The letter, unexpected, arrived about a week after I interviewed Angela Lansbury, ostensibly about a 1973 Philadelphia event in which Lansbury was participating at The Academy of Music. Or perhaps she was touring with Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."But it wasn't from Angela.
It was from Lucille Ball who had just started production on the 1974 film version of Jerry Herman's "Mame," which starred Lansbury on Broadway. Apparently, I referenced Lucy's name in the piece (perhaps only fleetingly), she saw it and, being a pro, wasted no time acknowledging her gratitude. It's all very fuzzy now but it must have been something positive.
~click on letter to enlarge~
I suppose the subject of "Mame" came up, with Lansbury explaining that Ball snagged the role because Warner Bros. felt the film needed not just a big star, but an icon - something that Lansbury, also a pro, took in stride.
That said, with the holidays upon us, CBS has scheduled its annual Christmas screening of "I Love Lucy" in tandem as usual with another vintage episode. This year, the double-bill includes "Paris At Last" which originally broadcast on February. 27, 1956 and involves Lucy's problems with a sidewalk artist with "original" oil paintings, the exchange rate for American dollars (and counterfeit French francs) and .. a plate of snails.
CBS will air the back-to-back episodes on Friday, December 20 at 8 est. The network reports that the main titles and end credits are seamlessly combined into one set at the beginning and end of the hour, with no interruption between the showings. (Both episodes have been colorized.)
Would it be too much of a cliché for me to confess that, yes, I too have been bamboozled and still love Lucy?
Regarding Comments:
All comments are enthusiastically appreciated but are moderated before
publication. Replies signed "unknown" or "anonymous" are not
encouraged. Please sign any response with a name (real or fabricated) or
initials. Be advised that a "name" will be assigned to any accepted
post signed "unknown" or "anonymous." Thank you. -J
* * * * *
~images~
(from top)
~Vintage Lucille Ball
~photography: MGM 1940©
~Vintage Lucille Ball
~photography: MGM 1940©
~The letter (circa 1973)~
~Lucy in the outdoor café scene from the "Paris At Last" episode of "I Love Lucy"
~photography: CBS 1956/2019©
~Lucy in the outdoor café scene from the "Paris At Last" episode of "I Love Lucy"
~photography: CBS 1956/2019©
Thoroughly enjoyed the piece on Lucy--but instantly felt I wanted to read WHAT you'd written about her that prompted the note of appreciation--I looked around the page and didn't see a link--is it there?
ReplyDeleteGerry! I'll have to dig out that column - if I still have it! - and keyboard it. It's an antique by now. -J
ReplyDeletefabulous.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful memory! Lucy was always one of my favorites both as an actress as well as a woman.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've heard stories from people who worked with her how ruthless she could be at times. Many people can be passive or aggressive depending on their mood at the moment.
ReplyDeleteAn amusing story about MAME: I was booking theatres in Cincinnati when it opened and laid an enormous egg. One of the regional theatre chains, who had a habit of coming up with their own ads, dug up a picture of an angry-looking Bea Arthur, placed her opposite a photo of an equally snarling Lucy, and changed the banner to LUCY VS. MAUDE IN A BATTLE OF LAUGHS YOU CAN'T SEE ON TV! The actual film title was buried at the bottom. Needless to say, it didn't help.
Yeah, harsh lady. I met her only once - at a Lincoln Center breakfast, promoting "Mame." She spent a good part of the session trashing playwright N. Richard Nash, even though he had nothing to do with "Mame." Said he had only one play in him - "The Rainmaker." (He wrote the play "Wildcat" for her.) Also took a swipe at Gene Saks when he snuck up to give her a surprise neck massage, "What the hell!" Early #MeToo. It was all kinda amusing - more "Baby Jane" than "Mame."
ReplyDeleteJoe, Ms. Lansbury would not have been in Sweeney Todd in '73. The show opened in 1979 (I was at the Opening Night) on Broadway. She toured with it in 1980.
ReplyDeleteI have 2.5 Lucy stories.
When the musical "King of Hearts" opened on Broadway, the big newspaper strike was on in NYC. They needed to make a huge splash for publicity and so they had the klieg lights blazing the sky, red carpet - the whole works. My girlfriend and I had tickets and we had to go through a maze of police barriers past crowds of people. We had so much fun, we walked on through the Minskoff alley and came around again. A couple people saw us coming through again and, not figuring out where they had seen us before, thought we were celebrities and asked for our autographs. We started signing and held up the line a bit.
It turns out that the couple who were coming in a few feet behind us wound up sitting next to us. After a few minutes, the lady leaned over to me and said, "Ok, who the f**k are you?" When I told her, she laughed a lot.
A year or so later, a friend of mine was in the show "They're Playing Our Song", which starred Lucie Arnaz and Robert Klein. My friend had gotten me an audition for the gameshow "$25,000 Pyramid". The chorus people in the show had long stretches offstage, and my friend and I would hang out in the space under the stage where she coached me for the game. Lucy was there one night, babysitting for her granddaughter and happened upon our practice session. She took over from my friend and coached me for the audition for a couple of weeks.
Paul
Paul- Many thanks for the "Sweeney Todd" correction. Frankly, the '70s are a blur to me at this point. That said, love your 2.5 Lucy stories. -J
ReplyDeleteEvery few months, my wife and I for one reason or another try to recall the one big song from "Wildcat," before giving up and turning to Wikipedia. (It was "Hey, Look Me Over," by the way.)
ReplyDeleteYou got it, Bill!
ReplyDeleteLucy--and unlike you, Joe, I never had a connection with her although I did once interview the co-writers who did most of the I Love Lucy episodes at Universal Studios on one of the many anniversaries of that show--was not a cheery person. Her talent, energy, foresight, and stamina are legendary. Perhaps the most interesting fact about her work--to me--was the time she spent going over and over the many difficult physical routines that are part of television's clip tradition; as always with professionals, once mastered (or mistressed), they looked easy. Desi rightly got credit for the style and technical innovations of the original show, but--whatever his other failings--he always knew who the star was. Ultimately, we all love Lucy, but Joe has the letter from her, so congrats.
ReplyDeletePatrick- Thanks for the insight into Lucy's work ethic, Patrick. Much appreciated. It wasn't exactly a secret that she was a grump in real life. She never tried to hide it, not even in interview situations. As I mentioned in my comment to Mike, I interviewed Lucy for "Mame" just prior to its release and she was fairly sour on everyone and everything.Remember she got Madeline Kahn fired from the role of Miss Gooch in the film. Even on talk shows with people like Carson, she'd be decidedly un-cheery. But, you know, I sort of liked that about her - that in real life she was the polar opposite of Lucy Ricardo. A tough, honest broad, so to speak. -J
ReplyDeleteIt's things like this that you can never forget. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Joe. On Saturday night my instrumental trio did a rowdy "garage jazz" version of the I Love Lucy theme song at a gig in Stockton, Cal. The crowd went nuts. She was indeed a star without a demographic boundaries...
ReplyDeleteWow! A true treasure, from a true treasure. Thank you for sharing this, Joe.
ReplyDeleteWOW, indeed. I am so impressed.
ReplyDelete