and the VCR at home was not recording this. Luckily I eventually did get this episode in my collection.

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  • 5 years later...

The anniversary of Lucy's passing made me think of Bart Andrews.

You youngsters probably don't understand.  In the pre-internet, pre-EVERYTHING days,  "Tweet" was something "Rockin' Robin"'s did;  "DVD" was short for Dick Van Dyke;  "Instagram" was an expedited service Western Union offered;  "hashtag" was something special your pot dealer was offering (I can only assume); "VCR" probably stood for "Viet Cong Resistance".  

We all thought we were all alone in our Lucy  "obsession".    We had no way of getting in touch with each other.  

Then there was the late great Bart Andrews who wrote a book about the series:  "Lucy and Ricky and Fred and Ethel", the first time we had an episode list in order of presentation.   Probably the first time a book had been written about a TV series.  Bart was as thorough as he could be at the time.  Strangely, NOBODY he interviewed  remembered the Christmas show, so all Bart could write was  "apparently it wasn't very good".  

Thanks to him, for the first time, we knew we were not alone.  Later he suffered health problems and died way too young.  We all owe him a deep debt of gratitude.  I know I do. 

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