Tribut to Kaye Ballard

[Neil]

Here's my half-hour mishmash of Kaye's Mothers In Law scenes: singing and clowning.   She's so funny, it's easy to overlook how fantastic her singing voice is.  

 

[HarryCarter]

Wonderful tribute to wonderful Kaye!

[JoeySanJoaquin]

On 2/28/2019 at 2:52 PM, Neil said:

Here's my half-hour mishmash of Kaye's Mothers In Law scenes: singing and clowning.   She's so funny, it's easy to overlook how fantastic her singing voice is.  

 

I just see gobldeegook.

[Freddie2]

3 minutes ago, JoeySoCal said:

I just see gobldeegook.

The video worked fine for me, then I refreshed the page and got the same thing. If it's been taken down for copyright or something, I'm glad I got to see it just in time. What a wonderful tribute, Neil! Kaye's work speaks for itself. It puts me in the mood to re-watch The Mothers-in-Law. Eve and Kaye have to be among the most underrated comedy teams in TV history- it's truly a cult classic show. Of course their dynamic has been praised before, but seeing these clips strung together (a Manic Mothers-in-Law Mashup!) really is incredible. The volcanic and earthy Kaye is the perfect match and foil for Eve's bone-dry sophistication. Their performances really elevate the show far beyond what's on the page- no offense to Bob and Madelyn- but as you said in your theme song lyrics, TM-i-L is old hat! Credit where credit is due, they did know how to best utilize their two leads; Eve already had a well-established comedic persona, but Kaye, who I can't imagine was terribly well-known at the time, still emerges fully formed with all of her quirks right from the first episode.

It's interesting that most of B&M's shows had some showbusiness-related aspect- usually a character in the business or a character who had dreams of making it- sometimes both (Ricky & Lucy, Roger & Kaye). Linda Lavin's Alice Hyatt wanted to be a singer, although that aspect was a key part of the source material; I believe Dorothy Loudon's character on her very brief series was a down-and-out Broadway actress. Of course, the Lucy character always had her big aspirations, but I don't think Liz Cooper ever expressed an interest to see her name in lights. 

[Neil]

On 3/4/2019 at 6:52 PM, JoeySoCal said:

I just see gobldeegook.

As you know: my specialty.

[Mot Morenzi]

It's still showing up for me.

[Neil]

9 hours ago, Mot Morenzi said:

It's still showing up for me.

I don't think there was another show on the air in the fall of 1967 that was as funny as the pilot episode of Mothers In Law.  (I know people love "Meets the Berles" which may have aired the same week, but it's not in my favorite Lucy Show format chain).   There were some critics that chided Desi for what they classified as "substituting noise for wit" (I say "then watch "Family Affair" which has neither!") , but our local paper had "The Mothers In Law" premiere as their "Best Bet" of that evening.   (sort of like those TV Guide "close up"s but based on merit).   When MIL came up with an engaging plot, it could be great.   "Ossie Snick" (late in the run) is one of my favorites.  The last episode shown was the opera with Marni Nixon; and Kaye and Eve riding the horse. Also featured one of Mary Jane's few non-Lucy TV roles.    Notice how attractive Kaye looks with her different hairdo in that opera episode as opposed to the first one!   The casting of the "kids" was a mistake and no fault of the actors, really,  because like "Life with Lucy"'s Ted and Margo, they were given no character.   But this is a comedy and casting should have been based on comedic chops.  Think of how much the experienced character actors of the past brought to their portrayals  that may not have been all that funny on the page.   Jerry Fogel was a little long in the tooth for a YOUNG young married.   Just a few years younger than "father" Roger C Carmel. 

[Mot Morenzi]

Having recently re-watched the entire series, here are my overall thoughts on the show (in no particular order):

• I feel the series was good overall, but never fully lived up to its potential. Some episodes have decent plots but only so-so execution. Certain comedy bits come across poorly blocked and under-rehearsed, like the girls' routine with Don Rickles. Also, the editing was rather sloppy at times; commercial break fade-outs tended to be very abrupt, cutting off music cues and even laughter/applause at times. All of this gave the show a slightly unpolished feel, but that doesn't detract from the genuinely good moments.
• Kaye Ballard looked far better during the second season. That helmet bob in season one was not becoming.  
• I can understand why Kay Cole was replaced. Though she looked more like Eve than Deborah Walley did, her rather shrill overacting was off-putting. For budgetary reasons, I appreciate why only Suzie's scenes were reshot for the pilot, but once you notice the different wig Eve wears for the reshoots, it's impossible not to see it. Plus the noticeable shot of Cole's face in the final scene before the fade-out is another "can't unsee it" moment.  (Fidelman calling Walley "Debbie Watson" in The Lucy Book was a mind-boggling oversight in an otherwise well-researched tome. Maybe Mrs. McGillicuddy edited that particular passage?)
• Walley was better at conveying subtlety than Cole was, except for her crying scenes. I can't help but wonder if Desi told her to imitate Lucy for those (many) moments Suzie bursts into tears. I don't think either her or Fogel brought a whole lot to the show, but as Neil said, that wasn't really their fault. The characters of Suzie and Jerry were such one-dimensional goodie two shoes that I'm relieved they often didn't play major roles in the plots. I will give Fogel this much, though: he did a damn fine job with his impressions in the Jimmy Durante episode (one of my personal favorites).
• Though she had the broader role, I think Ballard comes across better than Arden in most episodes. I adore Eve, of course, but her line delivery has a slower, more unnatural cadence than it did in Our Miss Brooks. She acts rather stilted and stagey at times. A lot of her lines would've earned bigger laughs had they been delivered with more punch. 
• Richard Deacon was an odd replacement for Roger C. Carmel, if only because he's so different in appearance and demeanor. Deacon had a somewhat prissy sophistication about him that was totally at odds with the slovenly lout Carmel portrayed. Nonetheless, I was surprised at how fast I got used to him in the role. He was believable as a cheapskate moocher, but not a slob.
• I'd forgotten just how drastically the Hubbard house was re-designed for season two. Apart from the same basic layout, the details were so different that it's hard to believe it's the same home. Even the bedroom entrance was suddenly on the opposite side. It's even more apparent when you see glimpses of the old design in season two openings, most of which consisted of season one footage.
• Those poor grandchildren, each only having one grandmother interested in them. Eve only paying attention to Hildy and Kaye only having eyes for Joe was obviously played for laughs, but I wish they'd shown more scenes where they doted on both babies. It's strange to think what it would have been like once they'd grown up. Would each behave like Cinderella's wicked stepmother to the child they weren't interested in? I'm exaggerating, of course, but the visual of Kaye making Hildy scrub the floors while she feeds Joe lasagna does come to mind.
• Vanda Barra and Alice Ghostley steal the birth episode, especially Ghostley. 

[HarryCarter]

Some of my very favorite episodes of the series came at towards the end of the second season. It would have been interesting to see what a season three would have looked like. 

Yes, Kaye’s hair was at its most flattering at the end of season two as well. Eve’s hair looked best at the beginning of season one. My all time favorite note to a TV program is that a viewer wrote in during the final year of Our Miss Brooks saying that Eve’s new hairdo that season made him “want to throw up!”

 

[Mot Morenzi]

6 hours ago, HarryCarter said:

Some of my very favorite episodes of the series came at towards the end of the second season. It would have been interesting to see what a season three would have looked like. 

I agree. I felt the writing was stronger overall for the second season. More of my favorite episodes are from that season rather than the first. They really seemed to be getting the feel for things and no doubt would've continued to strengthen had the show continued. It's so unfortunate they weren't given that chance.

[Neil]

16 hours ago, Mot Morenzi said:

Having recently re-watched the entire series, here are my overall thoughts on the show (in no particular order):

• I feel the series was good overall, but never fully lived up to its potential. Some episodes have decent plots but only so-so execution. Certain comedy bits come across poorly blocked and under-rehearsed, like the girls' routine with Don Rickles. Also, the editing was rather sloppy at times; commercial break fade-outs tended to be very abrupt, cutting off music cues and even laughter/applause at times. All of this gave the show a slightly unpolished feel, but that doesn't detract from the genuinely good moments.
• Kaye Ballard looked far better during the second season. That helmet bob in season one was not becoming.  
• I can understand why Kay Cole was replaced. Though she looked more like Eve than Deborah Walley did, her rather shrill overacting was off-putting. For budgetary reasons, I appreciate why only Suzie's scenes were reshot for the pilot, but once you notice the different wig Eve wears for the reshoots, it's impossible not to see it. Plus the noticeable shot of Cole's face in the final scene before the fade-out is another "can't unsee it" moment.  (Fidelman calling Walley "Debbie Watson" in The Lucy Book was a mind-boggling oversight in an otherwise well-researched tome. Maybe Mrs. McGillicuddy edited that particular passage?)
• Walley was better at conveying subtlety than Cole was, except for her crying scenes. I can't help but wonder if Desi told her to imitate Lucy for those (many) moments Suzie bursts into tears. I don't think either her or Fogel brought a whole lot to the show, but as Neil said, that wasn't really their fault. The characters of Suzie and Jerry were such one-dimensional goodie two shoes that I'm relieved they often didn't play major roles in the plots. I will give Fogel this much, though: he did a damn fine job with his impressions in the Jimmy Durante episode (one of my personal favorites).
• Though she had the broader role, I think Ballard comes across better than Arden in most episodes. I adore Eve, of course, but her line delivery has a slower, more unnatural cadence than it did in Our Miss Brooks. She acts rather stilted and stagey at times. A lot of her lines would've earned bigger laughs had they been delivered with more punch. 
• Richard Deacon was an odd replacement for Roger C. Carmel, if only because he's so different in appearance and demeanor. Deacon had a somewhat prissy sophistication about him that was totally at odds with the slovenly lout Carmel portrayed. Nonetheless, I was surprised at how fast I got used to him in the role. He was believable as a cheapskate moocher, but not a slob.
• I'd forgotten just how drastically the Hubbard house was re-designed for season two. Apart from the same basic layout, the details were so different that it's hard to believe it's the same home. Even the bedroom entrance was suddenly on the opposite side. It's even more apparent when you see glimpses of the old design in season two openings, most of which consisted of season one footage.
• Those poor grandchildren, each only having one grandmother interested in them. Eve only paying attention to Hildy and Kaye only having eyes for Joe was obviously played for laughs, but I wish they'd shown more scenes where they doted on both babies. It's strange to think what it would have been like once they'd grown up. Would each behave like Cinderella's wicked stepmother to the child they weren't interested in? I'm exaggerating, of course, but the visual of Kaye making Hildy scrub the floors while she feeds Joe lasagna does come to mind.
• Vanda Barra and Alice Ghostley steal the birth episode, especially Ghostley. 

Very interesting observations.  I'll have to look at the Kay Cole pilot again for what you point out.  I didn't realize only Cole's scenes were reshot and wondered how they did it exactly the same way twice (which you point out, they did not).   Roger C's exit was unfortunate and detrimental to the show---probably an example of Desi's temper clouding his judgement.  Roger was holding out for his promised $250 per episode raise.    Peanuts today.   And it was in his contract.  For a show that only produced 56 episodes, it had a few years of syndication life.   Roger's  replacement: if not Richard Deacon, then who?   I can't think of anyone among those active in 1968.    I'm glad you mentioned Nurses Vanda and Alice.  My favorite moment is when Eve and Kaye rush into the hospital and Nurse Vanda grabs her neck to protect it and screams (there was a reference earlier to the gals roughing her up).  Then Kaye says they lost Susie prompting Vanda to do one of her facing-the-audience takes with "That figures".  Only problem is that most of Vanda's take is framed out of the shot.   This is the episode that features Kaye's great out-of-breath return from the gas station.  I especially like the little gesture she makes when Eve hands her the emptied gas can.   I agree about Eve.  I can't imagine the show with the original proposed stars: Eve and Ann Sothern.   Think of Ann Sothern in Eve's role co-starring with Kaye: interesting.   The casting of Kaye was inspired.   The Lucy stuff they wrote for Eve: it really wasn't her thing but she does reasonably well.   Example:  Eve trying to eat Percy Helton's meatball off the toothpick as he waves it back and forth in time with the music.   This would have been a great Lucy bit.  Downside of MIL: without it, Bob and Madelyn may have contributed more buttinsky-mother plots to Here's Lucy like the delightful "Kim Moves Out".  

[Mot Morenzi]

You're right that it's hard to imagine a different replacement for Carmel. Deacon was probably the only one at the time who could've done it. He did reasonably well, but his differences from Carmel are hard to ignore. 

I know Kaye didn't enjoy working with Richard. She claimed he viewed the series as beneath him, having done more "prestigious" shows like Dick Van Dyke. I wonder how Eve and Herb felt about him? 

They probably would've had to shake things up again had a third season been commissioned. The premise alone wasn't enough to carry the show, they needed new events to propel it forward. The pregnancy arc gave season two a lot to work with and probably explains why it was a stronger show that year.