Lucille Ball: The Innovator
Author: Trudy Stroup
We have followed Lucy through some really tough times. She was shipped off to a strange home as a toddler, deprived of the love and affection that children need and given nothing more than the basic necessities of life. But she still had dreams, and I believe the deprivation early in life brought out the determination she needed to make her dreams come true. She was truly a pioneer among women in her industry. She saw many changes, and made some of them happen. It is this pioneer that I want to look at this time.
Lucy and Desi divorced for the last time in 1960. They saw the end of their television show, "I Love Lucy", in 1957 when it was still very popular. I believe they came to a point where they couldn't agree on anything, and instead of continuing and ruining America's favorite sitcom, they decided to go out on top. I think this decision created a hunger for their show and allowed it to remain one of the top most re-run programs in sitcom history. Not to mention the laugh-until-you-cry feeling you get even though you've seen that episode a hundred times!
Later, in 1960, Lucy met fellow comedian Gary Morton. They married November 19, 1961, and remained married until her death. Gary's type of comedy was different from Lucy's in that he played to live crowds in hotels and resorts, primarily in New York State, and enjoyed his brand of success.
With the support of her new husband, Lucy bought out Desi in 1961 and became the first woman to head a major studio. Desilu brought us comedy shows such as "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Our Miss Brooks". However Lucy looked outside the realm of comedy as well, bringing us "The Untouchables" and "Star Trek". That's right! Lucy was a Trekky!!! By the way, some of the techniques for filming used today were started by Lucy at Desilu. She created an empire in such a short amount of time, only 5 years, and she sold Desilu in 1967 for more than $17 million. That was an unheard of sum in the '60's, when you could buy a brand new car for less than $2000!
I think Lucy was the original multi-tasker! While building her empire, she also starred in two more sitcoms, though never again as a wife. In 1962, she starred in 'The Lucy Show" as a divorcee…another first. She brought along Vivian Vance and included her children Lucie and Desi Jr. in this show. It ran until 1968 with great success, although not quite the success of "I Love Lucy". After that was "Here's Lucy", which enjoyed a modicum of success until its last production in 1973. AND, while all of this was going on, she made movies! Comedies, dramas, romances…the woman was unstoppable. She appeared alongside the Marx Brothers, even impersonating Groucho. She shared the screen and stage with Henry Fonda, Van Johnson, Bea Arthur, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Barbara Stanwick and the girl that intimidated her into silence in acting school, Bette Davis.
Although Lucy loved comedy, she was not an ad-libber as some have claimed. She practiced making faces in front of the mirror for hours at a time. She worked hard at her craft and it all paid off. In this quote, posted by the LA Times, from an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, she gives credit where credit is due: "I am not funny. My writers were funny. My directors were funny. The situations were funny. What I am is brave. I have never been scared. Not when I did movies, certainly not when I was a model and not when I did "I Love Lucy."
During Lucy's 50 year career, she introduced several "taboo" topics onto the airwaves. In the '50's she included women in the work place on "I Love Lucy" as well as pregnancy. Although she honored the "man of the house" idea in this show, she did buck against it quite a bit. In the '60's it was divorce and single parenting as well as re-marriage, and in the '80's she did a made for TV movie about a homeless elderly woman entitled "Stone Pillow".
Lucy's final appearance was at the Academy Awards ceremony in March 1989 as a presenter with Bob Hope, where they enjoyed a standing ovation. And Lucy was showing a whole lot of leg in a dazzling dress.
It was just a month later that Lucy had to have open heart surgery for a dissecting aortic aneurysm. Though the surgery was a success, with Lucy receiving a transplanted aorta, she suffered another dissection just 6 days later and passed away on April 26th of 1989. CBS Studio displayed on their marquee "They needed a laugh in Heaven. Goodbye Lucy"
Now if you will excuse me, I think I will dig out my copy of "Yours, Mine, and Ours"
© 2015 Trudy Stroup. All rights reserved.
Author: Trudy Stroup
We have followed Lucy through some really tough times. She was shipped off to a strange home as a toddler, deprived of the love and affection that children need and given nothing more than the basic necessities of life. But she still had dreams, and I believe the deprivation early in life brought out the determination she needed to make her dreams come true. She was truly a pioneer among women in her industry. She saw many changes, and made some of them happen. It is this pioneer that I want to look at this time.
Lucy and Desi divorced for the last time in 1960. They saw the end of their television show, "I Love Lucy", in 1957 when it was still very popular. I believe they came to a point where they couldn't agree on anything, and instead of continuing and ruining America's favorite sitcom, they decided to go out on top. I think this decision created a hunger for their show and allowed it to remain one of the top most re-run programs in sitcom history. Not to mention the laugh-until-you-cry feeling you get even though you've seen that episode a hundred times!
Later, in 1960, Lucy met fellow comedian Gary Morton. They married November 19, 1961, and remained married until her death. Gary's type of comedy was different from Lucy's in that he played to live crowds in hotels and resorts, primarily in New York State, and enjoyed his brand of success.
With the support of her new husband, Lucy bought out Desi in 1961 and became the first woman to head a major studio. Desilu brought us comedy shows such as "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Our Miss Brooks". However Lucy looked outside the realm of comedy as well, bringing us "The Untouchables" and "Star Trek". That's right! Lucy was a Trekky!!! By the way, some of the techniques for filming used today were started by Lucy at Desilu. She created an empire in such a short amount of time, only 5 years, and she sold Desilu in 1967 for more than $17 million. That was an unheard of sum in the '60's, when you could buy a brand new car for less than $2000!
I think Lucy was the original multi-tasker! While building her empire, she also starred in two more sitcoms, though never again as a wife. In 1962, she starred in 'The Lucy Show" as a divorcee…another first. She brought along Vivian Vance and included her children Lucie and Desi Jr. in this show. It ran until 1968 with great success, although not quite the success of "I Love Lucy". After that was "Here's Lucy", which enjoyed a modicum of success until its last production in 1973. AND, while all of this was going on, she made movies! Comedies, dramas, romances…the woman was unstoppable. She appeared alongside the Marx Brothers, even impersonating Groucho. She shared the screen and stage with Henry Fonda, Van Johnson, Bea Arthur, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Barbara Stanwick and the girl that intimidated her into silence in acting school, Bette Davis.
Although Lucy loved comedy, she was not an ad-libber as some have claimed. She practiced making faces in front of the mirror for hours at a time. She worked hard at her craft and it all paid off. In this quote, posted by the LA Times, from an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, she gives credit where credit is due: "I am not funny. My writers were funny. My directors were funny. The situations were funny. What I am is brave. I have never been scared. Not when I did movies, certainly not when I was a model and not when I did "I Love Lucy."
During Lucy's 50 year career, she introduced several "taboo" topics onto the airwaves. In the '50's she included women in the work place on "I Love Lucy" as well as pregnancy. Although she honored the "man of the house" idea in this show, she did buck against it quite a bit. In the '60's it was divorce and single parenting as well as re-marriage, and in the '80's she did a made for TV movie about a homeless elderly woman entitled "Stone Pillow".
Lucy's final appearance was at the Academy Awards ceremony in March 1989 as a presenter with Bob Hope, where they enjoyed a standing ovation. And Lucy was showing a whole lot of leg in a dazzling dress.
It was just a month later that Lucy had to have open heart surgery for a dissecting aortic aneurysm. Though the surgery was a success, with Lucy receiving a transplanted aorta, she suffered another dissection just 6 days later and passed away on April 26th of 1989. CBS Studio displayed on their marquee "They needed a laugh in Heaven. Goodbye Lucy"
Now if you will excuse me, I think I will dig out my copy of "Yours, Mine, and Ours"
© 2015 Trudy Stroup. All rights reserved.