Magazine Rumor Need Clarification

[comedyfreak]

Okay, since I've read the threads concerning Lucy and Desi's break up it lead me to think about something. They remained friends? I distinctly remember reading in Star Magazine, that Lucy and Desi made up at Lucie Arnaz's Wedding when she married Bill Luckinbill. It lead me to believe that they stopped speaking to each other after the divorce and that Lucy was bitter all those years. The article said that Desi was so happy he even sang the I Love Lucy song at the wedding during the reception. I remember the pics from the magazine of Desi playing an instrument while singing. Have I imagined this or is their any validity to the complete story?

[Madame X]

Here are some of Lucy's own words on the final page of her autobiography, Love, Lucy, written in 1996:

"I'm glad for out children's sake that they now have two happy homes, rather than one miserable, unhappy one. Desi and I keep in close touch about the children in a way we never could when we were married.

"I'm grateful for the amicable feeling now between Desi and me and Gary and the children. Desi phones me often to discuss the children or the show, and he plays golf with Gary. Since our lives have been straightened out, the children have improved in their schoolwork and they laugh more. Children internalize their parents' unhappiness. Fortunately, they absorb our contentment just as readily."

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

Okay, since I've read the threads concerning Lucy and Desi's break up it lead me to think about something. They remained friends? I distinctly remember reading in Star Magazine, that Lucy and Desi made up at Lucie Arnaz's Wedding when she married Bill Luckinbill. It lead me to believe that they stopped speaking to each other after the divorce and that Lucy was bitter all those years. The article said that Desi was so happy he even sang the I Love Lucy song at the wedding during the reception. I remember the pics from the magazine of Desi playing an instrument while singing. Have I imagined this or is their any validity to the complete story?

You haven't imagined that, I remember that 1980 (!!!) article as well. But it's Star magazine, which is in the same league as the National Enquirer! No, Lucy and Desi remained close all those years. Lucy remarked in 1977 that there was no animosity between them when they got divorced as they hired only one lawyer to represent them both, and had remained close ever since. When she was doing Wildcat in 1961 and wound up in the hospital from exhaustion, Desi was there at her side immediately. There were rumors at the time that they were going to get back together. As executive producer, Desi was responsible for putting "The Lucy Show" on the air in 1962, and he and Lucy remained business partners until he sold her his share of Desilu at the end of that year. I can't remember who said this, but I remember someone, who worked with Lucy in the '60s and '70s, commenting on how she regularly got phone calls from Desi and it was always evident from the look on her face when it was Desi on the phone. Lucy was known to regularly call Desi for advice, and it has been said that, after the divorce, they spoke at least once a week every week until he died. The last time Lucy spoke to him was November 30, 1986 (their 46th anniversary), two days before he died. She called to tell him one last time that she loved him. And speaking of their anniversary, Desi sent her flowers every year after their divorce on their anniversary. Desi was known to pop up on the set of her show from time to time through the years. In fact, there is footage of one such occasion on the "Here's Lucy" DVD. This footage is of rehearsals in 1970 for the episode with Sammy Davis, Jr. You can tell from everyone's reaction that this was nothing uncommon. I've seen a photograph taken at a party around this same time, of Lucy with both Gary and Desi. When Desi's wife, Edie, died in 1985, Lucy tried to get Desi to come live in their guest house while he was in mourning. Gary, who had issues with Lucy's closeness to Desi, referred to him as his ex-husband-in-law. So don't believe the tabloids. They're trash.

[Ireneparalegal]

I agree, don't believe the tabloids. Especially at that time the Star was notable for such ludicrous garbage. I can't say they are legit now, but they have improved on such trashy subjects from the 70'-80's.

Lucy and Desi were friends. As you can read above, there are many instances where they showed that in public and you can imagine in private how it must have been. Lucy was right, being in a bad marriage can ruin your kids for life. Divorcing and being on friendly terms can do wonders for children who had to see so much and hear so much going on that was hurtful and negative.

[Lodee]

Lucy looks so uncomfortable when Desi comes on the set though, don't you think? She hardly even looks at him.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Lodee

Lucy looks so uncomfortable when Desi comes on the set though, don't you think? She hardly even looks at him.

In the scene in the living room with Edie, Ernie and the Kovaks, didn't she have her back to Desi most of the time? Perhaps it was staged that way, but the staging could have been intentional due to the uncomfortable circumstances. It was only in the final scene that they had to perform close to one another while facing eachother. But then, it doesn't seem like they had to end the scene with a kiss, but they did.

[comedyfreak]

Oh, okay that clears things up. I'm glad Lucy and Desi became friends. Back in the late 70's I bought anything that featured Lucy, although I tended to trust Star magazine over the Inquirer.

[Lodee]

Originally Posted by NOVARick

In the scene in the living room with Edie, Ernie and the Kovaks, didn't she have her back to Desi most of the time? Perhaps it was staged that way, but the staging could have been intentional due to the uncomfortable circumstances. It was only in the final scene that they had to perform close to one another while facing eachother. But then, it doesn't seem like they had to end the scene with a kiss, but they did.

That's a good point about them not having to kiss in that last scene, but it's a nice way to end it.

The scene I was talking about where Desi comes on the set and she hardly looks at him was the Here's Lucy rehersal footage. Sorry, I should have mentioned what part I was talking about.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Lodee

The scene I was talking about where Desi comes on the set and she hardly looks at him was the Here's Lucy rehersal footage. Sorry, I should have mentioned what part I was talking about.

That's what I meant when I said that, from observing that "Here's Lucy" rehearsal clip, it appeared Desi regularly showed up on the set because, in that clip, nobody made a big deal about him being there. When he first appeared, Desi made that "minorities week" comment and Lucy looked over and laughed, but then she got right back to business with her rehearsals. Of course with Lucy, business was business. I don't think it would have mattered to her if Queen Elizabeth showed up on the set, that wouldn't stop her from rehearsing her show.

[Lodee]

Oh okay, I never thought about it that way. She was like that about work, wasn't she? Thanks for explaining it better.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Lodee

Oh okay, I never thought about it that way. She was like that about work, wasn't she? Thanks for explaining it better.

She has been said to have had a very different personality on the set, where she was all business. No time for goofing off. Here's how Gale Gordon explained it back in 1992:

"Television is a... factory. You turn out things on a revolving assembly line. You don't have time to perfect anything in television. If you're doing a weekly series it's very difficult to make each episode of the series as good as it should be because you don't have the time to devote to it. This was one reason that Lucy was such a hard worker, and many people didn't like going on her show because they worked from the moment they got there until the show was filmed. And that was four days," Gordon explains. "And in those four days we had to learn the show and do all the camera rehearsing, because there were three cameras in each scene all going at once.

"Guest actors had to rehearse with us as performers because each word that an actor might have said might be a cue for the camera to move or turn in order to get a different angle. All those technical things that television requires takes away from the concentration that you should be giving the character itself. For that reason, Lucy worked very hard for the four days. The results show. Her work has endured for some 40 years or more because she was never satisfied. She would never say, 'Oh, we can get by with this, it won't matter,' because if it mattered to one viewer- that would have ruined it as far as Lucy was concerned. And that's why television is a sausage factory. Radio wasn't so bad because you didn't have to memorize the lines. But you did have to do everything because your own character was in your voice-that took a little doing. Most people thought that if you could speak English or read then you could be a radio actor. Well that wasn't so. You had to put a great deal into your reading to convince somebody who was just listening that a certain character is speaking."

[comedyfreak]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.