AUGUST 8, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
August 8 is … Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night
Tell me how that works out for you.
On Saturday, JonBenet Ramsay would have been 21 years-old. Also on Saturday, Lucille Ball would have been 100 years-old. Here are fifteen tidbits of information about Ms. Ball you may not have known. JonBenet did not live long enough for fifteen of anything to occur in her short-tragic life.
1. After two decades spent trying to become a movie superstar, Lucille Ball was 40 years old when she finally became a Hollywood player with the debut of 'I Love Lucy' in 1951.
2. Lucy was not only a genius performer, but a smart, innovative businesswoman: she and husband/co-star Desi Arnaz introduced the idea of syndicating TV shows, and she was the first woman to own her own film studio (Desilu).
3. Among the other TV series produced by Desilu: 'Star Trek,' 'The Untouchables' and 'Mission: Impossible.'
4. She attended acting school in New York City ... with Bette Davis.
5. Like most other actresses in Hollywood, Lucy auditioned for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind.' But on her way to audition for producer David O. Selznick, she got caught in a rainstorm, was drenched, and had to audition wearing nothing but a long sweater she'd borrowed from Selznick's assistant.
6. Lucy was not only the Chesterfield cigarette girl, but also a Ziegfield Girl and Goldwyn Girl.
2. Lucy was not only a genius performer, but a smart, innovative businesswoman: she and husband/co-star Desi Arnaz introduced the idea of syndicating TV shows, and she was the first woman to own her own film studio (Desilu).
3. Among the other TV series produced by Desilu: 'Star Trek,' 'The Untouchables' and 'Mission: Impossible.'
4. She attended acting school in New York City ... with Bette Davis.
5. Like most other actresses in Hollywood, Lucy auditioned for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind.' But on her way to audition for producer David O. Selznick, she got caught in a rainstorm, was drenched, and had to audition wearing nothing but a long sweater she'd borrowed from Selznick's assistant.
6. Lucy was not only the Chesterfield cigarette girl, but also a Ziegfield Girl and Goldwyn Girl.
7. One of the most beloved episodes of 'I Love Lucy' -- 'Harpo Marx' -- guest-starred Harpo Marx and found Lucy and Harpo re-creating the Marx Brothers' famous mirror scene from 'Duck Soup.' Earlier in her career, Ball had starred with the Marxes in the big-screen comedy 'Room Service,' and with another famous comedy group, the Three Stooges, in the comedy short 'Three Little Pigskins.'
8. The birth of Little Ricky on 'I Love Lucy' -- and of Desi Arnaz Jr. in real life -- was featured on the very first TV Guide cover in 1953.
9. Desi Jr. dated the offspring of another Hollywood diva: Judy Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli.
10. Lucy was a big fan of the sitcom 'Three's Company.' She even hosted a clip show special of the series in 1982.
11. In 1986, Lucy attempted a comeback with the dismal Aaron Spelling-produced ABC sitcom 'Life With Lucy' in 1986. The show, which found Lucy playing Lucy Barker, a widowed grandma who helped run her late husband's hardware store, also featured her 'The Lucy Show' and 'Here's Lucy' co-star Gale Gordon, but the rest of the cast was so forgettable that the comedy only aired for eight episodes before plummeting ratings led to its cancelation.
12. Lucy's last public appearance was in March 1989, at the 61st Oscar ceremony. She died the next month.
13. Lucy is in the National Women's Hall of Fame, which includes just one other TV star: Oprah Winfrey.
14. Lucy was a big fan of Betty White and 'The Golden Girls,' and appeared with White on various versions of the game show 'Password.' Lucy's mother, DeDe, was a close friend of Betty White's mother, Tess.
15. Lucy was an uncredited producer on the 1983 Tom Cruise football drama 'All the Right Moves.' Her second husband, Gary Morton, had co-produced the film via Lucy's Lucille Ball Productions.
Betty White seems to have outlived all of her old gang. You go Betty.
I am having surgery today. I hope to be able to post a column on Tuesday but I cannot be sure. Have a great day. I am sure it will be better than mine.
Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011
VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Email: brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.
www.ebookmall.com (Do search by my name or book Title)
www.barnesandnoble.com (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.
Book Titles:
Holmes the Ripper
A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction
“A man has got to do what a man has got to do.”
John Wayne,
Why don’t we all try to man-up?
