Lucy Mysteries

[SPLAIN]

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!

[SPLAIN]

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!

[dawsongirl]

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.

[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. 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.

[SPLAIN]

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!

[dawsongirl]

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.

[buddy love]

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.

[SPLAIN]

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!

[SPLAIN]

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!

[JaneTVFan]

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.

[JaneTVFan]

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.

[JaneTVFan]

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,

[SPLAIN]

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!

[SPLAIN]

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.

[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, 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!