Lucy's Voice - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Timoth26 · 02-09-2010, 06:24 PM

Hey, I was just watching the Drafter episode of "I Love Lucy" and just got to wondering. When do you think Lucy's voice really started to change? I know even at the begining of Season 1 of "I Love Lucy" she still sounded really good and she still had a young voice even in her 40's. Well she still sounded like Lucy Ricardo in "The Lucy Show" and by the time she was doing "Here's Lucy" she was sound horse because her voice was sort of gravely and rough and sound quite the same as it did at the begining of "I Love Lucy". Did Lucy still use her Lucy Ricardo voice in "Here's Lucy" or "Life With Lucy"? When I watch ILL I thought that was the way she talked in real life.

Also, did Lucille Ball ever quit smoking? Because I know she did it alot doing "I Love Lucy" but, you never saw her smoke during her other shows like "The Lucy Show" or "Here's Lucy".

Madame X · 02-10-2010, 12:39 PM

I think she only smoked on a couple of episodes in the later shows. She started smoking as a teen and her doctor ordered her to stop smoking at age 74. Phillip Morris sponsored her for 25 years! She died of complications of heart disease. Lucy claimed she never inhaled, but she sure did develop a "smoker's voice" in her middle life.

During ILL her voice seemed to be pretty much the same. I'd also like to know when her voice became husky. Was it gradual or sudden?

Benno123 · 02-10-2010, 03:00 PM

Several things I have read said that it was a combo of smoking, but also abusing her voice during Wildcat. If you look at TV appearances after Wildcat, you can see a gradual deepening of her voice so that could be, but then I don't know for sure. Just one theory.

LittleRickyII · 02-10-2010, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timoth26

Hey, I was just watching the Drafter episode of "I Love Lucy" and just got to wondering. When do you think Lucy's voice really started to change? I know even at the begining of Season 1 of "I Love Lucy" she still sounded really good and she still had a young voice even in her 40's. Well she still sounded like Lucy Ricardo in "The Lucy Show" and by the time she was doing "Here's Lucy" she was sound horse because her voice was sort of gravely and rough and sound quite the same as it did at the begining of "I Love Lucy". Did Lucy still use her Lucy Ricardo voice in "Here's Lucy" or "Life With Lucy"? When I watch ILL I thought that was the way she talked in real life.

Also, did Lucille Ball ever quit smoking? Because I know she did it alot doing "I Love Lucy" but, you never saw her smoke during her other shows like "The Lucy Show" or "Here's Lucy".

First of all, you are correct that she never smoked on any of her shows after "I Love Lucy," except for a few times where she did it for comic effect. In those instances, her TV characters were portrayed as non-smokers who didn't know how to smoke. For instances, in "Lucy Puts Out a Fire at the Bank" on The Lucy Show, Lucy Carmichael pretends to be a smoker so she can "accidentally" cause a fire. But since Lucy Carmichael doesn't really smoke, she starts coughing and choking on the cigarette. That was as far as her post-Lucy Ricardo characters would go as far as smoking was concerned. And of course her last character, Lucy Barker, was supposed to be a health nut.

As for her voice changing, first of all, please note that the voice you hear on I Love Lucy, particularly early on, was not Lucille Ball's natural speaking voice. She spoke in an unnaturally high voice on I Love Lucy which, ironically contributed to deepening it. Interestingly, early in her career she though her voice was too high and did exercises to deepen it. Then years later on I Love Lucy, she thought it was too deep and spoke in an unnaturally high pitch to raise it. None of this is good for the voice. But she did lots of other things through the years that caused damage to her voice, besides smoking. Check out these threads where this topic is discussed at length:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=34809&highlight=Lucy's+voice

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=34809&highlight=Lucy's+voice

Oh, and I agree with Benno about Wildcat. Between the last Lucy-Desi Hour in 1960 and the first episode of The Lucy Show in 1962, her voice got a lot deeper. What happened between those dates was Wildcat. She also developed polyps, which causes raspiness like she developed later on. And smoking is the main cause of polyps.

Finally, Madame X is correct that yes, she did ultimately quit smoking. It was around 1985. Her doctor told her, basically, either quit or die. So she quit, not happily, but she quit.

By the way, Madame X, how do you mean that Philip Morris sponsored her for 25 years? They only sponsored the first four years of I Love Lucy, then her shows were sponsored by many other companies, like Ford, Westinghouse, and General Foods. No more cigarette companies.

Madame X · 02-11-2010, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

By the way, Madame X, how do you mean that Philip Morris sponsored her for 25 years? They only sponsored the first four years of I Love Lucy, then her shows were sponsored by many other companies, like Ford, Westinghouse, and General Foods. No more cigarette companies.

I saw this quote from Lucie on a female celebrity smoking list at smokingsides.com/asfs/B/Ball.html:

• daughter Lucie: "they [Lucille and husband Dezi Arnaz] smoked like chimneys... Philip Morris...actually sponsored them for 25 years and my parents even did commercials which told people to smoke", The Mail on Sunday (UK), Jul. 9, '00

TV_on_the_Porch · 02-11-2010, 04:46 AM

Not sure what Lucie is referring to there. Advertising of cigarettes on TV was illegal as of 1971, so even if Philip Morris were sponsoring her all the way up to the days of Here's Lucy (they weren't), that's only 20 years from the time I Love Lucy began until the advertising ban took effect.

Benno123 · 02-11-2010, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TDRyan

Not sure what Lucie is referring to there. Advertising of cigarettes on TV was illegal as of 1971, so even if Philip Morris were sponsoring her all the way up to the days of Here's Lucy (they weren't), that's only 20 years from the time I Love Lucy began until the advertising ban took effect.

Although in MadameX's defense I have seen pictures of Lucy playing backgammon from the 1970s where there is a pack of Philip Morris sitting there, so perhaps that is where the idea that they sponsored her came from.

Marvo301 · 02-11-2010, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benno123

Although in MadameX's defense I have seen pictures of Lucy playing backgammon from the 1970s where there is a pack of Philip Morris sitting there, so perhaps that is where the idea that they sponsored her came from.

I wonder if perhaps Phillip Morris was one of the sponsors of Lucy's radio show "My Favorite Husband" and other radio shows she worked on. Maybe the 25 years of Phillip Morris sponsorship was for a combination of both Lucy's radio and television careers.

Benno123 · 02-11-2010, 10:25 PM

Jello was the sponsor for My Favorite Husband. At the beginning it always started with Lucy saying "Jello everybody!"

lucyandethel · 02-14-2010, 01:53 AM

It could have been smoking. But, I think it was because Lucy believed in yelling her lines. Even in rehearsals, she believed that you deliver your lines so that people in the back row can hear you. I think that took a toll on her voice. But, some people just have a raspy voice. My grandmother had a raspy voice and she didn't smoke or drink or yell.

02-09-2010, 06:24 PM	#1
Timoth26 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 08, 2009 Posts: 185	Lucy's Voice Hey, I was just watching the Drafter episode of "I Love Lucy" and just got to wondering. When do you think Lucy's voice really started to change? I know even at the begining of Season 1 of "I Love Lucy" she still sounded really good and she still had a young voice even in her 40's. Well she still sounded like Lucy Ricardo in "The Lucy Show" and by the time she was doing "Here's Lucy" she was sound horse because her voice was sort of gravely and rough and sound quite the same as it did at the begining of "I Love Lucy". Did Lucy still use her Lucy Ricardo voice in "Here's Lucy" or "Life With Lucy"? When I watch ILL I thought that was the way she talked in real life. Also, did Lucille Ball ever quit smoking? Because I know she did it alot doing "I Love Lucy" but, you never saw her smoke during her other shows like "The Lucy Show" or "Here's Lucy".

02-10-2010, 12:39 PM	#2
Madame X Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 15, 2006 Location: Oregon Posts: 1,831	I think she only smoked on a couple of episodes in the later shows. She started smoking as a teen and her doctor ordered her to stop smoking at age 74. Phillip Morris sponsored her for 25 years! She died of complications of heart disease. Lucy claimed she never inhaled, but she sure did develop a "smoker's voice" in her middle life. During ILL her voice seemed to be pretty much the same. I'd also like to know when her voice became husky. Was it gradual or sudden?

02-10-2010, 03:00 PM	#3
Benno123 Jenna Fischer Rocks My World!! Senior Member Join Date: Nov 01, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,036	Several things I have read said that it was a combo of smoking, but also abusing her voice during Wildcat. If you look at TV appearances after Wildcat, you can see a gradual deepening of her voice so that could be, but then I don't know for sure. Just one theory.

02-11-2010, 04:46 AM	#6
TV_on_the_Porch anything good on? Forum Regular Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Posts: 879	Not sure what Lucie is referring to there. Advertising of cigarettes on TV was illegal as of 1971, so even if Philip Morris were sponsoring her all the way up to the days of Here's Lucy (they weren't), that's only 20 years from the time I Love Lucy began until the advertising ban took effect.

02-11-2010, 10:25 PM	#9
Benno123 Jenna Fischer Rocks My World!! Senior Member Join Date: Nov 01, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,036	Jello was the sponsor for My Favorite Husband. At the beginning it always started with Lucy saying "Jello everybody!"

02-14-2010, 01:53 AM	#10
lucyandethel Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 18, 2009 Location: Los Angeles CA Posts: 435	It could have been smoking. But, I think it was because Lucy believed in yelling her lines. Even in rehearsals, she believed that you deliver your lines so that people in the back row can hear you. I think that took a toll on her voice. But, some people just have a raspy voice. My grandmother had a raspy voice and she didn't smoke or drink or yell.