I'm following Singapore's time zone, and in less than an hour's time, it will be 26 April, 2012. A year ago, this day wasn't of any significance to me. Things changed after my American Pluralism instructor introduced the sitcom I Love Lucy to me. I was so intrigued by the star of the sitcom that I researched more about her.
Today, I'm proud to proclaim that I'm probably the only Singaporean who knows this much about her. Sadly, Singaporeans do not appreciate the golden age of Hollywood, black and white movies, old Hollywood songs and so forth. Honestly, I've had a hard time obtaining Lucille Ball's books, television shows, movies and souvenirs, and the need to ship these precious items has cost me lots more. I'm a full-time student and work part-time, and I'm proud to say that I've worked hard for each penny to purchase her memorabilia. Nevertheless, I find these resources worth the money, because Lucille Ball has taught me so much, has inspired me so much, has touched me so much that I'm never the same person again.
Now, I've lived for 24 years, and never had any affinity or immense liking towards any Hollywood movie star or singer, dead or alive. I've never, ever bought biographies or souvenirs of celebrities. And sure, I've admired Angelina Jolie for her beauty and sex appeal and Sandra Bullock for her comedic talent, but I've never been deeply touched by them. Even being dead for 23 years, Lucille Ball managed to touch a part of me that no actor could- her dedication towards her career, her sincere appreciation for her fans, her unadulterated love for Desi Arnaz, and her liberal mentality but knowing what to do in good taste- all inspired me greatly.
Just a few days ago, I found an interview Lucille did for People magazine in 180. I read it, and boy, was I enlightened!
I'm sharing this with you, and I hope that you'll take away something uplifting from it, just like I did:
Ask Her Anything About Desi Sr., Divorce, Drugs, Gay Rights—Lucy Ball Hasn't Become Bashful at 68
In October 1951 CBS introduced a half-hour comedy called I Love Lucy,
and within a year it had the highest rating of any show before or since.
The former Goldwyn Girl and B-movie queen in the title role had become
an American institution, and at 68, Lucille Ball remains one. Her stormy
20-year marriage to co-star Desi Arnaz ended in divorce in 1960, and a
year later she married comedian Gary Morton while taking charge of huge
Desilu Productions. In 1967 Lucy sold Desilu to Gulf & Western for
$17 million, rode out a movie bomb Mame, and endured the rocky maturing
of her daughter, Lucie, and son, Desi Jr. The last incarnation of her
series ended in 1974, but the original is still in reruns after two
decades and ranks as the most-watched sitcom in TV history. Lucy
required a staff of 20 to handle her residuals and business affairs even
before 1979, when she succumbed to the personal wooing of NBC President
Fred Silverman (at a six-hour dinner) and defected from CBS. This
Friday she is scheduled to bow on her new network in a special, Lucy
Moves to NBC. She will also serve as a consultant to the network on new
comedy properties. Lucy talked with PEOPLE's Peter Lester about comedy,
stars and subjects on which she has always been outspoken, like modern
morality and her own family.
Do you feel disloyal leaving CBS after 28 years?
Not really. CBS didn't want my expertise to develop new
half-hour comedy material and NBC did. How to do half-hour comedy
innovatively is something I do pride myself on. We invented it with I
Love Lucy.
Would you like to star in another series?
I wouldn't think of it—not since my Vivian's gone. [Co-star
Vivian Vance died last year.] We enjoyed it so much we didn't want to go
home at night.
What do you like now on TV?
I watch PBS, talk shows, game shows and documentaries. But I don't sit around watching during the daytime.
What about sitcoms?
Rarely. I've seen Mork & Mindy a couple times. Robin
Williams amazes me. And I love Gary Coleman. He puts me away. He puts
everybody away.
Do you catch many movies?
I just saw three this week in my screening room, but that's the
most I've seen in two years. Kramer vs. Kramer, Starting Over and
Breaking Out, uh, Breaking Away. If I had the time I'd go see Alan Alda
three times a day in anything. God, he's talented.
When did you realize that comedy was your forte?
In television in the '50s. I sure as hell didn't know what I was
doing when I started. I had too wide a variety of parts to know who or
what I was. TV started for me just as a means of keeping my husband Desi
off the road. He'd been on tour with his band since he got out of the
Army, and we were in our 11th year of marriage and wanted to have
children.
But didn't comedy help you even when you were a Goldwyn Girl?
I guess after about six months out here in the '30s I realized
there was a place for me. Eddie Cantor and Sam Goldwyn found that a lot
of the really beautiful girls didn't want to do some of the things I
did—put on mud packs and scream and run around and fall into pools. I
said I'd love to do the scene with the crocodile. He didn't have teeth,
but he could sure gum you to death. I didn't mind getting messed up.
That's how I got into physical comedy.
Who are your favorite current comediennes?
Carol Burnett—she heads my list, absolutely. That girl can do
anything. Nancy Walker too. Goldie Hawn, I love her. Dean Martin and Ann
Sothern make me laugh more in person than in pictures. Bette Midler's
style is so much broader than mine, but I enjoy her. She shocks me.
Knowing how honest and adorable and vulnerable she is, I'm shocked that
she goes overboard that much in concert.
How about Lily Tomlin?
I don't care for her type of whatever-she's-doing. I find myself studying Lily rather than enjoying her.
Are you sympathetic with the women's movement?
They can use my name for equal rights, but I don't get out there
and raise hell because I've been so liberated I have nothing to squawk
about.
What about contemporary morality?
How about contemporary immorality? We're all hooked on the
results of the permissiveness of the '60s. We've got a few more years to
go, but our kids are doing a swingaround. They're going almost
Victorian.
Did you ever have a problem with drugs or drinking?
My idea of getting high was a Coca-Cola and an aspirin. The
first time I was around marijuana I wondered why someone was passing me
this cigarette he had just smoked. I've never tried it. After a few
drinks I'm either asleep or sick. I'm allergic to morphine, Percodan,
codeine—I can't take any of those things because they work in reverse.
The eyes won't close.
How do you feel about gay rights?
It's perfectly all right with me. Some of the most gifted people
I've ever met or read about are homosexual. How can you knock it?
Have you read any of the biographies that have been written about you?
They're all unauthorized. I read the first two pages of one, and
it was so shocking. About me leaving Jamestown, N.Y. at 14 and becoming
a hooker. They didn't say hooker, but they intimated it. I thought,
"Christ, I gotta see where they get this." They never substantiated
anything they said.
Will you write your own book?
I don't think you should write a book until you tell the
absolute truth. You can't do that until you're 85, and I don't want to
live that long. I've always prided myself on knowing when to get off and
I hope it works out that way.
What achievement are you proudest of?
When you have the first baby at 39, that's got to be the
biggest. Any woman would say the birth of her children was her greatest
achievement, unless she was Madame Curie.
What was your darkest moment?
When I got a divorce, and disappointed millions of people by doing so.
(I teared when I read this.)
When you married Desi, didn't his playboy reputation bother you?
No, it intrigued me. I was amazed at myself saying yes after
knowing him only six months. Everybody gave it about a year and a half. I
gave it six weeks. I thought it was the most daring thing I'd ever
done, and it certainly was.
Do you get along with Desi Sr. now?
Always have, we didn't even get two lawyers for the divorce.
Do you see him socially?
Sure. He's married to a very nice girl. He's been remarried 17 years.
Why has your marriage to Gary Morton lasted?
Because Gary takes things in moderation. He doesn't think the
grass is greener elsewhere, he's not a workaholic or a playaholic and he
appreciates his home. Desi was a very generous man who built many
houses but never lived in any home. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate my
marriage to Gary a 12.
Desi Jr. also has a reputation as a ladies' man. Does that concern you?
Well, of course, he had to emulate Dad there for a while. I just
hope he doesn't continue, because that's what I had to put up with.
That's not nice. It's very demeaning. Anyway, I'm sure his new wife,
Linda Purl, wouldn't put up with it for as long as I did.
What is Linda like?
A porcelain doll, as sweet inside, apparently, as she is
outside—and organized. If there's anyone in the world who isn't
organized, it's my son. I hope she rubs off on him, and he doesn't rub
off on her.
How is your daughter Lucie doing?
Thank God she got to do one of Neil Simon's plays [They're
Playing Our Song] and now she's working with great talents like Neil
Diamond and Laurence Olivier in her new movie, The Jazz Singer. But
socially, I couldn't get Lucie to go out with anyone from the time she
was 15 to 19. Then she married a very nice boy whom we were very
grateful to for a couple of years for being a great babysitter. Then she
got a divorce and started dating for the first time in her life. A late
bloomer.
Do you worry about the kids?
Not stay-up-all-night worry. I'm very proud and I thank God out
loud for their health and the fact that they like to work and mix with
people. They're making things happen for themselves—and that's half the
battle.
Source:
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20075802,00.html
