Vivian Vance Turned Down Role In Andy Warhol Film

PR-inside.com reported that I Love Lucy's Vivian Vance turned down the role of 'Hazel Aiken' in Andy Warhol's 1977 film, "Bad." Carroll Baker took the role and won* a Saturn Award for Best Horror Actress from The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.

Warholstars.com provided this information on Vance's choice:

We had already tried to get Vivian Vance to play the lead... It was a far cry from the I Love Lucy show, but we thought Vivian Vance would be perfect for the part...

Vivian Vance thought differently. 'I'd love to do it, Andy, I really would,' she told us over dinner at La Caravelle. 'But you must understand that for all those people out there I'm still Ethel Mertz, Lucy's next-door neighbor and the nicest woman in America, and that's why I can still go into any dinner theater in the country and get paid $20,000 a week, because all my nice fans in their mink stoles want to see Ethel Mertz be nice. I hate being nice and I hate my fans and I hate their mink stoles. But I love making $20,000 a week anytime I want..."

Property from the set of "Bad" will be auctioned May 6th by Stamford Auction in Stamford, Connecticut. Read more about it.

Related Links:
Vivian Vance's Filmography
Carroll Baker's Filmography
Warholstars

*Pr-inside.com states Baker won. Imdb.com states that she was nominated.

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.

Everything You Need To Know About Lucy-Desi Days

The Lucy-Desi Center has provided this link for full details on this year's Lucy-Desi Days:

http://lucille-ball-desi-arnaz-center.stores.yahoo.net/feevti.html

You can purchase festival and event tickets, check out the schedule and more on their site. Lucy-Desi Days 2007 takes places May 25-27 in Jamestown, New York.

Lucy-Desi Days Mystery Guest Revealed!

The Lucy-Desi Center has revealed that Vivian Vance's sister will be the very special guest for Vance's tribute during Lucy-Desi Days 2007. Here's the scoop:

Later, you can come aboard the Summerwind for a special Vivian Vance Treasure Chest Boat Cruise hosted by Vivian Vance’s sister—flying in direct from Albuquerque for the weekend! (Yes, Vivian Vance’s sister! This once-in-a lifetime opportunity makes the trip to Jamestown a “must” this year!)

A special Saturday morning tribute: “We Remember Viv!” will include live performance, a video tribute, candid conversation, and a family album slide show, too! Hosted by Tom Watson, president of the “We Love Lucy” Fan Club, this event is all about our favorite second banana!

3 of the 40 events taking place during the festival will be devoted to Vance and "Lucy Meets The President" will be shown. Festival tickets will be sold through the Lucy-Desi Center's official website (www.lucy-desi.com) later this week.

Related Blog Entries:
Lucy Desi Center Plans Vance Tribute
Ball and Vance Named "Ageless Beauties"

Lucy-Desi Center Plans Vance Tribute

The Lucy-Desi Center has announced plans to honor actress Vivian Vance (1909-1979) with a tribute at Lucy-Desi Days 2007. The center isn't releasing all the details yet, but they stated that there will be a "very special guest" for Vance's tribute on Saturday, May 26.

Vivian Vance is best known for her roles as Ethel Mertz on 'I Love Lucy' and 'The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour' and as Vivian Bagley on 'The Lucy Show.' Her last appearance with Lucille Ball was in the 1977 TV special, 'Lucy Calls The President.'

Lucy-Desi Days 2007 is a 40+ event festival being held from May 25-27 in Jamestown, New York (Lucille Ball's hometown).

Complete details for the festival will be posted as soon as possible. Accommodation information can be found at:
http://www.lucy-desi.com/festival/festival_accom.html

Related Links:
Vivian Vance's Filmography
Wikipedia: Vivian Vance
The Vivian Vance Tribute Page
Viv: A Vivian Vance Page

Photo courtesy of The Vivian Vance Tribute Page.

Ball and Vance Named "Ageless Beauties"

On March 15, USA Today listed their picks for TV's most ageless and boisterous beauties. The list was unnumbered, but Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, were the first ladies named for their work in "I Love Lucy." Some of the other boisterous beauties on the list were Mary Tyler Moore, Bonnie Franklin, Candice Bergen and Delta Burke.

I'm sure Lucy & Ethel would be thrilled!

Photo courtesy of Viv: A Vivian Vance Site.

Another new Lucy DVD Coming Soon!

Just when we thought things couldn't get any sweeter, what with "The Final Seasons" being released tomorrow, "Without Love" in May, "The Lucille Ball Collection" in June and the "I Love Lucy Movie" before Christmas - DizzyArnizzy (Josh) brought us more exciting DVD news!

On May 1, Genius Productions, Inc. will release
"I Love Lucy - Lucy's Really Lost Moments." This closed captioned, 71 minute long, DVD will retail for $14.95. DizzyArnizzy researched to find out what was on this new release. He writes:

Well, I just found a description from MoviesUnlimited.org:

I Love Lucy - Lucy's Really Lost Moments

Not anymore! Share some laughs with the First Lady of Television with this ultra-rare compilation of footage starring the legendary Lucille Ball. Includes an "I Love Lucy" episode guest-starring Bob Hope; a Westinghouse special featuring Lucy; an episode of the game show "I've Got a Secret," in which Lucy appears with panelist Johnny Carson; and a rarely seen TV pilot starring Lucy.

This is the third home video release of the Westinghouse Special with Viv and Bill (unless this DVD will include the "Westinghouse Desilu Revue" (doubt it) or "Ellis In Freedomland", where Lucy is the voice of a washing machine).

The pilot is probably that 1960 "Victor Borge Comedy Hour", where Lucy takes part in the airplane skit with Gale (a clip from this was included on the "Funny World of Lucy" Vol. 2 DVD)

As for the "I've Got a Secret" episode, this will probably be a NEW "Lucy" appearance to DVD. The episode that will *most likely* be included on this set aired February 15th, 1960...Lucy was promoting "Wildcat" at the time. (Special thanks to HarryCarter over at the Lucy Lounge for the info on this "I've Got a Secret" episode).

Related Links:
DizzyArnizzy's original post about Lucy's Really Lost Moments
Countdown to the Release of TLDCH on DVD!

More Buzz About "I Love Lucy: The Final Seasons"

Lucy fans everywhere are excited about purchasing "I Love Lucy: The Final Seasons 7, 8 & 9" (a.k.a. "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour") when it's released on Tuesday, March 13. It's hard not to get excited now that DVD reviews and Lucy mentions are starting to pour in!

The March 13th issue of Good Housekeeping's Quick & Simple Magazine (in stores now) features this blurb and trivia quiz about "I Love Lucy: The Final Seasons 7,8 & 9" being released on DVD:



Mike Restaino of DVDFile.com , who doesn't seem to be a devout Lucille Ball Fan, gave the season set a favorable review and seemed impressed with the set's special features:

As with other seasons of I Love Lucy on DVD, this set comes with some nice bonuses. The uncut version of Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana is hilarious (though not having much knowledge of the broadcast version, I’m not sure what is new here), and the color set footage of the all-too-familiar I Love Lucy shooting locale is a trip. (Can you guess what color the walls are painted?) We also get a few enjoyable – if slight – deleted scenes, a blooper reel, the original openings and closings to the show, some original cast commercials and a promotion spot, some animation from the show’s first airings, a few song selections (that take you to some of this set’s better musical moments), and some production notes and guest cast information.

Read Restaino's complete review here.

Long Live Lucy Member Mr. Mooney (Mike) has been helping us keep track of how many days until the set is released. Come share in the countdown fun!

Happy 55th Anniversary I Love Lucy!

On October 15, 1951 I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley premiered on CBS. Happy 55th anniversary!

Join the anniversary discussion at Long Live Lucy!

Even The Cast Of "I Love Lucy" Had Conflicts

From CBSNews.com:

It turns out there was even conflict on "I Love Lucy," where the cast seemed to be getting along so well. But it was not the case.

"Going back to the 50's, there were reports that Lucille Ball made Vivian Vance wear dresses that were two sizes too small to make her look frumpy by comparison. Vance was also very dissatisfied with her co-star, her husband played William Frawley, who was 22 years her senior. She felt very insulted by the fact that she was playing the wife of a man in her words "that was old enough to be her father."

Tentative LDCH Release Date, Lucy's Great Grave, Etc.

I have a bunch of random Lucy news and mentions so I thought I would put it all here for you in one post.

Tentative LDCH Release Date

According to Still in Love With Lucy by Thomas Watson, CBS/Paramount Home Video is aiming for February 13 as the release date for The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.

Lucy's Great Grave
Lucille Ball's life story is documented in the book Great Graves of Upstate New York by Chuck D'Imperio, a disc jockey at WDOS-WSRK Radio. There's an article about Mr. D'Imperio here.

William Frawley and Vivian Vance are also mentioned in a new book by Brian Thomsen.

Lucille Ball in the 1930s
This blog has an interesting timeline of Lucy's Life in the 1930s.

Carol Burnett talks about Lucy in her stage show.

“After I won the Mister Hercules contest, a Hollywood agent convinced me to go to California to meet with Desilu Productions owners Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz,” Lupus said. “At first I was cast in small parts, but later I got the Willy Armitage role and acted for seven years.”

Remembering Carol C. Watkins: "Her friend Desi Arnaz once told her, 'Carol, you are the real Lucy.'"