I'd love to discuss any lingering mysteries or things about Lucy anybody has ever wondered about, but NEVER got the answer to. Like the fact that Lucy had this bad encounter with a fan at a seminar, and this black actress kept monopolizing her time with questions to show off who she was and who she knew. I was always curious to find out who this woman was and like most people i guessed wrong. It was in Lucy in the afternoon that Jim Brochu mentionned this woman, and it was killing me not to know for sure if it was Marla Gibbs or Isabel Sanford or whoever as the only clues were that this actress had been in two shows. Then, Jim's friend Steve came on this board i was on and gave more clues and i finally got my answer, it was Shirley Hemphill of What's Happening, which also came back as a new show a few years later. Unfortunately, Miss Hemphill passed away at a very young age a few years ago! Mystery solved!

Does anybody know who the New York actor was that Lucy got furious at for not yelling his lines loud enough at a script reading? I always assumed it was someone like Darren Mcgavin. She got upset and told him to leave when he had the nerve to question her opinion. When i read the Lucy book, i think i came across an actor who says that he was surprised to hear it was himself, as he did not recall any major problem with Lucy, sounds like her, she said what she thought and then could totally forget the whole thin! Peter Marshall, the old host of Hollywood Squares told his story of working with Lucy and he did not like it, so when they offered him a job as a regular, he refused it, yet, years later he appeared on a special with her and Art Carney, as he said he could not pass up working with Art!

Originally posted by SPLAIN
Peter Marshall, the old host of Hollywood Squares told his story of working with Lucy and he did not like it, so when they offered him a job as a regular, he refused it, yet, years later he appeared on a special with her and Art Carney, as he said he could not pass up working with Art!

Interesting.

I'm not being mean, but I don't think I could have worked with Lucy. I'm a perfectionist too, but there's two ways to go about dealing with people and I don't think she picked the right one. She often came across as mean to me. I can understand where Peter was coming from.

Well being that I am almost like Lucille Ball, I think I could get along with her. She got things done and you have to be aggresive to get things done. I think that is why she got to where she was, and why I haven't seen anybody climb the success ladder as fast adn profoundly as her. she could be tearse, but she didn't do it to be means she did it to be effective.
Let's not forget where she came from....she had to raise her siblings, her mom was never around and she was forced to live with her stepfather's parents who were not exactly the most warmest, fun loving people in the world.....She learned a lot and learned Life is not all fun and games taht there are responsibilities to yourself and others. She also followed Norman Vincente Peale's power of Positive thinking and Let me tell you...it works but you have to give it time. He persitiveness, her drive, her affluenteual way of speaking, and her aggressiveness, is what helped make the quality of her shows, and her willingness to learn and ability to catch on to things learning from the masters along the road has what made her great, and that is what made Lucy the Lucy we love.....ask her star friends...ya learn to take it with a grain of salt and know she doesn't mean things personally. I think that was a trait she acquired from her first boss Hattie Carnegie, when she was a model in New York. Hattie instilled a Lucy a responsibility for her career, that if you let your guard down things fall apart. But Lucy was also very Caring and considerate and there for people when they needed her..friends and family alike. I think had those few stars that were offended by Lucy's bluntness, not been such pasies they could have been just as great as her..... but had she let them be the pan in teh butts that they were....it could have brought Lucy herself down.

I also think Desi had a part in the changes in her, he always said he thought she had been hardenned by her hatred of him. You know, that thing where you never want someone else to hurt you like that again, so you build a shell around yourself. Lucie was right when she said her parents would have benefited from therapy, but back then, that was unheard of, or at least not as common. I freaked when i read that if someone did something nice for her, she did not know how to handle it, if Maury looked out for her as she would have tripped over her dress while getting out of a chair, she asked to see him later, and doubled his salary. When Desi's right hand man gave her a pill to calm down, she gifted him with a watch, saying, here, so you'll know when to take your damned pills. You're right, it was the upbringing, the early responsabilities of taking care of her whole family and many friends and then working in a cuthroat business where you're only as good as your last rating! Many other factors played into it, she was humiliated by her husband's philandering, couldn't take his excesses, and other things, but there's no denying she was coarse and hard, but once you melted that icy exterior, she was a marshmellow inside, many people have said that!

Originally posted by LUCILLE BALL
She also followed Norman Vincente Peale's power of Positive thinking and Let me tell you...it works but you have to give it time.

So does Paxil. :D

From what I understand Lucy could be tough. But alot of times it was just her testing a person. If a person could stand up to her and give a very logical reason for why they felt that she was wrong and give an equally logical counter suggestion--she would accept it and then get along with that person marvelously well. She didn't like people, however, who were timid and often she would push them around. I agree with Splain that she did have to toughen herself up after Desi was out of the picture. She was now running the studio and the show. Before she depended on Desi. After she married Gary Morton she tried to give him some duties, but people just didn't respect him the way they respected Desi--who was a true pioneer on television--really a visionary. They snickered behind his (Gary's ) back and Gary, unlike Desi, had no idea what constituted a good script from a bad one--which is why in her later series many of the scripts she did were pretty bad. There only redeeming qualities is that Lucy herself still had magic and could occassionally make something work.

One of the main reasons i started posting on these boards was to find out once and for all why she was so difficult to work with, and recently a friend sold me some Lucy articles, and in one of them she answers it herself, saying there were time limitations, and she wanted eveything to go like clockwork, so she became impatient with anybody who wasted time on the shows and on her set. Don't forget she wasn't just acting, but producing and directing, then the minute she was off, she tended to the studio responsabilities until she went home and then she took car of her kids and her house and her family and her friends, it goes on and on. It had never even occurred to me untiol i read Desi jr saying he practically lived at Desilu, you think of Hollywood people with all their emplyees and huge staffs, but back then Lucy didn't have all that, she had nannies and a household staff yes, but she tended to take care of many things herself, even driving her own car as she hated being chauffeured around!

Here's another mystery, Lucy had something going on with Audrey Meadows, they had starred in TV shows at the same time, Audrey in The Honeymooners and Lucy in ILL, they had competed for Emmy awards. If you'll recall Lucy contacted Audrey about starring on Life with Lucy in one of the better instalments, and there was talk that it was going to be a regular role, which might have helped the show succeed, two golden girls is better than one. Anyway, Audrey's sister Jayne, who once starred in Here's Lucy and has said many negative things about Lucy's show being cheap as her show ran after the Liz Taylor one and they had run out of money in the budget, said that Audrey went to her grave never telling her what their relationship was, but that there definitely was something deep there somewhere. If Lucy was as insecure and bossy as people say, she sure did not show it as far as her competition was concerned as i never read anything where Lucy criticized her contemporaries, but rather she always complemented them freely at all times!

Originally posted by LUCILLE BALL
Well being that I am almost like Lucille Ball, I think I could get along with her. She got things done and you have to be aggresive to get things done. I think that is why she got to where she was, and why I haven't seen anybody climb the success ladder as fast adn profoundly as her.

There are definitely more constructive ways to handle work situations than the way she did. Her treatment of people on the set was not the kind that would inspire people, but rather intimidate them. Lucy was very opinionated about work and had a tyranical attitude on the set. People were afraid to offer their opinions for fear of being lambasted by her. That's not a good way to run a business. Good leaders encourage their subordinates and make them feel their contributions are valuable. Good leaders inspire people to come together and share ideas. The more ideas brought to the table, the better the end product. Lucy, however, didn't want to hear anyone's ideas, she just wanted things done her way. Period. This is most surely the reason for the decline in the quality of her shows after Desi exited from the scene and she was put in charge. Desi listened to people, Lucy didn't.

Originally posted by SPLAIN
she tended to the studio responsabilities until she went home and then she took car of her kids

She did? Tell that to Lucie Arnaz.

Originally posted by SPLAIN
i never read anything where Lucy criticized her contemporaries, but rather she always complemented them freely at all times!

Really? I would say she was generally restrained, but I have read critical things said about certain performers, and harser personal things about others such as Rudy Valle,

Ok, here we go. Rudy said the F word all day in front of her kids, i know what you're going to say, she did too, but he had ego, and she didn't. She is said to have been perfection personified when kids were on the set, many were quoted saying that. As for Lucie, don't get me started, Lucy was not a perfect parent BECAUSE she was not taught by her own mother, but she LOVED those kids dearly, and they turned out well because she was strict in a town where all the kids are spoiled rotten, with few exceptions. I love Lucie, she is gorgeous and very talented, but if i hear that broken record about how terrible it was to live in that house with those two tyrants, and to be asked about them all the time is so trying. She also left them millions of dollars and she gave them a break on her show, their father, who they love to say was just as popular and so good, left them debts to pay. Today they manage their estates and are set for life because of this terrible mother. I understand that if i had been raised by her, i might feel the same, only those two kids know what really went on there, but she did LOVE them, she did spend time with them, considering how busy she was, she still managed to arrange trips from the minute the show ended to the following script meeting at 10am Monday, even going to Europe a few times, until she found herself waiting around for the kids because of all their activities. I think for the kids to have turned out so well, she must have done something right, and as i've said before, Lucie should remove that chip from her shoulder, yes, Lucy and Desi could have benefited from therapy, as Lucie does today, we all could, but i think what she left them, a legacy where their parents are two of the most famous and talented people who ever lived, and today those two kids are reaping the benefits, and should be thankful, i don't think Lucy was a Nancy Reagan type, she was too considerate and compassionate for that, she had her faults like everybody does, and was far from perfect, but she did the best she could, and she did it very well. Like her lawyer said, he wasn't supposed to try and double Lucy's millions, but to just mnake sure Lucy did well for her kids future!

As for the other thin about Lucy knocking other performers, she usually didn't because she hated that more than anything. She did not think it right to criticize another performer, the only exceptions i know of are Jack Palance, which he deserved, and Joan Crawford, let's not even waste time defending her, as for Richard Burton, whom she LOVED and respected, even after she heard or read what he thought about her, she didn't lash out at his laziness, but was just dissapointed and surprised! The ones she admired by the way were the ones who like her were hard working professionals who didn't expect the royal treatment, but just did their work and left, afteer they did their job, and it was all over and IN THE CAN as they say, she'd invite them to dinner and all was forgotten.

I am going to watch how i say this as i respect both your opinions, but i think you Jane and Dawsongirl dwell on the negative because you don't love her as much as the big fans like me, who take the time to try and understand and explain her behavior, i'm really trying not to excuse it, and if it had happened to me, i'd probably have let her have it, but i weigh the negative with the positive and when you consider what she accomplished, it tips in her favor. Maybe if more of the people around her had said NO more often, and stood up to her, she might have ended up with a better career ending and a better life as far as enjoyment is concerned. I'm rambling again, i'm just saying, there are many worse celebrities out there and Davis Hepburn and the like did things the same way, but they weren't as BELOVED, because their egos were much bigger than Lucy's, they lacked her compassion and i think Lucy touched people like even those two giants didn't, and that's what would surprise her more than anything, she NEVER thought she was IT!

If you ask me and I know you're not but becaus ei can be a real blunt witch I will tell u anyways...I kinda told u like it was...and I know quite a few peple who knew her personally....like I said...Lucy had a lot going for her....and I don't beleive that one person loves her more that the next....adn being that I am a Lucille Ball fan. hence my screen name, I beleive, taht her background and envionment had a lot to do with her personality, like i said when u hgave things going for yourself the way she did, why let some prude come around and destroy it, yes she could be blunt to the point, but she wasn't that way to her fans, she could be taht way at work, and she did say things to close people, no doubt, but u knwo what when the chips were down she woulkd give u the shirt off her back and this is coming from the peopel who knew her on a persoanl level.
As for that RUMOUR about her and Jayne Meadows I think that is tabloid BS. Another thing, why would we even discuss taht anyhow? You want to find sttuff out like this for what reason? what good wil it do u? Yeah Ok Curiosity killed that cat and satisfactory brought it back...but, when u love someone or care about them do u want to know the bad stuff, I know af ew things here and there...it didn't make me think less of Lucy, I love her anyways, but u know what it si stupid, I would rather have not known what I know, and same thing about my Eccentric Grandfather, I love him always respected him, i found about his past and I was shocked. Kind ataken aback by it...I would have rather of not know, u know what, taht is how these tabloid peole make their living taken some tiny thing and twisting it out of context till it is all contorted and selling it. Obviously whatever secrets Lcuy had she didn't want them dispersed in public, she wanted it to stay buried so why don't we leave it that way? if u truly love her u would. It is one thing if u confide in a friend but the minut that friend tells the world u have to wonder about the value in taht friendship. I told a couple people what I know and i put my foot in my mouth.....All I am saying why can't we discuss the good things Lucy brought to the world of entertainment and the millions of hours of joy. Not the bad stuff. I truly don't think Lucy would be happy with that.

In Reply to what Lucy said in her own defense about how she was at rehearsal
" A lot of people don't Love Lucy, especially when they are working and don't think of it that way, but we had a show to get on and we had our time format down a certain way we had accomplish a lot of things by a certain time and if we hadn't accomplished them I knew we would be way behind"

Lucy LEARNED her way to the top, from the best that hollywood has to offer, she knew that it isn't all fun and games, if you want something doen right in yer craft.....she learned it early on from responsibilities to her family, adn her boss her first boos Hattie Carnegie instilled a great value of the sense, I have a friend who researched Hattie and she learned from her....as well, Lucy had something no other star in hollywood has...preserverance. Besides look at the paople she was cross with Liz Taylor and Joan Crawford, Big deal. Besides Shirley MacLaine overlooked it and mostly others did too, Carol Burnette said u learn noit to take it personally. it was her way of venting and beleive me she had a lot to vent.. Luc had a gard time of showing Love because as a chile she didn't see a whole lot of love coming her way, her mom neglected her, her father died, and her grandpa worked or was uually busy with union/commy meetings. Lucy had to raise her brother and sister and for a short time live with her step grandparents who were strict beyond the meaning of the word. So as the sayoing goes...you haven;t walked in her shoes, so why criticize. And besides taht other Rumoritic story...just 86 it because that where it belongs IN THE GARBAGE!!!!!!!

Originally posted by SPLAIN
I am going to watch how i say this as i respect both your opinions, but i think you Jane and Dawsongirl dwell on the negative because you don't love her as much as the big fans like me, who take the time to try and understand and explain her behavior, i'm really trying not to excuse it,

I'm not sure you're not trying to excuse Lucy's behavior. For years I held onto opinions similar to yours, but having heard the similar experiences that so many people had with her (and I know people who were personal friends of hers), I have to believe she had some personal issues she didn't deal with very well, which manifested themselves in negative ways on the set. No, it has nothing to do with you loving Lucy more than I do. I find it hard (impossible) to believe there could be a bigger fan of hers than me. But in recent years, I have come to accept that she was a huge talent, but still a very difficult flawed individual. Yes, I know there were worse people than Lucille Ball. And I'm not saying she was a bad person. In fact, I think she was a very good person. But like many people, she had this bad side that, perhaps out of pride or ego, she wouldn't acknowledge and deal with. Instead, she'd make excuses for it.

I absolutely agree with Jane. Lucy really was a good person.... off the set. While rehearshing an episode of "Here's Lucy" with Sammy Davis, Sammy was suppose to stand on to one side. Well, it just happened to be the side he couldn't. Well, when he suggested changing things around so he could see, Lucy yelled at him. After rehearshal, he went into his dressing room and cried. I just think that was totally wrong. The poor guy couldn't help he couldn't see on one side.

Originally posted by SPLAIN
I am going to watch how i say this as i respect both your opinions, but i think you Jane and Dawsongirl dwell on the negative because you don't love her as much as the big fans like me, who take the time to try and understand and explain her behavior

I think of it more as dwelling on reality.

Originally posted by oldshows
I absolutely agree with Jane. Lucy really was a good person.... off the set. While rehearshing an episode of "Here's Lucy" with Sammy Davis, Sammy was suppose to stand on to one side. Well, it just happened to be the side he couldn't. Well, when he suggested changing things around so he could see, Lucy yelled at him. After rehearshal, he went into his dressing room and cried. I just think that was totally wrong. The poor guy couldn't help he couldn't see on one side.

That is wrong. Sorry, but that's just not how you deal with people. Like Jane said, you have to be nice to the people you work with, not bully them. I guess Lucy had a bigger ego than I thought. *patiently waiting for someone to throw this in my face*

Originally posted by oldshows
I absolutely agree with Jane. Lucy really was a good person.... off the set. While rehearshing an episode of "Here's Lucy" with Sammy Davis, Sammy was suppose to stand on to one side. Well, it just happened to be the side he couldn't. Well, when he suggested changing things around so he could see, Lucy yelled at him. After rehearshal, he went into his dressing room and cried. I just think that was totally wrong. The poor guy couldn't help he couldn't see on one side.

And Sammy Davis, Jr. was a friend of hers! If she could treat her friends that way, imagine . . . .

Originally posted by dawsongirl


That is wrong. Sorry, but that's just not how you deal with people. Like Jane said, you have to be nice to the people you work with, not bully them. I guess Lucy had a bigger ego than I thought. *patiently waiting for someone to throw this in my face*

Why would someone throw that comment in your face? Is that another one of your self-deprecating remarks? If so, I don't understand. I don't know why you have this image of yourself as having a big ego or being a bully. You've made similar remarks before. I've seen you get firm at times, as a disciplined moderator is supposed to do, but I've never seen you act unjustly or like a bully towards anyone. And you've never shown any ego as far as I can tell. Where did this image come from?

Ok, my turn! I agree with lots of what you guys have said, i am still looking for the answers myself, it ain't easy. I came on here as i LOVE Dawsongirl's posts and she rarely does on the OTHER boards so i had to come here looking for her. I was told to let someone like Jane have it because she attacked Lucy on a famous thread, and guess what, she's also a great poster who knows what she's talking about. Another reason i came here was because some other boards are boring and talk about nonsense, here things are seldom boring and that makes it more interesting for us fans. I was shocked last week to see how quiet it was on all the boards, some more than others, so i threw some subjects up in the air in my usual rambling fashion, hoping some would hit, and some did. I give up on the FAN thing, yes it's true we're all different, and we all love her in different ways, we're all equal, nobody is a bigger fan than soem of us here. The behavior question is a puzzle to Lucie, so why shouldn't it be to us? The usual comment is she lacked tact, but being honest and say things to a person's face is to be admired, more people should do that, it saves time in the long run.

The Audrey Meadows thing is JUST curiosity, of course i dun't think they were involved with each other, i hope she found a true friend at the end of her life, somebody she could compare notes with, as they had similar roots in TV and starred at the same time and all. Why would i bring it up, two reasons, desperation, and curiosity, nothing else. I want to find out things about Lucy, i'm a fan, that's what i'm supposed to do. There is so little talk going on, i got desperate, sue me! So thanks Jane, Dawsongirl and Lucille Ball, i just want to keep the dialogue going. I know she was far from perfect, none of us is. She was human, and i will leave these boards when i finally have my answer as to why she behaved the way she did. Lucille Ball mentionned many reasons in her post, i add that that's the way she was, it was a high pressure business with time constraints, Lucy had one of the most hectic lives, of course that doesn't mean you should abuse your friends. I too was shocked at the Jack Benny, Sammy Davis and Vivian Vance stories, to name just three. Then there's the fact that if you're successful in Hollyweird, they let you do all these things. I loved the comment about Carol Burnett taking it and paying no attention, maybe that's the key, she entertained billions for a half century, so she needed therapy and to hone her diplomatic skills, so what?

I was thinking about that Lucy Audry thing...I recall a printed article, forget the magazine but Lucy would have not been taht because she told of how she didn't mind Gay men, but women she didn't understand. She told a story, and the same story is in Jim Brochu's Lucy in The Afternoon, about when her mom came out to Hollywood Lucy took her for a cruise and to this moutain peak that overlooks LA and they were sitting in Lucy's convertable and Lucy and Ded embraced eachother and said how much it meant to be together again..then a police officer comes and tells them to get going because they don't allow that weird crap around there....Lucy added" Imagine he thought we were lesbians" Dede had no idea what her daughter ment and when Lucy explained it to her, Dede cried all the way back to their house.

JUst an interesting story thought I would pass it along.

Yep, that's a GREAT story, glad you told it here. As for the other thing, i NEVER meant that they were lesbians, EVER! If we all know anything about Lucy, it's that she was straight. I wanted to know what other connection they had, maybe they got to be great friends at that time in their lives, i NEVER inferred a relationship. Jayne Meadows, Steve Allen's wife and Audrey's sister said that she never knew what it was but that there was something strong between them, and that Audrey went to her grave without telling her what it was, she said she NEVER talked about it. I'm skeptical of anything said by Jayne as both she and Steve said negative things about Lucy in books, never about her talent, but about other things. Jayne was on the Here's Lucy episode that followed the Burtons, and she complained about cheapness. Steve was on the special Lucy meets the President. He made slihtly negative comments, but nothing extreme. This whole Audrey thing has got me intrigued as Audrey was the only major star to try and help Lucy when the Life with Lucy show was bombing, it wasn't that obvious when John Ritter was on. They also say she was going to become a regular on the show, which might have saved it as we'd have two golden girls.

Originally posted by JaneTVFan
Why would someone throw that comment in your face?

Because it's happened before.


And you've never shown any ego as far as I can tell.

That's more of an in-person thing. I try to be nice here.

YOU MEAN TO SAY ALL THIS TIME, YOU'VE BEEN TRYING! Sorry darlin, it was too good a joke to pass up, but it's just a joke, i LOVE people who tell it like it is, as long as they're not deliberately trying to hurt people. And from what i've read, you're not the type to do that. Saw something interesting on the weekend on ET, Charles Nelson Rylley or somebody saying the love of your life NEVER socialized or even ate with the rest of the gang on Match Game. So that's where you got the aloof routine, i had to come on this board just to get to talk to you once in a while! But it was worth it, this is a great board!

Lucie Arnaz' wedding was held up as an argument was going on between mother and daughter, or so the tabloids said, wonder what it was about as Lucy always worried that some young guy would take her for the money that would eventually be inherited by her lovely daughter!

Originally posted by SPLAIN
YOU MEAN TO SAY ALL THIS TIME, YOU'VE BEEN TRYING!

Oh haha!!! :D I could be meaner if you want me to. ;)


Saw something interesting on the weekend on ET, Charles Nelson Rylley or somebody saying the love of your life NEVER socialized or even ate with the rest of the gang on Match Game.

Oh foo on Chuck. I think he's just being a bitter old man. So what if Richard didn't eat with them? Big deal. You spend so much time with people they're gonna get annoying. Better to be nice on camera and stay away from them off. And his whole thing that MG ruined his career...three words...ask Betty White. Didn't ruin her career any.

Hell, all those Password appearances Lucy made didn't exactly ruin her career either.

So that's where you got the aloof routine, i had to come on this board just to get to talk to you once in a while! But it was worth it, this is a great board!

My aloofness is just part of my master plan. MWHAHAHAHA!! :lol:

Well, you're NEVER boring i'll say that for you! As for the points you made about Chuck's comments, you're right about Betty and Lucy but Lucy was the first superstar to appear on game shows and everybody in the business knew she didn't need the exposure as much as the fact that she wanted to work, i think Charles' problem was because he wanted to be taken seriously as a producer director of plays and shows and the nonsense he was famous for on Match Game diminished his credibility! You know that the thing that bugs me about moderators is they are usually the best people to post and you guys so seldom do, i LOVE it when you lower yourself to walk among us lowly posters!

I'm a horrible lurker. I'm much too opinionated.

There's nothing wrong with being opinionated, nothing gives me more pleasure than to come on one of these boards and see some activity. There's nothing worse than people who just post ME TOO, or I AGREE, we want discussions, that's why we're here, a difference of opinion is enlightening and interesting and the more the merrier!

Walter Annenberg just died in his nineties, he started TV Guide and was worth millions, he lived in all the best places including Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs. On a TV tribute to Bob Hope at the Bob Hope Cultural Center where Lucy was the hostess, while Lucy was talking, Walter is in the main box with Bob and Dolores and is reading while Lucy is talking, that always bothered me. In his obit they mentionned that he was a great friend of Richard Nixon. Maybe that was the reason for his behavior towards Lucy as she never hid the fact that she could not stand Trickie Dickie Nixon. When Sammy Davis hugged him and got flack for it, it caused a problem with his wife Altovise. It was Lucy who helped get the two back together again. It was always a problem for me that the woman who sold more TV Guides than anybody else and appeared on more covers than anyone else and was acknowledged by the magazine as the woman seen by more people more often than any other woman in history should be treated so shabily by this man. I guess now she can tell him herself!

Always wondered why Lucy never seemed to care about clothes much in her long career. First of all, she started as a model, so she had to be fitted all the time and pose for all those pictures, not to mention modeling all those clothes. Then, on ILL, she wanted the character Lucy to be an average housewife with a few dresses that she would wear over and over the way a real housewife would. Then after that, she NEVER had time to shop, she said herself that whenever there was a party, she'd check her closet and like Lucy Ricardo would invariably say, I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR. So, one time when she did the Mike Douglas show for a week in Philadelphia, he got her a bunch of clothes, so as Mike talked to Gary, Lucy went backstage and changed into all these outfits, this is where she told the story herself of never having time to shop for clothes, one week i remember looking at a dozen magazines where they showed Lucy at various events, and she was wearing the same suit in all of them, which got her on Mr Blackwell's list of the worst dressed women, even topping the list one year, but then again, he always picked big stars so his list would get lots of publicity. ANYWAY, back to the Douglas show, she comes out at the end wearing a MINK dress, and every time i see a picture of her in that mink top she wore to play backgammon, i always wonder if she bought the dress and cut in down, a la Lucy in the Fur coat episode. At the end of her life, Lucy again wore these sometimes gaugy outfits to take the emphasis away from her aging face, sometimes she looked like a million bucks, other times she looked like a man in drag, and you sometimes see the same outfits over and over just like she did her whole life, i think her being frugal had something to do with it too. But at least she saved everything and today these outfits are all in museums and shows because she was a pack rat who saved everything!