C L A U D E Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Finally got around to reading Betty White's book, IN PERSON, the one Lucy helped promote with that pic of Lucy and Carol Channing flanking her and i have to say, Betty is just as good at writing books with humor and so interesting, she's like George Burns, she could keep cranking them out one after the other. Her only Lucy mention was that story she used to tell of calling Lucy at her house and asking Gary if she could speak to Lucy and then finding out Lucy's deep low voice had fooled her again, she'd hear, THIS __IS__ LUCY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 From the book "Hollywood Gomorrah" by a little guy named "Skip E. Lowe" who has had a LA-based cable access program where he interviews celebrities. The book was published last year and he died in September. He had something of a career in show business and was a cadet/extra in "Best Foot Forward" and suggested that Lucy was nervous about starring in her "first big budget MGM musical" (what about "Dubarry") and would take a nip from a flask until the director confiscated it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchilada Ricardo Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 i found this (x) on amazon and i'm kinda tempted to pre-order it, but i was just wondering if anyone here knows if this book is actually going to be released since it was originally supposed to be released a few years ago (i think) btw sorry if this has been mentioned before, i haven't read over this entire thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 i found this (x) on amazon and i'm kinda tempted to pre-order it, but i was just wondering if anyone here knows if this book is actually going to be released since it was originally supposed to be released a few years ago (i think) btw sorry if this has been mentioned before, i haven't read over this entire thread Oh W O W that would be a treat if this actually came out, we've been talking about it forever and also waiting forever for it to come out. At least YOU have a date for us to look forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchilada Ricardo Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 i really hope it does come out! i just wish 2016 was closer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 i really hope it does come out! i just wish 2016 was closer Yeah, well, that's better than it not coming out at all, when she was 100 and it WAS supposed to come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie2 Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 Holy cow they haven't released that yet? Speed it up a little, folks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 I did see a lot of Lucy in various books last weekend. The biggest one was a new coffee table book from and about "Variety" which featured many Lucy mentions, the main one being about the the ILL series of course, two pages complete, black and white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 In the Herb Solow book about the making of the Star Trek series, Lucy is portrayed well. Definitely the head of the studio. Gary? Well, not so well. In the "where are they now/what did they do post Star Trek" he has under the Lucille Ball listing....(Caps mine) "After the FAILURE OF HER NEW TV SERIES "HERE'S LUCY" and the movie "Mame", she performed in various specials" and "She retired after appearing in a less than memorable TV movie Stone Pillow". Under the listing for Howard McClay, he writes "Lucy, who never attended funerals, went to his." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 when I heard recently, from several folks I worked with, they employees, me a volunteer, he was coming out with a book, I've had loose bowel.... you get the idea. Yikes, I just read this one. I certainly hope things have tightened up by now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leenorman Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 Yikes, I just read this one. I certainly hope things have tightened up by now! This remark, Neil, refers to the fact that when he took my work off the website way back then (July 17, 2007, to be specific, from its start on January 1, 2006, about a year and a half), since I would not sign off on my own work, he kept 6 months (July through December) printed pages I had given him to work the daily scroll with - what he returned to me (when I demanded its return) was TWO copies of January through June; i.e. the first 6 months of the 'work' - I had bad dreams for years while working on this thing, since he had already published a book and obviously had 'pull' in certain corners of publishing world, he would rework my work and publish his own. That would have been a nightmare; and I was ready to sue should it happen; as I've kept ALL my work from the start of it in February 2005 - boxes of materials. - to date. Knowing he did not use it gives me some relief.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted April 26, 2015 Report Share Posted April 26, 2015 This remark, Neil, refers to the fact that when he took my work off the website way back then (July 17, 2007, to be specific, from its start on January 1, 2006, about a year and a half), since I would not sign off on my own work, he kept 6 months (July through December) printed pages I had given him to work the daily scroll with - what he returned to me (when I demanded its return) was TWO copies of January through June; i.e. the first 6 months of the 'work' - I had bad dreams for years while working on this thing, since he had already published a book and obviously had 'pull' in certain corners of publishing world, he would rework my work and publish his own. That would have been a nightmare; and I was ready to sue should it happen; as I've kept ALL my work from the start of it in February 2005 - boxes of materials. - to date. Knowing he did not use it gives me some relief.... Someday someone needs to come up with a screenplay of the whole thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leenorman Posted April 27, 2015 Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 Someday someone needs to come up with a screenplay of the whole thing. WELL, THAT WOUD MAKE IT THE FIRST LUCILLE BALL HORROR FILM!!!! And.....they would never find large enough egos to play the various parts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just trust me on THAT!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 WELL, THAT WOUD MAKE IT THE FIRST LUCILLE BALL HORROR FILM!!!! And.....they would never find large enough egos to play the various parts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just trust me on THAT!!!! Do i detect a small note of resentment in your words hon? LOL! But you escaped with your book, that's something anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leenorman Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 Do i detect a small note of resentment in your words hon? LOL! But you escaped with your book, that's something anyway Enough detection already; I have no resentment; I did my job at the Center, and loved every minute of it for 5 years!!!! And... in my role as near full-time volunteer, I worked harder than a few of the employees. What I saw happening and what happened to each of them, though at different times, BEFORE the big fire, was appalling; and some of the stories worse than appalling!!!! Just sayin'....the truth!!!! And if you want to detect a little further, I COULD HAVE SIGNED OFF ON MY WORK!!!! [that would be for the $.75/hr they were 'generously offering me!!!!] I'm thanking God every minute of every hour I was advised not to; and DIDN'T!!!!!! It's given me something to do for 10 years!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 Enough detection already; I have no resentment; I did my job at the Center, and loved every minute of it for 5 years!!!! And... in my role as near full-time volunteer, I worked harder than a few of the employees. What I saw happening and what happened to each of them, though at different times, BEFORE the big fire, was appalling; and some of the stories worse than appalling!!!! Just sayin'....the truth!!!! And if you want to detect a little further, I COULD HAVE SIGNED OFF ON MY WORK!!!! [that would be for the $.75/hr they were 'generously offering me!!!!] I'm thanking God every minute of every hour I was advised not to; and DIDN'T!!!!!! It's given me something to do for 10 years!!!! Need a proofreader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leenorman Posted April 28, 2015 Report Share Posted April 28, 2015 iUniverse provides me with that; but, thanks, Claude; it would give you something to do 24-7 for quite awhile! When would you EVER have time for the Lounge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 iUniverse provides me with that; but, thanks, Claude; it would give you something to do 24-7 for quite awhile! When would you EVER have time for the Lounge? Oh i always find time for The Lounge, i'm quite masochistic that way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leenorman Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Oh i always find time for The Lounge, i'm quite masochistic that way. Shouldn't comment here; but, THAT AIN'T MASOCHISM - that's more of a 'virgo-ism' issue, and you're a Leo, aren't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 My Cy Colemen bio came today. One chapter devoted to Wildcat, which I've just skimmed but one quote jumped off the page. Lucy, pre-Broadway, discussing her singing "I've got a TWO OCTAVE range" --yes but which two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvsbway Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 I was wondering what from Wildcat would be included in this. Let us know how the chapter is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 New information about Wildcat from Cy Coleman bio: Considered for the roles of Hank and Janie: Julius LaRosa and Phyllis Newman! Cy contemplated the challenge of writing for a singer who "had 5 good notes" (I speak for Lucy when I say "WELL!") "El Sombrero" replaced "Es Muy Simpatico" written in English, Spanish and Spanglish (?) "Ball reshaped the material. Intimations that Wildcat had been running scams were eliminated. Bits of comic business that had been centered on other characters were altered so that the laughs would belong to Ball." "The title song was written in Philadelphia (does that mean early performances did not have it?) The team had drafted "I Got My Man which morphed into "Wildcat"." The "Wildcat" album debuted at #36 when it was released on February 15, 1961 and stayed on the charts for 28 weeks, peaking at #10 and spending most of the summer in the top 20. Coleman recalled in 2002 "so the show closed---a hit show---full audiences, 100,000 albums sold in the first 6 months and that was a lot in those days." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Thanks, Neil. I really want to read this book now. I love reading about the cast recording statics. Other songs written for Lucy that were cut or replaced: "Thinkability" (Wildy, Janie, the Countesa) and "Ain't It Something?" (Wildy and Sookie). I knew Julius LaRosa was considered for Hank, but I had no idea Phyllis Newman was a possible Janie. She would have been great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 By the time I discovered there was a "Wildcat", the album was no longer available. I scoured used record stores. You'd think with 100,000 of them out there, one would have shown up. The GREAT used record store had an extensive Broadway section and would get some true rarities in. (Nancy Walker in "My Square Laddie*", for instance--costarring Reginald Gardner and Zasu Pitts!)). I always had much more respect for stores that separated 'Broadway' and "Soundtracks". Most lumped the two together. confusing those of us who didn't know what were musicals and what weren't. For instance, the album for "Breakfast at Tiffany's" made it look like it was a musical. I found out the "Wildcat" was not officially out of print and put in a special order. Weeks went by and it finally came in. By this time, Lucy's singing voice was.....well, it wasn't what it used to be. So listening to her in Wildcat was a true revelation. She COULD pull of a musical. Though I don't know about her claim that she had a "range of two octaves". *My Square Laddie" was a parody of My Fair Lady done sfor records. Nancy tries to teach Reginald how to talk and act Brooklyn-ese with songs like "It's the Oily Boid That Gets the Woim" written by our own Max "Steamboat Bessie" Showalter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Another nugget from the Cy Coleman book: "Bouncing Back for More" which was to be part of the Wildcat score was originally written for a never-produced show called The Wonderful O, as was another cut song "Little What If", which I think was a Janie solo. "Bouncing" turned up in the score of Broadway bound "Hellzapoppin" with Jerry Lewis but that closed on the road. It was performed of course on the Shirley MacLaine special around the same time as "Hellsapopin'. I wonder if it was to be in the place of Hey Look Me Over. "Bring Back Those Good Old Days" was written for Shirley's special by Cy. He didn't need Carolyn for the lyrics which consisted solely of "bring back them good old days". I have just done my pre-read skimming of the book, but so far there doesn't seem to be a concrete explanation of why Leigh and Coleman split as a team, other than to say Leigh could be "difficult". I've got not problem Dorothy Fields's lyrics for "Sweet Charity", but Carolyn Leigh had a special flare. Wildcat and Little Me are two of my favorite scores. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.