Book Confirms Mertzes Hatred

A book by Brian Thomsen, "The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously Debunked" reveals celebrity misconceptions to set the record straight. Amoung them is that The Mertzes hated each other. Ethel and Fred Mertz, played by Vivian Vance and William Frawley, were the landlords and best friends of the Ricardos on TV’s "I Love Lucy." Although the Mertzes’ disagreements were usually limited to occasional bickering, off screen, Vance and Frawley "simply loathed each other."

Among other is Johnny Cash was never a prison inmate. St. Patrick was not born in Ireland. John Wayne never served in the armed forces and The "Birdman of Alcatraz" never kept birds at Alcatraz.

From I Love Lucy to YouTube

The impact of YouTube is undeniable on our culture and our ability to create and view video. But as reported from The Atlantic Monthly, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz pioneered our way to watch syndicated television many times over.

When Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were bringing I Love Lucy to the airwaves in 1951, videotape didn’t exist yet. The only way to create a permanent record of a televised moment was to use a technique called kinescoping, in which a movie camera recorded off a television monitor. Since the country had yet to be linked for live broadcast, viewers in the western half of the country generally had to make do with kinescoped copies of the live productions coming out of New York. Lucy and Desi wanted to make their show in Los Angeles, where they lived, but corporate sponsors insisted that New York audiences—then the country’s largest advertising market—see higher-quality productions than kinescoping offered. The solution: have three movie cameras simultaneously record the performance on a stage in front of a studio audience, with a director stitching together the feeds into a cohesive whole. So was born the three-camera sitcom, television’s most dominant and enduring format.

Lucie Arnaz missed out in a part in Grease

Seems like Lucie Arnaz missed out on the part played by Stockard Channing in the 1978 movie "Grease".

In an article from the San Francisco Chronicle, Lucie's mother, Lucille Ball, would not allow her to do a test for the character in the movie, so she was passed on!

How many other celebrities missed what would become movie legends!

Paper Dolls Could Be Worth More Than Their Weight

Paper Dolls of celebrities, such as Marilyn Monroe, Debbie Reynolds, Lucille Ball and Roy Rogers and Dale Evans are favorites and could be worth more than their weight according to an article in the Tuscan Citizen.

But it warns, what is popular now might not be desirable in the future, so only collect what you like. I'd say this goes for any collectable, don't buy cause you think it would fetch you a retirement in the future!

I Love Lucy: The Movie

As reported on the Museum of TV and Radio, The Lucy Movie will be included in the upcoming release of The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour, due out in February 2007.

The movie was actually three episodes of the sitcom, "The Ballet," "The Benefit" and "Breaking the Lease," which were linked together with 12 minutes of specially shot footage featuring Ball, Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley — who made up the classic quartet of Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel.

The movie was a behind-the-scenes look at "I Love Lucy," which began with two audience members waiting in line for the show and then shows Arnaz warming up the studio audience and introducing the cast.

As part of Friday's program, Oppenheimer will also screen the unfinished opening credits featuring stick figures of Lucy and Desi as well as some never-before-seen color footage of the "I Love Lucy" set and cast that was secretly taken by an audience member.

"Lucille Ball was so close to the museum and did quite a few seminars for us before she died," Simon said. "We always wanted to have as complete a "Lucy" collection as possible."

That footage as well as "I Love Lucy: The Movie" will be included in a DVD boxed set of 13 one-hour episodes of the show that aired from 1957-60. They will be released as seasons seven, eight and nine, but in a single DVD package. It is set to be released in early 2007.

Read the whole story on the MTR Website.