"I Love Lucy" Director Honored By NATAS

The Desert Sun reported that "I Love Lucy" Director, William Asher, was honored by the Pacific Southwest Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for his extensive work in television.

The honor was received last Sunday at a luncheon held at Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage. Asher along with actress Kaye Ballard, marionette designer Velma Dawson, and the late writer-producer Sidney Sheldon (represented by Barbara Eden of "I Dream of Jeannie") were named Gold Circle inductees. According to The Desert Sun, only 42 people in the United States have received this prestigious honor! The Desert Sun also noted:

More than 500 people came to show their support.

Asher, famed for directing some of Lucille Ball's best comedy sketches, filled three tables with attendees.

Congratulations to Mr. Asher!

Other Lucy connections: Kaye Ballard was a cast member of "The Mothers-In-Law," the 1967-1969 sitcom directed by Desi Arnaz. Barbara Eden appeared as Diana Jordan in the last season of "I Love Lucy"

Related Blog Entries and Links:
"I Love Lucy" Director To Be Honored (Nov. 28, 2006)
William Asher - The Man Who Invented the Sitcom
A Visit With William Asher
William Asher's Filmography
Ashmont - Elizabeth Montgomery's marriage to William Asher
Bewitched @ Harpies Bizarre

Three Frawley Films On DVD Soon!

Three classic films featuring I Love Lucy's beloved, William Frawley, will be released on DVD soon. One is being released next week! Here are the details:


Gentleman Jim (1942)
This title will be released on March 27, 2007 by Warner Home Video.
Current Amazon.com Pre-Order Price: $14.99
Starring Errol Flynn and Alexis Smith
Featuring William Frawley as Billy Delaney
Click here for more information on Gentleman Jim


Baseball Double Feature - Kill the Empire / Safe at Home (1950,1962)
This title will be released on April 3, 2007 by Sony Pictures.
Current Amazon.com Pre-Order Price: $17.89
Starring Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as themselves
Featuring William Frawley as Bill Turner
Safe at Home is the final film Frawley made! He does not appear in Kill the Empire.
Click here for more information on Safe at Home.


The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
This title will be released on April 24, 2007 by Warner Home Video.
Current Amazon.com Pre-Order Price: $14.99
Starring James Cagney and Bette Davis
Featuring William Frawley as Sheriff McGee
Click here for more information on The Bride Came C.O.D.

GJ and SAH cover art courtesy of Amazon.com. TBCCOD cover art courtesy of BN.com.

Two Harveys?

This question and answer piece appeared in the Feb. 10 TV/Radio section of The Courier-Journal:

Dear Incredible Inman: I was watching the episode of "I Love Lucy" where Ricky brings home an expert to view Lucy's sculpture. At the end of the episode, the announcer said the art expert was played by Paul Harvey. Is this the same Paul Harvey from the radio? Good day. -- J.S., Batesville, Ind.



Dear J.S.: No, two Paul Harveys. One's dead, one's really, really old.

The Paul Harvey on "I Love Lucy" was an actor whose film career dated to the late 1920s. He died in 1955 at age 73.

Paul Harvey the radio commentator is 88.

Related Links:
Paul Harvey's Filmography (actor)
Paul Harvey's Official Website (radio commentator)
"Lucy Becomes a Sculptress"

Wildcat's Work Featured In Museum Exhibit

BroadwayWorld.com reported that the designs of Broadway Costume Designer, Alvin Colt, will be on display at The Museum of the City of New York beginning February 17.

Colt was the costume designer for "Wildcat," the Broadway musical starring Lucille Ball.

The exhibition is entitled "Costumes & Characters; The Designs of Alvin Colt" and will be available for viewing until May 20. For more information, contact The Museum of the City of New York by phone at 212-534-1672 or visit their website.



Related Links:
Costumer Alvin Colt Talks About Dressing Guys, Dolls, Sailors and More
Man, 90, cut from good cloth

Lucie Mentioned In NY Times; Carol Burnett Writes Jamestown

Lucie Arnaz's attendance at The Great American Songbook Show last Friday was noted by The New York Times:

The other guests included Melissa Errico (effective when she relaxed and sang softly), Lillias White and Capathia Jenkins (both agreeably sassy) and Lucie Arnaz (dramatic but metallic).

Actress Carol Burnett sent an affectionate letter to the residents of Jamestown, New York:

To Everyone in Lucy’s Hometown:

As you know, Lucille Ball was my good friend.

To her, I was ‘‘The Kid,’’ and she was a tremendous teacher and mentor. Her passing left a hole in my heart that can never be filled.

I am thrilled to know of the work you are doing to preserve Lucy and Desi’s legacy. And you are correct in recognizing that it is a legacy of more than props and costumes and personal belongings: it is truly a legacy of love and laughter.

Should the stars ever properly align, I would welcome the opportunity to visit Jamestown and celebrate her legacy with you.

One hundred years from now people around the world will still be laughing at Lucy’s antics. And I hope that for those folks who want to learn more about that wonderful clown, her hometown will still be honoring the one and only Lucy.

Warmly,

Carol Burnett

Burnett's letter was published in The Post-Journal.

"Marion Strong" and Haley Arnaz Featured in Guide

Shirley Mitchell, the actress that made several appearances as Marion Strong on "I Love Lucy" is shown on the cover of The Lucy-Desi Center Gift Shop Winter 2007 Merchandise Guide. Mitchell models "I Love Lucy" Flannel Pajamas (item #2218).

Haley Arnaz, Lucy and Desi's granddaughter, models a Ricardo Vintage Fitted T(item #2391) inside the guide. Arnaz also appeared in the 2007 edition of the gift shop catalog which was released last November.



The winter guide focuses on new merchandise and retired Carlton Cards Ornaments.

Related Links:
Shirley Mitchell's Filmography
The Lucy-Desi Center Gift Shop

Longtime Lucy Writer, Bob Carroll Jr., Dead at 87

NWI.com reports:

Bob Carroll Jr., a pioneering television writer who worked on all of Lucille Ball's TV shows, including "I Love Lucy," has died. He was 87.

Carroll, who had been in failing health for the past month, died Saturday, family friend and fellow TV writer Thomas Watson told The Associated Press on Monday.

Carroll and Madelyn Pugh Davis, his writing partner of more than 60 years, were working on comedian Steve Allen's radio show in the 1940s when they learned Ball was looking for writers for her show, "My Favorite Husband."

"They actually conned Steve Allen into writing his own show one week and took the time off to write a spec script for Lucy," Watson said. "CBS and Lucy loved it, and they became the first permanent writers on 'My Favorite Husband."'

When the show moved to television in 1953, Ball took her writers with her, changing the name to "I Love Lucy" and adding real-life husband Desi Arnaz to the cast.

Carroll and Pugh went on to work on every episode of the long-running show, Watson said, as well as many episodes of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour," "The Lucy Show," "Here's Lucy" and "Life With Lucy." The latter show went off the air in 1986, three years before Ball's death.

Many of the shows had essentially the same premise: Lucy gets involved in some routine function and, often through well-intentioned deviousness coupled with incredible clumsiness, manages to turn it into a pratfall-filled disaster.

Carroll and Davis also collaborated on several other projects, including the 1968 film "Yours, Mine and Ours" and the Arnaz-produced sitcom "The Mothers-In-Law."

Carroll was born Aug. 12, 1919, in McKeesport, Pa. (Though some sources list 1918 as his birth date, Watson confirmed that 1919 was correct.)

Carroll moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., with his family when he was 3. His interest in writing was piqued as a teenager when he entered a radio contest, submitting a script he had written while laid up in bed recovering from a hip ailment, Watson said. His submission won first prize.

After a couple of years, he left for Los Angeles, where he landed a job as an usher with CBS radio affiliate KNX, Watson said. After a stint in the mailroom he was promoted to the writing staff.

Married and divorced twice, Carroll is survived by a daughter.

See also:
Obituary: Bob Carroll Jr. / Comedy writer for Lucille Ball, others
Bob Carroll (TV writer)

Photo Credit: AP Photo

Broadcasting Pioneer Dead at 98

The man responsible for bringing I Love Lucy to CBS has died. Frank Stanton, a broadcasting pioneer and CBS president for 26 years (1946-1972) died in his sleep at his Boston home yesterday. Stanton was 98.

FoxNews.com reports:

"He thought it would hurt radio," said Stanton, who took a chance on the new medium by signing a comic with untested appeal named Jackie Gleason, then nailing down a new sitcom, "I Love Lucy," which might otherwise have gone to NBC.

Lobby Designed By Lucy's Architect To Be Preserved

The La Concha Motel Lobby in Las Vegas designed by Lucy's former architect, Paul Revere Williams, will be (if the current plans go through) preserved for posterity at a cost of about $1 million. Preservationists from across the country have been working to save the popular landmark from demolition all year.

The lobby described by The Chicago Tribune as resembling "a fly-in hamburger stand used by The Jetsons," is expected to become one of the biggest tourist attraction in Las Vegas after it is removed from its current location and reassembled in a new park and visitor's center for The Neon Museum.

Williams, known as the 'architect to the stars,' was the first African-American admitted to The American Institute of Architects.

Lucy's Advice To Marie Osmond

"You know what Lucille Ball told me?" says Marie, who's dressed in a black lace flounced skirt and high-heeled boots, her shoulder-length dark hair backcombed, the distinctive beauty mark by her left eye punctuated by the flash of dangling earrings.

"I was about 16, and she said: 'Honey, you want to go far in this business? Know your lighting. The camera is forgiving to men, but not to women.'"

This is an excerpt from the Salt Lake Tribune. Read the entire article here:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4863583

View Marie Osmond's Filmography
Marie Osmond's Official Website

Joe Barbera of Hanna-Barbera Dies

Yahoo! News reports:

Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95.

Barbera died of natural causes at his home with his wife Sheila at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said.

With his longtime partner, Bill Hanna, Barbera first found success creating the highly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons. The antics of the battling cat and mouse went on to win seven Academy Awards, more than any other series with the same characters.

Hanna-Barbera was responsible for the animated Lucy and Desi openings of "I Love Lucy" and "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." This is a sad day for cartoon fans everywhere.

Read more about the animated Lucy Openings.
View Joe Barbera's filmography.
Visit the official Hanna-Barbera Website.

Frawley's Frock Hops Home

The Lucy-Desi Center reports:

Jamestown, NY – Fifty years ago this Sunday, on December 17, 1956, “Little Ricky’s School Pageant”, episode 163 of “I Love Lucy”, aired for the first time.

The script called for the four main characters to take on roles in Little Ricky’s kindergarten play, “The Enchanted Forest”. Desi Arnaz, in the role of Ricky Ricardo, played a talking tree, while Lucille Ball, as Lucy Ricardo, swung above the stage as the wicked old witch of the forest. Little Ricky’s godparents were also part of the ensemble: Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) played the fairy princess while Fred (William Frawley) took on the role of the friendly frog, Hippity-Hoppity.

Bill and Mary Rapaport of East Amherst, New York, recently donated the frog costume William Frawley wore in this classic episode to the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, New York. It includes an oversized frog “head”, “hands” and “feet”. The costume had been part of the Estate of Pepito Perez and was offered at a Hollywood memorabilia auction in Beverly Hills in December, 2005. While the costume was missing the union suit that Bill Frawley wore, it fetched $17,000. The Rapaports subsequently purchased it from the auction’s high bidder and have made it available to be enjoyed by visitors to Lucy’s hometown.

This amazing costume is now on exhibit in the Desilu Playhouse, a museum devoted to the “I Love Lucy” television series. It was unveiled yesterday (Thursday, December 14) to members of the Lucy-Desi Center’s Acquisitions Society, a group that was created in the summer of 2005 to acquire and care for historically significant items related to the First Couple of Comedy. Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. are among the Society’s founding members.

Following the unveiling, a special luncheon was held in the Tropicana Room on the second floor of the Rapaport Center. The Desilu Playhouse occupies the ground floor of the Rapaport Center at 2 W. Third Street in downtown Jamestown and was made possible primarily through private funding from the Rapaports.

"Lucy Show" Clip Included on Gomer Pyle DVD Set - Revised

A clip of Lucy Gets Caught In The Draft from "The Lucy Show" will be included as an extra on the new Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Season One DVD Set. The set will be released on December 12, 2006. This is the first time that any footage from "The Lucy Show" has officially appeared on DVD. A clip from "The Lucy Show" previously appeared on Hogan's Heroes - The Complete Second Season.

Thanks to TVDVDFan (Pat) from SitcomsOnline.com for this news!

Thanks to LLL's DizzyArnizzy (Josh)for the corrected information.

"I Love Lucy" Director To Be Honored

The Desert Sun reported that American Director William Asher, will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the second annual Celebration of the Stars in Palm Springs, California. Asher directed 20 episodes of "I Love Lucy" from 1953 to 1957.

Recently Asher discussed Lucille Ball in Palm Springs Life Magazine:

Lucy was natural. Her instincts were very sharp. Many times the scenes would be filmed in just one long take. But if they weren't right, we would do them for as long as it took to make it right.

Congratulations to Mr. Asher!

"Best Foot Forward" Featured In Donen Tribute

"Best Foot Forward" will be shown December 6 at 4:30AM Eastern on TCM as a part of a month long tribute to American film director and choreographer Stanley Donen. Donen performed as a chorus dancer in this 1943 Technicolor film starring Lucille Ball and William Gaxton.

You can also see "Best Foot Forward" on TCM this coming Wednesday (November 29) at 11:45PM Eastern. Only 13 days until it's released on DVD!

Countdown to the Release of "Best Foot Forward"!

Forgot About Fred

I don't get to write about William Frawley (a.k.a Fred Mertz) in this blog very often because he just isn't mentioned in the media as much as his fellow I Love Lucy castmates. No wonder the special edition release of the original Miracle on 34th Street slipped passed my radar yesterday! Frawley made an appearance as Charlie Halloran in this classic holiday film from 1947.

Miracle on 34th Street - Special Edition is a two-disc set and is currently priced at $14.99 at amazon.com.



Most diehard I Love Lucy Fans know that William Frawley's last TV appearance was as a maintenance man in a 1965 episode of The Lucy Show entitled, "Lucy and the Countess Have a Horse Guest."

A review of Miracle on 34th Street - Special Edition

See screen captures of William Frawley in "The Princess Comes Across" starring Carole Lombard.

The Irish-American Roots of William Frawley

Desi Arnaz Jr. and Family Featured In Catalog

The 2007 edition of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center Gift Shop Catalog is out!

Mattel's 10th Lucy Ricardo Doll, "Showgirl Lucy" graces the cover of the 32 page catalog.

You can purchase Showgirl Lucy (item #1955) from the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center Gift Shop for $39.95 (plus shipping and handling) through February 28, 2007. The price will rise to $69.95 on March 1, 2007. The doll is based on I Love Lucy Episode #116, "Lucy Gets In Pictures."



Guess who graces the back cover of the catalog? Desi Arnaz, Jr. and his wife Amy Arnaz!



Desi Jr. is modeling a Club Babalu Cabana Shirt (item #2111) and Amy Arnaz is holding a Love That Lucy Shopping Tote (item #2449).

Among the other photos inside the the catalog are Lucy and Desi's granddaughter, Haley Arnaz, and Lucy's close friend and protégé, Carole Cook, with her husband Tom Troupe.





You can place an order with the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center Gift Shop by calling 1-877-LUCY-FAN (1-877-582-9326) or by visiting their website http://www.lucy-desi.com/ and clicking the gift shop icon.

Lucy M.I.A. From Best of Donny & Marie DVD

DizzyArnizzy (Josh) writes:

Well, I have some disappointing/unfortunate news.

I received an early release copy of the "Donny & Marie" (Best of; Volume 1) DVD set today, and neither Lucy nor Desi are included on the set.

DizzyArnizzy also noted that Lucille Ball's name had been removed from the DVD's order page and that the set contains 3 DVDs instead of the 4 advertised. You can read DizzyArnizzy's full review (and see screencaps!) here:

http://longlivelucy.proboards51.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=lbnews&thread=1148952362&page=2

Ruta Lee Gets Star on Hollywood Walk

From Yahoo! News:

Actress Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where she once worked as an usher and candy girl.

Lee, 70, said it was her lifelong dream to have a star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Ruta Lee was a guest star in several of Lucy's television shows and specials, including Lucy Moves to NBC in 1980. See her filmography.

Lucy Included On 'Best of Donny and Marie' DVD

This exciting news comes to us from Long Live Lucy Member DizzyArnizzy (Josh)! Thanks for keeping us informed Josh.

DizzyArnizzy writes:

GREAT news -- Lucy WILL be included on the DVD set (more info from site mentioned below)!! Desi is not mentioned, but he will probably be included on the set too, as he was included in the "preview" feature on the site earlier this year, and Paul Lynde, who appeared in the same episode as Desi, is mentioned...FANTASTIC news.

From the order page for the "Donny & Marie" DVD set:

Best of Donny and Marie Volumes 1 & 2 plus the Donny and Marie Christmas Show - 4 DVDs in All!
Digitally re-mastered!
Donny's favorite moments and memories from this five-time EMMY nominated show. Not seen in over 30 years, The Best of Donny & Marie is filled with all your favorite musical performances, comedy sketches and guest appearances by TV legends Lucille Ball and Bob Hope and musical superstars Paul Anka and Olivia Newton-John. And for a limited time get An Old-Fashioned Christmas Celebration with The Osmonds. Bonus Extra: Fun-Filled Foto Gallery!

The Best of Donny & Marie and the Donny & Marie Christmas Special DVD are expected to be released on 11/07/2006. We will ship this item as soon as it is available. Pre-order now to reserve your copy!