Re: Does anyone else love "I Love Lucy"?
Wouln't she be a fasinating person to have a biography made about her? I bet she has tons of stories that could be really interesting.
If you're gay & Lucy fan -- you should check out
I Loved Lucy: My Friendship with Lucille Ball, a memoir by Lee Tannen. Lee Tannen was a gay man & a relative of Lucy's 2nd husband (Gary Morton). Tannen was close friends with Lucy in the 1980s.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Loved-Lucy-Friendship-Lucille-Ball/dp/0312287534"]Amazon.com: I Loved Lucy: My Friendship with Lucille Ball (9780312287535): Lee Tannen: Books[/ame]
Here is an excerpt --
"The day after Christmas I told Lucy I wanted her to meet a special friend of mine who lived nearby in West Hollywood. His name was Fritz Friedman and we became good pals when he lived in New York. Reluctant to put Lucy on the spot, and knowing how she guarded her privacy at home, I nevertheless asked her if it was alright if Fritz came by the house that afternoon. "Fritz Friedman?" Lucy asked. "How
well do you know him?"
"Very well," I replied.
"Very well, then," she replied. "Tell him to come over. And bring a bathing suit. Does he know how to play backgammon, because
we're playing backgammon all day?"
I called Fritz and told him to come by 12:30. That way he could have Lucy's Blue Plate special -- a grilled American cheese sandwich, one slice thick, on white toast with iced tea.
Lucy greeted Fritz with an extended arm and firm handshake as Fritz, uncharacteristically timid, said, "Hello, Miss Ball."
"My friends call me 'Lucy'", said Lucy, hoping to put a visibly frightened Fritz to ease. But she only succeeded in scaring him more. Lucy wasted no time. "So what do you do, Fritz?" Fritz quietly told her that he worked in publicity for Columbia Pictures. "Speak up, how the
hell is anybody going to know what Columbia's up to if they can't hear you," Lucy said.
"I was wondering why nobody was going to our movies," Fritz spoke up. Lucy laughed out loud. Fritz's face lit up. He had passed the Lucy intimidation test. Lucy liked Fritz right away and she kept on telling him that he didn't look anything like his name [Fritz was half Vietnamese]. Finally, Fritz told Lucy that
she didn't look anything like Lucille Ball.
We all ate our grilled cheese and Fritz watched Lucy and me play backgammon. Then Lucy asked him to stay for dinner. And later, somewhere between the Waldorf salad the veal with vermicelli, Fritz matter-of-factly proclaimed, "You know, Lucy, you
are a gay icon."
"Lucy, this veal tonight is delicious," I interrupted, trying to deflect the conversation, not because I cared in the least that Fritz was openly talking about being gay, but because I had a feeling where Fritz was headed.
"Fritzie, what the
hell are you talking about?" Lucy barked.
Fritz continued, "Gay men adore you. You must know that. And you know, there is this gay bar on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood where all weekend long they show
I Love Lucy episodes day and night."
Gary perked up. "Luce, can they do that without your permission?" We all shot Gary a look.
"Anyway," Fritz added, "Wouldn't it be fun if Lee and I took you there one afternoon so you could see for yourself what I mean? And don't worry, we can sneak you in the back so nobody will see you?" I think Lucy thought Fritz was losing his mind.
"Some more vermicelli, Fritz?" I said, desperately trying to change the subject.
"Fritz," Lucy said, looking him straight in the eye. "Who the hell needs to go out to see re-runs of myself when I have every episode here in the den?" Then suddenly with the wide-eyed innocence and naivete of a Hollywood newcomer, Lucy asked, "Do they really watch me
all day long?"
We never did go to the gay bar, but Fritz Friedman became a part of Lucy's small circle of friends and family who were welcome anytime at the house. "
