I was reading an interview with Lucy and Desi and I read this and I thought it was the sweetest thing. Note the underlined part:

"What was your first reaction when you saw her?" I asked him. "What with her orange-pink hair and her huge, chinablue eyes, meeting her is quite an experience visually."

He grinned. "George Abbott, the director, introduced us," he told me, "and I said to George, 'Wow! What a honk of woman!'" Desi's grin changed to a nostalgic smile. "I've never changed my mind," he said.

awwwww!!! :)

:love: Aww.

When was that interview done?

On May 31, 1958..Whoa wasnt then about when they started having problems?? aww he still loved her..well i mean of course he did..but..ok nevermind lol.

Yeah. I think Lucy once said the last 5 years of her marriage were hell, which would have been 1955-1960.

But in the public eye it always remained so sweet. :) Look at how it never shows on camera either, even through the last five difficult years. Even with that last Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour - where they'd already decided on a divorce and were basically not even speaking to one another at that point - you can't tell on camera. They masked it incredibly well and lost themselves in their characters, much like Bill/Vivian with their hatred of one another.

Hmm...when Desi met Lucy she was a blond. She didn't dye her hair red until 1942-43 when she moved to MGM

Awwww!!!!!!

Originally posted by bweir
Hmm...when Desi met Lucy she was a blond. She didn't dye her hair red until 1942-43 when she moved to MGM

That's what I wondered, but maybe the interviewer didn't know that.

Originally posted by Joicetti
much like Bill/Vivian with their hatred of one another.
i saw a video clip of them taking a bow after they finished the show. they all were in roughly this order holding hands, Bill, Lucy, Desi, Viv, id think it would be something like Bill, Viv, Lucy, Desi. i dont know........:rolleyes:

Good one Bweir! I remember Desi telling the same story on Carson's and he said she was a blonde back then!

Originally posted by Fan of old shows
i saw a video clip of them taking a bow after they finished the show. they all were in roughly this order holding hands, Bill, Lucy, Desi, Viv, id think it would be something like Bill, Viv, Lucy, Desi. i dont know........:rolleyes:

They had to keep Bill and Viv separated. Like two little kids.

Wait, I think they were all fine and dandy with their marriage from Sept. 1958- August 1959, Then it started up again.

i don't think so, i've read in several books that the last 5 years of their marriage was all downhill.

You and i have all the same books, darlin as Lucy herself said the last five years were sheer H***. But they tried all the time though to reconcile and be friendly because of the kids and their commitments! Even that disastrous second honeymoon trip to Europe!

We mustn't have the same books, it said, "1958 - 1959 were good not bad at all." Wonder why? All my other books don't say that.:rolleyes:

what book is that in Babalu? i've never seen that.

Originally posted by lucyfan1983
what book is that in Babalu? i've never seen that.
Desilu

Originally posted by Babalu
We mustn't have the same books, it said, "1958 - 1959 were good not bad at all." Wonder why? All my other books don't say that.:rolleyes:

well i don't know where you found that in the book, but if you read pages 170-186, it talks about years 1958 and 1959, and i don't know how anyone could consider those two good years.

And like Splain said, Lucy said it herself that the last 5 years of her marriage were terrible.

Sheer unadulterated hell were the exact words she used!

i saw that somewhere, but does anyone know how Desi became addictided to drinking?:(

Originally posted by Babalu
i saw that somewhere, but does anyone know how Desi became addictided to drinking?:(

I'm sure it was just the pressures of the business. His job wasn't just playing Ricky Ricardo, he had a studio to run. And "I Love Lucy" wasn't the only show that Desilu had on the air, either. As president of Desilu, he was involved in so many aspects of production. Also, playing second fiddle to his wife probably didn't do much for his ego. He would drink as a form of release and rebellion, and it just got out of control.

Geez, everything i want to say, you always say the exact same thing, you must be a little older than the usual internet Lucy fans as you sure know your Lucy stuff, if i'm ever sick, you can sub for me, as we certainly think alike! Desi had 19 different shows on the air at the same time back then, and thousands of employees to deal with, the studio was the biggest TV production facility in the world, add that to being married to the biggest TV star ever, and the father of two kids, managing millions of dollars etc and you start understanding why the pressures turned him to drink!

Weren't his family big drinkers anyway? I'm sure I heard somewhere that they were, and that it was sort of a tradition to be. Desi's grandfather, or great-grandfather, invented Bacardi, so maybe there was a tradition of alcohol in the family. Supposedly one of the reasons Hemingway always liked Cuba so much was the ready availability of some of the strongest forms of alcohol known to man.

:wave:

Yep, leave it to the expert Mickey to bring that up, it's very true, his family was very big in rhum with Bacardi and the machismo Latin thing with the proving you're a man by how much you could drink and how much you could . . . yep, definitely Desi, but eventually, it took a toll on his body and that with the pressures of the businessand his crumbling marriage, and then, the depression that followed when they were no longer together and Marcella Rabwin, his doctor's wife used to tell the stories of him trying to get back to work, but the alcohol had taken over at that point and he would never remember any of his ideas from the night before!

Ooh, I'm an expert! (I'm doing a little dance now).

:dance:

Well, in the words of Bette Davis' character in Whatever happenned to Baby Jane, WELL YA ARE BLANCHE, YA ARE! You seem to know as much about Desi as i know about Lucy!

Just thought of a better reply, JUST MAKE SURE THE DANCE IS A CONGA!

Well naturally. All dances are congas at heart.

:guitar: :banana:

See the little smiley face playing Guadelajara, while the (Cuban) banana does his conga.

Originally posted by SPLAIN
Geez, everything i want to say, you always say the exact same thing, you must be a little older than the usual internet Lucy fans as you sure know your Lucy stuff, if i'm ever sick, you can sub for me, as we certainly think alike!

If you consider 18 old!


And to add to what Splain and Mickey said, Desi was drinking as a kid on the beach anyway, so he started young. It was not really a problem with him until later, though. And a little correction, Desi's grandfather didn't invent Bacardi Rum. It was invented by a man named Emilio Bacardi. When he decided to start selling his rum, Desi's grandfather became the salesmen because he had two mules that could cart the rum around. They were business partners -- Desi's grandfather was Vice President of the corp.

I stand corrected. It's true actually, he didn't technically invent the stuff, although a lot of accounts credit him with having done so. Being the more famous name I suppose. I assume that the family connection was why Ricky's wrong name on the marriage certificate in ILL was Bacardi. One of their in-jokes.

:wave:

Originally posted by Ricardos4ever


I'm sure it was just the pressures of the business. His job wasn't just playing Ricky Ricardo, he had a studio to run. And "I Love Lucy" wasn't the only show that Desilu had on the air, either. As president of Desilu, he was involved in so many aspects of production. Also, playing second fiddle to his wife probably didn't do much for his ego. He would drink as a form of release and rebellion, and it just got out of control. Do you think the marriage would have lasted if Desi hadn't drank so much? I heard he was accually jumping out of windows!:eek:

The end of the marriage is a complex issue, it takes two to end a marriage. People forget that as Lucy is so beloved by the world, they overlook her being so bossy and having a temper as big as Desi's, yes she wanted the image of the perfect marriage, no scandals or impropriety, but he was a womanizer alcoholic who went through money like it was water. She was this old fashioned conservative who wanted to pretend she was perfect, but none of us is! We're all human. He didn't care what people thought, he enjoyed life, she lived to work and hid everything, they both would have benefited from therapy but it wasn't that common back then, even though they did see some doctors, not enough to help because the problem was too deep. They loved each other passionately. He thought there was nothing wrong with fooling around as long as you came back to your wife after and he did everything in excess, and yes all his accomplishments were credited to her because they considered him the Cuban conga drum player, so even though she built him up and gace him credit for his accomplishments, he still suffered. She got the same thing when she took over Desilu, they figured she was this scatterbrained redhead, when in reality, she thought everything out in detail before making any move and was surrounded by lots of help, this subject could go on for days. . .

They were an odd couple all round really. To be honest, with the issues she had, that marriage was probably doomed even if Lucy had married a sensible conservative mid-westerner. Something to do with her father, wasn't it? She was older and wiser when she married again, which might have been the secret of the success there. Lucie once said that her parents were crazy about each other, even when they were driving one another crazy! A lot of people blame Desi for the break up, but Splain's got it right about people overlooking the problems Lucy had as well. The drinking probably didn't help, but then neither did a lot of other things. If she'd married Desi when she was that bit older, as she was when she married her next husband (Gary somebody?) it might have worked out. If they'd taken the time to find out a bit more about each other before they got married it might have worked out! When the marriage starts off with the bride having such issues about the age difference, things are already looking dodgy. But then without having been there, in the house, all day every day, none of us can really know what went wrong I guess.

:wave:

Remember all those times she was interviewed and she said everybody gave the marriage six months, and she gave it a week, or when she kept saying that marrying him was the boldest thing she ever did. I still can't believe she wanted to just live with him and he insisted they marry, then the part about separate finances as she knew she was a SAVER and he would squander his money, so she did know it was an uphill battle! Hate to say this but i think being a Leo she wanted to control Desi the way she was later able to with pushover Gary, but say what you will about this subject and trust me, i could go on for days, it was one of the greatest love stories of all time. Last week or so i found a book downtown about the greatest love stories of all time and they were featured in it, they had to be, theirs was a love story the whole world shared, no wonder they got thousands of letters when they announced the divorce, and the public will always think of them together. Even Gary after her funeral said to Paula, well, at least now they're together. Remember that it's never easy for a man to be married to a powerful woman, imagine back in the 40's and 50's! But his calling her every few days till he died and her insisting on seing him on his deathbed and her being the last person he talked to on the phone on the day of their anniversary, they couldn't write a better love story.

Got to say that I agree with you there. People talk about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as being the greatest love story in Hollywood, but I always thought it was Desi and Lucy. Couldn't necessarily live together, but coudn't live apart! I'm sure I read somewhere a quote supposedly attributed to Gary (Morton?) just after Lucy died, about sometimes he felt like he was just keeping Desi's place warm. Should feel sorry for the guy I suppose, if that's really the way he felt.

:wave:

You'll have a hard time finding sympathy for Gary on these boards, people are not very kind to his memory, and in many cases justifiably so! However, i too find that it must have been really hard to always be compared to him and jnow that your wife is always going on and on about him and the public and media too, to be Mr Ball could not have been easy for either of them. Liz and Dick were not the kindhearted people Lucy and Desi were and they certainly were not as beloved, maybe almost as well known, that one i'll give you, but the pampered stuck up spoiled movie stars that they are, i hate the comparison, but come to think of it, it's true both men were alcoholics, and the women were both bossy and too concerned with their appearance and both went to the top of their profession, but i don't think their genuine love for one another, felt by the public in every episode for 50 years or more compares to the dozen or so years the other two were together making lousy movies! Then again, i don't care much for Liz and her friend Michael Pedophile Jackson. Another similarity might be that most people want to remember Liz at her most beautiful in the 50's or 60's as they love Lucy best in the same period! Both were amazing beauties! And huge stars known the world over! But even Liz can't match the love the public has for Lucy!

Liz Taylor is okay. Anybody who works so hard for AIDS awareness is okay by me.

:wave:

Originally posted by Mickey
Got to say that I agree with you there. People talk about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as being the greatest love story in Hollywood, but I always thought it was Desi and Lucy.

Don't worry, Mickey! When People Magazine did their "Greatest Love Stories of All Time" cover, Lucy and Desi were front and center. They deserved it.

Originally posted by Ricardos4ever


Don't worry, Mickey! When People Magazine did their "Greatest Love Stories of All Time" cover, Lucy and Desi were front and center. They deserved it.
What a relief!

Originally posted by Babalu
i saw that somewhere, but does anyone know how Desi became addictided to drinking?:(
He started drinkin cuz he felt like it and *poof*...he got addicted! ya im a genious...i drank beer b4. :D but it didnt taste like nething so i dunno whats addicting about it

Originally posted by Babalu
i saw that somewhere, but does anyone know how Desi became addictided to drinking?:(

He married Lucille Ball.

I FOUND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Afterall, I found it off of a Lucy site. But I know I now cannot find it!

Correction: He drank as a kid, then increased his intake because of the pressures of running Desilu, and ALSO because he was married to Lucille Ball!

Everyone on here is so iggnorant! What is with it? JaneTVFan bashing Lucille Ball, Sara drinking underage.......What is this world coming to?

Read all her posts, she doesn't bash, she simply refuses to perpetuate myths, she states things as they are, not as we wish they were! As for Sara, maybe she doesn't drink enough!

Originally posted by Babalu
Sara drinking underage.......What is this world coming to?

Sara's not the only underage drinker out there, don't give her such a hard time! I know you were probably just joking but I just needed to say that.

I know, Desi was doing it too! OMG! I can't belive Desi did that! *clears throught and struggling trying to stay in chair*

Everybody drinks underage, even if it's just once or twice. Actually is there any such thing, technically, as drinking underage? As far as I know, the law over here is that you can drink at any age so long as you don't buy the stuff (before age 18), or drink it in a pub/bar (before age 16). Is that not the way it works in the USA then?

:wave:

-

Drinking age in the USA is 21, period. But everybody drinks underage? What a stereotype. I'm 19 and I've never drank and never will. My mom is 40 and has never drank before, my grandmother or greatgrandparents never drank.

Originally posted by Babalu
Everyone on here is so iggnorant! What is with it? JaneTVFan bashing Lucille Ball, Sara drinking underage.......What is this world coming to?

I'm bashing Lucille Ball? Splain.

Originally posted by SPLAIN
Read all her posts, she doesn't bash, she simply refuses to perpetuate myths, she states things as they are, not as we wish they were!

Originally posted by SPLAIN
As for Sara, maybe she doesn't drink enough!

:lol: If she sticks around this place much longer she'll probably be drinking more!

Originally posted by JaneTVFan
:lol: If she sticks around this place much longer she'll probably be drinking more!

I'm thinking of starting.

Drinking is not the worst vice in the world. Rape, murder, extortion...there you go.

My vice...swearing.

Originally posted by Babalu
Everyone on here is so iggnorant! What is with it? JaneTVFan bashing Lucille Ball, Sara drinking underage.......What is this world coming to?

*attack of the English major*

Those things do not make one ignorant.

Originally posted by oldshows
But everybody drinks underage? What a stereotype. I'm 19 and I've never drank and never will.
Well not quite everybody, no. Naturally there are people who don't drink for religious reasons, which is more than understandable. By saying 'underage drinking' I didn't mean getting drunk all the time, or abusing the stuff, I meant the occasional drink. I'm teetotal myself (hate the stuff), but I know that because I tried it. And yes, when I was young. (And then again when I was older, and then again when I was older still...:) ) It's perfectly safe for a kid of fifteen, say, to have a drink. Safe for anybody.

:wave:

Originally posted by JaneTVFan


I'm bashing Lucille Ball? Splain. Sorry, I thought you meant Lucille Ball was such a pill that he had to drink. Sorry!

Sara:

What is a "SpaceMonkey"?


THE LAW CLEARLY SAYS NO DRINKING UNDER 18!

I have reported a number of underage drinkers to the law. Doing my duty as a citizen!

None of my family back to the 1700s never drank! I never have, never will!

I am the son of an alcoholic, who died at the age of 56, children of alcoholics are especially prone to drink, as i have found out, every Christmas party i go overboard and i love the feeling of having no inhibitions for a while and NOT FEELING anything, but eventually, you have to come back to reality! It's like everything else in life, done in moderation, it's ok, but i respect any of you who don't do it for religious reasons!

Originally posted by Babalu
THE LAW CLEARLY SAYS NO DRINKING UNDER 18!

I have reported a number of underage drinkers to the law. Doing my duty as a citizen!

You're from the US aren't you Babalu? The law states no drinking under 21 .
And i don't think that everyone drinks under age, but the sad truth is that the majority do drink underage, i know like 2 people who've never had a drink yet, and they're both mormon! (no offense to mormons by the way!)

I converted to the Mormon Church at the last Christmas party! Just a joke people!

im 15, i dont drink. i dont plan to. i just like the taste of soda better. and i have no sympathy for people who hate drinking because it affects them. same with smoking, i have no sympathy for anyone who starts something like that and cant stop. they shouldnt start then.

I'm shocked by how many of you don't drink! What do you guys do at parties, never go to bars, social gatherings? Must be the Irish influence and French culture here, wine with a meal is a normal thing, to savor a long evening's meal with friends and the more wine the better. Of course, we've had to make allowances for drunk driving and so on, dessignated drivers and so on!

Hmm, odd isn't it. What few bits of me aren't Latin are Scottish, and we're talking heavy drinking all round there! I just hate the stuff. It all tastes horrible, although I do keep trying it just to make sure that it still tastes bad. :) There are plenty of things to do that don't involve alcohol though. Fortunately.

:wave:

Yeah, but when you look like i do, sometimes it helps to have the other person a little tipsy, all right, a lot tipsy! I usually send a bottle a day ahead of time so the girl can get ready for the sight of me. Seriously Mickey, Scotland is near Ireland, are you sure there's nothing you like, even a wee bit! I was never into liquor myself, but then, just like that film with Jack Lemmon, Days of Wine and Roses, i too am a chocoholic so they got me hooked on Baily's! There isn't much distance between chocoholic and alcoholic!

When I was at college I used to drink this stuff sometimes called Woody's, which was fruit juice and something fairly alcoholic. One was always my limit though, 'cause after that it all started tasting revolting again. (Heavy sigh. I'm very hard done by! :) ). I am a chocoholic though, definitely.

Days Of Wine And Roses, huh? Haven't seen that one in ages. Hard to beat a good Jack Lemmon film.

:wave:

Originally posted by SPLAIN
I'm shocked by how many of you don't drink! What do you guys do at parties, never go to bars, social gatherings?

Nope. I go to bars that serve food and eat, but I don't drink. I don't see the point in wasting $4 a drink just to have it go out one end or the other and not really serve a purpose in the body. Waste of money.

You'd think I was a Dr. Pepper-aholic though.

Whoops! Sorry LucyFan1983, I was thinking of tobacco!

Good point Dawsongirl. That's one reason I don't drink. Plus, my grandfather was a alcoholic and was drunk one day and his house caught fire. Unfortunately, he was too drunk to find the door and died. I've also saw one of my dad's friends drink himself to death..literally. My aunts husband is an alchoholic and now he has lost his job b/c of it. I feel sorry for my cousins having to see. I have saw so many negative effects from the stuff I despise it now and refuse to be around anyone who is drunk. If I'm going to have fun, I want to be able to remember.

i just dont drink not for any specific reason. im not into bars or clubs or parties anyway. but i just dont feel i need to drink beer when i like coca cola. im a coca cola collector.

Originally posted by Babalu
Sorry, I thought you meant Lucille Ball was such a pill that he had to drink. Sorry!

That is what I meant. Lucille Ball was a very overpowering, overbearing personality. You hear all these horror stories about what it was like on the set all day working with Lucy, but most of those people didn't also have to go home with Lucy at the end of the day. Desi did. I think drinking was his refuge, just as golf was Gary's refuge. Lucie and Desi Jr. handled the situation by getting the heck out of that house as soon as they were legally old enough to do so.

Originally posted by Babalu
None of my family back to the 1700s never drank! I never have, never will!

It sounds like your family needs to lighten up a little.

I drink only on occasion, but I never drink enough to get drunk or even a buzz. I just like the taste of a good wine or beer.

Originally posted by Fan of old shows
i just dont drink not for any specific reason. im not into bars or clubs or parties anyway. but i just dont feel i need to drink beer when i like coca cola. im a coca cola collector.

Coca Cola was originally made with cocaine.

Good point. I always thought it would have been interesting to have been around when Coca Cola originally hit the shelves!

:wave:

Originally posted by JaneTVFan


Coca Cola was originally made with cocaine. Really? I never knew that!

Originally posted by JaneTVFan
I drink only on occasion, but I never drink enough to get drunk or even a buzz. I just like the taste of a good wine or beer.

me too Jane, I never drink enough to get a buzz or drunk either, if i drink at a party or something or with friends, i usually only have something to drink b/c it tastes good.

Well, i like to have fun, but am old and conservative so at the Christmas party,i love to get a buzz, it's only one time a year, and i love the feeling of letting go, within reason, of course. They still tell stories about what i did at some of those parties, you have to have a good time and let go once in a while, i am always in control though, and walk home!

Originally posted by JaneTVFan
Lucie and Desi Jr. handled the situation by getting the heck out of that house as soon as they were legally old enough to do so.

Didn't Desi Jr. leave before he was 18? I thought he left at 16 or thereabouts.

I can "let loose" just as well without ever having drank a thing. I was always the silly one in high school. Of course, I hung out with people that I swear never had fun. :rolleyes:

Drinking is very damaging to the body. If you want to look old like Desi, HAVE AT IT! I agree with dawsongirl(diva), why waste three of four bucks for something that is very unhealthy to the body?:rolleyes:

There's some considerable evidence that some forms of alcohol, especially port and red wine, can be very good for you actually. It's generally only in excess, say more than a couple of drinks per day that's bad for you, depending on gender, size, age and body weight. The liver is a clever little thing. Techically alcohol is posion, yes, but in most alcoholic drinks it's far less dangerous than the nicotine in cigarettes.

:wave:

I'm not speaking of wine, beer is what i mean.:rolleyes:

Desi jr did not leave that house before he was 18, in fact he might have been older! Again Mickey is right on, some very healthy benefits with wine in moderation, how about those French people who give it to their kids at mealtime. I agree that paying 4 bucks for a drink is disgusting but if you go out you should splurge once in a while, unless it cuts into your Lucy budget. I don't drink beer as my dad had a beer belly and i find that looks terrible, i'm at that age now where you have to watch everything you eat drink or do, so i am looking forward to the parties at Christmas and i will have a drink for each and every one of you, and at New Year's i will probably curse you while i'm hungover!

Where we live, Pubs and bars are illegal.

Is someone else typing these for you in Amish country or somethin?

No, The restraunts serve the drinks, but thy dunt have ABC stores or anything like that. They have like "Grill & Bars" but not just places that that is all they sell.

I see! No Irish people there i guess?:lol: Just a joke!

I spend a lot of time in a university town...we have LOTS of bars!

Originally posted by Babalu
Drinking is very damaging to the body. If you want to look old like Desi, HAVE AT IT! I agree with dawsongirl(diva), why waste three of four bucks for something that is very unhealthy to the body?:rolleyes:
Hey candy's unhealthy to the body, why do u waste money on that? ya thats what i thot...cuz its good. Some ppl like alcohol that much. It's not even totally unhealthy all the time...some ppl drink it cuz it makes em feel better. and some ppl that go to depression drink it cuz it makes em happier. But when u drink too much, thats when it gets unhealthy. I drank like...¼ of a teaspoon and im not all sick and drunk, and fortunately im not addicted or nething..

I'm not speaking of wine, beer is what i mean.:rolleyes:
We're discussing: Alcohol. Wine is alcohol.

Sarah does have a point there, but I'm not even discussing her/anyone else. It is so sad how people get addictided to that stuff.


What happened? We were talking about the marriage now what are we talking about? This doesn't have a thing to do with ILL!

Originally posted by Babalu
Sarah
:D tank u

Originally posted by Babalu
What happened? We were talking about the marriage now what are we talking about? This doesn't have a thing to do with ILL!

As long as it's not a fight, it's fine with me.

I agree with Dawson-Girl!

Originally posted by Babalu
I agree with Dawson-Girl!
what else is new?

Wine, Beer, Liquor, they all contain alcohol in it. It's just how much a dose you have of it. 12 oz. of beer is equal in alcohol to 5 oz. of wine and I think 2 oz. of liquor. I still remember that when I was studying for my drivers test a couple years back. There's a lot of unhealthy things to the body, but it doesn't matter what the substance is, it's just how much of a dosage determines how unhealthy it is. So Sarah was right.

So dawsongirl.............................do you hang around a lot of those bars that you mentioned before? ;) :cheers:

Originally posted by Original Prankster
So dawsongirl.............................do you hang around a lot of those bars that you mentioned before? ;) :cheers:

Oh yeah, all the time.........................no