As I sat down to write a retrospective blog about Lucy commemorating her birthday, I found myself struggling with what to say. And as you know, your Aunt Betty is not usually one lost for words.
But trying to encapsulate the woman and her incredible persona is a little overwhelming. After all, she’s The Queen of Comedy, the first woman to ever run a television studio, and is considered to this day to be an inspiration of everyone from Penny Marshall to John Ritter to even John Belushi who was reportedly a huge fan.
She started out as a painfully thin (blonde) model, landing a gig hocking fur coats for designer Hattie Carnegie and later became The Chesterfield Girl for the then-popular cigarettes. She was mentored by Buster Keaton and honed her chops alongside the likes of Red Skelton, Bob Hope, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Katherine Hepburn.
After viewing her performance in the 1936 film, Follow the Fleet, a test-audience member scribbled the following comment for the producers: "You might give the tall gum chewing blonde more parts and see if she can't make the grade - a good gamble." (Internet Movie Data Base)
But it was her brilliance in the radio show My Favorite Husband that rocketed her towards her destiny. When CBS decided to develop it for TV, Lucy insisted her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, play the role of her husband on television. Eventually, the studio execs gave in and the rest, as they say, is history.
So what is it that makes Lucy so special to us? Why do we laugh out loud every time we watch her squash candy down her shirt or light her putty nose on fire? After much thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because Lucy Ricardo never gave up. She never lost faith in herself no matter what havoc she wrought. And we all wish we could be more like that...the little-kid version of ourselves who believed they could be a movie star, an astronaut or the funniest woman on TV.
So take a moment to thank Lucy on her birthday. Not just for the laughs she gave us personally, but also for all of the great comics and writers and actors she inspired. And for all you Lucy fanatics out there, stop by The Attic and stroll through our collection of I Love Lucy® memorabilia. From the leather varsity jacket to the Vitameatavegamin clock to holiday tree ornaments, there’s something tucked away up there that will unlock your favorite memories of the wacky redhead who once summed herself up by saying, “I'm not funny. What I am is brave.” (imdb)
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