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Its mentioned a lot that Lucy and Carole were friends, its also mentioned that Carole came to Lucy in a dream or two (or more, depending on who tells the story). My questions, does anyone know where they met? Are there pictures of them together? Any quotes from Lucy regarding Carole's tragic death? Basically, I'm looking for anything beyond those first two facts, lol. :peachonthebeach:

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I believe Lucy and Carole met around 1934 when Lucy was dating Mack Gray, who was bodyguard to George Raft. George Raft was involved with Lucy's best friend at the time, Virginia Peine, but also dated Carole. During the production of Too Many Girls, Carole was filming "They Knew What They Wanted" on the next stage and would frequently come over and do the conga with the cast. After Lucy and Desi got married, Carole and Clark Gable gave them a champagne breakfast party together. The Arnazes and the Gables went on skeet shooting trips together as well. Lucy was pregnant when Carole died and she said that she believed the shock of that and Pearl Harbor a month earlier caused her to have a miscarriage. Clark would ride over to Lucy and Desi's on his motorcycle and they would talk about Carole or screen one of her films. Lucy and Lucie claimed once on "Dinah!" that Clark Gable once proposed to Lucy on the back of a motorcycle. I think this was just one more fib for the road. ;) I've never seen a photo Lucy and Carole together.

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I believe Lucy and Carole met around 1934 when Lucy was dating Mack Gray, who was bodyguard to George Raft. George Raft was involved with Lucy's best friend at the time, Virginia Peine, but also dated Carole. During the production of Too Many Girls, Carole was filming "They Knew What They Wanted" on the next stage and would frequently come over and do the conga with the cast. After Lucy and Desi got married, Carole and Clark Gable gave them a champagne breakfast party together. The Arnazes and the Gables went on skeet shooting trips together as well. Lucy was pregnant when Carole died and she said that she believed the shock of that and Pearl Harbor a month earlier caused her to have a miscarriage. Clark would ride over to Lucy and Desi's on his motorcycle and they would talk about Carole or screen one of her films. Lucy and Lucie claimed once on "Dinah!" that Clark Gable once proposed to Lucy on the back of a motorcycle. I think this was just one more fib for the road. ;) I've never seen a photo Lucy and Carole together.

Mr encyclopedia is at it again, LOL! I can't think of much to add except that Lucy loved Carole's C L A S S and everything about her like the way she dressed and how she was perfect for Clark. Clark was despondant when she died, selling war bonds, which Lucy did also, so he'd go over to Lucy's all the time, they lived very close to each other in the Valley. She renamed Mildred Cook, Carole, after her friend Ms Lombard. Carole was sort of a mentor to her. And yes, the main one was Lucy saying Carole came to her in a dream and told her about doing the tv series, GO AHEAD, GIVE IT A WHIRL.

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Somehow I knew Harry would have a wealth of information!

 

I had no idea that the Arnazes and Gables were good friends like that, makes me very happy, actually! I wonder if somewhere in one of Lucy's scrapbooks there are pictures of the four of them together...man would I love to just see one picture of Lucy and Carole together!

 

Looks like Lucy and I love Carole for the same reasons, she was a truly remarkable woman.

 

Here's something to ponder: had Carole lived, might she have played Ethel?

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Somehow I knew Harry would have a wealth of information!

 

I had no idea that the Arnazes and Gables were good friends like that, makes me very happy, actually! I wonder if somewhere in one of Lucy's scrapbooks there are pictures of the four of them together...man would I love to just see one picture of Lucy and Carole together!

 

Looks like Lucy and I love Carole for the same reasons, she was a truly remarkable woman.

 

Here's something to ponder: had Carole lived, might she have played Ethel?

No, she was a glamor girl, she never would have appeared FRUMPY enough. I assume when Gable and Lombard came over, Lucy and Desi would have wanted them to feel free and at home so they wouldn't be popping pictures of them.

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But by 1951 Carole would have been 43 and probably looking for different roles than those she was getting during her career. I don't know, she was a daring lady and, like Lucy, willing to do anything for a laugh. Even if not totally plausible, its fun to think about!

 

And sure they'd want them to feel at home, but on skeet shooting trips and the like I can see a few pictures being taken here and there---I REFUSE to believe my dream picture doesn't exist!

 

Another question: did Lucy attend Carole's party thrown at the Venice Pier Fun House in the summer of '35?

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  • 1 month later...

Not Carole, but here is Lucy with Clark (and Anna Lee) in 1944.

 

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I wonder if this photo is from the time Lucy starred with Clark in a radio adaptation of his film CHINA SEAS with Lucy in the Jean Harlow role. (That broadcast is on youtube if anyone hasn't heard it.)

 

PS - Yes, Claude, Anna Lee was a regular on GENERAL HOSPITAL for decades. I'm not into soaps but I believe there was something of an uproar in the press and with fans when they fired her about a decade ago after being on the show so long and then in her nineties - she died not long after that.

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I wonder if this photo is from the time Lucy starred with Clark in a radio adaptation of his film CHINA SEAS with Lucy in the Jean Harlow role. (That broadcast is on youtube if anyone hasn't heard it.

 

I just listened to it. I never knew they did a radio show together. This makes Clark Gable more than just a neighbor and friend of Lucy. Gee Rhett Butler and Lucy Ricardo in a radio show together!!!

 

WELCOME LUCYILOVE TO THE LUCY LOUNGE!!! :lucy1:

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I wonder if this photo is from the time Lucy starred with Clark in a radio adaptation of his film CHINA SEAS with Lucy in the Jean Harlow role. (That broadcast is on youtube if anyone hasn't heard it.)

 

PS - Yes, Claude, Anna Lee was a regular on GENERAL HOSPITAL for decades. I'm not into soaps but I believe there was something of an uproar in the press and with fans when they fired her about a decade ago after being on the show so long and then in her nineties - she died not long after that.

 

Yes, that is from the "China Seas" broadcast. :) Anna Lee is also remembered for being one of the nuns in The Sound of Music. She was to receive an honorary Daytime Emmy in 2004, but died shortly before the ceremony.

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Yes, that is from the "China Seas" broadcast. :) Anna Lee is also remembered for being one of the nuns in The Sound of Music. She was to receive an honorary Daytime Emmy in 2004, but died shortly before the ceremony.

 

 

 

Maria...makesme...laugh... How do you solve a problem like Maria............

 

Anna Lee does a memorable performance as the Hudson's next door neighbor in the film "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane"?

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  • 4 months later...

The thing I liked the most about the 2003 Lucy biopic was its depiction of her friendship with Carole Lombard. Vanessa Grey, the Australian actress selected to play her, did a great job making her bawdy but with a heart of gold.

 

"Honey, tits sag. But funny is forever." :peachonthebeach:

True, both women had gutter mouths, which was surprising later on when she watched everything she said to preserve her General Foods image. I dunno about Food but she sure behaved like a general sometimes, LOL!

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True, both women had gutter mouths, which was surprising later on when she watched everything she said to preserve her General Foods image. I dunno about Food but she sure behaved like a general sometimes, LOL!

 

Carole was/is known as "The Profane Angel." There's blooper footage on Criterion's My Man Godfrey release that cracks me up, Carole let's words fly every time she makes a mistake.

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