What is everyone's problem with Gary????

[That Other Fan]

Originally posted by SPLAIN
And NO, i don't think it's fair for her as the STAR to get 125 if that jerk got 100.

Why? He was the executive producer of the show. Just as Desi Arnaz's role during the first season of "The Lucy Show". You can believe that his pay was right up their with Lucy's at the time. You must seperate your personal feelings about Gary from the business, that's business. I bet the other two individuals (Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Crane) who executive produced LWL were payed just as well as Gary.

Had the show continued though Lucy's salary would've grown and she could've been the first star to demand $1 million an episode (as wild as it may sound).

I loved when Desi was on the Tonight Show in the '70s and Carson said something like, "You had many big shows on the air at one time, lots of big stars working for you..." and Desi said, "Yeah, but mostly we had Lucy." He never lost sight of the fact that she was it, she was the talent. Lucy trusted him because he knew what was good for her.

Well to be fair Gary made quite a few "Lucy is the best thing that happen to me and I know what I have in her" comments as well. Of course, most of us don't know them by heart, lol.

BUT, the public wanted her in comedies, not musicals, and although it's been referred to as a golden turkey, it made it's money back on the mediun Lucy flourished on, TV!

That problem plauged Lucy's after a certain time in her career. She wanted to work, but the public only wanted her certain roles, and looking a certain way (as she appeared in ILL) therefore she was damned if she did (EX. Life With Lucy) and damned if she didn't (EX. Mame). Lucy was smart enough to know this which is why she was so devastaed after LWL because she gave the public what they wanted but they wouldn't except her because she was older.

[LucyFan]

I haven't read any books about Gary Morton and I have no intention to. From what I have heard and read about him is enough for me. I will always consider Desi as Lucy's love for life. Gary was just the substitute love for Lucy from when they got married to her death. I have always felt that Gary really didn't love Lucy as much as Desi. I think Desi's love for Lucy was far greater and superior over Gary's. Gary loved Lucy for what he got out of her. I wouldn't be surprised if he made several attempts to take an advantage over Lucy just because she was famous and loaded with money. That's probably one of the reasons he married her in the first place. Oh well . . . I guess we'll never truly know.

[That Other Fan]

Gary was just the substitute love for Lucy from when they got married to her death.

Substitute love...

That's a new one.

There is alot of "Desi bias" involved in everyone's opinion of Gary, IMO.

"Desi was the one I prefer her with therefore she couldn't possibly have loved anyone even remotely as much as she loved Desi." That's the type of feeling I'm getting from alot of these posts.

[Josh9125]

All I know is that Lucy loved Gary enough to marry him and you morons are wasting your time despising someone who Lucy loved and you will never change that fact. Desi can be a 2 timing whore on Lucy but oh you guys are all for him. Why is everyone so hypocritical when it comes to her husbands? She loved them both and I admire both in different ways. Gary was just as good to Lucy if not better that Desi was.

[Mickey]

Well I know nothing at all about Gary, and have no opinion on the guy, accept to feel faintly sorry for him. Hell of an act to follow, plus he's supposed to have said once that he felt he was only keeping Desi's place warm. That's kinda sad.

[Ricardos4ever]

Originally posted by Mickey
Hell of an act to follow, plus he's supposed to have said once that he felt he was only keeping Desi's place warm. That's kinda sad.

To add to that, Gary also supposedly said right after Lucy died: "At least she's happy now; she's with Desi." That really says a lot. He knew who her "favorite husband" was -- or how else do you interpret that statement? You're welcome to try.

It's not to say that she didn't love Gary, she did marry him after she vowed never to marry anyone ever again. But from some of the comments made by friends of hers over the years and Gary himself concerning how she felt about Desi, it seems that she never stopped loving Desi and considered him the love of her life. That's all we're saying.

[Ricardos4ever]

Originally posted by That Other Fan
Well to be fair Gary made quite a few "Lucy is the best thing that happen to me and I know what I have in her" comments as well. Of course, most of us don't know them by heart, lol.

Lucy may have been the best thing that ever happened to Gary, but in what way? Insiders claimed that Gary would constantly take from Lucy and "use it as his importance." Randomly, Gary would approach whoever was in charge of the money and say, "Lucy said to add another $5000 to my salary."

People who knew them and worked for them claimed that Gary never looked out for Lucy's best interests. Lucy's 'sister' Cleo was one of them. When Cleo was executive producing one of Lucy's specials, someone warned her not to let Gary in because if it failed, it would be her fault and if it succeeded, Gary would take all the credit. That's another difference between Gary and Desi. If someone made a big mistake, he would put his arm around you and say, "Well amigo, I guess we blew it," instead of saying "I guess you blew it." That's one of the things people loved about him. To quote Marcella Rabwin: "Desi was not intellectual, but he was very, very bright. Gary was not intellectual, but he was very, very shrewd. There's a difference."

[SPLAIN]

Yes, i always LOVED that line of hers, Marcella got that one right. We morons know that we are talking about something that is done and even buried, but we are still allowed to discuss it all at length. We are fans, so we get together and throw opinions at each other. My BIG one has always been to be fair, like i always say she spent 28 years with Gary, so he had to have done something right, he gave her boring because after the 19 years of hectic with Desi, she wanted and needed boring at that point. She certainly LOOKED happy with him, then again, she was an actress, used to portraying herself in a certain way. I might not have won the Oscar, but i have a happy marriage seemed to be her mantra, just my opinion. But insiders and family claim she was not happy with him at the end, and most people say he spent more time playing golf than managing her career. BUT, she was a smart woman, would she have let HIM bury her career, when it was the most important thing in the world to her, i think not. And speaking from my heart, i would say ten to fifteen happy years with the love of my life means a lot more to me than almost thirty with an old comfortable shoe. BUT my head tells me that it was a two way street, being Mr Ball and having a woman who runs the purse strings, is my meal ticket, and TELLS me what to do all the time, and not always in a nice way had to be very difficult for him. She wanted tranquility and peace of mind and sacrificed a little status and power and work in the process.

[That Other Fan]

Lucy may have been the best thing that ever happened to Gary, but in what way? Insiders claimed that Gary would constantly take from Lucy and "use it as his importance." Randomly, Gary would approach whoever was in charge of the money and say, "Lucy said to add another $5000 to my salary."

You missed the point of my comment. The point I was trying to get across is yes Desi said some wonderful things about Lucy. Therefore it's easier to say “yeah Desi loved her more...look what he said.” My point, is Gary made comments along those lines "Hey, Lucy is the best thing in the word. I know she's the most ingredient to my success", which in essence was what Desi was saying to Johnny Carson. The only thing is most of us don't have those comments ingrained in our memory and can’t repeat them verbatim.

People who knew them and worked for them claimed that Gary never looked out for Lucy's best interests.

There is always two sides to every story...

Cliff Norton
“Gary Morton had two important functions on this series (referring to “Here’s Lucy”). One was to take care of the business details for Lucille Ball Productions. The other was to shop their money around on a day to day basis. It was not unusual back then for very wealthy people to move their money from bank to bank, trying to get the best return available. All of the banks and investment houses wanted the kind of money Lucille and Gary had to offer, and this required daily scrutiny. Gary really excelled at this. He also kept Lucille happy, which of course was important to everyone who cared about her. One day she said to me, “You know Gary really loves me. And he’s so clean, not like the Cuban!” Gary made Lucille feel secure as woman, so she was free to do her work unencumbered.”

Mike Connors

“It was because of Gary Morton and Lucille that I was on Mannix.”


(Referring to Gary’s roll on Here’s Lucy) “Gary Morton seemed to be kept busy behind the scenes. He really had no impact with what was happening on the set.”


Desi Arnaz Jr.
“I’d like to say something about Gary Morton. You know, he and Cleo really did produce the show. I don’t remember Mom being in on casting, or making sure the show came in on budget. They had real jobs to do, and they did them very well. People who have written books trying to characterize Gary as less than professional, or just as Mom’s consort, are looking to make money. Gary’s influence was extraordinary, both on the set and off. He was a good man, and I think people have an axe to grind. My professional experience with Gary was wonderful; Here’s Lucy was film heaven compared to some sets I’ve worked on.”

Lucie Arnaz
“Gary ran the business. About what was funny, he usually deferred to my mother. It was my mother’s choice as to what story lines would fly. Gary would audition people...that sort of thing. A lot of people have written about how he changed the comedy on the show. That would be impossible to do. My father had great influence on my mother’s comedy. After he left, Gary did not fill that spot. He would never have tried. He did not deal with the writers like my father did. That became my mother’s job. And Cleo really worked hard as the line producer. She made sure everyone got paid, that all union requirements were met, and that things ran smoothly. Mom had the upper hand on the set always, but Gary and Cleo made certain Lucille Ball Productions was in good working order. Cleo is brilliant, capable, and real. She produced over 100 shows and specials.”

Like I said, there are always two sides to every story, and you can't always believe everything you hear. For instance, some characterize Lucy as being this ferocious monster on set. Who berated each and every person who got in her path. Of course, there are many others who say she was the pillar of professionalism. But what usually makes it into the books....The “ferocious monster” stories.

[dlemond]

Who doesn't love Gary?

[SPLAIN]

Very well said, i differ with only ONE point, LUCY AND LUCY ALONE got Mannix on the air, she did something she had never done before to call CBS and tell them she knew they were looking at two shows and only one would make their schedule and she wanted Mannix to be that show, she hated doing it and she had never done that sort of thing before, the powers that be at the studio told her she had to do it to help save Desilu and Lucy always did what she HAD to do, especially where thousands of lives and jobs were on the line, now maybe Gary was one of the ones doing the pushing, but she made the call and only SHE got the desired results.

[Ricardos4ever]

Originally posted by That Other Fan


You missed the point of my comment. The point I was trying to get across is yes Desi said some wonderful things about Lucy. Therefore it's easier to say “yeah Desi loved her more...look what he said.” My point, is Gary made comments along those lines "Hey, Lucy is the best thing in the word. I know she's the most ingredient to my success", which in essence was what Desi was saying to Johnny Carson. The only thing is most of us don't have those comments ingrained in our memory and can’t repeat them verbatim.



There is always two sides to every story...

Cliff Norton
“Gary Morton had two important functions on this series (referring to “Here’s Lucy”). One was to take care of the business details for Lucille Ball Productions. The other was to shop their money around on a day to day basis. It was not unusual back then for very wealthy people to move their money from bank to bank, trying to get the best return available. All of the banks and investment houses wanted the kind of money Lucille and Gary had to offer, and this required daily scrutiny. Gary really excelled at this. He also kept Lucille happy, which of course was important to everyone who cared about her. One day she said to me, “You know Gary really loves me. And he’s so clean, not like the Cuban!” Gary made Lucille feel secure as woman, so she was free to do her work unencumbered.”

Mike Connors

“It was because of Gary Morton and Lucille that I was on Mannix.”


(Referring to Gary’s roll on Here’s Lucy) “Gary Morton seemed to be kept busy behind the scenes. He really had no impact with what was happening on the set.”


Desi Arnaz Jr.
“I’d like to say something about Gary Morton. You know, he and Cleo really did produce the show. I don’t remember Mom being in on casting, or making sure the show came in on budget. They had real jobs to do, and they did them very well. People who have written books trying to characterize Gary as less than professional, or just as Mom’s consort, are looking to make money. Gary’s influence was extraordinary, both on the set and off. He was a good man, and I think people have an axe to grind. My professional experience with Gary was wonderful; Here’s Lucy was film heaven compared to some sets I’ve worked on.”

Lucie Arnaz
“Gary ran the business. About what was funny, he usually deferred to my mother. It was my mother’s choice as to what story lines would fly. Gary would audition people...that sort of thing. A lot of people have written about how he changed the comedy on the show. That would be impossible to do. My father had great influence on my mother’s comedy. After he left, Gary did not fill that spot. He would never have tried. He did not deal with the writers like my father did. That became my mother’s job. And Cleo really worked hard as the line producer. She made sure everyone got paid, that all union requirements were met, and that things ran smoothly. Mom had the upper hand on the set always, but Gary and Cleo made certain Lucille Ball Productions was in good working order. Cleo is brilliant, capable, and real. She produced over 100 shows and specials.”

Like I said, there are always two sides to every story, and you can't always believe everything you hear. For instance, some characterize Lucy as being this ferocious monster on set. Who berated each and every person who got in her path. Of course, there are many others who say she was the pillar of professionalism. But what usually makes it into the books....The “ferocious monster” stories.

All of those quotes are probably very true. Gary did work behind the scenes, he did have a lot of influence in running the business, and he did have a big job to do and did it. There's no doubt about that; I never questioned it.

What a lot of us have been questioning were his motivations, his true intentions. Both Lucie and Desi, Jr. said in those quotes that Gary and Cleo were the head honchos on "Here's Lucy." Together, they made sure the show ran smoothly. But, as I mentioned in my last post, his co-worker and 'sister-in-law' Cleo questioned his intentions. Aside from Fred and DeDe Ball, she knew Lucy the longest and the best. Her view was that he wasn't thinking about what was best for Lucy, but what was best for himself.

I also think that it is expected that Lucie and Desi, Jr. would defend Gary. He was their stepfather, their second dad. He raised them from pre-adolescence up. He was peacemaker in the family when they had an argument with their mom; he was the 'fun parent' at the Beverly Hill house. And he got a lot of flack because the public has this image of Lucy and Ricky together and happy, and Lucy and Desi together and happy, and it is hard for them to see her married to some other guy. The kids know this and of course they would defend him. He probably does get a little more flack than he should be getting. But negative comments that I read about Gary come from people like Cleo, people who worked with him. Granted, Lucie and Desi Jr. worked with Gary, but, let's face it, they are a little biased. And if Gary Morton really had "no impact with what was happening on the set," then how would they really know anyway? They were actors! But then again, everybody has some type of bias.

I've heard both sides of the story, the good and the bad. All I'm saying is that I'm not too happy with the bad. And it seems like there is a lot of bad.

[SPLAIN]

Paula Stewart, Lucy's friend for thirty years who co starred with her in Wildcat and introduced Gary to Lucy, said that they were not happy together at the end, which is not something i want to hear, maybe she lost her will to live when her marriage also went. Paula stated that Lucy was having trouble with Gary, i jusy wish she would write that book so we could get her version of things. There's that OTHER reference in a book saying that Gary was badmouthing Lucy after she died to Sinatra cronies, and they did not like that one bit, which is nice. Then, there's the dating Eva three weeks after Lucy died. That one doesn't bother me as much as it would if it was three weeks BEFORE she died!

[*ShortCake*]

Originally posted by SPLAIN
Paula Stewart, Lucy's friend for thirty years who co starred with her in Wildcat and introduced Gary to Lucy, said that they were not happy together at the end, which is not something i want to hear, maybe she lost her will to live when her marriage also went. Paula stated that Lucy was having trouble with Gary, i jusy wish she would write that book so we could get her version of things. There's that OTHER reference in a book saying that Gary was badmouthing Lucy after she died to Sinatra cronies, and they did not like that one bit, which is nice. Then, there's the dating Eva three weeks after Lucy died. That one doesn't bother me as much as it would if it was three weeks BEFORE she died!

I hope Lucy haunted him for the rest of his life. Thats awful..

[SPLAIN]

Well, there was this one article in one of the tabloids that said Lucy did haunt the house, Gary said she came to him and told him he should leave the house and get on with his life, after all, we now know he lived there for two years AFTER she died, until the lawyers practically kicked him out, i'm sure he thought that house would be HIS, but of course that was not the case, she left him the Palm Springs house instead. In the story Gary said she told him to sell the house, but it wasn't his to sell anyway. Lee Tannen also said Lucy's presence could be felt everywhere in the house, but that's understandable, i would feel that too if i was walking around her house and missing her, especially right after she died!