| *~~ I LOVE LUCY ~~* |
| I Love lucy as been a long time favorite of mine. I find this sitcom to be very funny. I also find this sitcom to be full of life lessons. What and what not to do. I like the fact no matter what happens friendship and love over comes anything. If you haven't watched any episodes I highly recommend doing so. |
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| *~~ CAST OF I LOVE LUCY ~~* |
| The Mertz's Ethel Mertz (Vivan Vance) and Fred Mertz (Willam Frawley) |
| The Ricardo's Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) and Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) |
| LUCILLE BALL Lucille Desiree Ball, the undisputed first lady of television comedy, was born August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began studying drama at the age of 15. As a young adult, she supported herself in Manhattan as a model and a poster girl while trying to get work on Broadway. While working as the Chesterfield Cigarette Girl in 1933 led to her first Hollywood role as one of the Goldwyn Girls in the Eddie Cantor film "ROMAN SCANDALS." Numerous bit parts followed throughout the 1930s but by the following decade Ball was considered to be a preeminent comic actress in feature films, with such credits as "STAGE DOOR," "ROOM SERVICE," "THE BIG STREET," "DUBARRY WAS A LADY," and "SORROWFUL JONES." Lucille Ball met her husband and future show-business partner, Desi Arnaz, on the set of an RKO picture in 1940. She continued pursuing film stardom for the next several years, trading in on her sex appeal as well as her sharp wit. Not achieving the kind of success she desired, Ball decided to try her hand in radio in 1948. She played the daffy wife on the three-year series "MY FAVORITE HUSBAND." It was here that she developed a broader style of humor, something she would use to great advantage on her next project, the television series "I LOVE LUCY." After her 25 years in the business, this show made Lucille Ball a household name. "I LOVE LUCY" was one of the most successful shows in all television history. It made Ball and Desi wealthy enough to purchase RKO studios, which they renamed Desilu. During Ball's tenure on this series, she made two feature films with Desi, "THE LONG LONG TRAILER" in 1954 and "FOREVER DARLING" in 1956. Although "I LOVE LUCY" was still at the top of the ratings, Lucy and Desi decided to end the TV series in 1957 and devote their time to a series of one-hour specials featuring the same characters. "THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR" ran until 1960, when Ball and Arnaz divorced. In 1961, Lucille Ball married nightclub comedian Gary Morton, who later served as a producer for her projects. From 1962 until 1974, she worked steadily on television and starred in two consecutive series: "THE LUCY SHOW" and "HERE'S LUCY." It is interesting to note that all three of Ball's TV shows ran on CBS on Monday evenings at either 8:30 or 9:00, making her a 23-year owner of that time slot. Toward the end of her career, Ball starred in two final feature films: "YOURS, MINE AND OURS" in 1968 and the musical "MAME" in 1974. In 1985 she experimented with non-comedic material, playing a homeless woman in the dramatic TV movie "STONE PILLOW." But the following year she was back performing pratfalls with her steady co-star of the 1960s, Gale Gordon, in the short-lived sitcom "LIFE WITH LUCY." Lucille Ball's last television appearance was with Bob Hope, who was in many respects her male counterpart in show business. Together they presented a production number featuring rising young talent on the 1989 telecast of the Academy Awards. Lucille Ball died weeks later. |
| DESI ARNAZ Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III, the future husband of Lucille Ball and executive of Desilu Productions, was born in 1917 to a family of wealthy Cuban landowners. That changed when Batista took over in 1933, and Desi and his father fled to Miami. Desi started working with the Xavier Cugat band in 1937 and later put together his own rumba band. In 1940, he appeared in both the stage and movie verions of "TOO MANY GIRLS." On the movie set, he and Lucille Ball hit it off, and they were married in November 1940. The marriage was subject to the conflicting requirements of Desi's bandleader career-which had him on the road most of the time-and to Lucy's movie career. When the couple came up with the idea for a TV series, they fought to do it together to save their marriage. Network executives didn't think the pan-American shtick would work, so in the summer of 1950 Lucy and Desi went on tour, performing for live audiences to prove that Desi was believable as Lucy's husband. Early in 1951 the couple produced a film pilot with their total savings of 5,000. The rest, of course, is television history. Desi parlayed the five grand into millions in just four years. He convinced the show's sponsor, Philip Morris, that Lucy having a baby on the air would be a publicity bonanza, and he was right: the filmed birth of Little Ricky in 1953 drew 44 million viewers, and the story made headlines from coast to coast. While a seccessful executive at Desilu Productions, Desi also produced "DECEMBER BRIDE," "MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY," "OUR MISS BROOKS," "THE UNTOUCHABLES," and other shows. Fashion-wise, Desi brought back smoking jackets, adult denims, and matching he-and-she pajamas. After Lucy and Desi divorced in 1960, Desi continued in show business, producing several shows and making cameo appearances on TV. Desi also wrote an autobiography, owned a successful horse breeding farm, was a professor at San Diego State University, and was appointed ambassador of Latin America under President Nixon. Desi Arnaz died in 1986. |
| DESI ARNAZ and LUCILLE BALL |
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| Ricky and Lucy go hunting! |
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| CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!!!! |
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| VIVIAN VANCE Vivian Vance, well know in TV Land as Ethel Mertz, was born Vivian Jones in 1907 in Cherryvale, Kansas. She spent most of her youth in Independence, Kansas. Vivian Vance started acting when she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico; there, her performances with the Little Theater inspired the local audience to take up a collection to send her to New York City to study acting. In New York, Vivian assumed her stage name and spent much of the 30s and 40s as a successful Broadway stage actress. In the late 40s she suffered a nervous breakdown and moved to the West Coast, where she continued to perform in theater productions. "I LOVE LUCY" director Marc Daniels, who had worked with Vance in a theater production of "COUNSELOR at LAW," suggested her for the role of Ethel Mertz. Daniels took Desi Arnaz to see her in a revival of "THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE," and they both knew at once that they had found the right actress to play opposite Lucille Ball. But Ball and Vance were not as easily convinced. Vance, who was starting to get some movie roles, viewed herself as a glamorous Broadway actress-not as a frumpy, overweight, comedic landlady. For her part, Ball saw Vance as direct competition. Vance's hair was red, she was slim and attractive. Lucille Ball complained that Vivian Vance was not the peroxide-blond-in-an-old-frayed-bathrobe that Ball had envisioned. Once Vivan Vance had decided she wanted the role, however, she did everything possible to convince Lucille Ball that she was Ethel Mertz. She even spent the entire run of the "I LOVE LUCY SHOW" twenty pounds overweight. This commitment to the role gained Vivian Vance several Best Supporting Actress Emmy nominations; she finally won an Emmy in 1953. After "I LOVE LUCY" ended, Vivian Vance auditioned for a comedy series of her own-"GUESTWARD HO!"-but the lead role eventually went to another actress. Vance went happily into retirement with her new husband, literary agent John Dodds, and moved to Stamford, Connecticut. In 1962 it took quite a bit of pressure and some complicated contracts negotiations to persuade Vance to commute weekly to the West Coast for "THE LUCY SHOW." Vance asked that her characters name be changed to Vivian from Ethel, and she also asked permission to lose the extra twenty pounds that she had carried during "I LOVE LUCY." Vance also bargained for a more glamorous wardrobe as well. After three seasons (1962-1965, Vivian Vance had had enough of her weekly coastal commutes; she returned to her life of retirement in Connecticut. She did, however, appear in yearly reunion episodes of "THE LUCY SHOW" until 1972. She also continued to make appearances on the Lucille Ball's specials as well as on other television series, including "LOVE AMERICAN STYLE" and "RHODA." Vivian Vance died on August 17, 1979. |
| WILLIAM FRAWLEY A former vaudevillian, William Frawley was born in Burlington, Iowa on February 26, 1887. He began his film career in the 1930s, and for twenty years, in approximately 150 films of every conceivable genre, Frawley played variations on a gruff but likeable character. Some of his more notable films include "THE LEMON DROP KID," GENTLEMAN JIM," "GOING MY WAY," "ZIEGFELD FOLLIES," "THE VIRGINIAN," "MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET," "MONSIEUR VERDOUX," "THE BABE RUTH STORY," the remake of 'THE LEMON DROP KID,' and "RANCHO NOTORIOUS." His last feature film appearance was in 1962's "SAFE AT HOME!" But for the ten years prior to that, he had established himself as a major television star. William Frawley is best known as Fred Mertz in one of the biggest hits in TV history, "I LOVE LUCY." Fred Mertz is a priceless character: the next-door neiighbor, close friend, and penny-pinching landlord of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Frawley had to fight for the part. Originally, Lucille Ball had wanted Gale Gordon for the role, but Gordon was unabailable. Frawley got the role only after convincing network executives that had wouldn't let his habit for alcohol interfere with his work. During his time on "I LOVE LUCY," Frawley made no bones about his dislike for his on-screen wife, Vivian Vance. He once remarked: "She's one of the finest gals to come out of Kansas, but I often wish she'd go back there." Likewise, Vance was often vocal with her disqust about having an onscreen husband who was old enough to be her father. During his "I LOVE LUCY' years, Frawley found time for occasional guest appearances on other shows such as "THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB," "THE GALE STORM SHOW," "THE RED SKELTON SHOW," "THE LORETTA YOUNG SHOW," and "SHOWER OF STARS." In 1960, he began work on another long-running series, "MY THREE SONS." On that show he played Michael Francis "Bob" O'Casey, Father-in-law to Fred MacMurray's character and housekeeper for the family of men. In 1964 Frawley becomes too ill to work and was replaced on "MY THREE SONS" By William Demarest at the end of the season. Frawley's last television appearance was a cameo of a 1965 episode of "THE LUCY SHOW," entitled "LUCY AND THE COUNTESS HAVE A HORSE GUEST." In that episode, Lucy Carmichael commented on how familiar he seemed to her. William Frawley died on March 3, 1966. |
| LUCY AND ETHEL BUYS SAME DRESS FOR A FRIENDSHIP NUMBER THEY ARE DOING. |
| Keith Thibodeaux (STAGE NAME RICHARD KEITH) Born on December 1, 1950, in Lafyette, LA (his family would later move to Bunkie, LA), Keith Thibodeaux is arguably the most famous child actor in television history. A prodigy drummer, he was discovered at 3 years old by band leader Horace Heidt and was cast as Little Ricky Ricardo in 1956. Thibodeaux continued to act after "I LOVE LUCY" went off the air, appearing in other sitcoms and playing Opie's friend Johnny Paul Jason on "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW." In 1966 Keith's parents divorced and the young drummer/actor moved back to Louisiana with his mother and siblings. He graduated from Lafayette high school in 1968 and attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana. As many former child actors seen to, Keith struggled with alcohol and drugs, and his abuse escalated when he joined David and the Giants--a popular rock band that played mostly around the American south. Two events eventually turned his life around. In 1976 he met Kathy Denton at a David and the Giants concert in Jackson, Mississippi. The couple married after a short whirlwind courtship, and Keith left the band. Then, in 1978, Keith was baptized as a Christian. Separately, the leader of David and the Giants, David Huff, and his twin brothers, Clayborn and Rayborn, also became Christians, and in 1979 David and the Giants reformed and went on to become one of the nation's top contemporary Christian music groups. Keith has been Executive Director of Ballet Magnificat! a Christian ballet company, since 1993. His wife Kathy, a battet dancer, is the Founder and Artistic Director of the company. Together they have one child, a daughter named Tara. In 1994 Keith published his autobiography, Life After Lucy. |
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| Click here to hear Ricky sing to Lucy |
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| Click here to hear Theme Song |
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| Click here to see the Theme song video clip |