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On The Road With Lucy!
The "I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Tour"
is traveling once again!
Dates Confirmed:
August 16-25: Harah's Casino & Hotel (St. Louis, MO)
November 8-24: Showboat Casino & Hotel
(Atlantic City, N) |
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Emmy Nomination Announced
The "I Love Lucy: 50th Anniversary Special," which first aired November 11, 2001, has been nominated for an Emmy Award ("Outstanding Special Class Program"). The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences made the announcement on July 18.
Co-produced by Desilu, too, LLC, CBS Productions, The Fred Rappaport Company and Smith-Hemion Productions, the program features Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr, Cher, Dick Van Dyke, Larry King, Lily Tomlin and a multitude of other celebrities reflecting on their love and admiration for the First Couple of Comedy. To purchase your copy on VHS home video, call the Lucy-Desi Museum Gift Shop toll-free at 1-877-582-9326 (extension 203). ($24.95 + shipping & handling). |
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Lucy's Car Gets Official Caretaker
Executive Director of The Lucy-Desi Museum, Ric Wyman, has named Dick Bremer has the official caretaker of the Mercedes Benz once owned and driven by Lucille Ball.
With his wife, Ginny, the Bremers have been active supporters of the Museum
for several years. In the past, Dick has represented the Museum in sharing the car with the community at local car shows and the Museum-sponsored festivals.
Dick's role will include overseeing the general maintenance of the auto as well as serving as the car's official driver.
Although the 1972 auto is just one of hundreds of items housed by the Museum, this particular artifact is of special significance.
"Almost daily visitors to the Museum ask us about Lucy's Mercedes which is currently in storage," said Wyman. "It's frustrating that we are not yet at a place where we can display this car for the world to see. For now, fans are asked to settle for a color postcard in our gift shop which pictures the car. As we plan for the Museum's future expansion, we guarantee the car will be a centerpiece of the new facility. I'm really thrilled that Dick has agreed to lend his time and energy to our cause." |
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Lucy Desi Museum Appears in TV Guide
Lucille Ball's hometown, Jamestown, New York, is featured in a two-page spread in the July 6 edition of TV Guide, which covers program listings for July 13-19, 2002.
The article includes five photographs. Two are of displays in the Lucy-Desi Museum in downtown Jamestown, one is of Lucy's childhood home and another of the chainsaw sculpture of her in Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron. There is also a picture of the entrance to the city of Jamestown, designating it as the "Birthplace of Roger Tory Peterson" as well as the "Birthplace of Lucille Ball."
Lucille Ball and her son Desi Arnaz, Jr., were on the cover of TV Guide's first national issue in 1953. The Queen of Comedy held the record for appearances on the cover of TV Guide - more than 40 times - before last October. That month, the magazine featured her on eight different covers of the same issue, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of "I Love Lucy."
"We have been welcoming hundreds of people from all over the country to the Museum every day," said Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center Executive Director Ric Wyman. "This additional national exposure for Jamestown and the Museum should only increase our number of visitors.". |
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Tennesee Resident assists Lucy - Desi Museum
Tennessee resident Jeffrey Gibbs has found a way to truly show his support of the Lucy-Desi Museum.
Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr., the children of Jamestown native Lucille Ball, recently donated the "I Love Lucy" living room set to the Lucy-Desi Museum. The set was included in "The 'I Love Lucy' 50th Anniversary Special," a CBS program broadcast last November which was produced by the Ball children.
With the financial assistance of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the Jamestown Rotary Club, and Corbis Motion, LLC, the set was moved from Los Angeles in April. Jeff Gibbs stepped forward to cover the outstanding costs still remaining for the transport.
Gibbs has been a frequent visitor to Jamestown to participate in Museum festivals. "Since I am unable to volunteer my time, this is one way that I can show my support for the Lucy-Desi museum and efforts that those in Jamestown are doing to preserve Lucy and Desi's legacy," Gibbs said from his home in Nashville. "I am excited about the upcoming expansion and hope that all fans will find a way to contribute in some way."
Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center Executive Director Ric Wyman said he is looking forward to having Gibbs return for Lucy's Birthday Celebration in August. He explained that the set from the most popular television program ever is in storage until the plans for a much larger new Museum are realized. "It's the support of friends of the Museum like Jeff Gibbs that will help us realize our dreams," Wyman said, in expressing his gratitude for the Museum member's assistance. "When we have adequate space to properly showcase this treasure, it will be an additional attraction to bring people from all over the world to Lucille Ball's hometown." |
A New York State Historical Marker in Jamestown, NY, the birthplace of Lucille Ball. Lucy's hometown will now be her and her mother's final resting place. |
Lucille Ball Returns Home
JAMESTOWN, NY---The family of Lucille Ball has transferred her cremated remains and those of her mother, Desiree (DeDe) Eveline Hunt Ball from Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, California, to Jamestown, New York, the birthplace of both women.
Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. are quoted as saying that their mother's wishes were only "to be buried along side her mother, DeDe."
"We have become quite attached to the people of Jamestown and the surrounding Chautauqua area in the past year while creating the new not-for-profit Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Inc. to take over management of The Lucy-Desi Museum there," the Arnaz children said.
Lucie and Desi, Jr. have been discussing the possible move with other members of the family since they both performed in Jamestown last August.
In Jamestown, the remains of both Ms. Ball and her mother will be interred in the beautiful Hunt-Ball tree-shaded family plot at Lake View Cemetery joining several generations of Lucille's ancestors including Henry Durrell Ball, her father and DeDe's husband who died on February 28, 1915, when Lucy was only three.
It is the family's hope that this transfer will facilitate an easier way for fans and visitors of The Lucy-Desi Museum, located in downtown Jamestown, to pay their respects to the Lucy they loved.
Ms. Arnaz also noted that her father, Desi Arnaz, Sr., died on December 2, 1986. He was cremated and his remains were scattered at sea in front of his home in Baja, California. A plaque was placed in his honor at the base of the local church there.
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From left are Keith Schmitt, Chautauqua County Arts Council acting executive director; Ric Wyman, Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center executive director; and Jane Kidder, Arts Council board president. The Arts Council and Lucy-Desi Center officials signed a transfer agreement Friday. photo courtesy Joe Liuzzo, Post -Journal Photographer. |
Arts Council & Lucy-Desi Center Complete Agreement
The management and all the assets of The Lucy-Desi Museum have now been transferred from the Arts Council for Chautauqua County to the new Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Inc. It was a long and tedious process, but members of the staff and Boards of both organizations believe the struggle to reach an agreement that worked for everyone was worth it, and they are satisfied with the outcome.
Of the successfully completed agreement between the Arts Council and the Center, Lucie Arnaz, President of the Center's Board, said: "Desi and I could not be happier that all the details concerning the transfer of the Lucy-Desi Museum from the management of the Arts Council of Chautauqua County to the new Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Inc. have finally been settled and we have signed the closing papers. Onward!"
Jane Kidder, President of the Board of the Arts Council for Chautauqua County, commented: "Congratulations to all involved in the negotiations who persevered to an amicable conclusion that should prove to be very rewarding for our community. The Arts Council wishes the new Lucy-Desi Center much success in the growth of the Museum and its outreach. We look forward to a long and pleasant association furthering their mission in our county."
The Museum has welcomed more than 80,000 visitors from 36 countries since its founding by the Arts Council six years ago. Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. decided when their management contract with the Arts Council expired this past March that they wanted to be more actively involved in the development of their parents' museum, whose mission is "to keep alive the memory, celebrate the legacy, and preserve the personal effects and professional works of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and, by so doing, enrich and strengthen the place Lucy called home." Toward this end, they formed a new not-for-profit corporation, The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Inc., to manage the Museum.
For more information about the Museum and "Lucy's Birthday Celebration" August 2-4, call or visit the Lucy-Desi Museum or Gift Shop at (716) 484-0800 or its web site at www.lucy-desi.com. The Lucy-Desi Museum is located at 212 Pine Street in Jamestown. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays. |
Gary Peters, Todd Tranum, Nate Arnone, Larry Swan, Gary Peters, Jr., and Gary Lynn unload one of the living room walls from the "I Love Lucy" set. The set arrived in Lucille Ball's hometown recently for future display in The Lucy-Desi Museum. |
'LUCY' TV Living Room Arrives in Jamestown
"Lucy, I'm home!"
If sets from classic TV shows could talk, chances are this is what folks in Jamestown, New York would have heard recently as the Ricardo's living room arrived in Lucille Ball's hometown.
Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz, Jr., the children of Jamestown native, Lucille Ball, recently donated the "I Love Lucy" livingroom set to The Lucy-Desi Museum.
The set was put in secure storage in late April. Late last summer, the set was included in "The 'I Love Lucy' 50th Anniversary Special." The CBS special, which was broadcast last November, was produced by Ball's children.
Via telephone from Memphis Lucie Arnaz said, "I can't think of a more appropriate place for the set to go. It belongs at the Museum where visitors from far and near can enjoy it."
"This is probably the most recognized living room in the world," said Ric Wyman, executive director of The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Inc, the non-profit organization which manages the Museum.
"This donation will be yet another drawing card as we encourage Lucy fans from all over the world to visit Lucy's hometown," Wyman said. "We have many immediate needs. Among them, of course, is a larger facility that will enable us to appropriately showcase all of the wonderful artifacts from the lives of Lucy and Desi."
The living room set is safely stored at an undisclosed location until the
Museum relocates to a larger Jamestown facility. |
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50th Anniversary Special Now On Home Video
After two CBS prime-time broadcasts (November 11, 2001 and January 2, 2002), The I Love Lucy: The 50th Anniversary Special is now available on VHS video from The Lucy-Desi Museum Gift Shop! Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., served as co-executive producers of this two-hour star-studded salute. Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr, Cher, Dick Van Dyke, Larry King, Lily Tomlin and a multitude of other celebrities reflected on their love and admiration for the First Couple of Comedy during this golden anniversary tribute. To purchase your copy, call the Lucy-Desi Museum Gift Shop
toll-free at 1-877-582-9326. ($24.95 + shipping & handling).. |
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Lucys Granddaughter Crowned Queen
Lucille Balls granddaughter, Katharine Desiree Luckinbill, wore the queens crown at the 75th Shenandoah (VA) Apple Blossom Festival this Spring.
The only daughter of Lucie Arnaz and Larry Luckinbill, Kates hobbies include snowboarding, volleyball, and shopping with her friends.
Kates grandmother, Lucille Ball, passed away when Kate was 4 years old. In a recent interview with the Winchester Star, Kate said, The memories I have of her are so specific...I grew up in California and lived there until I was 6 or 7. She was a big part of my life growing up. She lived 15 minutes away and I was at her house every day. My memories of her are very, very vivid.
Kates fond memories of Lucy include making cookies, swimming and watching the cartoon, Inspector Gadget. Then shed put me in these silk pajamas. What little hair I had, shed put up in curlers and shed put makeup on me, Kate told the Winchester newspaper.
The Apple Blossom Festival ran from May 2-5. Kates coronation was held on May 3. Lucille Ball was the festivals grand marshal in 1964.
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"Ricci, Desi & Billy" Concert Scheduled For May 24th & May 25th
Desi Arnaz, Jr. and fellow musicians Ricci Martin and Billy Hinsche will perform with their All-Star Band at Desi's Historic Boulder Theatre in Boulder City, Nevada on May 24 and May 25. Both shows start at 7 P.M.
The groups latest CD "Boulder Rocks!" (which was recorded live at the Boulder Theatre last year) will be available for purchase as will Ricci Martin's new book, "That's Amore"--a beautiful tribute to his father, Dean Martin.
Seating is reserved, with tickets priced at $15. Tickets go on sale March 15. Credit cards welcome.
Call 702-293-5001 for tickets and more information.
Please note: Last year's Boulder City concert sold out. Advance ticket purchase is recommended. |
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New Non-Profit Corporation Now Manages Museum
Board of Directors Announced
Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz, Jr. recently formed a new non-profit organization to direct and manage The Lucy-Desi Museum which pays tribute to their parents in their mother's hometown.
The Museum was previously managed by The Arts Council For Chautauqua County, who's contract allowing them permission to operate the Museum expired in March.
A Board of Directors was recently formed for this new entity. In addition to Lucy and Desi's children, Wanda Clark Stamatovich of Los Angeles, Lucille Ball's personal secretary for 27 years was also named to the founding Board. Other Board Members include Katharine Statz of Cleveland, fan extraordinaire and insurance company owner an several Jamestown community residents: Nancy Bargar, President of Fluvanna Realty and former Chautauqua County Legislator; John Lloyd, CPA of Lloyd & Company; Holly Sullivan, Travel Management Consultant for Bush Industries; and Todd Tranum, Executive Director of the Manufacturers Association of the Jamestown Area.
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Soap Star Joins Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Museum Board
Melody Thomas Scott, long-time star of the award-winning soap opera, "The Young and The Restless," has accepted the invitation to be on the new Board of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Museum. She is planning to have her publicist do a national press release about her appointment because, as she said, "I want to scream it from the rooftops!"
An Emmy-nominated actress, Ms. Scott plays Nikki Newman in television's most popular CBS daytime drama and is also a self-described long-time Lucille Ball fanatic.
"I am thrilled to have been asked to become part of something that is very close to my heart," Scott said of her involvement. I know that this is not just fluffy, fan stuff. This is business, the real deal, the business of preserving something very precious to all of us. I know that with all of us focusing on the job at hand...there will be no bounds to our accomplishments. There will be no greater reward than when, years from now, every person on the planet will know about the Museum and treasure it. Our work will then be done. I Love Lucy will still be on, every moment of the day, somewhere, and it will be our children's turn to keep the tradition alive. I am honored to be one of the Founding Board Members and I wouldn't be surprised if my children follow!"
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'Splaining
101 I Love Lucy Facts
We all love Lucy! The wonderfully funny character created by comedienne Lucille Ball in the 1950s has delighted fans for over fifty years, and, still today, the TV show I Love Lucy is seen every moment of every day somewhere in the world! How many of these Lucy facts did you know?
1. The I Love Lucy show debuted in 1951 and continued until 1957.
2. The face of Lucille Ball has been seen by more people, more often, than the face of any other person who ever lived!
3. I Love Lucy continues to be enjoyed in more than 77 countries. The show is dubbed in 22 different languages!
4. I Love Lucy originally aired on Monday nights.
5. The original sponsor of the show was the Philip Morris company.
6. The main characters were Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, played by real-life husband-and-wife Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
7. The supporting actors were Vivian Vance as Ethel Mertz and William Frawley as her husband Fred.
8. The Ricardos landlords were the Mertzes.
9. I Love Lucy was one of the first TV shows shot on 35mm film.
10. The film--unlike kinescope, which deteriorates very quickly--endured, making I Love Lucy reruns possible right up to the present.
11. I Love Lucy was filmed on a converted movie sound stage.
12. A live audience of 300 attended each taping.
13. The first filming took place on Saturday, September 8, 1951.
14. Lucille Ball received an Emmy award for Best Comedienne in 1952.
15. In the 50s, true-blue Lucy fans could buy living room and bedroom furniture patterned after the furniture used on the show.
16. "Vitameatavegamin" -- the health tonic Lucy promoted in a TV commercial -- included vitamins, meat, vegetables, and minerals.
17. "Vitameatavegamin" contained 23% alcohol.
18. Working with the legendary Karl Freund, Desi Arnaz pioneered the three-camera technique that became the standard for TV sitcoms.
19. When Lucille Ball became pregnant in 1952, the unprecedented decision was made to write the pregnancy into the show.
20. It was decided that, no matter what the actual sex of the Arnaz baby, the Ricardo baby would be a boy.
21. When the Ricardos TV son Ricky was born, more people watched that episode than watched the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
22. Lucille Ball once said she never thought she was funny, she was just being honest.
23. The scripts for the pregnancy episodes were reviewed by a priest, a minister, and a rabbi to be sure they were inoffensive.
24. Lucy belonged to a womans club named the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Art League.
25. Lucy wrote an operetta for the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Art League entitled "The Pleasant Peasant."
26. Lucy played the Queen of the Gypsies and Ethel played Lily of the Valley in the operetta "The Pleasant Peasant".
27. I Love Lucy paved the way for such great comediennes as Phyllis Diller, Imogene Coca, Joan Rivers, Carol Burnett, and Lily Tomlin.
28. The first nightclub Ricky worked in was the Tropicana.
29. Later, Ricky bought the Tropicana and renamed it Club Babalu.
30. Lucy and Ethel briefly worked in Kramers Kandy Kitchen as candy wrappers.
31. Once, Lucy impersonated the Maharincess of Franistan in an effort to bolster Rickys nightclub career.
32. Fred Mertz was an old vaudevillian, half of the Mertz and Kertz team.
33. Little Rickys dog was named Fred in honor of Fred Mertz.
34. In one show, when Lucy thought the building was on fire, the first articles she tried to save were jugs of henna rinse.
35. Lucy and Ricky were once hired to do a husband-and-wife morning show for Phipps Department Store.
36. Lucy Ricardos maiden name was McGillicuddy.
37. Ricky Ricardo, like Desi Arnaz, was born in Cuba.
38. Lucys mother called Ricky "Mickey."
39. The Ricardos and Mertzes drove to Hollywood in a 1955 Pontiac convertible.
40. In "Ricky's Europeran Booking," Ricky sings the theme song from the 1956 Lucy-Desi movie, Forever Darling.
41. One of Lucys souvenirs from their Hollywood stay was a tin can run over by Cary Grants car.
42. Ethel Mertz grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
43. Ethel actually had three middle names during the history of the show (Louise, Mae, and Roberta).
44. During the shows last season, the Ricardos moved from New York City to Westport, Connecticut.
45. Lucy Ricardos hometown on the show was Jamestown, New York, the real hometown of Lucille Ball.
46. In one of her many writing attempts, Lucy wrote a play about a Cuban tobacco picker--"A Tree Grows in Havana."
47. Lucy once played a petunia in a school play.
48. In "Lucy Meets Orson Welles," Lucy bragged to the great actor that she played Juliet in a high school production.
49. Rickys name was misspelled as "Bacardi" on their marriage license, prompting Lucy to insist that they be remarried.
50. The Ricardos apartment lease specifically prohibited children, but an exception was made for Little Ricky.
51. Writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll gave silver dollars to cast members who caused a spontaneous audience reaction.
52. The I Love Lucy theme song lyrics were sung only once--by Ricky, in the "Lucys Last Birthday" episode.
53. After Little Rickys birth, the Ricardos moved to a larger apartment, 3-B, in the same building.
54. The Ricardos resided at 623 East 68th Street, New York City.
55. If real, that address would have been in the East River.
56.One of their phone numbers was Murray Hill 5-9975.
57. In the episode entitled "Lucy Tells the Truth," she admitted that her hair was really "mousy brown."
58. In one show, after Ricky told Lucy to stay away from his nightclub, she disguised herself with a lampshade to try to get in anyway.
59. Lucy Ricardo wrote a book, Real Gone with the Wind, and considered writing a sequel, Sugar Cane Mutiny.
60. Along with Tennessee Ernie Ford, Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred appeared as "Ernie Ford and His Four Hot Chicken Pickers"on TV.
61. In an episode that saw the Ricardos sailing for Europe, Lucy and her partner, schoolboy Kenneth Hamilton, won the ships Ping-Pong tournament.
62. Desi Arnaz had such a great memory he could memorize his lines in one reading of the script.
63. On their European trip, the Ricardos visited the ancestral village of Lucys family, the McGillicuddys, in Kildoonan, Scotland.
64. Fred and Ethel were Little Rickys godparents.
65. The I Love Lucy show won five Emmy awards.
66. The pilot for I Love Lucy wasnt about the Ricardos at all--but about Lucy and Larry Lopez.
67. During Lucys TV pregnancy, the word "pregnancy" was never used. Instead, she was "expecting" (or as Ricky said, "specting").
68. Actor Ross Elliot was so devoted to I Love Lucy, he postponed his wedding to appear in an episode.
69. Vivian Vance won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in 1954.
70. Scripts for the shows episodes usually ran about 50 pages.
71. Actress Doris Singleton played Lucy's friend Carolyn Appleby.
72. Although I Love Lucy opened to generally favorable reviews, not everyone was impressed.
73. Less than a day after the first show aired, the sponsor tried to find a way to get out of the contract, but reconsidered.
74. Lucille Ball was a perfectionist, and almost all of the shows scenes were the result of painstaking rehearsal, not ad-libs.
75. Desi Arnaz did the "warm-up" of the studio audience before shows.
76. An actual candy maker named Amanda Milligan appeared with Lucy in the classic episode entitled "Job Switching."
77. In the Spring of 1953, "Little Ricky" was portrayed by twins Richard Lee and Ronald Lee Simmons.
78. The names of Lucys and Desis real-life friends were often used for characters in the show.
79. Keith Thibodeaux joine the cast of "I Love Lucy" during it's final season as Little Ricky. Keith was the only Little Ricky who had speaking lines.
80. The first issue of TV Guide featured Lucille Ball and Desi IV on the cover with the headline, "Lucys $50,000,000 Baby."
81. In only its second season, I Love Lucy attracted 45 million viewers.
82. Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll, Jr., and Madelyn Pugh wrote the show in its early years.
83. Ms. Pugh insured that the gags written for Lucille Ball could actually be done by a woman.
84. William Frawley had a clause in his contract allowing him to take time off to attend the World Series when the Yankees were playing.
85. Ed Sullivans entire Toast of the Town show on October 3, 1954, was a tribute to I Love Lucy.
86. The shows script writers used key word to refer to Lucys trademark expressions, among them "Puddling Up" and "Foiled Again."
87. The Ricardos neighbor, Mrs. Trumbull, (played by Elizabeth Patterson) babysat for Little Ricky.
88. For the episode "Pioneer Women," a metal shop custom-built a pan for the eight foot long loaf of bread that shot out of Lucys oven.
89. After filming "Pioneer Women," the crew cut up the eight foot loaf of rye and divided it among themselves.
90. Little Ricky was born January 19, 1953.
91. The pilot episode cost $19,000 to produce.
92. I Love Lucy was so popular on Monday nights that department stores changed their late shopping evening from Monday to Thursday.
93. The original title of I Love Lucy was "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz TV Show."
94. In one episode, Lucy--who had been snooping--escaped from a neighbors apartment by putting on a slipcover and disguising herself as a chair.
95. On the average, 93 people worked on each I Love Lucy episode.
96. The audience for I Love Lucy sat on grandstand bleachers erected by a scaffolding company.
97. Federal Maritime Board officials so liked two episodes that took place on an ocean liner, they requested--and received--copies of the films to promote the Merchant Marine.
98. At the time of Lucille Balls death in 1989, I Love Lucy was appearing in over 80 countries in syndication.
99. On March 1, 1953, Jack Gould of the New York Times commented that I Love Lucy was so successful because "Its very human--and so are we."
100. The first episode, entitled "The Girls Want to Go to a Night Club," aired October 15, 1951.
101. The last episode aired on May 6, 1957, " The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue."
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