Too Many Girls

The legendary movie that brought two amazing people of different cultures and races far apart together.

Sometimes, it's just fate. The cards are already laid on the table, the draw already planned.

They were already going out together before the movie was officially made.
They were instantly attracted.
The courtship was exciting to watch-- they were like instant kissdolls.

It was love at first sight, or according to Lucille Ball, it took exactly 5 minutes to fall in love with Desi Arnaz.

Tiger

Lucille Ball was actually a remarkable singer, and it was on a rare occasion, such as in Dance, Girl, Dance, when her singing wasn't dubbed.

I wonder why her singing was dubbed in other movies.

Dedicated

Lucille Ball was dedicated to her career. The catfight between Maureen O'Hara and her was real, because they wanted to keep it real.

Of course, they were close friends in real life!

Keeping a Straight Face

Is it me, or did I really notice a slight change in Lucy's face when Bobby the bellboy in The Star Upstairs gave her a backhanded compliment on her appearance?

Keep a lookout for this scene. She was trying not to smile. And she was not just pretty, she was gorgeous!

I Love Lucy-- Ricky's Present Trick

Ricky thought Lucy was trying to hint him that her birthday was coming.

He had an emergency present stashed away.

In real life, Desi Arnaz was a sentimental husband-- he never forgot important dates, and he had always spoiled Lucille Ball with expensive gifts. He was extravagant with her; never a pinch penny.

In fact, Lucy said that if she was melted down, what left would be a pile of gold.

Each wedding anniversary, and even after the divorce and till their deaths, Desi had always sent a big bouquet of red and white carnations.

Stripteaser/ Burlesque

Watch Lucille Ball in Dance, Girl, Dance, 1940, also the period just before she met Desi Arnaz.

She was a brilliant actress who excelled in all genres of acting.

And yes, that's Maureen O'Hara!

7. The Proposal

Soon after she received Desi Arnaz's touching telegram, Lucille Ball traveled to Milwaukee to appear in a benefit. This engagement was supposed to last one night, but one night stretched in five. Desi had made her promise to return to New York immediately after her Milwaukee engagement and he became as mad as an ant on a hot pan as she was held up at Milwaukee longer than expected. Moreover, it was in November and the snow was falling down hard and quick. He became suspicious and thought she was having an affair.

Was it possible for Lucy to return to New York into Desi's arms?

One midnight, Lucy took Desi's long distance call at the hotel lobby. She was tired from working, and he was yelling into the phone, with his strange accent "I know why you're stalling, you crumbum. You're screwing the mayor. And there's a very handsome actor playing in the scene with you, Joseph Cotten. Are you screwing him? Is that why you're stalling?"

Of course, being the woman with a hot temperament, Lucy was not going to take the accusations lightly. She in turn, accused him of being involved with every woman in every town he was in, and hollered right back "I don't even know this Joseph!" She had forgotten where she was- the entire lobby was at a standstill as everyone eavesdropped on her end of the conversation. It was no mystery who the person on the other end of the line was. It so happened that Joseph Cotten walked in and immediately, Lucy said to Desi "I got to go. I'll see you first thing in the morning," and hung up.

Lucy marched up to her hotel suite, still boiling mad at Desi, and told her personal maid, Harriet that she was going to charter a private plane and leave for New York right this minute. Her maid would follow her the next day, with her clothes and other personal belongings. When she returned to the lobby, Joseph was still there-- he kindly drove her to the airport.

Braving the snowstorm, Lucy finally reached New York and checked into Hamsphire House. Exhausted, she fell into a deep lumber till noon the next year, and then waited for Desi to appear between his shows at the Roxy. Just then, a reporter requested to interview Lucy on the article "Why I Will Always Remain a Bachelor Girl". She accepted it as she wanted to keep Desi waiting-- she was still mad at him. In her hotel room, she cited all the reasons Desi and her were never going to get married, and that their differences would never be resolved. Of course, she would continue seeing him, just as friends.

Finally, the lady reporter left. The two lovebirds had not seen each other for a long time. They wasted no time but to apologize for all the nasty accusations they had made about each other, kissed, and made love, all in a hurry as Desi had to return to the Roxy and do the next show.

As Desi was dressing and leaving, he said "This girl is going to have a hell of a time with that story."

"Why?" Lucy was curious, and becoming increasingly excited.

"Because I have everything arranged to marry you tomorrow morning, if you would like to marry me."

"Where?" Lucy was lost for words.

"In Greenwich, Connecticut." He shed light on her that he had been adamant on wanting her back in New York as soon as possible because he had already postponed the elopement 5 times.

"But I thought we decided that we couldn't get married."

"That's right, but we are."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not kidding. I want to marry you and I want to marry you tomorrow."

"Why couldn't we just live together?" she asked.

"No, I don't want to just live together. I want to marry you and I want to have some children with you and I want to have a home. I'm not like the image you have of me. Now, do you want to marry me or not?"

"Of course I want to marry you, you idiot! Aren't we supposed to wait for three days for a permit or something?"

"I got the whole thing straightened out. I've already gotten a permit, and the judge to give us an exemption. You love me, don't you?"

"I love you very much."

"I love you very much too. So what the hell else is there? I have to go now. I'll be back after the next show."

It was a hectic day for Desi. But he had never been happier. Years later, he could recall the exact details of this unorthodox and poignantly sweet proposal. So could Lucy.

I Love Lucy

6. Before the Proposal

2 December marks Desi Arnaz's death anniversary. It was the day when Lucille Ball lost the most important thing in her life- forever. I'm sure it broke her heart as her health started to decline shortly. There were just so many mistakes they wished they could undo. One "I love you" wouldn't suffice. They had to repeat and enunciate their love for each other, over and over again.

Desi and Lucy had been involved in serious discussions of why they should not get married. Their outlooks on life were different: he was a rich kid in Cuba and had speedboats and horses before the Revolution happened, she was poor and didn't even own a bicycle. He was a believer of being the master of the house as a man, she was independent and self-sufficient. He was a bandleader who loved to be on the road, she was committed to Hollywood. He was a romantic who lived to enjoy life and not worry about the future, she was a realist.

They finally decided that they shouldn't get married. Lucy of course, was devastated. She went along with the promotion of her pictures, smiling, shaking hands and signing autographs for her fans, but she had never been more depressed in her life.

Desi couldn't give her up. He phoned her constantly, daily, hourly. His telegram to her "Just wanted to say I love you, goodnight and be good. I think I'll say I love you again, in fact I will say it. I love you love you love you love you" broke her heart. Of course, she was heart wrenched with tears.

Yet, the saying that "opposite attracts" was the case...

The jealousy, possessiveness and passionate love kept them wanting for more of each other. The attraction was too powerful. 

Star Trek

We have Star Trek thanks to Lucille Ball.

Desilu Productions merged with Paramount Television. So movies today are part of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball's genius!

Imagine, a poor Cuban who escaped from the Revolution and a poor American whose father died early became a bongo drum bandleader and a model, then a Broadway actor and a Hollywood B movies actress, then got married, produced I Love Lucy, and bought over RKO Pictures, formed Desilu Productions, and merged with Paramount.

Inspiring!

Happy Anniversary

30 November marks the special day- the union of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.

Even after Desi and Lucy had divorced, 10 years later, 15 years later and even at old age, Desi never failed to deliver a huge bouquet of red and white carnations (Lucy's favorite flowers) on their anniversary. He never stopped loving her, neither did she stop loving him.

Desi spoke to no one but Lucy on his death bed. Their daughter, Lucie, held the phone as her father was too ill and weak. On the other end of the phone, Lucy realized that it was now or never-- her protective shell crumbled as she cried while repeating over and over "I love you, Desi. I love you. I love you." "I love you too, honey. Good luck with your show. I'll talk to you later." He died 48 hours later. Lucie Arnaz later realized that the faithful day was on 30 November-- their anniversary.

Owing to the great love that resulted in the greatest comedy production I Love Lucy, the world is still laughing today with their loved ones. I hope they're laughing together too. 

5. Not Even The Start

After the first date, Desi thought it would be the end of the Lucy story.

As it turned out, it wasn't even the beginning.

It was the start of a passionate and possessive love, of a great production I Love Lucy that still brings much laughter around the world today, of the results of wrong choices made, of an enduring love which proved that even after remarrying, there could only be one great long-lasting love, that true love does exist...

If Only We Could Turn Back Time

Sometimes we wish that we could turn back the time, to take back all the hurtful words said in anger. We don't mean the words we say when we're angry. It's just that we know what could hurt our loved one the most and at that completely irrational moment, we want him or her to feel the pain that we're feeling.

However, those mistakes cannot be undone.

We may split up, but that doesn't mean that the love we had wasn't true, and that we've stopped loving. We may go on loving forever.

"What If"

Here I stand alone
With this weight upon my heart
And it will not go away
In my head I keep on looking back
Right back to the start
Wondering what it was that made you change

Well I tried
But I had to draw the line
And still this question keeps on spinning in my mind

What if I had never let you go
Would you be the man I used to know
If I'd stayed
If you'd tried
If we could only turn back time
But I guess we'll never know

Many roads to take
Some to joy
Some to heart-ache
Anyone can lose their way
And if I said that we could turn it back
Right back to the start
Would you take the chance and make the change

Do you think how it would have been sometimes
Do you pray that I'd never left your side

What if I had never let you go
Would you be the man I used to know
If I'd stayed
If you'd tried
If we could only turn back time
But I guess we'll never know

If only we could turn the hands of time
If I could take you back would you still be mine

'Cos I tried
But I had to draw the line
And still this question keep on spinning in my mind

What if I had never let you go
Would you be the man I used to know
What if I had never walked away
'Cos I still love you more than I can say
If I'd stayed
If you'd tried
If we could only turn back time
But I guess we'll never know
We'll never know

4. Lucy? Isn't it Lucille?

Contrary to popular belief, using the name "Lucy" was not a result of the funniest sitcom in the world, "I Love Lucy". In fact, "I Love Lucy" was the result of the name "Lucy".

Why not the name "Lucille", her real name?

When Lucille Ball was much younger, she used to hate it when people call her "Lucy". She wanted to be known as Lucille Ball, because it sounded classier, Like Katherine Hepburn. No one in the right mind would call Katharine "Kathy" Hepburn.

It was only after she started going out with Desi Arnaz that became known as Lucy. Shortly after they met, Desi started calling her Lucy. He hated the name "Lucille" because that name had been used by other men. "Lucy" was his, and his alone.

The possessiveness both felt about about each other was both infuriating and sweet, you know what I mean?

Talent and Legs

In I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball played the role of being an untalented but passionate woman who wanted to get into the show business. She couldn't dance and couldn't sing.

And that is a gross misconception. Lucille had been a chorus girl and she could dance awesomely.

Watch her sing and dance in Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

I Love Lucy (more than 10 years later)

When she makes up her mind to, she can accomplish anything. Give her a week.

3. The Passionate Courtship

It was the sweetest, most passionate, spiciest and emotionally challenging courtship- nothing was moderate about them. They would love furiously and fight passionately.

Lucille kept Desi busy by making them travel along the west coast for some sightseeing. At first, she was afraid of Desi's fast and seemingly reckless driving. Now, Lucille herself drove speedily and furiously. After seeing that Desi was a safe driver who did not take chances, she relaxed and enjoyed herself.

They posed as tourists, and back then, they looked odd together as a couple with Desi's tanned skin and Lucille's flaming red hair. in the 1930s and 1940s, interracial relationships were rare, if present. On one occasion, Desi said to his friend that the best thing that happened to him that year was meeting Lucille. She melted right into his arms. They were both criticized for hugging and kissing too much publicly, but according to Lucille, "(they) were so gone, (they) didn't care."

The love affair was tumultuous from the start. The expanse of unbridled passion could only be matched with the clashes of tempers and bursts of jealousy. Too often, they had to be separated by miles to fulfill their personal engagements with movies, musicals and performances. Desi was too charming and other women were crazy about him, while Lucille's big blue eyes were too irresistible to other men.

Long-distance telephone calls amounted to around $30,000 (back then, that was a helluva lot of money!), and many of their conversations consisted of accusations of each other's infidelity. Desi once called her and said "Where were you when I called you the last time? I know you weren't at the studio. Who the hell were you having dinner with?" She replied nonchalantly, "I was here and there." He got so mad and after delivering "Well, the hell with you, that's all, forget it. I can't trust you, you're a this and that," he hung up. Of course, one would call the other up a few minutes later.

During Lucille's publicity trip to promote a new movie Too Many Girls at Milwaukee, Desi accused her of having an affair with the town's handsome mayor. "I know why you're staying in Milwaukee for a week instead of 2 days as scheduled, you're screwing the mayor, you crumbum!"

Lucille, was even more jealous; she in turn, burned up the telephone lines with "You Cuban son of a bitch, where were you all last night? What are you trying to do, lay every goddamned one of those chorus girls in Too Many Girls? No wonder they picked you for the show!" Then, she would hang up. Of course, again, one of them would call back 5 minutes later- all their quarrels always ended with embrace and back then, their arguments were sort of like a kind of lovemaking.

I would like to postulate that rumors of their affairs with others were disproportionately blown up. They both simple liked to make each other insanely jealous. It was dangerous, fun and the jealously was the proof that they loved each other with so much zeal. Lucille was a "one-man woman", and believe it or not, Desi was a "one-woman man". Affairs with other people were not counted.

Outsiders commented that there were chemistry and attraction so intense that they kept coming back to each other for more. Call it fate or destiny: they each began to care seriously for each other.

Desi's first telegram to Lucille, dated 15 October 1940 from Chicago:
"Darling, I just got up. I loved your note and adore you. Loads and loads of kisses, Desi."

Since then, he had written thousands of telegrams for her, and being the sentimental woman, she had kept each and every one of his love notes safely till the day she died.

Their love for each other was so fervent, yet, was it powerful enough to triumph the differences? Both of them had explosive tempers; their moods were volatile and they were the stubbornest people you could ever meet.

Was there any future between the two, with all those obstacles, problems and fights?

2. After that First Date

After that first date, Desi thought that it would be end of the Lucy story. Now, they were both involved in a serious relationship with other people. Lucille was engaged to Alexander Hall, a well known director 20 years her senior. They were staying together and Al was a very sweet, understanding man to Lucille. Desi, too, had a steady girlfriend, dubbed "Freckles". Freckles was his first love; she was the kindest, most magnanimous and understanding woman Desi had ever met and he was very much in love with her. They had every intention to get married after Freckles' divorce became final.

Freckles arrived at New York a few days later and Desi and her had a wonderful reunion. He brought her to a beach party that consisted of the Broadway group and the Hollywood stars.

As he was strolling down the beach alone, enjoying the upbeat atmosphere, he spotted Lucille.

"Hi! How's my rumba teacher?" she said. She had this sunny disposition that was so attractive.

Remembering his cheesiest excuse for asking her out a few nights earlier, he laughed and said, "hello."

"I had a wonderful time at El Zarape the other night," she said, looking right through him with her beautiful big blue eyes.  

"Thank you, and so did I."

Lucille patted the sand next to her and said, "sit down."

He sat down and never went back to Freckles. Desi and Lucille spent the entire day together. That night, he went to her apartment and that was their first night together.

Love has no time frame. It can happen weeks later, months later, or years later. It can also happen the moment you meet someone. Love makes people do the riskiest, craziest, most irrational things ever imaginable:

The next day, Lucille called her fiance apologized and told him, "I'm moving out, Al. I'll send somebody to pick up my clothes. I'll explain it to you another time."

Desi too, called Freckles. It was the hardest thing ever to do and the last thing he ever wanted to do was to hurt her. "I don't know what made me do what I'm going to do- and to you of all people. You know I was in love with you."

"Yes, but you're not now, are you?"

"Freckles, I don't know how a thing like this can happen. It's unnatural, it has no reason."

"Everything that happens in life is natural and has a reason. Good luck, Desi."

Hearts Made of Gold

The book Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz was a very tough read for me. It took me some time to recover from the evident pain so many people suffered.

Seeing how bitter, unreasonable and angry Lucille had turned into, and how completely self-destructive Desi had become after their divorce were like punches after punches into my face. I suggest fans to read their individual autobiographies

A Book by Desi Arnaz

Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball

before diving into Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, because there were too many factors that changed the both of them, factors that were such big blows, that it is impossible for one to recover from.

If only they had left their fame behind and had gone somewhere else completely secluded to start anew, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

Bear in mind that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were the nicest, sweetest people around. Desi was simpler to analyze: he was outwardly nice and sweet. Lucille was complicated: one has to own a sharp pair of eyes and a keen sense of perception to feel her niceness and sweetness.

Working for a boss like Desi was a man's greatest dream. He treated each and every one of his employees humanely. In fact, even his band members' welfare came before his. He expected honesty from his employees, and in turn, he provided generously. Even after he became the president of Desilu, he didn't become high and mighty. He was the most modest boss ever, even with his increasing addiction to alcohol.

Lucille may seem like a tough nut, or an ice queen, but she had a soft spot buried deeply in her. Over the course of her marriage, she had experienced the indescribable heartache of not one, but three miscarriages. She wanted nothing as much as having a child that belonged to Desi and herself, but thrice, that child slipped away from the both of them. Her earliest scrapbooks consisted of adorable pictures of babies with endearing notes expressing her longing for a child.

No one could communicate that indescribable heartache of a miscarriage than one who has had a miscarriage herself:

Shortly after recovering from a miscarriage, Lucille heard the news that Desi and her longtime friend, Marcella Rabwin, too suffered from a miscarriage. Marcella was depressed the entire time in the hospital. She wouldn't speak to anyone, and her room was always kept dark and quiet. The lost of a baby was so traumatizing. Lucille forgot about her own loss and rushed to the hospital. She didn't knock on the door; she just opened the door as unobtrusively as possible to let herself in, fully clothed. She didn't say a word, not even a hello. She started unbuttoning her blouse, and to Marcella's surprise, Lucille did a comical striptease for her. And the ever depressed Marcella laughed uproariously- the first time she had laughed throughout the disaster. Seeing that she had helped, Lucille then left quietly, expecting no words of gratitude and giving no words of condolences. Words were not necessary.

Lucille didn't have to go out of her way. But she did. Lucille was so wonderful.

This is one of the great things that women can do for women- the capacities of a woman's love astounds me at times. And Lucille has the capacity to care and love so greatly for a friend. Imagine how she worshiped Desi then.

Those two had hearts made of gold.

1. Love (not) at First Sight

By the age of 28, she had been financially successful. She had achieved all that she could, having risen up from rags to riches, thanks to her strong will, hard work and indestructible determination. However, something was missing from her life, and that something was love- an enduring love, someone to care for, someone who would protect her, someone to build a home with and someone to be the father of her children.

Lucille was going to New York City, and she was told by the studio head to be sure to catch the musical named Too Many Girls on Broadway, because she might be given a starring role in the film version later on. However, she had missed the musical as she had a great fall while doing a stunt on ice for a movie which hurt her sacroliac. She had been warned against doing that stunt, but back then, she felt that she was indestructible. She spent her days in the hospital in New York recuperating from her injury and show business friends who visited her at the hospital told her that Too Many Girls was indeed a great hit, but the greatest hit was a 22 year old Cuban, Desi Arnaz. He was a charming, attractive, extremely talented and modest man and every women in the country had fallen for him. Lucy of course, wasn't impressed. She was someone who had to see it to believe it.

After recovering from her fall, Lucille finally saw the musical. Sure enough, she couldn't take her eyes off him throughout the entire musical...

"Then Desi opened his mouth and began talking in his own peculiar brand of broken English, and a great belly laugh burst out of me. Now it's hard to make me laugh. I observe, I smile, but when I'm really amused you can hear me a block away. Here was a stunning-looking male who was not only thrilling but funny. What a combination!"- Lucille Ball in her autobiography: Love, Lucy.

It is true that Lucy wasn't amused easily. She had the knack of knowing what was funny, and what would tickle people to death. She knew how to make people roar with laughter, but she seldom roared with laughter herself. There were times when even while joining in the laughter, she wasn't really amused. Isn't that amazing!

So you could imagine how intrigued she was with Desi. After 28 years of living, she finally found a potential someone who could make her laugh, laugh with no restrictions, laugh with no worrying about what was going to happen next.

Lucy went back to Hollywood, and was disappointed because she did not get the chance to be introduced to this Cuban musical talent she would later co-star with. It would be months before the director of Too Many Girls would be available to do the film version, and in the meantime, Lucy was given the starring role in a movie called Dance, Girl, Dance. Her role in the movie was a tough stripteaser in a burlesque club who often spoke sardonic remarks that were humorous in a twisted way.

One day after a few months, she was filming a scene where she had just fought with her friend from the movie and her lover had supposedly punched her. You could imagine her outfit: thick make-up, long sexy gold dress, hair down and wild, with a fake black eye.

That was how she looked like when she walked into the meeting room full of cast members, including Desi Arnaz, to say hello to the director of Too Many Girls, Mr. George Abbott. Now the cast members were all disconcerted as they looked at her from the top of her head to her toes. The role that Miss Lucille Ball was to play in the upcoming movie was an ingenue, but as Desi Arnaz described, "she looked like a two-dollar whore who had been badly beaten by her pimp, with her hair all over her face and a black eye, and she was dressed in a cheap costume". How could she play an ingenue?!

(Meaning of an ingenue: an innocent and unsophisticated young woman, according to Oxford. Or according to Desi Arnaz, an ingenue "is usually a very delicate, blond, blue-eyed girl with an innocent, virginal quality about her.")

After Lucille left, Desi immediately asked the director who the hell that woman was.

Mr Abbott answered, "that's the girl who is going to play the ingenue. That's Lucille Ball."

"That's Lucille Ball and she's gonna do the ingenue thing? You gotta be kidding," Desi's voice dripped with sarcasm and disbelief.

"Well, now, wait a minute. She was in makeup for something else right now."

"I think you've blown your top, George.There is no way they can change her back to look like an ingenue. No way."

After Lucille's shooting, she was dressed casually in tight slacks and a yellow sweater, with all traces of stage make-up removed. She had tied her blond hair neatly with a feminine bow. That was how she looked like when she walked back to the meeting room while Desi was rehearsing a song with his piano player.

Desi said to the piano player "Man, what a hunk of woman!"

His piano player was puzzled. "You met her today," he said.

"No, I never met her. I've never seen her before."

"That's Lucille Ball," his piano player said.

"THAT'S LUCILLE BALL?! You gotta be kidding. She sure doesn't look anything like she did this morning."

Desi was mesmerized. He was mesmerized, hook, line and sinker.

"Hello," Lucille said as she walked up to Desi. Of course she knew who he was; she had waited long enough to meet him, since she saw him perform back at New York.

Desi was still shocked and unsure. "Miss Ball?"

"Why don't you call me Lucille and I'll call you Dizzy."

"Okay, Lucille, but it's not Dizzy."

"Oh? How do you say it, Daisy?"

"No, Daisy is a flower. It's Desi, D-E-S-I."

Of course, he used the cheesiest line in history to invite her to dinner ("Would you like me to teach you how to Rumba? It may come in handy for your part in the movie."). She accepted.

He preferred the demure Lucille to the glamorous one, and that was the sweetest thing one could expect from a man.

They went to a nightclub, but instead of joining the conga line with the rest, they danced a while and then sat at a quiet corner and just talked and talked. They were in their own world and instant sparks flew. It was obvious even to the rest of their friends that it was love at first sight. Lucille, however, begged to differ: "It wasn't love at first sight. It took me full 5 minutes." She added on that "there was only one thing better than looking at Desi, and that was talking to him."

The night ended innocently. He drove her home, she thanked him for a wonderful evening and they said good night. 

Friends of Lucille warned her against him, that he was too young and was a playboy, but it was too late. She had fallen completely and irrevocably in love with him, and there was no turning back...

Technicolor Tessie

Back in the old days, having color on the screen was a big thing. Actors' skin tone, hair color, eye color were all important. Today, we can utilize special cosmetics and technology to tweak the lighting and contrasts to make the actors look more flattering. "What you see is what you get" rings true back in the golden era of Hollywood.

Lucille Ball's skin tone and eye color were a cameraman's dream, according to LIFE. Her beautiful red hair also complemented her and the blending of all the bright colors into harmony pleasing to the viewer's eye earned her the nickname Technicolor Tessie. Not everyone can look well in vivid colors, but Lucy sure did.

I wish that I Love Lucy would be colorized. It's perfect in black and white, but I just love Lucy's dresses and I want to look at them with color! Good news: Fans who love to watch Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in colored action could try watching a movie starring the both of them- which they were so proud of- called The Long, Long Trailer. 

The movie was important to them because Desi had never wanted anything so much than to star in a movie with Lucille. For more than 10 years in their marriage, both Desi and Lucy had campaigned to the movie makers that they would be a success in the movies. It meant the public's acceptance of them as a couple. He need not have worried- they were the public's favorite couple, and still are!

Hell, their bickering and fights were all so adorable!

Stopping at Childhood

One of my postulations as to why Lucille Ball was so successful at situational comedies is that she retained a childlike way of looking at the world, at situations and at people.

Why?

I guess that all along, she had missed her carefree early childhood, when her doting father was still alive and her mother had no worries but to make the family happy. As a child, Lucy had to mature quicker than her age. She had to deal with the premature death of her father, the birth of a new baby which was a difficult adjustment for an only child, a new stepfather who treated her as if she wasn't there, being sent to an older couple who were so strict on her that she felt mentally tortured, the unlawful accusation of her grandfather which made her distrust the law forever, and many more sad events... With a life full of traumatic events, it was no wonder that a part of her stopped forever at the age of  4, where things were warm and rosy.  

As she had mentioned, in order to be convincing and to evoke knee-slapping laughter, the actor has to believe in the situation and the actions that are called for. What makes it better than to analyze the situation from a child's point of view? A child's logic is sweetly simple and naive, and it's no wonder people are always drawn to children. It's that compelling naivety that Lucille had managed to convey to the audience that makes even the most hardhearted person alive laugh endearingly.

Through her childhood and adolescence, Lucy had utilized her powers of observation. Most comedians can only work from a certain angle; Lucy could be anything and everything. She could be the doting screwball housewife, the nervous gal about to get it, the glamorous showgirl, the sexy Marilyn, the amnesic child, the clown, hell, she could even peel a potato convincingly!

Of course, having a husband Desi Arnaz with a knack for identifying what was funny and what was not, a supporting actress Vivian Vance with great chemistry, and a comedian William Frawley who was funny even just standing and doing nothing made the sitcom even more successful.

Why didn't I know that Lucy was a Serious Person?

Frankly speaking, it was quite a deep dig into books available that supported the fact that Lucille Ball was a serious and rather person.

It was strange to me, how a comedienne who loved hysterical audience could shy away from the media when she was off the stage.

I think that Lucy loved the known, she feared the unknown. After the phenomenal success in I Love Lucy which shocked her, going off script and facing a scene without knowing what would happen next made her feel deeply uncomfortable. She was so dedicated to her work and to satisfying the audience's expectations of wanting funny stuff that she felt that she would disappoint her audience when she wasn't Lucy Ricardo, but Lucille Ball. That kind of pressure, as we all know, really makes us stressful.

When you're ranked number 1, there's only one way to go: downwards.

Her husband Desi, was terribly crazy about her. He wanted the best for her, he protected her and nurtured her image. Of course, it helped that he was a very talented and astute businessman. He knew that the public would be shocked if they saw how Lucy was like in real life. So, he forbade her from going into extensive talk shows and commercials etc. He knew what was good for her, what was best for her, and what was bad and wrong for her.

Was Lucy Funny in Real Life?

That was one of the first questions I googled after falling in love with Lucy. I wanted to see the candid Lucy with her humorous replies and all. To my surprise, sources confirmed that Lucille Ball was actually a rather serious person. Of course, she had her fair share of humor. But she only did what she did when necessary.

In contrast, her real life husband Desi Arnaz, being the level headed Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy, was the one with a great sense of humor. In the early years of their marriage while residing in the Chatsworth Ranch in San Fernando Valley, California, Desi dug out a huge swimming pool, built a bathhouse and held lots of parties there. He embraced life; he was the centre of attention and he enjoyed entertaining people while Lucy was always in the background, rather quiet, with adoring eyes on Desi.

 

Of course, she was unreserved when with Desi. In my opinion, she trusted him enough to be completely herself. She could be childlike, playful, painfully frank, serious, extremely hot tempered and even vulgar. She was totally in love with Desi- she worshiped him.

All their possessions and properties were christened Desilu, a combination of their names. Desi showered her with priceless jewelry and they too, were engraved with "To Lucy" on one side, and "Love, Desi" on the other. Desi wore a gold Saint Christopher's medal, engraved "darling".

Desi carried a gold lighter engraved "Dear Desi, my love for you will last longer than this lighter, I betcha, Lucy." Who knew that her love for him endured through her first marriage, divorce, and eventual marriage to Gary. For decades- even today, fans of Desi and Lucy still sense the lingering bittersweet love that brings tears to one's eyes. Thanks to I Love Lucy, marriages around the world are still being saved.

It's the passionate, wholesome and enduring love that makes Desi Arnaz and Lucille ball so famous.

My First Experience of I Love Lucy

I never would have known about I Love Lucy, and it would be my great loss, if not for taking a module on American History. My university instructor played the episode Lucy is Enceinte for us.

Being labelled as a Generation Y gal, I would never have in a million years, watched a black-and-white sitcom. Nobody my age in my country (Singapore) would have known about I Love Lucy. People today are exposed to movies and television shows of sex, vulgarities, glamor, drugs, alcohol and violence. None of us would appreciate pure comedy devoid of these "values" ingrained in us. The media makes us think what it wants us to think. Therefore, if I have never been introduced to the world's funniest sitcom, I wouldn't have known it existed.

My experience was tainted with disdain at first. I remember thinking "black-and-white tv show? Oh, brother!" Something then caught my attention, "what was the audience laughing about?" And "hey, the laughter's too real to be a laughing track- they had live audience!"

It was when I really paid attention to the jokes. I didn't get a few of the jokes because of the difference in cultures and the generation gap. But most of the jokes are timeless- you could have laughed at them 50 years ago, and you can laugh at them today and 50 years down the road!

I remember laughing hysterically when Lucy played out her fantasy on breaking her news to her husband that she was expecting. In those conservative days, the censorship board banned the use of the word "pregnant". It had to be replaced with "expecting", "having a baby", "infanticipating" and the writers even used the word "enceinte" which means pregnant in French! I was taken aback!

While clutching my aching stomach while aching for air, a rational, sane voice in me suddenly echoed "when was the last time you actually laughed this hard, so hard that for a moment, all your worries have magically vanished?" I was hooked.

I recall being slightly taken aback upon hearing Ricky Ricardo's (Desi Arnaz's) accent the first time. I also recollect the poignant scene where Lucy finally broke the wonderful news to her husband in a poignant and touching manner. While watching Ricky sing while hugging his on-screen wife, it suddenly occurred to me that the way they held each other, they way they looked at each other, they way they cried, and the way they kissed were all too intimate to be an act! Indeed, my instructor told the class that they were a real married couple.

For the first time in my life, I was convinced that a pure and heartwarming sitcom was head and shoulders above others that depict sex, vulgarities, glamor, drugs, alcohol and violence. I Love Lucy is a great sitcom for reruns- a grim reminder to the society with depreciating morals and values that there are intangible things from the past that should be brought forward to the present times.

I Love Lucy Too

Welcome to my blog!

I have read many books, articles and have watched many videos related to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I have also immersed myself in both their autobiographies. I do understand them more than many others, but of course, less than even more avid fans who have done even more extensive research. Many people who have read about her were puzzled by how increasingly difficult she became when she grew older, but the way these opinions were published are unfair.

It's a shame that the pioneering of the Internet only happened in the late 1990s. Much of the information about fascinating movie stars of the golden era of Hollywood is lost forever. We can only rely on the little information provided which sadly, may be untrue. In this blog, I'm attempting to analyze her, what made the most celebrated comedienne who she was, her marriage and subsequent divorce, her next marriage, and why she changed to a bitter woman in the later years.

Some of the information are based on books and videos,  but many of the content are purely my personal views.

Her unflagging determination and dedication to work should inspire other people in the show business, as well as individuals like you and me.

Go Lucille Ball!