Did Lucille Ball clash with Many Guest Stars?

[McGillicuddy]

Does anybody know of stories where Lucy clashed with guest-stars on any of her shows? (ILL, TLS, HL) Apparently she didn't get along with Joan Blondell.

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...this was overheard during production of the "Lucy Meets Danny Kaye" episode on "THE LUCY SHOW" in 1964 (both had big egos):

DANNY: Just who the hell do you think you are?
LUCY: You're full of ****, that's who I am!


Writer Everett Greenbaum, while working on "M*A*S*H" at 20th Century-Fox in 1975, recalled this incident to Jeff Kissseloff in his book, "The Box" (1991):

Once I was sitting in the Fox commissary. It was near a stage, and we heard a big argument. A door opened and [Jackie] Gleason screamed to somebody inside, "Go to hell. I'm not having anything more to do with this."
And then Lucy came to the door, and said, "You fat ****."

Lucy and Jackie were co-starring in an hour-long special (forgotten today) filmed by her production company on a Fox soundstage, and, inevitably, tempers flared.


And then, of course, there were several instances between her and Vivian Vance on "THE LUCY SHOW" and "HERE'S LUCY", but not enough to destroy their friendship.

[McGillicuddy]

These stories don't make me think negatively of Lucille Ball or paint her as some sort of B--. It is known that she expected top notch performance from EVERYONE, in front of the camera and behind. I just think its interesting that some guest stars clashed with her expectations. I also realize some of these stories could be exaggerated.

[McGillicuddy]

An early example of problems with a guest star was Tullulah Bankhead, who appeared on The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,in the second episode, The Celebrity Next Door. According to The I Love Lucy Book, filming for this episode was a nightmare, as Bankhead was half bombed everyday during rehearsals. Lucy and Desi regretted hiring her.

[caladon]

If you'd like a backstage view of how Lucy could behave, you might like to check out this account:

http://www.freshyarn.com/38/essays/winchell_clash1.htm

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by caladon

If you'd like a backstage view of how Lucy could behave, you might like to check out this account:

http://www.freshyarn.com/38/essays/winchell_clash1.htm

I don't know how reliable the details are in this story. I know one fact for sure that was wrong. the person who wrote this story claimed Vivian Vance was on the set that day. When this particular episode was filmed Vivian Vance was no longer on the show and was living with her husband in Conneticut. So it is very unlikely she would have been on set that day.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

I don't know how reliable the details are in this story. I know one fact for sure that was wrong. the person who wrote this story claimed Vivian Vance was on the set that day. When this particular episode was filmed Vivian Vance was no longer on the show and was living with her husband in Conneticut. So it is very unlikely she would have been on set that day.

Also incorrect is the claim that Paul Winchell played a recurring role as Lucy's grandfather. He played several old-man characters on her shows, but they were not a recurring character. And he never played her grandfather. I'm also dubious about the recreational drug thing. Is she making assumptions, or did she actually see Lucy do this with her father? She doesn't say. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone claim she used recreational drugs.

Wikipedia says this about April Winchell: "Ms. Winchell did not speak publicly about his mental illness and drug use for many years, due to the 'tremendous responsibility' she felt to his fans, and the people who had fond childhood memories of his work from the 1960s through the late 1980s. But her silence ended in March 2004 after her father published his autobiography Winch, in which he openly criticized his ex-wife, Nina Russell, and other family members." Take from that what you will.

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by lucyandethel

There are so many stories out there trying to paint Lucy as some sort of a B***H and frankly, I think most of it is malarky. As for the stories above, first of all, I can tell you Danny Thomas DID have a tremendous ego, and his daughter Marlo is absolutely impossible to be around.

Jackie Gleason got on the nerves of anyone he worked with. He refused to rehearse and spent most of his time boozing and smoking like a fiend. I do know that later, Lucy regretted doing her special with Gleason because she said he was "smashed" during the entire production. And, he certainly looks it...you can see your reflection in his eyeballs he is so smashed!

The original post refers to Danny Kaye, not Danny Thomas.

[caladon]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

I don't know how reliable the details are in this story. I know one fact for sure that was wrong. the person who wrote this story claimed Vivian Vance was on the set that day. When this particular episode was filmed Vivian Vance was no longer on the show and was living with her husband in Conneticut. So it is very unlikely she would have been on set that day.

I see the logic of your statement; however, consider the following:

True; by that time in the show's history, Vivian Vance had already left as a regular. However, this episode appeared about the same time as the one where Vivian Vance had returned for one episode. So while it's true she wasn't in this episode, she still could've been on the set.

[joan davis fan]

I was in Denver the day Lucy had died in 1989 as was Tom Bosley who was in town to film the Father Dowling Mysteries.

When it got around that Lucy had died of course the local media had approached Tom asking for his thoughts on Lucy since the two had done the 1968 movie Yours, Mine & Ours. Imagine the surprise the Denver media had received when Tom said "...I am glad that B***** is DEAD...I *****ing hated HER !!!"

Tom Bosley never did get into details as to exactly why he hated Lucy though the local press sure had a field day with it. I think I still have the KMGH channel 7 newscast in my collection where Tom's "words" were the top story and yes KMGH did bleep out Tom's use of the "F" word.

Flash forward to approx. 15 years later. Lucie Arnaz came to my hometown. One day I get a call from a former co-worker telling me that he will be the one interviewing Lucie Arnaz for his TV program. I asked him to ask Lucie about her mother and Tom Bosley ( I told him what happened in Denver in 89 ). He did only to have Lucie refusing to say anything about the situation at all other than "...I don't want to talk about it".

[caladon]

His reaction makes me wonder if they shot more than that one scene together.

She certainly had a knack of making a lasting impression on people.

[Mr. Television]

I'm surprised that didn't make national news. If that happened today, the tabloids would be all over it.

[Rezny@gmail.com]

And how about the late Gale Gordon,the late Roy Roberts and the late Mary Jane Croft?Did THEY get along with the late Lucille Ball?I presume they did.Just curious.

[caladon]

Speaking of Gale Gordon; in the autobiography "That's Not All, Folks," Mel Blanc didn't care too much for him.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by rrezny@usnetizen

And how about the late Gale Gordon,the late Roy Roberts and the late Mary Jane Croft?Did THEY get along with the late Lucille Ball?I presume they did.Just curious.

I can't speak for Roy Roberts, but Gale Gordon and Mary Jane Croft got along well with her and have spoken very highly about their experience of working with her. After Lucille Ball's death, Gale Gordon actually referred to the experience of working with her as "sheer heaven." I wouldn't think he would have kept working with her for 40 years if he felt differently. And Mary Jane worked with her off and on for nearly 30 years. Gale Gordon, in an early '90s interview, explained Lucy's work ethic, saying working in television was like "a sausage factory" where (unlike movies) everything, from the initial script readings, to figuring out stage lighting, to blocking scenes, learning lines, positions, song and dance numbers and choreography, and everything else right up to filming the final product, all had to be accomplished within a matter of days. And production schedules couldn't be extended. So there was no time to waste. So she needed for people to be really professional, be on time, be sober, and to work very hard. So I think it boils down to whether or not a person was willing to work hard on Lucy's set. Lucy was a hard worker and expected those around her to work equally hard. If they did, they got along great with her; if they didn't, then she was likely to get irritated and they might clash. A few of the people who had trouble with her were big stars who, perhaps, felt they were above having to work that way, or were from a movie environment and weren't used to that pace. But other major stars like Ginger Rogers, Dinah Shore, Bob Hope, Carol Burnett, and Milton Berle, to name a few, got along splendidly with her. I suspect they were all hard-working, down-to-earth types, in spite of their star status.