Lucy and Ethel Peep Style - Update!

Earlier this month, I posted about Susan Sessions' winning "I Love Peeps" entry in The Ann Arbor News' Marshmallow Peeps® Diorama Contest. At the time, I couldn't find a photo of Ms. Sessions' entry. Here is one!

"I Love Peeps" by Susan Sessions

View a slide show of all the winning entries! Note: The slide show contains music so turn your speakers down if Mr. Mooney is around.

Congratulations to Susan Sessions on a fantastic job!

Related Blog Entries:
Lucy and Ethel Peep Style (April 5, 2007)

Photo courtesy of The Ann Arbor News.

Mattel Releasing Lucy & Ethel Two-Doll Boxed Set!

Back in January I reported that Mattel would be releasing a special two-doll "I Love Lucy" boxed set. At that time, Mattel wasn't releasing the details about which duo (Lucy and Ricky, Ethel & Fred, etc.,) would be turned into collectible Barbies. The time has finally come to reveal part of the mystery!

Lucy Ricardo & Ethel Mertz will be the dolls in Mattel's "I Love Lucy" Limited Edition Two-Doll Boxed Set!



This information was revealed in The Lucy-Desi Center Gift Shop's Spring 2007 Merchandise Guide. The guide states (image above):

It's double the fun with this new "I Love Lucy" two-doll box set-featuring Lucy and Ethel in one of their most outlandish misadventures. The episode theme of this set is still top secret, but we're taking pre-orders now to guarantee you'll be one of the first to receive this limited edition when it is released.

Your credit card will not be charged until your order is shipped to you. Orders for this special doll set will be shipped in the order they are received. Quantity will be limited, so don't delay! Pre-order yours today.

No release date for the dolls was given. To preorder the "Lucy & Ethel Two-Doll Boxed Set" (#2340) for $89.95 (plus shipping and handling) call toll-free 1-877-582-9326. As of this writing, the dolls are not available for preorder from the gift shop online yet.

The Long Live Lucy Blog was the first Lucille Ball Blog to feature a photo of Mattel's 2007 "I Love Lucy" Barbie Collector Doll based on "The Audition." A photo of this new set will be posted as soon as possible.

Auction To Feature Rare Lucille Ball Memorabilia

A large collection of rare, Lucille Ball Memorabilia will be up for grabs at The Old Town Auctions being held May 11-12 at the Grand Venice Hotel & Conference Center in Hagerstown, Maryland.

A press release on News-Antique's website provided this description:

A West Coast consignor who “loved Lucy” was the source for a mind-boggling 1,000-piece collection of Lucille Ball memorabilia. The collection – part I of which will be offered in the May sale – features advertising signs, toys, dolls, paper and ephemera; and “practically any Lucy-related item that was made under license,” said Spurgeon. “This includes nearly every Lucille Ball movie poster ever made – there are about 20 – promotional pieces from Desilu Studios, one of two known boxed Ricky Ricardo conga drums, and even a Ricky Jr. doll stroller, which was autographed by Keith Thibodeaux, who played Little Ricky on the TV show.”

Potential bidders can preview the auction beginning at 2:00 PM on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 from 8:00-9:00 AM. The auction will begin at 4:30 PM on May 11 and 9:00 AM on May 12. No Internet bidding, but absentee and phone bids will be accepted. For more information about the auction visit OldTownAuctions.com. Call 301-733-0830 to make reservations at the Grand Venice Hotel & Conference Center.

Get a sneak peek at the goodies!

Images courtesy of Old Town Auctions.

Lucy Ricardo's " Sopranos" Connection

Did you know that Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) of "I Love Lucy" and Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) of "The Sopranos" have something in common? Rich Heldenfels of The Akron Beacon Journal fills us in:

When thinking about those episodes -- including side plots like the completion of Christopher's horror movie -- I was reminded of an old summary of just about every episode of I Love Lucy: ``Lucy wants something.''

Lucy would take extreme, albeit comedic, steps to get what she wanted. And the following week, she was bound to want something else. And, in that vein, The Sopranos may be summed up as ``Everybody wants something, and they can't rest until they get it.''

They may want power, respect, glory, happiness. They may want someone dead. They may want to live a little longer. But not having it nags at them, and getting it makes them toss aside any moral compunctions.

Thankfully Lucy Ricardo never whacked anyone.

Lucy and Ethel Peep Style

Susan Sessions created an "I Love Lucy"-inspired diorama for a Marshmallow Peeps® Diorama Contest in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sessions' diorama, "I Love Peeps," was the winner in the adult division. Amy Whitesall of The Ann Arbor News wrote:

"I love Lucy and I love Peeps,'' said Sessions, a technical writer from Saline who's between jobs. "Everyone seemed to know the episode with the chocolate factory. It seems to be a universal thing.''

Sessions said she went through four boxes of Peeps, searching for marshmallow chicks with just the right eye alignment and facial expression.

"There were some that looked like the product of first cousins marrying,'' Sessions said.

She made the hats first, convinced that the headwear would make or break the diorama's success. When she put the hats on the Peeps, Sessions says, she just started laughing.

"I have to tell you, it is pretty difficult to dress up a Peep,'' Sessions said. "They have no shape. They're like a blob.''

Read more about the contest. Unfortunately, there aren't any photos. :(

Related Links:
Poll: Do you like Marshmallow Peeps? (members only)
The Official Marshmallow Peeps® Website
Peep Research

Lucy Ricardo Voted "Greatest TV Character of All Time"

I Love Lucy's Lucy Ricardo has been voted "Greatest TV Character of All Time" thanks to a poll conducted by The News & Observer. Staff writer, Matt Ehlers, stated:

Ricardo, whose "I Love Lucy" is one of the most enduring shows in the history of the medium, clobbered Jack Bauer of "24" in the championship round of our bracket-style competition.

Although the outcome was perhaps unsurprising, the margin certainly was. Of the more than 900 votes included in our final tally, Ricardo was picked as the winner on 273 of them. Barney Fife, the home-state folk hero who finished as champion on the second-most brackets, managed only 99.

Read more about the competition.

Lucy Says "Hello" In New iPhone TV Commercial

Did you see Lucy while you were watching the Academy Awards last Sunday night? No, she wasn't apart of the show. She was in the commercials!

During the Academy Awards' first commercial break, an ad for Apple's iPhone premiered featuring Lucille Ball as I Love Lucy's Lucy Ricardo. The ad begins with Lucy saying "Hello" after answering her rotary phone and is followed by an assortment of movie and television characters also saying "Hello" into their phones.

Check out the commercial below or view it on Apple's official website (QuickTime 7 required).