1 00:00:46,672 --> 00:00:49,300 -(amplified rummaging) -(muffled chatter) 2 00:00:49,383 --> 00:00:50,926 LUCY: Hello, hello, hello. 3 00:00:51,010 --> 00:00:53,512 One, two, three, four. Ready to record. 4 00:00:53,596 --> 00:00:54,597 Hi there. 5 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,682 ♪ ♪ 6 00:00:59,059 --> 00:01:00,811 LUCIE ARNAZ LUCKINBILL: My parents had these tapes, 7 00:01:00,895 --> 00:01:03,397 these audiotapes that they kept. 8 00:01:04,398 --> 00:01:06,192 LUCY (over speakers): "B" for babies. I love them. 9 00:01:06,275 --> 00:01:08,319 Sorry mine are growing up so fast. 10 00:01:08,402 --> 00:01:09,612 "C" for cats. 11 00:01:09,695 --> 00:01:11,947 I admire and envy their self-sufficient attitude. 12 00:01:12,031 --> 00:01:13,324 "D" for Desi. 13 00:01:13,407 --> 00:01:15,618 I thank him for my two beautiful, healthy children 14 00:01:15,701 --> 00:01:17,369 and my freedom. 15 00:01:17,453 --> 00:01:20,164 LUCIE: There are, you know, 20-some tapes like this. 16 00:01:21,916 --> 00:01:24,585 DESI (over speakers): A lot of this area are things 17 00:01:24,668 --> 00:01:27,838 that nobody knows but me. 18 00:01:27,922 --> 00:01:30,466 LUCIE: Underneath all of this painful stuff 19 00:01:30,549 --> 00:01:33,010 and disappointments, 20 00:01:33,093 --> 00:01:37,473 at the core, it's all about unconditional love. 21 00:01:40,017 --> 00:01:42,645 I find now that I am much more forgiving 22 00:01:42,728 --> 00:01:45,981 in my looking back at all of this. 23 00:01:46,065 --> 00:01:48,943 A lot is much clearer to me now. 24 00:01:49,026 --> 00:01:51,028 ♪ ♪ 25 00:01:53,531 --> 00:01:56,784 ANNOUNCER: America's number one show, I Love Lucy. 26 00:01:56,867 --> 00:01:58,410 -(applause) -MALE HOST: Here's Lucille Ball 27 00:01:58,494 --> 00:02:01,330 and Desi Arnaz, the number one team, of course, of television. 28 00:02:01,413 --> 00:02:03,999 (cheering, applause) 29 00:02:05,876 --> 00:02:08,003 DESI: That's kind of one of those things, you know, that, 30 00:02:08,087 --> 00:02:09,505 if you're lucky enough, maybe, 31 00:02:09,588 --> 00:02:11,632 -they say, once in a lifetime. -(cheering, applause) 32 00:02:11,715 --> 00:02:12,800 LUCY RICARDO: Ricky, come here. 33 00:02:12,883 --> 00:02:16,178 Ricky, no matter what you've done, 34 00:02:16,262 --> 00:02:17,721 I forgive you. 35 00:02:17,805 --> 00:02:20,140 (audience laughter) 36 00:02:22,977 --> 00:02:24,895 LUCY: To the rest of the world, a Hollywood couple 37 00:02:24,979 --> 00:02:26,230 -has no problems. -DESI: Mm-hmm. 38 00:02:26,313 --> 00:02:28,399 LUCY: Of course we do, but I don't think they believe it. 39 00:02:28,482 --> 00:02:31,819 If we have a house, two cars and a pool, what the hell problem have we got? 40 00:02:31,902 --> 00:02:36,073 DESI: It's too bad Lucille and Desi weren't Lucy and Ricky. (laughs) 41 00:02:37,116 --> 00:02:39,660 LUCY: I was madly in love with Desi, 42 00:02:39,743 --> 00:02:42,788 and, uh, I've never felt that way about anyone before. 43 00:02:42,872 --> 00:02:44,874 ♪ ♪ 44 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:52,798 ROY ROWAN: It is my privilege to present to you 45 00:02:52,882 --> 00:02:56,844 the costar of the I Love Lucy show, a grand fellow and a great showman, 46 00:02:56,927 --> 00:02:59,763 ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Desi Arnaz. 47 00:02:59,847 --> 00:03:01,724 (band playing lively music) 48 00:03:09,690 --> 00:03:11,317 Thank you, Roy. 49 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:12,818 Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. 50 00:03:12,902 --> 00:03:14,069 Thank you very much. 51 00:03:14,153 --> 00:03:16,113 We welcome you to Desilu Playhouse. 52 00:03:16,196 --> 00:03:18,824 I'd like you to meet, young lady, 53 00:03:18,908 --> 00:03:20,826 my favorite redhead, 54 00:03:20,910 --> 00:03:23,954 the, uh... the vice president 55 00:03:24,038 --> 00:03:26,540 of Desilu Productions Incorporated... 56 00:03:26,624 --> 00:03:28,208 (scattered laughter) 57 00:03:28,292 --> 00:03:29,793 I am the president. 58 00:03:29,877 --> 00:03:31,587 (laughter) 59 00:03:32,671 --> 00:03:34,798 The mother of my children, ladies and gentlemen, 60 00:03:34,882 --> 00:03:37,176 she plays Lucy, Lucille Ball. 61 00:03:37,259 --> 00:03:39,470 (cheering, applause) 62 00:03:42,890 --> 00:03:43,891 There she is! 63 00:03:43,974 --> 00:03:46,602 Oh, she's so pretty. 64 00:03:46,685 --> 00:03:48,437 Thank you, honey. 65 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:50,022 Thank you. 66 00:03:51,190 --> 00:03:53,609 This-- uh, by the way, I play Ricky. 67 00:03:53,692 --> 00:03:56,695 -(projector starts) -(film rattling) 68 00:03:57,947 --> 00:03:59,949 ♪ ♪ 69 00:04:03,619 --> 00:04:05,371 RICKY (laughs): Hey, look at that. 70 00:04:05,454 --> 00:04:07,289 That's the night before we got married. 71 00:04:07,373 --> 00:04:08,624 LUCY: We have had fun, 72 00:04:08,707 --> 00:04:10,876 -haven't we, honey? -Yes, sir. 73 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,171 These have been the best 15 years of my life. 74 00:04:16,131 --> 00:04:19,093 -What's the matter? -We've only been married 13 years. 75 00:04:19,176 --> 00:04:20,469 -(audience laughter) -Oh. 76 00:04:20,552 --> 00:04:22,513 Well, I-I mean it seems like 15. 77 00:04:22,596 --> 00:04:23,847 What? 78 00:04:23,931 --> 00:04:28,394 No, uh, what I mean is, uh, it-it doesn't seem possible 79 00:04:28,477 --> 00:04:32,314 that all that fun could have been crammed into only 13 years. 80 00:04:32,398 --> 00:04:34,942 (audience laughter) 81 00:04:37,569 --> 00:04:38,904 DESI: The show was 82 00:04:38,988 --> 00:04:42,324 one of the most wonderful things to happen in my life. 83 00:04:42,408 --> 00:04:44,410 But the reason that that happened 84 00:04:44,493 --> 00:04:49,456 was that Lucy was the most loved character in the world. 85 00:04:53,085 --> 00:04:55,004 MADAME LAMOND (French accent): Raise the right leg 86 00:04:55,087 --> 00:04:57,339 even with the bar. 87 00:04:57,423 --> 00:04:59,425 (takes deep breath) 88 00:05:01,552 --> 00:05:04,054 (audience laughter) 89 00:05:04,138 --> 00:05:09,643 Now, then, lower the leg slowly to the floor. 90 00:05:11,228 --> 00:05:13,230 (audience laughter) 91 00:05:14,231 --> 00:05:16,483 CAROL BURNETT: She was fearless in her comedy. 92 00:05:16,567 --> 00:05:20,404 She was very physical. 93 00:05:20,487 --> 00:05:23,032 Madam, the leg down. 94 00:05:23,115 --> 00:05:24,116 À bas! À bas! 95 00:05:24,199 --> 00:05:26,326 -À bas? À bas. -À bas. 96 00:05:26,410 --> 00:05:27,369 (audience laughter) 97 00:05:27,453 --> 00:05:29,913 À bas! À bas! 98 00:05:29,997 --> 00:05:31,415 À bas! 99 00:05:31,498 --> 00:05:33,417 You saw someone who was so beautiful, 100 00:05:33,500 --> 00:05:36,378 and she wasn't afraid to look ugly. 101 00:05:36,462 --> 00:05:37,546 (audience laughter) 102 00:05:39,214 --> 00:05:42,509 Which is something you never-- almost never saw women do. 103 00:05:42,593 --> 00:05:45,846 BURNETT: Put on a fat suit, black out your teeth, 104 00:05:45,929 --> 00:05:48,348 put on a fright wig, uh, all-all sorts of things. 105 00:05:48,432 --> 00:05:51,018 And I think that's why everything holds up today, 106 00:05:51,101 --> 00:05:55,272 because it was belly laughs. 107 00:05:55,355 --> 00:05:57,357 (audience laughter) 108 00:06:13,332 --> 00:06:15,167 LAURA LaPLACA: I don't like when people 109 00:06:15,250 --> 00:06:17,086 call her work effortless. 110 00:06:18,253 --> 00:06:19,671 (audience laughter continues) 111 00:06:19,755 --> 00:06:21,757 There were no advantages to being a woman 112 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:24,676 in the 1950s television industry. 113 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:26,762 She wasn't lucky. She wasn't a genius. 114 00:06:26,845 --> 00:06:28,305 She wasn't innately talented. 115 00:06:28,388 --> 00:06:30,182 She really built her success. 116 00:06:30,265 --> 00:06:32,476 ♪ ♪ 117 00:06:32,559 --> 00:06:35,687 I've been studying Lucy since I was five years old. 118 00:06:35,771 --> 00:06:37,856 It's pretty clear that she had this kind of 119 00:06:37,940 --> 00:06:41,944 scientific approach to what generates a laugh. 120 00:06:42,027 --> 00:06:43,737 LUCY: I came up with, uh, something 121 00:06:43,821 --> 00:06:47,282 that I had read called "the enchanted sense of play." 122 00:06:50,911 --> 00:06:54,498 I played the Lucy character while Desi played straight man. 123 00:06:54,581 --> 00:06:57,126 We'd say, "All right, let's play. Let's pretend now." 124 00:06:57,209 --> 00:06:59,086 And that way, we, uh, don't have any trouble 125 00:06:59,169 --> 00:07:00,587 believing what we're doing. 126 00:07:00,671 --> 00:07:02,047 There. 127 00:07:03,048 --> 00:07:05,134 RICKY: It kind of looks like her. 128 00:07:05,217 --> 00:07:07,136 This is excellent, Ricardo. 129 00:07:07,219 --> 00:07:08,887 -(screaming wildly) -Hey! 130 00:07:08,971 --> 00:07:10,305 Lucy! 131 00:07:10,389 --> 00:07:13,684 LUCY: It's sort of skipping into things rather than plodding. 132 00:07:13,767 --> 00:07:19,189 Looking at the ridiculous side sometimes when things are a little rough. 133 00:07:21,316 --> 00:07:24,820 I never started out to be, uh, an actress. 134 00:07:24,903 --> 00:07:27,030 Well, I had a grandfather who never missed 135 00:07:27,114 --> 00:07:28,490 one of the vaudeville shows. 136 00:07:28,574 --> 00:07:30,242 He took us every Saturday. 137 00:07:30,325 --> 00:07:31,743 -(applause) -Two and a half hours, 138 00:07:31,827 --> 00:07:34,246 make people cry and laugh, and it was pure magic. 139 00:07:34,329 --> 00:07:35,998 -(audience laughter) -And I think that really 140 00:07:36,081 --> 00:07:39,334 sparked me to be in the business. 141 00:07:39,418 --> 00:07:40,919 Our father died before I was born, 142 00:07:41,003 --> 00:07:44,256 so my grandfather brought us up. 143 00:07:44,339 --> 00:07:46,383 He was a very kind man. 144 00:07:46,466 --> 00:07:50,137 And, uh, he was the same as a father. 145 00:07:50,220 --> 00:07:52,097 ♪ ♪ 146 00:07:52,181 --> 00:07:55,017 We lived on a lake, Chautauqua Lake. 147 00:07:55,100 --> 00:07:58,103 Those were tough years. 148 00:07:58,187 --> 00:08:01,190 We didn't know anybody really that was wealthy. 149 00:08:01,273 --> 00:08:05,277 Uh, everybody in the family worked all of the time. 150 00:08:07,613 --> 00:08:09,615 Dede was the commander. 151 00:08:09,698 --> 00:08:11,241 Very authoritative. 152 00:08:11,325 --> 00:08:13,702 Lucy took on that trait. 153 00:08:15,204 --> 00:08:17,206 LUCY: I worked in the park, Celoron Park. 154 00:08:17,289 --> 00:08:20,751 I was, uh, making hamburgers, and I used to holler, 155 00:08:20,834 --> 00:08:23,045 "Look out, look out! Don't step over there! 156 00:08:23,128 --> 00:08:24,713 Step over here and have a hamburger!" 157 00:08:24,796 --> 00:08:26,965 You know, scare the hell out of people. (chuckles) 158 00:08:27,049 --> 00:08:28,342 They were also good hamburgers. 159 00:08:33,055 --> 00:08:35,682 FRED BALL: Lucy was always doing her own thing. 160 00:08:35,766 --> 00:08:39,353 And, uh, when I was 12, she went to New York. 161 00:08:39,436 --> 00:08:40,979 (water flowing) 162 00:08:42,981 --> 00:08:45,776 One day, I had a little girlfriend over, 163 00:08:45,859 --> 00:08:48,445 and we were target practicing. 164 00:08:48,528 --> 00:08:50,447 ♪ ♪ 165 00:08:50,530 --> 00:08:52,866 And so there was myself, the girlfriend 166 00:08:52,950 --> 00:08:55,160 and a little boy from next door. 167 00:08:55,244 --> 00:08:56,453 And Grandpa. 168 00:08:58,914 --> 00:09:01,792 This girlfriend of mine had the rifle, 169 00:09:01,875 --> 00:09:05,295 aimed it, and the neighbor jumped up at the same time. 170 00:09:05,379 --> 00:09:06,546 (gunshot) 171 00:09:06,630 --> 00:09:09,049 And it hit him in the back and paralyzed him. 172 00:09:10,342 --> 00:09:11,969 It was nobody's fault. 173 00:09:12,052 --> 00:09:13,887 It was just an accident. 174 00:09:13,971 --> 00:09:16,807 LUCY: They sued my grandfather for everything we had. 175 00:09:16,890 --> 00:09:19,101 They went on the stand to say that my grandfather 176 00:09:19,184 --> 00:09:22,437 had made a target of this kid and let us practice on him. 177 00:09:22,521 --> 00:09:26,024 It-it was a-- the most horrible thing. 178 00:09:26,108 --> 00:09:28,902 It ruined our home life, we moved away, 179 00:09:28,986 --> 00:09:31,196 and my grandfather was never the same. 180 00:09:36,159 --> 00:09:39,121 BETTY: Did the accident with the, the trial and everything 181 00:09:39,204 --> 00:09:42,040 don't you think that strengthened your family feeling too? 182 00:09:42,124 --> 00:09:46,378 LUCY: Yes probably. I was too young then to step out and take care of them. 183 00:09:46,461 --> 00:09:50,674 I always, as their fortunes waned during those years 184 00:09:50,757 --> 00:09:55,512 I was very eager to make enough to take the burden off their shoulders. 185 00:09:55,595 --> 00:09:57,723 (trolley clacking) 186 00:09:57,806 --> 00:10:00,350 LUCY: When I came to this town, I was 15, 16. 187 00:10:00,434 --> 00:10:02,102 I didn't know anyone in showbiz. 188 00:10:02,185 --> 00:10:04,521 I didn't even know how to look it up in the paper. 189 00:10:04,604 --> 00:10:06,523 ♪ ♪ 190 00:10:06,606 --> 00:10:10,068 I got jobs as a showgirl, but I never kept one. 191 00:10:10,152 --> 00:10:14,489 Because after a couple weeks, they'd realize that I was a dud, a real nothin'. 192 00:10:15,532 --> 00:10:17,617 So I said, "I've had it. I have had it. 193 00:10:17,701 --> 00:10:20,704 "I am going to find out how to do something 194 00:10:20,787 --> 00:10:23,290 that pays me something." 195 00:10:23,373 --> 00:10:24,750 ♪ ♪ 196 00:10:28,003 --> 00:10:30,881 So I became a model. I became a good model. 197 00:10:32,716 --> 00:10:34,676 To add a little glamour to my life, 198 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,387 I changed my name to Diane Belmont. 199 00:10:37,471 --> 00:10:41,224 I also was saying that I was from Montana, so I acquired a nickname. 200 00:10:43,435 --> 00:10:45,145 "Two Gun." 201 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:48,815 I was walking down the street in July, 202 00:10:48,899 --> 00:10:50,776 and someone said, "How would you like to go to California?" 203 00:10:50,859 --> 00:10:53,278 And I said, "I'd go anyplace to get out of this heat." 204 00:10:53,362 --> 00:10:57,532 And they needed to produce 12 showgirls for Sam Goldwyn. 205 00:10:57,616 --> 00:10:59,826 One girl backed out-- her mother said she couldn't go-- 206 00:10:59,910 --> 00:11:01,745 after 12 of them were chosen. 207 00:11:01,828 --> 00:11:04,122 Mr. Jim Mulvey said, "All right, you're tall enough. 208 00:11:04,206 --> 00:11:06,958 I think Mr. Goldwyn will like you. We don't have time to test you." 209 00:11:07,042 --> 00:11:08,043 And thank God they didn't. 210 00:11:08,126 --> 00:11:09,252 I never would've made it 211 00:11:09,336 --> 00:11:11,380 'cause I never made a screen test in my life. 212 00:11:11,463 --> 00:11:12,714 (whistle blows) 213 00:11:12,798 --> 00:11:13,965 We got on the train. 214 00:11:14,049 --> 00:11:16,718 We came out here for a job that was supposed to take six weeks. 215 00:11:16,802 --> 00:11:18,720 It took six months, that picture with Eddie Cantor 216 00:11:18,804 --> 00:11:20,305 called Roman Scandals. 217 00:11:20,389 --> 00:11:24,184 I had an absolutely wonderful association with everyone at the studio. 218 00:11:24,267 --> 00:11:25,936 I loved Hollywood. 219 00:11:26,019 --> 00:11:29,981 I saw in it a place I wanted to live, a place I wanted to bring my family. 220 00:11:30,065 --> 00:11:32,192 I had no thought of ever going back. 221 00:11:32,275 --> 00:11:34,277 ♪ ♪ 222 00:11:38,448 --> 00:11:40,450 (audience laughter) 223 00:11:46,581 --> 00:11:48,625 What are you made up for, Lucy? 224 00:11:48,708 --> 00:11:52,087 Oh, darn it, you recognized me. 225 00:11:52,170 --> 00:11:53,713 (audience laughter) 226 00:11:53,797 --> 00:11:56,383 Well, if I hadn't worn this, would you have known who it was? 227 00:11:56,466 --> 00:11:59,177 Of course. What are you trying to prove? 228 00:11:59,261 --> 00:12:00,679 Well, I was just practicing. 229 00:12:00,762 --> 00:12:03,181 You know, us movie stars have to go around disguised 230 00:12:03,265 --> 00:12:05,892 -or our fans will mob us. -(laughs) 231 00:12:05,976 --> 00:12:09,396 Why, if it isn't Lucy Ricardo. 232 00:12:09,479 --> 00:12:11,106 Gee, can I have your autograph? 233 00:12:11,189 --> 00:12:12,983 Oh, Fred, don't be smart. 234 00:12:13,066 --> 00:12:14,192 Who's being smart? 235 00:12:14,276 --> 00:12:16,194 I want it on a check for this month's rent. 236 00:12:16,278 --> 00:12:18,864 (audience laughter) 237 00:12:18,947 --> 00:12:20,949 You'll get your money, my good man. 238 00:12:21,032 --> 00:12:23,243 Us movie stars always pay our bills. 239 00:12:23,326 --> 00:12:24,828 (audience laughter) 240 00:12:24,911 --> 00:12:26,037 ETHEL: Hey, wait a minute. 241 00:12:26,121 --> 00:12:28,039 I thought Ricky was gonna be the star. 242 00:12:28,123 --> 00:12:30,625 Oh, he'll be one, too. Don't worry. 243 00:12:30,709 --> 00:12:32,377 "Too"? 244 00:12:32,461 --> 00:12:34,379 ♪ Yo quero pedir ♪ 245 00:12:34,463 --> 00:12:37,424 ♪ Que mi negra me quiera ♪ 246 00:12:38,467 --> 00:12:41,094 ♪ Que tenga dinero ♪ 247 00:12:41,178 --> 00:12:43,013 ♪ Y que no se muera... ♪ 248 00:12:43,096 --> 00:12:46,725 EDUARDO MACHADO: I remember the first time I saw Ricky. 249 00:12:46,808 --> 00:12:50,437 I was a kid growing up in the San Fernando Valley. 250 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:52,731 -Good morning, dear. -And I kind of learned English 251 00:12:52,814 --> 00:12:55,859 from watching I Love Lucy, you know. 252 00:12:55,942 --> 00:12:57,903 -...a sus saludes. -A la salud. -A cubita bella. 253 00:12:57,986 --> 00:13:00,197 Uh, l'chaim. 254 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:01,573 (audience laughter) 255 00:13:01,656 --> 00:13:04,159 MACHADO: Desi brought sophistication 256 00:13:04,242 --> 00:13:09,372 where Latinos have hardly ever been seen as sophisticated. 257 00:13:09,456 --> 00:13:11,124 ♪ Babalú... ♪ 258 00:13:11,208 --> 00:13:12,459 (shouts) 259 00:13:12,542 --> 00:13:14,794 MACHADO: There was Carmen Miranda. 260 00:13:14,878 --> 00:13:16,129 She had bananas. 261 00:13:16,213 --> 00:13:20,425 There were Cesar Romero, but he didn't play Cuban. 262 00:13:20,509 --> 00:13:24,054 And Desi came in and said, "I'm Cuban Pete. 263 00:13:24,137 --> 00:13:25,597 I'm the king of the rumba beat." 264 00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:27,641 ♪ Olé, olé, olé, olé ♪ 265 00:13:27,724 --> 00:13:31,102 -♪ Olé, olé, olé, olé ♪ -♪ Olé, olé, olé, olé ♪ 266 00:13:31,186 --> 00:13:32,687 ♪ Olé, olé, olé, olé ♪ 267 00:13:40,153 --> 00:13:41,363 Ah! 268 00:13:42,364 --> 00:13:44,032 Yeah! 269 00:13:44,115 --> 00:13:45,367 Ah! 270 00:13:45,450 --> 00:13:47,160 (band playing flourish) 271 00:13:47,244 --> 00:13:51,164 Ah! Yeah! Yeah! Ah! 272 00:13:52,707 --> 00:13:53,792 -Hey! -(song ends) 273 00:13:53,875 --> 00:13:56,586 (seagulls chirping) 274 00:13:56,670 --> 00:14:00,090 (ship horn blows) 275 00:14:00,173 --> 00:14:02,884 DESI: I got to this country, you know, broke, 276 00:14:02,968 --> 00:14:05,887 and, uh, I didn't speak the language. 277 00:14:05,971 --> 00:14:09,099 So... I was just trying to make a dollar. 278 00:14:09,182 --> 00:14:11,017 (laughs) 279 00:14:11,101 --> 00:14:13,186 'Cause I had nothing to start out with. 280 00:14:13,270 --> 00:14:15,188 ♪ ♪ 281 00:14:15,272 --> 00:14:17,315 Well, my father said, "Today you're 16. 282 00:14:17,399 --> 00:14:20,610 "In my book, that means that you're no longer a child. 283 00:14:20,694 --> 00:14:22,028 You're now a man." 284 00:14:24,072 --> 00:14:27,993 This fellow was raising canaries, and my job was to clean the cages. 285 00:14:28,076 --> 00:14:30,912 I got $15 a week and one meal. 286 00:14:30,996 --> 00:14:35,000 Some guy had a little band called the Siboney Septet. 287 00:14:35,083 --> 00:14:37,711 He offered me $39 a week. 288 00:14:37,794 --> 00:14:40,213 So that's how I got into show business. 289 00:14:40,297 --> 00:14:43,049 ("Bésame" by Mongo Santamaria playing, lyrics in Spanish) 290 00:14:44,759 --> 00:14:46,595 LUCIE: My father finished high school 291 00:14:46,678 --> 00:14:48,638 by the skin of his teeth, 292 00:14:48,722 --> 00:14:53,226 but he got an opportunity to learn from the best. 293 00:14:53,310 --> 00:14:55,228 My father always said he learned everything he knew 294 00:14:55,312 --> 00:14:58,023 about the band business from working with Xavier Cugat. 295 00:14:58,940 --> 00:15:01,735 CHARO: He was the king of the rhumba. 296 00:15:01,818 --> 00:15:04,529 The king of Latin music. 297 00:15:04,904 --> 00:15:07,532 Now he saw me when I was 16 years old. 298 00:15:07,949 --> 00:15:11,494 And that's how I ended up in the United States of America. 299 00:15:11,578 --> 00:15:13,121 And people liked me. Thank God! 300 00:15:14,205 --> 00:15:18,168 Cugat discovered a lot of excellent talented people, 301 00:15:18,251 --> 00:15:20,503 and I am one of them. 302 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:23,840 (trilling) 303 00:15:23,923 --> 00:15:26,176 (whooping rhythmically) 304 00:15:26,259 --> 00:15:28,053 Cugat discovered Desi. 305 00:15:28,136 --> 00:15:30,680 And he could see that he was a real dreamer. 306 00:15:30,764 --> 00:15:32,766 (singing in Spanish) 307 00:15:35,769 --> 00:15:38,813 I met Desi because I knew Xavier Cugat. 308 00:15:38,897 --> 00:15:40,231 They have a lot in common, 309 00:15:40,315 --> 00:15:41,733 although Cugat was older. 310 00:15:42,192 --> 00:15:44,944 Because Cugat grew up also in Cuba. 311 00:15:45,028 --> 00:15:48,239 So they were, like they say in America, two peas in a pod. 312 00:15:48,323 --> 00:15:51,951 Cugat the maestro, and the student Desi. 313 00:15:52,035 --> 00:15:54,079 (singing continues in Spanish) 314 00:15:55,789 --> 00:15:58,124 DESI: It was the greatest experience in the world. 315 00:15:58,208 --> 00:16:00,835 And even though he didn't pay much money, 316 00:16:00,919 --> 00:16:03,380 I learned a hell of a lot about the band business. 317 00:16:03,463 --> 00:16:05,674 Was like going to college. 318 00:16:08,677 --> 00:16:10,929 (song ends) 319 00:16:11,012 --> 00:16:14,307 LUCY (over speakers): I was so grateful to be any part 320 00:16:14,391 --> 00:16:16,142 of the business. 321 00:16:16,226 --> 00:16:17,394 (helicopter whirring) 322 00:16:17,477 --> 00:16:18,603 I was a part of it. 323 00:16:18,687 --> 00:16:19,896 I didn't care what I did. 324 00:16:19,979 --> 00:16:23,233 They never had to ask me twice to do anything. 325 00:16:23,316 --> 00:16:24,943 ♪ ♪ 326 00:16:26,986 --> 00:16:28,905 I said, "I want to know about this. 327 00:16:28,988 --> 00:16:31,574 I want to know how to do this." 328 00:16:33,451 --> 00:16:35,578 In those days, there were no working hours. 329 00:16:35,662 --> 00:16:37,205 We worked all day and all night, 330 00:16:37,288 --> 00:16:38,748 maybe 3:00 in the morning. 331 00:16:38,832 --> 00:16:40,959 And we'd be there at 6:00. 332 00:16:42,836 --> 00:16:46,464 See, when you're not beautiful and you're not too bright, 333 00:16:46,548 --> 00:16:49,509 you attract attention any way you can. 334 00:16:49,592 --> 00:16:51,803 The trouble with you is you're all trying to be comics. 335 00:16:51,886 --> 00:16:53,680 Don't you ever take anything seriously? 336 00:16:53,763 --> 00:16:55,849 After you've sat around for a year trying to get a job, 337 00:16:55,932 --> 00:16:57,392 you won't take anything seriously either. 338 00:16:57,475 --> 00:17:00,353 LUCY: So I got a chance to work many times 339 00:17:00,437 --> 00:17:02,355 because I didn't mind what I did. 340 00:17:02,439 --> 00:17:03,982 I just knew it was action. 341 00:17:04,065 --> 00:17:06,901 It was just doing something that no one else wanted to do. 342 00:17:10,655 --> 00:17:13,825 Those were the days when you had a mom-and-a-pop, uh, studio. 343 00:17:13,908 --> 00:17:16,077 ♪ ♪ 344 00:17:17,662 --> 00:17:20,123 They were our security. 345 00:17:20,206 --> 00:17:24,419 They had publicity departments who made us a certain type. 346 00:17:24,502 --> 00:17:26,296 They dressed us, they trained us. 347 00:17:26,379 --> 00:17:29,716 They shoved us into "B" pictures whether we wanted it or not. 348 00:17:29,799 --> 00:17:31,718 I never minded it. 349 00:17:31,801 --> 00:17:34,137 I knew I was getting a well-paid apprenticeship. 350 00:17:34,220 --> 00:17:35,430 That's the difference. 351 00:17:36,639 --> 00:17:39,893 Lela was the first one at RKO who was giving any thought 352 00:17:39,976 --> 00:17:42,061 to the young people that were under contract there. 353 00:17:42,145 --> 00:17:45,774 And I became, by her own admission, one of her best students. 354 00:17:45,857 --> 00:17:47,442 I was happily part of her group 355 00:17:47,525 --> 00:17:49,194 that she surrounded Ginger with at the time. 356 00:17:52,447 --> 00:17:54,616 Ginger worked harder than 357 00:17:54,699 --> 00:17:56,701 anybody I've ever known in the business. 358 00:17:56,785 --> 00:18:00,038 Ginger was not, uh, a great dancer when she started. 359 00:18:00,121 --> 00:18:02,040 -She was not a big star. -(camera clicking) 360 00:18:02,123 --> 00:18:03,666 She was not a great actress. 361 00:18:03,750 --> 00:18:05,543 She learned all these things, 362 00:18:05,627 --> 00:18:08,755 and she learned it with real hard work. 363 00:18:11,549 --> 00:18:13,092 RKO was very good to me. 364 00:18:13,176 --> 00:18:15,136 And it was just, uh, a place 365 00:18:15,220 --> 00:18:18,473 that I was very grateful to have grown up in. 366 00:18:18,556 --> 00:18:20,642 Eventually, they would send me scripts and say, 367 00:18:20,725 --> 00:18:22,352 "Would you like to do this?" 368 00:18:22,435 --> 00:18:26,648 One day, I saw on a script "Lucille Ball type." 369 00:18:26,731 --> 00:18:29,192 That was one of the biggest thrills I had ever... 370 00:18:29,275 --> 00:18:30,819 uh, could imagine. 371 00:18:30,902 --> 00:18:34,405 Imagine anybody knew who Lucille Ball was. 372 00:18:43,039 --> 00:18:44,582 DESI: I said, "Cugat, I got to quit. 373 00:18:44,666 --> 00:18:46,543 I got to get my little band." 374 00:18:46,626 --> 00:18:49,712 He says, "Go to Miami," so I got a little job down there. 375 00:18:49,796 --> 00:18:52,298 I says, "I got the job. Send me the band." 376 00:18:52,382 --> 00:18:53,758 (band playing jazzy Cuban music) 377 00:18:53,842 --> 00:18:56,427 We played the first set, the guy says, "You're fired." 378 00:18:56,511 --> 00:18:58,304 (laughter) 379 00:18:58,388 --> 00:19:02,183 He says, "That is the worst sound I have ever heard in my life." 380 00:19:02,267 --> 00:19:03,977 (laughter) 381 00:19:04,060 --> 00:19:05,770 And he was right. 382 00:19:07,146 --> 00:19:09,232 So I said, "Let me try to figure out." 383 00:19:09,315 --> 00:19:11,359 And I had this big conga drum with me. 384 00:19:11,442 --> 00:19:15,113 Now, in Cuba, everybody does the conga in Carnival time, 385 00:19:15,196 --> 00:19:16,865 particularly in my hometown. 386 00:19:16,948 --> 00:19:18,867 It's like the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. 387 00:19:18,950 --> 00:19:21,703 Everybody from the island comes to Santiago, 388 00:19:21,786 --> 00:19:23,288 and they do the conga line. 389 00:19:23,371 --> 00:19:24,497 (music ends) 390 00:19:24,581 --> 00:19:25,874 I bought a bottle of rum. 391 00:19:25,957 --> 00:19:28,543 I says, "Drink up. We're gonna play something new." 392 00:19:28,626 --> 00:19:30,628 (band playing lively conga music) 393 00:19:35,341 --> 00:19:37,802 -That's how the conga started. -(man laughing) 394 00:19:37,886 --> 00:19:39,888 My dance of desperation. 395 00:19:41,014 --> 00:19:44,183 MACHADO: All those rhythms, they were all Afro-Cuban. 396 00:19:44,267 --> 00:19:49,647 And he took that and made it the definition of Cuba for the world. 397 00:19:49,731 --> 00:19:52,275 JUDY GARLAND: ♪ One, two, three ♪ 398 00:19:52,358 --> 00:19:53,610 ♪ Boom! ♪ 399 00:20:01,117 --> 00:20:02,785 CHARO: 1... 2... 3... Kick! 400 00:20:03,036 --> 00:20:04,829 1... 2... 3... Kick! 401 00:20:04,913 --> 00:20:07,457 When you have that rhythm so heavy, 402 00:20:07,540 --> 00:20:10,501 all percussion. It goes to your bones. 403 00:20:12,545 --> 00:20:15,924 DESI: I did a play on Broadway called Too Many Girls. 404 00:20:16,007 --> 00:20:19,302 And then RKO bought it for a film, 405 00:20:19,385 --> 00:20:23,097 and they brought me out to Hollywood to do my part I did on Broadway. 406 00:20:23,181 --> 00:20:24,599 -(performers cheering) -(lively music playing) 407 00:20:28,937 --> 00:20:30,396 LUCY: I was told that I was 408 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:33,691 going to play an ingenue in Too Many Girls. 409 00:20:33,775 --> 00:20:36,152 And, uh, at that time, 410 00:20:36,235 --> 00:20:38,196 I did a picture called Dance, Girl, Dance, 411 00:20:38,279 --> 00:20:40,949 which was a real brassy burlesque queen. 412 00:20:41,032 --> 00:20:42,575 (crowd jeering) 413 00:20:43,785 --> 00:20:45,244 (crowd gasping, murmuring) 414 00:20:46,579 --> 00:20:48,581 (women screaming) 415 00:20:48,665 --> 00:20:50,583 I had been doing that scene all day, 416 00:20:50,667 --> 00:20:53,878 and so I went at lunchtime into the commissary. 417 00:20:53,962 --> 00:20:57,548 I had a big black eye and bruises on my face. 418 00:20:57,632 --> 00:21:01,302 And in that interim, I met Desi Arnaz. 419 00:21:01,386 --> 00:21:03,012 DESI: We were rehearsing the music, 420 00:21:03,096 --> 00:21:04,889 directed by George Abbott. 421 00:21:04,973 --> 00:21:08,893 I said to Mr. Abbott, "She's gonna be the ingenue? 422 00:21:08,977 --> 00:21:10,228 You're out of your mind." 423 00:21:10,311 --> 00:21:12,230 ♪ ♪ 424 00:21:14,983 --> 00:21:18,403 DESI: Later on that afternoon, it was the first get-together, 425 00:21:18,486 --> 00:21:20,947 and I said to the piano player, I said, 426 00:21:21,030 --> 00:21:23,449 "Oh, my, that's a hunk of woman." 427 00:21:27,578 --> 00:21:29,497 He says, "You met her this morning. 428 00:21:29,580 --> 00:21:31,332 That's Lucille Ball." 429 00:21:33,876 --> 00:21:35,962 I said, "That's Lucille Ball?" 430 00:21:36,045 --> 00:21:38,131 Will someone please come? There's a waiter fainted out here. 431 00:21:43,428 --> 00:21:44,887 DESI: She came over. 432 00:21:44,971 --> 00:21:47,932 I said, "If you don't have anything to do tonight, 433 00:21:48,016 --> 00:21:51,644 uh, how would you like to learn how to do the rumba?" 434 00:21:51,728 --> 00:21:55,106 She says, "I don't and I'd love to." 435 00:22:01,571 --> 00:22:03,322 I said, "Look, you love me?" 436 00:22:03,406 --> 00:22:05,950 She said, "Yes. I love you." 437 00:22:06,034 --> 00:22:08,286 I says, "I want kids." 438 00:22:08,369 --> 00:22:09,996 I said, "What else is there?" 439 00:22:10,079 --> 00:22:12,123 We got married six months later. 440 00:22:22,008 --> 00:22:24,010 -(projector starts) -(film rattling) 441 00:22:25,636 --> 00:22:27,638 ♪ ♪ 442 00:22:45,114 --> 00:22:48,242 MAN: How would you define the word "love"? 443 00:22:50,161 --> 00:22:51,287 LUCY: Um... 444 00:22:51,370 --> 00:22:52,580 (smacks lips) 445 00:22:52,663 --> 00:22:54,123 I don't know. 446 00:22:56,751 --> 00:23:00,213 It's such a wonderful, uh, thing that I feel 447 00:23:00,296 --> 00:23:02,340 when you say that. 448 00:23:02,423 --> 00:23:04,425 Not that you can do no wrong, 449 00:23:04,509 --> 00:23:09,847 but that I would do anything in the world to make you happier. 450 00:23:09,931 --> 00:23:12,391 With me, it's-it's wanting to please, 451 00:23:12,475 --> 00:23:16,395 wanting to, uh, devote myself, too. 452 00:23:17,438 --> 00:23:19,816 I never been asked that before. 453 00:23:19,899 --> 00:23:21,067 (soft audience laughter) 454 00:23:21,150 --> 00:23:22,944 How do you define it? 455 00:23:23,027 --> 00:23:24,779 (laughter, applause) 456 00:23:24,862 --> 00:23:26,697 That's great. 457 00:23:28,866 --> 00:23:31,828 MACHADO: Nobody wanted him to have anything to do with her. 458 00:23:31,911 --> 00:23:34,622 It was just a taboo 459 00:23:34,705 --> 00:23:38,584 that a white woman is married to a dark person. 460 00:23:39,752 --> 00:23:44,507 Also, when you're perceived as exotic, which Cubans are, 461 00:23:44,590 --> 00:23:47,927 passionate and hot-tempered 462 00:23:48,010 --> 00:23:51,430 rather than intellectual or, you know... 463 00:23:52,473 --> 00:23:55,810 But they both insisted on it. 464 00:23:55,893 --> 00:24:00,940 And that's the beginning of climbing a big mountain. 465 00:24:01,023 --> 00:24:03,025 ♪ ♪ 466 00:24:07,321 --> 00:24:08,781 BETTY: You felt right from the beginning 467 00:24:08,865 --> 00:24:10,283 that this was going to be difficult didn't you? 468 00:24:10,366 --> 00:24:11,993 LUCY: Well, I hope that I wasn't running, 469 00:24:12,076 --> 00:24:13,744 uh, with a lot of negative thinking. 470 00:24:13,828 --> 00:24:16,414 I knew that it was precarious. 471 00:24:16,497 --> 00:24:19,208 Ricky, uh, will be home soon. 472 00:24:19,292 --> 00:24:22,920 Uh... Ricky casa soon. 473 00:24:23,004 --> 00:24:24,505 -(audience laughter) -Soon. 474 00:24:24,589 --> 00:24:26,048 Hi, hon-- Mother! 475 00:24:26,132 --> 00:24:27,175 (gasps) ¡Mi vida! 476 00:24:27,258 --> 00:24:28,426 When did you get in?! 477 00:24:28,509 --> 00:24:29,802 -How are you? -(chuckles): Ay, mi amor. 478 00:24:29,886 --> 00:24:30,887 (Ricky laughing) 479 00:24:30,970 --> 00:24:32,430 (Ricky's mother speaking Spanish) 480 00:24:32,513 --> 00:24:34,765 Oh, isn't this wonderful? 481 00:24:34,849 --> 00:24:36,434 (audience laughter) 482 00:24:36,517 --> 00:24:38,352 LUCY: My mother-in-law wasn't, uh, 483 00:24:38,436 --> 00:24:41,981 so demanding of me as she was of Desi. 484 00:24:42,064 --> 00:24:46,194 I spent a great deal of time just getting along and being nice. 485 00:24:46,277 --> 00:24:49,197 (Ricky speaking Spanish) 486 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:51,282 (Ricky's mother speaking Spanish) 487 00:24:53,784 --> 00:24:55,328 (Ricky speaking Spanish) 488 00:24:55,411 --> 00:24:56,662 (all laughing) 489 00:24:56,746 --> 00:24:58,247 (audience laughter) 490 00:24:58,331 --> 00:25:01,626 BETTY: Did she come out to Hollywood as soon as you two moved out here? 491 00:25:01,709 --> 00:25:03,544 LUCY: Yes. She always went where he went. 492 00:25:03,628 --> 00:25:04,670 BETTY: Mm-hmm. 493 00:25:04,754 --> 00:25:06,380 LUCY: From the time his father let go, 494 00:25:06,464 --> 00:25:08,090 somebody had to take care of his mother, 495 00:25:08,174 --> 00:25:09,842 and he very gallantly did it. 496 00:25:09,926 --> 00:25:11,761 ♪ ♪ 497 00:25:12,762 --> 00:25:14,388 LUCIE: My mother and my father were both 498 00:25:14,472 --> 00:25:18,351 caretakers of their own families. 499 00:25:20,019 --> 00:25:22,021 The first night that they went out on their date, 500 00:25:22,104 --> 00:25:25,358 that first night that they met, they exchanged those stories. 501 00:25:28,277 --> 00:25:30,279 LUCY: I couldn't wait to get my family out here, 502 00:25:30,363 --> 00:25:31,614 to put them all under one roof. 503 00:25:31,697 --> 00:25:33,532 That way, we could make it. 504 00:25:33,616 --> 00:25:34,951 LUCIE: Her mother had nothing, 505 00:25:35,034 --> 00:25:37,245 so she ended up being the head of the family 506 00:25:37,328 --> 00:25:40,331 and had to take care of them for the rest of her life, basically. 507 00:25:40,414 --> 00:25:41,749 And same with my dad. 508 00:25:41,832 --> 00:25:44,126 His parents divorced the minute that his mother 509 00:25:44,210 --> 00:25:46,837 got to the United States, and he had to take care 510 00:25:46,921 --> 00:25:48,839 of his mother for the rest of his life. 511 00:25:50,466 --> 00:25:53,970 They brought to this marriage a belief system 512 00:25:54,053 --> 00:25:56,222 that the most important thing was family. 513 00:26:01,727 --> 00:26:04,563 BURNETT: The first time I saw Lucy up on the screen 514 00:26:04,647 --> 00:26:09,443 was in a movie that she did at MGM, and it was in Technicolor, 515 00:26:09,527 --> 00:26:11,904 called Du Barry Was a Lady. 516 00:26:11,988 --> 00:26:14,532 And I just thought she was so beautiful 517 00:26:14,615 --> 00:26:17,493 with that orange-red hair and that complexion. 518 00:26:17,576 --> 00:26:18,744 But in those movies, 519 00:26:18,828 --> 00:26:21,664 they did not touch upon her comedic talent. 520 00:26:21,747 --> 00:26:28,004 So I had no idea that she was a comedian. 521 00:26:28,087 --> 00:26:31,007 They didn't know that she had that skill set. 522 00:26:31,090 --> 00:26:33,676 And I find it one of the great crimes, 523 00:26:33,759 --> 00:26:36,345 really, one of the great artistic crimes. 524 00:26:40,641 --> 00:26:42,977 -DESI: They called her "The Queen of the B's". -(whip cracks) 525 00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:46,731 In those days remember they were called the B pictures. Smaller budgets. 526 00:26:48,691 --> 00:26:50,568 REPORTER: Were you envious of her success? 527 00:26:50,651 --> 00:26:57,325 DESI: No not at all. But I couldn't stay out here and just, don't do anything. 528 00:26:57,950 --> 00:26:59,493 LUCY: He was under contract to Metro, 529 00:26:59,577 --> 00:27:00,661 but nothing happened. 530 00:27:00,745 --> 00:27:03,080 So he went into the Army. 531 00:27:05,750 --> 00:27:07,460 And when he got out of the Army, 532 00:27:07,543 --> 00:27:10,338 he went on the road with his band five years, 533 00:27:10,421 --> 00:27:13,132 and he was in the Army three and a half. 534 00:27:13,215 --> 00:27:15,593 So eight and a half years of our first nine years, 535 00:27:15,676 --> 00:27:17,470 we were not together. 536 00:27:17,553 --> 00:27:21,140 Tell me, what's it like being married to an entertainer? 537 00:27:21,223 --> 00:27:23,642 Oh, it's very exciting. (chuckles) 538 00:27:23,726 --> 00:27:27,313 After all, there's no business like show business. 539 00:27:27,396 --> 00:27:29,190 You may quote me. 540 00:27:29,273 --> 00:27:30,941 (audience laughter) 541 00:27:31,025 --> 00:27:32,443 Fine. 542 00:27:32,526 --> 00:27:34,612 You're not the jealous type, then, hmm? 543 00:27:34,695 --> 00:27:37,156 Well, what is there to be jealous about? 544 00:27:37,239 --> 00:27:40,993 Well, after all, Ricky is a handsome, charming man, 545 00:27:41,077 --> 00:27:43,245 surrounded by showgirls all the time. 546 00:27:43,329 --> 00:27:44,372 Well... 547 00:27:44,455 --> 00:27:47,208 And he is out every night in a nightclub. 548 00:27:47,291 --> 00:27:51,962 When he says he's at rehearsal, he's at rehearsal. (chuckles) 549 00:27:52,046 --> 00:27:54,090 May I quote you on that? 550 00:27:54,173 --> 00:27:55,383 Oh, sure, sure. 551 00:27:55,466 --> 00:27:57,468 (audience laughter) 552 00:27:59,595 --> 00:28:00,971 (sighs): Hmm. 553 00:28:01,055 --> 00:28:05,684 Well, I guess that's the kind of trust that's made your marriage last. 554 00:28:07,186 --> 00:28:09,230 -Isn't it? -Hmm? 555 00:28:09,313 --> 00:28:14,193 I said that's the kind of trust that's made your marriage last. 556 00:28:15,319 --> 00:28:17,655 Yeah, that's the kind of trust that you have to have 557 00:28:17,738 --> 00:28:20,366 in-in that kind of a... any kind of a marriage. 558 00:28:20,449 --> 00:28:23,327 (audience laughter) 559 00:28:23,411 --> 00:28:25,037 ♪ ♪ 560 00:28:25,121 --> 00:28:26,622 JOURNEY GUNDERSON: I've had a front-row seat 561 00:28:26,705 --> 00:28:29,708 for more than a decade now, carefully observing 562 00:28:29,792 --> 00:28:34,672 how Lucille Ball's career has been characterized. 563 00:28:34,755 --> 00:28:38,968 And there's such a disproportionate focus on 564 00:28:39,051 --> 00:28:42,054 how hard-nosed she could be. 565 00:28:44,348 --> 00:28:47,351 But think about how many times she must have had things 566 00:28:47,435 --> 00:28:49,770 mansplained to her on a set. 567 00:28:49,854 --> 00:28:52,022 You see, honey, there isn't a husband alive 568 00:28:52,106 --> 00:28:55,568 who can stand living with a wife who's right all the time. 569 00:28:55,651 --> 00:28:57,361 Not-not even when she is right? 570 00:28:57,445 --> 00:28:58,612 No. 571 00:28:58,696 --> 00:29:01,532 That's more than any man can take. 572 00:29:02,616 --> 00:29:05,244 GUNDERSON: And as a woman, you had to be really good, 573 00:29:05,327 --> 00:29:08,873 because it wasn't necessarily going to be embraced. 574 00:29:08,956 --> 00:29:13,169 Her commitment was about always improving. 575 00:29:14,170 --> 00:29:16,172 You never see her let up. 576 00:29:19,175 --> 00:29:20,801 LUCY: When I really had to sit down 577 00:29:20,885 --> 00:29:23,137 and decide what I wanted to do, I did go back 578 00:29:23,220 --> 00:29:27,349 to what I had done in pictures, and, uh, I was amazed really 579 00:29:27,433 --> 00:29:31,228 to find out that I picked out about eight or nine domestic scenes. 580 00:29:34,148 --> 00:29:36,859 I know that if I'm playing something that I understand, 581 00:29:36,942 --> 00:29:39,320 a-a housewife or secretary, 582 00:29:39,403 --> 00:29:43,073 that I can portray that all right because I lived it. 583 00:29:45,576 --> 00:29:48,829 I got my big start for any of the comedy 584 00:29:48,913 --> 00:29:51,165 that I finally got into on radio. 585 00:29:51,248 --> 00:29:53,542 BOB LeMOND: It's time for My Favorite Husband, 586 00:29:53,626 --> 00:29:55,002 starring Lucille Ball. 587 00:29:55,085 --> 00:29:56,837 LUCY: Jell-O, everybody! 588 00:29:56,921 --> 00:29:59,215 -(applause) -(band playing theme music) 589 00:29:59,298 --> 00:30:01,342 MADELYN PUGH DAVIS: My first impression of Lucy, 590 00:30:01,425 --> 00:30:03,344 I was scared to death. 591 00:30:03,427 --> 00:30:06,347 I had never really met a real movie star before. 592 00:30:06,430 --> 00:30:07,723 ♪ ♪ 593 00:30:09,266 --> 00:30:11,852 BOB CARROLL JR.: We were on staff at CBS. 594 00:30:11,936 --> 00:30:13,938 We got a chance to do the script. 595 00:30:14,939 --> 00:30:17,983 DAVIS: This is our very, very first big show, 596 00:30:18,067 --> 00:30:20,069 and, uh, she came on pretty strong. 597 00:30:21,111 --> 00:30:23,197 She wasn't happy with some of the scripts, 598 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,574 and I was just terrified that I'd get fired, 599 00:30:25,658 --> 00:30:28,118 I guess, is what I was afraid of. 600 00:30:28,202 --> 00:30:29,995 JESS OPPENHEIMER: The radio show was 601 00:30:30,079 --> 00:30:34,166 in about its 12th week, and it wasn't doing well at all, 602 00:30:34,250 --> 00:30:36,669 and I-I wrote a script for it. 603 00:30:36,752 --> 00:30:38,379 DAVIS: And Jess had had 604 00:30:38,462 --> 00:30:41,006 a lot of experience as a producer, head writer, 605 00:30:41,090 --> 00:30:43,884 so he came on and we got sort of organized. 606 00:30:45,302 --> 00:30:48,013 It was 1948, and my dad, for the previous six years, 607 00:30:48,097 --> 00:30:49,974 had been writing The Baby Snooks Show 608 00:30:50,057 --> 00:30:53,060 starring Fanny Brice, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. 609 00:30:53,143 --> 00:30:56,063 Fanny got into a-a salary dispute with CBS, 610 00:30:56,146 --> 00:30:57,898 and she walked off the show. 611 00:30:57,982 --> 00:31:01,151 So, suddenly, he was unemployed. 612 00:31:01,235 --> 00:31:03,612 Just had a baby, just bought a house. 613 00:31:03,696 --> 00:31:06,907 He was very open to a new job, even though his friends said, 614 00:31:06,991 --> 00:31:09,159 "Don't go work for Lucille Ball. 615 00:31:09,243 --> 00:31:11,912 She's very difficult to work with." 616 00:31:11,996 --> 00:31:13,581 -(applause) -(band playing theme music) 617 00:31:18,377 --> 00:31:20,045 RICHARD DENNING: Well, here we are, darling. 618 00:31:20,129 --> 00:31:21,422 LUCY: "Darling"? 619 00:31:21,505 --> 00:31:22,965 Now you call me "darling"! 620 00:31:23,048 --> 00:31:24,341 (Lucy laughs dramatically) 621 00:31:24,425 --> 00:31:27,970 But what am I when we're alone? Your slave. 622 00:31:28,053 --> 00:31:30,514 You beat me with a cane and push my poor broken body 623 00:31:30,598 --> 00:31:32,933 -down the stairs! -(audience laughter) 624 00:31:33,017 --> 00:31:37,479 Oh, I don't care for myself, but you push the children after me! 625 00:31:37,563 --> 00:31:39,023 DENNING: The children? I did not! 626 00:31:39,106 --> 00:31:40,357 LUCY: Then where are they? 627 00:31:40,441 --> 00:31:42,359 (audience laughter) 628 00:31:42,443 --> 00:31:45,404 ♪ ♪ 629 00:31:45,487 --> 00:31:47,948 ANNOUNCER: After ten years of experiment, 630 00:31:48,032 --> 00:31:52,411 television now takes its place as a new American art and industry. 631 00:31:52,494 --> 00:31:55,122 With the inauguration of regular television broadcast, 632 00:31:55,205 --> 00:31:59,460 set owners enjoy the novel experience of receiving pictures through the air. 633 00:31:59,543 --> 00:32:01,086 LUCY: It was new to everyone, 634 00:32:01,170 --> 00:32:02,880 the networks and people in general, 635 00:32:02,963 --> 00:32:04,965 and the studios frowned upon it. 636 00:32:05,049 --> 00:32:06,342 ED WYNN: Lucille Ball! 637 00:32:06,425 --> 00:32:07,426 -(applause) -(laughs) 638 00:32:07,509 --> 00:32:09,178 I love you, you know, 639 00:32:09,261 --> 00:32:11,472 in your radio shows every Friday night. 640 00:32:11,555 --> 00:32:13,265 You know, the one called My Favorite Husband. 641 00:32:13,349 --> 00:32:16,935 DESI: CBS wanted to adapt a radio show for television, 642 00:32:17,019 --> 00:32:19,188 and she says, "I'll do it if Desi plays the husband." 643 00:32:19,271 --> 00:32:21,315 (rhythmic drumming) 644 00:32:21,398 --> 00:32:22,816 -♪ Babalú... ♪ -No, no, no, no. 645 00:32:22,900 --> 00:32:25,569 I want you to sing "Babalú," but, uh... 646 00:32:25,653 --> 00:32:26,820 wait, wait. 647 00:32:26,904 --> 00:32:28,781 (audience laughter) 648 00:32:28,864 --> 00:32:30,991 LUCY: No one wanted him to play my husband 649 00:32:31,075 --> 00:32:35,829 because he was Cuban, and they wanted a real American couple. 650 00:32:35,913 --> 00:32:38,248 LUCIE: They always dreamed of being together, 651 00:32:38,332 --> 00:32:40,376 working together and having an ability to have a family. 652 00:32:40,459 --> 00:32:42,961 You know, "Can't we just keep you off the road, Des?" 653 00:32:43,045 --> 00:32:44,546 LUCY: We'd been married nine years 654 00:32:44,630 --> 00:32:47,132 and been together a-a year and two months. 655 00:32:47,216 --> 00:32:48,634 If that. 656 00:32:48,717 --> 00:32:50,052 You can't have children that way. 657 00:32:50,135 --> 00:32:53,013 You cannot have them by telephone. 658 00:32:56,433 --> 00:32:58,435 DESI: So I told Lucy, said, "Maybe they're right. 659 00:32:58,519 --> 00:33:00,270 "Maybe nobody will believe you and I 660 00:33:00,354 --> 00:33:02,064 (laughs): working together, you know." 661 00:33:02,147 --> 00:33:03,982 So, in those days, I had the big band, you know. 662 00:33:04,066 --> 00:33:06,902 -MAN: Yeah. -DESI: And we used to do vaudeville. 663 00:33:06,985 --> 00:33:09,863 So I told Lucy, "The next time that I go on tour, 664 00:33:09,947 --> 00:33:11,907 "why don't you come with me? 665 00:33:11,990 --> 00:33:15,077 We'll do a couple numbers and see what the audience thinks." 666 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:17,663 ♪ ♪ 667 00:33:17,746 --> 00:33:20,040 LUCY: Did they look upon us as 668 00:33:20,124 --> 00:33:22,876 something strange or could they like us together? 669 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:25,462 We didn't know what to expect. 670 00:33:27,506 --> 00:33:29,550 DESI: Bob and Madelyn wrote a little sketch. 671 00:33:29,633 --> 00:33:31,051 She did the clown bit. 672 00:33:31,135 --> 00:33:32,678 She did "Cuban Pete" with me and "boom, boom, boom, boom" 673 00:33:32,761 --> 00:33:34,847 and knocked my hat off my head, 674 00:33:34,930 --> 00:33:37,224 and the audience throughout the country, 675 00:33:37,307 --> 00:33:39,226 they love us being together. 676 00:33:43,397 --> 00:33:45,482 The head of CBS saw us. 677 00:33:45,566 --> 00:33:48,193 He said, "Well, they have been married for ten years. 678 00:33:48,277 --> 00:33:50,779 -Maybe they'll believe that they are." -(man laughing) 679 00:33:52,489 --> 00:33:56,994 LUCY: In the meantime, I had been feeling very strange. 680 00:33:57,077 --> 00:33:59,955 And I said, "I am pregnant." 681 00:34:00,038 --> 00:34:03,292 I'd waited all these years, and suddenly I knew I was. 682 00:34:03,375 --> 00:34:05,461 ♪ ♪ 683 00:34:06,086 --> 00:34:08,046 -BETTY: How did you feel? -LUCY: I felt so elated, 684 00:34:08,130 --> 00:34:10,716 but I hadn't had a test yet or anything. 685 00:34:10,799 --> 00:34:12,968 I took the test in New York, 686 00:34:13,051 --> 00:34:16,638 -and, uh, Winchell had a-a spy, -(Betty laughs) 687 00:34:16,722 --> 00:34:18,640 -whatever you call it... -BETTY: Oh, yeah. 688 00:34:18,724 --> 00:34:21,226 LUCY: ...in the lab, which he's been doing for years. 689 00:34:21,310 --> 00:34:23,812 And they knew the answer to the test before I did. 690 00:34:23,896 --> 00:34:26,482 They told Winchell, and he had it on his Sunday night show. 691 00:34:26,565 --> 00:34:27,900 ANNOUNCER: Walter Winchell dispenses 692 00:34:27,983 --> 00:34:30,944 Broadway gossip, last-minute scoops, 693 00:34:31,028 --> 00:34:33,113 in a breathless mixture for Sunday night listeners. 694 00:34:33,197 --> 00:34:35,949 LUCY: And I woke up Desi and said, "We're gonna have a baby! 695 00:34:36,033 --> 00:34:37,242 It's it. The test is okay." 696 00:34:37,326 --> 00:34:38,619 He said, "How do you know? How do you know? 697 00:34:38,702 --> 00:34:40,412 You're not supposed to know till Monday morning." 698 00:34:40,496 --> 00:34:42,247 I said, "Winchell told me. 699 00:34:42,331 --> 00:34:43,415 -(Betty laughs) -Winchell said so." 700 00:34:43,499 --> 00:34:45,918 He says, "How you like that?" 701 00:34:46,001 --> 00:34:47,753 GUNDERSON: When you think about the fact 702 00:34:47,836 --> 00:34:51,006 that Lucille Ball struggled to become pregnant, 703 00:34:51,089 --> 00:34:54,301 remarried Desi Arnaz with a Catholic ceremony 704 00:34:54,384 --> 00:34:55,969 because her mother-in-law believed 705 00:34:56,053 --> 00:34:58,180 that part of the reason she couldn't get pregnant 706 00:34:58,263 --> 00:35:00,724 was that they didn't have a Catholic wedding, 707 00:35:00,808 --> 00:35:04,978 and to know that Walter Winchell broke the news 708 00:35:05,062 --> 00:35:08,607 that she was pregnant before she heard it herself 709 00:35:08,690 --> 00:35:10,901 makes me want to cry for her. 710 00:35:12,319 --> 00:35:13,737 BETTY: Do you think being in vaudeville 711 00:35:13,821 --> 00:35:16,865 had anything to do with you losing the baby? 712 00:35:18,325 --> 00:35:21,745 LUCY: I don't know. 713 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,042 (birds chirping) 714 00:35:32,297 --> 00:35:34,591 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: It was around Christmas 1950, 715 00:35:34,675 --> 00:35:38,262 CBS made a deal with Lucy and Desi to make a pilot. 716 00:35:40,138 --> 00:35:42,641 But the deal didn't say anything about what the show was gonna be about. 717 00:35:42,724 --> 00:35:44,142 ♪ ♪ 718 00:35:45,227 --> 00:35:46,770 LaPLACA: The initial vision was that 719 00:35:46,854 --> 00:35:49,898 Lucy and Desi were going to play movie stars, 720 00:35:49,982 --> 00:35:51,817 and they changed that right away. 721 00:35:53,068 --> 00:35:54,444 (pen scribbling) 722 00:35:56,655 --> 00:35:57,698 (stamp thumps) 723 00:35:57,781 --> 00:35:59,199 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: My dad came up with, 724 00:35:59,283 --> 00:36:03,370 uh, this idea of a guy who's been raised in show business 725 00:36:03,453 --> 00:36:05,622 and he wants nothing more than to get away from it 726 00:36:05,706 --> 00:36:06,999 and have a normal home life. 727 00:36:07,082 --> 00:36:09,126 RICKY: Now, look, Lucy, you know how I feel about this. 728 00:36:09,209 --> 00:36:11,044 I don't want my wife in show business. 729 00:36:11,128 --> 00:36:13,755 And he marries a girl who's dying to get into show business. 730 00:36:13,839 --> 00:36:16,550 LUCY RICARDO: Yeah, I know you, Ricky Ricardo. 731 00:36:16,633 --> 00:36:18,468 Just because you're gonna be a big television star, 732 00:36:18,552 --> 00:36:21,221 you're casting me aside like an old shoe. 733 00:36:21,305 --> 00:36:23,098 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: And they incorporated material 734 00:36:23,181 --> 00:36:24,433 that Bob and Madelyn had written 735 00:36:24,516 --> 00:36:26,602 -for the vaudeville routine. -(applause) 736 00:36:26,685 --> 00:36:28,770 RICKY: Anytime you're ready, Professor, we'll go with you. 737 00:36:28,854 --> 00:36:30,063 (audience laughter) 738 00:36:30,147 --> 00:36:31,607 -(sneezes) -(Ricky yells) 739 00:36:31,690 --> 00:36:33,609 (audience laughter) 740 00:36:35,652 --> 00:36:38,405 LUCY: We had a hell of a time. 741 00:36:38,488 --> 00:36:40,657 We brought the rafters down. 742 00:36:44,494 --> 00:36:45,871 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: Once they did the pilot, 743 00:36:45,954 --> 00:36:49,166 they found someone who would sponsor the show. 744 00:36:49,249 --> 00:36:50,959 And the amazing thing about Lucy was 745 00:36:51,043 --> 00:36:55,297 she was five months pregnant when she shot the pilot. 746 00:36:55,380 --> 00:36:58,091 LUCY: When I finally did get pregnant, 747 00:36:58,175 --> 00:36:59,593 I cried with joy. 748 00:36:59,676 --> 00:37:01,803 I-I just couldn't believe it. 749 00:37:01,887 --> 00:37:04,097 That's when I had Lucie. 750 00:37:06,350 --> 00:37:11,104 Well, I was very ill after Lucie, and it took me months to recover. 751 00:37:11,188 --> 00:37:15,525 Desi was the perfect, uh, husband for little Lucie. 752 00:37:16,860 --> 00:37:19,404 BETTY: Did you enjoy changing the baby and bathing it? 753 00:37:19,488 --> 00:37:21,031 -LUCY: Oh, God, yeah. -BETTY: Yeah. 754 00:37:21,114 --> 00:37:23,158 LUCY: I could put salt on them and eat them. 755 00:37:23,241 --> 00:37:24,284 (Betty laughs) 756 00:37:27,287 --> 00:37:29,289 And I had to go back to work, too, uh, 757 00:37:29,373 --> 00:37:32,459 so I missed hours and hours and hours, you know? 758 00:37:34,670 --> 00:37:36,588 JESS OPPENHEIMER: When we started Lucy, 759 00:37:36,672 --> 00:37:38,882 the routines hadn't been set and the practices hadn't been, 760 00:37:38,966 --> 00:37:42,219 uh, established yet, so we moved right into 761 00:37:42,302 --> 00:37:44,096 a whole business that none of us knew 762 00:37:44,179 --> 00:37:46,306 the slightest thing about. 763 00:37:47,307 --> 00:37:49,309 DESI: In those days, 764 00:37:49,393 --> 00:37:51,812 when we did a show in California, 765 00:37:51,895 --> 00:37:55,607 all they got in the East Coast was kinescope. 766 00:37:55,691 --> 00:37:57,526 And it was very bad quality. 767 00:37:57,609 --> 00:37:59,653 Well, Lucy and I had been trying to be together 768 00:37:59,736 --> 00:38:01,113 for quite a long time, 769 00:38:01,196 --> 00:38:03,991 and we had no intention of going to New York. 770 00:38:04,074 --> 00:38:06,243 I said, "Well, why don't we do it on film? 771 00:38:06,326 --> 00:38:08,453 And then everybody will get the same quality." 772 00:38:10,414 --> 00:38:13,041 Then CBS came in and said, 773 00:38:13,125 --> 00:38:16,294 "Well, Lucy works better in front of an audience." 774 00:38:16,378 --> 00:38:17,462 And they were right. 775 00:38:17,546 --> 00:38:19,923 She does work better in front of an audience. 776 00:38:20,007 --> 00:38:23,176 So I said, "Well, why don't we do it on film 777 00:38:23,260 --> 00:38:25,262 in front of an audience?" 778 00:38:25,345 --> 00:38:26,888 They said, "You know how to do that?" 779 00:38:26,972 --> 00:38:27,931 I said, "Sure." 780 00:38:28,015 --> 00:38:30,517 I didn't have the slightest idea. 781 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:34,813 LUCY: It came about that he was a great producer, 782 00:38:34,896 --> 00:38:36,898 which amazed all of us. 783 00:38:36,982 --> 00:38:39,818 But most of all, he learned to hire good men for the job 784 00:38:39,901 --> 00:38:41,528 and then let them do it. 785 00:38:41,611 --> 00:38:43,739 ♪ ♪ 786 00:38:43,822 --> 00:38:45,282 DAVID DANIELS: Desi was not somebody 787 00:38:45,365 --> 00:38:47,492 who relied on luck, you know. 788 00:38:47,576 --> 00:38:51,621 He was very intentional in who he was gonna bring to the team. 789 00:38:54,124 --> 00:38:58,628 My father was a director in the early days of television. 790 00:38:58,712 --> 00:39:01,256 He had already done dozens and dozens 791 00:39:01,339 --> 00:39:04,801 of live television productions in New York. 792 00:39:06,803 --> 00:39:09,473 Karl Freund was an extraordinary expert 793 00:39:09,556 --> 00:39:12,934 when it came to lighting and filmmaking 794 00:39:13,018 --> 00:39:15,145 and was renowned in the film industry. 795 00:39:18,940 --> 00:39:22,319 Whether it was Madelyn, Jess or Bob Carroll, expert writers. 796 00:39:22,402 --> 00:39:24,571 Danny Cahn, you know, the editor. 797 00:39:24,654 --> 00:39:28,283 Desi was a collaborator in the supreme sense. 798 00:39:28,366 --> 00:39:30,702 And that's where you get the best stuff. 799 00:39:32,037 --> 00:39:34,331 -Hey, what's this? -I don't know. 800 00:39:34,414 --> 00:39:36,374 (gasps) Why, it's half... 801 00:39:36,458 --> 00:39:38,043 -half a horse. -(audience laughter) 802 00:39:38,126 --> 00:39:40,337 Hey, look, here's the rest of it. (laughs) 803 00:39:40,420 --> 00:39:43,256 Oh, Ethel! This is it, this is it! 804 00:39:43,340 --> 00:39:44,925 We'll do a horse act. 805 00:39:45,008 --> 00:39:47,052 But it takes two people to do a horse act. 806 00:39:47,135 --> 00:39:48,428 Well, what are you doing tonight? 807 00:39:49,471 --> 00:39:50,889 (laughs) I guess I could. 808 00:39:50,972 --> 00:39:52,766 Yeah, come on. Let's try it on. 809 00:39:52,849 --> 00:39:54,601 -Okay. -(audience laughter) 810 00:39:55,727 --> 00:39:57,145 Lucy! 811 00:39:57,229 --> 00:39:58,772 (audience laughter) 812 00:40:02,776 --> 00:40:04,236 I'm only doing this benefit for you. 813 00:40:04,319 --> 00:40:06,071 I should think you could do this one little thing for me. 814 00:40:06,154 --> 00:40:08,573 Listen, Lucy, even for sweet charity, 815 00:40:08,657 --> 00:40:11,159 I am not going to be the back end of a horse. 816 00:40:11,243 --> 00:40:13,161 (audience laughter) 817 00:40:13,245 --> 00:40:14,496 ♪ ♪ 818 00:40:15,539 --> 00:40:19,960 DANIELS: My father worked with her in the late '40s on a play 819 00:40:20,043 --> 00:40:22,337 and was responsible for getting Vivian Vance, 820 00:40:22,420 --> 00:40:24,172 uh, to play the role of Ethel. 821 00:40:25,465 --> 00:40:27,717 GUNDERSON: Back then, a big part of the culture 822 00:40:27,801 --> 00:40:30,595 was pitting women against each other, 823 00:40:30,679 --> 00:40:32,973 and there weren't opportunities for women 824 00:40:33,056 --> 00:40:35,183 to work together as teammates as much. 825 00:40:35,267 --> 00:40:37,936 Th-Th-They look like women from Mars! 826 00:40:38,019 --> 00:40:39,312 (high-pitched gibberish) 827 00:40:39,396 --> 00:40:41,648 GUNDERSON: And so you didn't see that 828 00:40:41,731 --> 00:40:43,817 until Lucy and Ethel and their antics. 829 00:40:43,900 --> 00:40:45,485 (audience exclaiming, laughing) 830 00:40:45,569 --> 00:40:47,404 They keep each other in check. 831 00:40:47,487 --> 00:40:51,074 Oh, no, you're not gonna get me in on this. 832 00:40:51,158 --> 00:40:53,869 -Listen to me, Baby Face. -(audience laughter) 833 00:40:53,952 --> 00:40:56,705 GUNDERSON: They conspire. 834 00:40:56,788 --> 00:40:57,914 They commiserate. 835 00:40:57,998 --> 00:40:59,583 I trust you. 836 00:40:59,666 --> 00:41:01,626 -(audience laughter) -(wailing) 837 00:41:01,710 --> 00:41:03,628 GUNDERSON: That's an important story 838 00:41:03,712 --> 00:41:05,922 for girls and women to see. 839 00:41:06,006 --> 00:41:07,591 -ETHEL: Yoo-hoo! -Yoo-hoo! 840 00:41:07,674 --> 00:41:09,968 Morning, Lucy. I brought up your mail. 841 00:41:10,051 --> 00:41:11,469 -(audience laughter) -Oh! 842 00:41:11,553 --> 00:41:13,471 LUCY: I have approved of you since the day 843 00:41:13,555 --> 00:41:15,390 I, uh, set eyes on you. 844 00:41:15,473 --> 00:41:17,642 You know, you were hired without my seeing you. Remember? 845 00:41:17,726 --> 00:41:18,685 VANCE: I know. 846 00:41:18,768 --> 00:41:20,353 I've often wondered, Miss Ball... 847 00:41:20,437 --> 00:41:21,563 -(both laugh) -LUCY: Had I seen... 848 00:41:21,646 --> 00:41:23,982 VANCE: ...had you seen me first-- 849 00:41:24,065 --> 00:41:26,234 I've often wondered, but one can never say. 850 00:41:28,069 --> 00:41:29,112 RICKY: Lucy! 851 00:41:29,196 --> 00:41:30,989 (high-pitched): Yoo-hoo! 852 00:41:32,365 --> 00:41:33,283 Where are you? 853 00:41:33,366 --> 00:41:35,285 I'm right here, dear. 854 00:41:35,368 --> 00:41:37,370 (audience laughter) 855 00:41:40,540 --> 00:41:43,335 Lucy, how you've changed. 856 00:41:43,418 --> 00:41:44,836 (audience laughter) 857 00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:47,631 Yes, it's a new way I'm doing my hair. 858 00:41:47,714 --> 00:41:49,007 (audience laughter) 859 00:41:51,676 --> 00:41:54,137 DESI: Nobody wanted Bill Frawley to play Fred. 860 00:41:54,221 --> 00:41:56,806 The networks didn't want it, the agencies didn't want it. 861 00:41:56,890 --> 00:42:00,435 They said he hadn't done anything in a long time, 862 00:42:00,518 --> 00:42:05,232 he had a drinking problem, and, uh, the more they kept knocking him down, 863 00:42:05,315 --> 00:42:07,609 the more I thought he was right for the part. 864 00:42:07,692 --> 00:42:08,944 RICKY: Fred! 865 00:42:09,027 --> 00:42:10,904 -Fred... -Ricky, let go of our washing machine! 866 00:42:10,987 --> 00:42:11,905 -Oh, no. -(audience laughter) 867 00:42:11,988 --> 00:42:13,156 Let go of it! 868 00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:14,866 Fred, I won't want you to get stuck with it. 869 00:42:14,950 --> 00:42:16,701 -I want to get stuck! -You don't want it. 870 00:42:16,785 --> 00:42:19,704 Lucy, will you kindly take your hands off of my washing machine? 871 00:42:19,788 --> 00:42:21,915 Why should I take my hands off your washing machine 872 00:42:21,998 --> 00:42:23,083 when it belongs to us? 873 00:42:23,166 --> 00:42:24,417 Come on, now. 874 00:42:24,501 --> 00:42:26,503 (overlapping arguing) 875 00:42:29,798 --> 00:42:31,675 (washing machine crashes) 876 00:42:31,758 --> 00:42:33,760 (audience laughter) 877 00:42:38,014 --> 00:42:41,142 Look what happened to your washing machine. 878 00:42:41,226 --> 00:42:42,686 (audience laughter) 879 00:42:42,769 --> 00:42:45,897 MIDLER: One of the things about the show that was so magical 880 00:42:45,981 --> 00:42:48,566 was seeing an ensemble working 881 00:42:48,650 --> 00:42:52,279 at the height, at the skill level that you just didn't see very often. 882 00:42:52,362 --> 00:42:54,197 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: Everybody was very close. 883 00:42:54,281 --> 00:42:56,241 It was like a little theater group. 884 00:42:56,324 --> 00:43:00,745 I mean, the-the one point of friction is Frawley and Vance. 885 00:43:02,747 --> 00:43:04,207 What are you doing here? 886 00:43:05,250 --> 00:43:06,918 What are you doing here? 887 00:43:07,002 --> 00:43:09,296 Lucy, is that my date? 888 00:43:10,338 --> 00:43:12,382 He's no dream. He's a nightmare. 889 00:43:12,465 --> 00:43:14,009 (audience laughter) 890 00:43:15,552 --> 00:43:18,179 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: Vivian was 22 years younger 891 00:43:18,263 --> 00:43:21,141 than Bill Frawley, and she was offended 892 00:43:21,224 --> 00:43:23,768 that people would think that she could be married to 893 00:43:23,852 --> 00:43:25,895 "that old man," as she called him. 894 00:43:25,979 --> 00:43:27,772 Bill Frawley heard her complaining to somebody, 895 00:43:27,856 --> 00:43:29,399 and he was really offended by that. 896 00:43:29,482 --> 00:43:33,737 Sometimes I feel like I was married to a garbage disposal. 897 00:43:33,820 --> 00:43:35,113 (audience laughter) 898 00:43:35,196 --> 00:43:37,365 Quiet, fat boy. 899 00:43:37,449 --> 00:43:38,575 (audience laughter) 900 00:43:42,037 --> 00:43:43,413 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: They were the only people 901 00:43:43,496 --> 00:43:45,999 doing this filming a sitcom in front of an audience 902 00:43:46,082 --> 00:43:47,876 with-with moving cameras. 903 00:43:47,959 --> 00:43:49,002 Uh, they were the only people doing it. 904 00:43:49,085 --> 00:43:50,628 And so the plan was 905 00:43:50,712 --> 00:43:53,089 there would be three cameras on all the time, 906 00:43:53,173 --> 00:43:54,382 which would keep things in sync, 907 00:43:54,466 --> 00:43:57,010 but it was very expensive, and so, because of that, 908 00:43:57,093 --> 00:43:59,679 Desi had a rule: no retakes. 909 00:43:59,763 --> 00:44:01,890 LUCIE: You know, 400 people in the bleachers, 910 00:44:01,973 --> 00:44:03,725 and they do a warm-up, the band starts up, 911 00:44:03,808 --> 00:44:06,686 and you do that show, and you do that show once. 912 00:44:06,770 --> 00:44:08,772 (band playing I Love Lucy theme) 913 00:44:13,026 --> 00:44:15,195 LUCY: Now, no one knew the great potential 914 00:44:15,278 --> 00:44:18,114 of being able to come into millions of living rooms 915 00:44:18,198 --> 00:44:23,203 and the instant love and close feeling after one performance. 916 00:44:23,286 --> 00:44:25,497 (theme music ends) 917 00:44:25,580 --> 00:44:28,500 That all was an unknown quantity when we started. 918 00:44:28,583 --> 00:44:30,418 ♪ ♪ 919 00:44:30,502 --> 00:44:32,003 LUCY RICARDO: Is that you, Ricky? 920 00:44:32,087 --> 00:44:33,213 Yeah, honey. 921 00:44:33,296 --> 00:44:35,382 -Hello, baby! -Hi. 922 00:44:35,465 --> 00:44:38,593 NORMAN LEAR: I Love Lucy did a lot 923 00:44:38,676 --> 00:44:40,553 for helping Americans understand 924 00:44:40,637 --> 00:44:43,890 that just because a guy was male didn't mean 925 00:44:43,973 --> 00:44:46,184 that he was the dominant character. 926 00:44:46,267 --> 00:44:47,352 There you are. 927 00:44:47,435 --> 00:44:51,022 Oh, you great big, handsome husband, you. 928 00:44:51,106 --> 00:44:53,900 LEAR: Women could be the dominant character, too. 929 00:44:53,983 --> 00:44:55,652 -Lucy. -Yes, dear? 930 00:44:55,735 --> 00:44:56,820 What have you done? 931 00:44:56,903 --> 00:44:58,279 (audience laughter) 932 00:45:01,533 --> 00:45:03,743 LEAR: When I saw it on television, 933 00:45:03,827 --> 00:45:05,495 I fell in love with her immediately. 934 00:45:05,578 --> 00:45:06,538 I think I'll get another station. 935 00:45:06,621 --> 00:45:07,872 This evening, we-- Stop that, now! 936 00:45:07,956 --> 00:45:10,333 -Go back and sit down! -(audience laughter) 937 00:45:10,417 --> 00:45:11,960 There had never been anyone like her before. 938 00:45:12,043 --> 00:45:14,963 Greetings, Gates. Slip me some skin, boy. 939 00:45:15,046 --> 00:45:15,964 (audience laughter) 940 00:45:16,047 --> 00:45:18,800 MIDLER: You realize that women could do this, too. 941 00:45:18,883 --> 00:45:20,844 -(groans) -(audience laughter) 942 00:45:21,886 --> 00:45:23,471 MIDLER: It wasn't just Charlie Chaplin. 943 00:45:23,555 --> 00:45:25,223 It wasn't just Buster Keaton. 944 00:45:25,306 --> 00:45:27,600 LEAR: And Desi certainly brought 945 00:45:27,684 --> 00:45:30,395 some new understanding to the male part of a marriage. 946 00:45:30,478 --> 00:45:33,481 (Ricky speaking angrily in Spanish) 947 00:45:34,732 --> 00:45:37,819 -How dare you say that to me? -(audience laughter) 948 00:45:37,902 --> 00:45:39,070 What did I say? 949 00:45:39,154 --> 00:45:41,156 I don't know, but how dare you? 950 00:45:41,239 --> 00:45:42,907 (audience laughter) 951 00:45:42,991 --> 00:45:44,909 (helicopter whirring) 952 00:45:44,993 --> 00:45:46,870 (crowd screaming excitedly) 953 00:45:46,953 --> 00:45:48,121 (camera clicking) 954 00:45:48,204 --> 00:45:49,914 ♪ ♪ 955 00:45:58,256 --> 00:46:01,342 LEAR: We fell in love with Lucy and Desi. 956 00:46:02,552 --> 00:46:04,512 When you are watching, 957 00:46:04,596 --> 00:46:07,724 it isn't race that you're thinking about. 958 00:46:07,807 --> 00:46:10,727 And so that capacity exists, 959 00:46:10,810 --> 00:46:14,647 and there's a giant human lesson, I would think, in that. 960 00:46:17,901 --> 00:46:20,570 Oh, isn't this wonderful? Listen to this. 961 00:46:20,653 --> 00:46:22,363 "Dear Mr. Ricardo, 962 00:46:22,447 --> 00:46:25,742 "my husband and I are going to have a blessed event. 963 00:46:25,825 --> 00:46:27,452 "I just found out about it today, 964 00:46:27,535 --> 00:46:29,579 "and I haven't told him yet. 965 00:46:29,662 --> 00:46:33,791 "I heard you sing a number called 'We're Having a Baby, My Baby and Me.' 966 00:46:33,875 --> 00:46:35,460 "If you will sing it for us now, 967 00:46:35,543 --> 00:46:39,047 it will be my way of breaking the news to him." 968 00:46:39,130 --> 00:46:40,298 Isn't that wonderful? 969 00:46:40,381 --> 00:46:42,300 Of course I'll do it for you. Sure. 970 00:46:42,383 --> 00:46:44,427 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: The first season, they shot 971 00:46:44,511 --> 00:46:47,805 -41 shows in 41 weeks. -(applause) 972 00:46:47,889 --> 00:46:50,433 And they found out at the end of the first season 973 00:46:50,517 --> 00:46:52,894 Lucy's pregnant again. 974 00:46:52,977 --> 00:46:56,231 ♪ Rockaby, baby ♪ 975 00:46:56,314 --> 00:46:59,067 ♪ On the treetop ♪ No? 976 00:46:59,150 --> 00:47:02,028 DICK CAVETT: At that time, there was controversy, believe it or not, 977 00:47:02,111 --> 00:47:03,488 -over the fact that you... -LUCY: I know. 978 00:47:03,571 --> 00:47:05,114 CAVETT: ...appeared pregnant in a comedy series. 979 00:47:05,198 --> 00:47:06,991 -LUCY: I know. -You could never use the word. 980 00:47:07,075 --> 00:47:09,118 LUCY: No. I-I think I wanted to say, uh, 981 00:47:09,202 --> 00:47:12,455 "I feel like a pregnant goose," and they said I could say, 982 00:47:12,539 --> 00:47:15,917 "I feel like an expectant swan." 983 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:18,461 (audience laughter) 984 00:47:18,545 --> 00:47:20,088 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: My dad immediately just said, 985 00:47:20,171 --> 00:47:21,339 "Congratulations. 986 00:47:21,422 --> 00:47:23,424 Now I know what we're gonna do next season." 987 00:47:23,508 --> 00:47:25,385 And they both said, you know, "You're crazy. 988 00:47:25,468 --> 00:47:27,262 They won't let you do that on television." 989 00:47:27,345 --> 00:47:29,973 And my dad said, "Of course they will." 990 00:47:30,056 --> 00:47:32,934 ♪ When the bough breaks ♪ 991 00:47:33,017 --> 00:47:36,646 ♪ The cradle will fall ♪ 992 00:47:36,729 --> 00:47:37,772 Uh... 993 00:47:37,855 --> 00:47:39,857 ("Rockaby Baby" continues) 994 00:47:43,319 --> 00:47:45,738 -Honey, honey. -(audience laughter) 995 00:47:45,822 --> 00:47:47,198 -Honey, no. -(laughing): Yes. 996 00:47:47,282 --> 00:47:48,366 -Really? -Yes. 997 00:47:48,449 --> 00:47:49,701 Why didn't you tell me? 998 00:47:49,784 --> 00:47:51,578 -Why, you didn't give me a chance. -Are you kidding? 999 00:47:51,661 --> 00:47:53,955 -No. I tried... -It's me! 1000 00:47:54,038 --> 00:47:55,248 (audience laughter) 1001 00:47:55,331 --> 00:47:56,583 -I'm gonna be a father! -(applause) 1002 00:47:56,666 --> 00:47:59,544 DESI: ♪ We're having a baby ♪ 1003 00:47:59,627 --> 00:48:03,381 -♪ My baby and me ♪ -(audience laughter) 1004 00:48:04,716 --> 00:48:05,717 (audience laughter) 1005 00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:07,302 DESI ARNAZ JR.: I was there 1006 00:48:07,385 --> 00:48:09,637 when they were doing the shows, only I was in Mom's stomach. 1007 00:48:09,721 --> 00:48:11,931 And so it feels like I was part of something that was 1008 00:48:12,015 --> 00:48:14,475 going on from even before I was born. 1009 00:48:14,559 --> 00:48:15,518 Ricky, this is it. 1010 00:48:15,602 --> 00:48:17,103 -This is... -This is it! -This is it! 1011 00:48:17,186 --> 00:48:18,646 -This is it! Let's go! -(audience laughter) 1012 00:48:18,730 --> 00:48:19,647 This is it! 1013 00:48:19,731 --> 00:48:21,816 We have to hurry, Ricky! 1014 00:48:21,899 --> 00:48:23,901 We have to hurry, she says! 1015 00:48:23,985 --> 00:48:25,695 DESI ARNAZ JR.: The day I was born, the show was on about 1016 00:48:25,778 --> 00:48:28,698 Little Ricky being born, so I was in the public eye 1017 00:48:28,781 --> 00:48:31,451 even before I was able to communicate. 1018 00:48:31,534 --> 00:48:33,911 Hey, wait for me! 1019 00:48:33,995 --> 00:48:35,288 (audience laughter) 1020 00:48:35,371 --> 00:48:37,874 DESI: ♪ We're having a baby ♪ 1021 00:48:37,957 --> 00:48:42,378 ♪ My baby ♪ 1022 00:48:42,462 --> 00:48:48,593 ♪ And me. ♪ 1023 00:48:48,676 --> 00:48:50,678 (applause) 1024 00:48:52,639 --> 00:48:54,641 (band playing outro music) 1025 00:48:57,226 --> 00:48:59,228 ♪ ♪ 1026 00:49:02,982 --> 00:49:04,901 DESI: So many of you were kind enough 1027 00:49:04,984 --> 00:49:08,613 to send us wires and write us letters of congratulation 1028 00:49:08,696 --> 00:49:11,574 on the birth of our new son that... 1029 00:49:11,658 --> 00:49:13,993 well, it was just wonderful, really. 1030 00:49:14,077 --> 00:49:17,080 Lucy wanted me to tell you how much we appreciate 1031 00:49:17,163 --> 00:49:20,792 your thoughtfulness and that you'll be hearing from us soon. 1032 00:49:23,211 --> 00:49:25,046 LaPLACA: What's remarkable is that 1033 00:49:25,129 --> 00:49:29,425 the pregnancy was the basis for what we now call a rerun. 1034 00:49:29,509 --> 00:49:33,930 At the time I Love Lucy was emerging, television shows were seen one time, 1035 00:49:34,013 --> 00:49:37,892 and because Desi had ownership of those films, 1036 00:49:37,975 --> 00:49:39,936 they began to run repeat episodes 1037 00:49:40,019 --> 00:49:43,523 when the show was on hiatus and established the rerun model 1038 00:49:43,606 --> 00:49:46,943 that really transformed the entire television industry. 1039 00:49:50,113 --> 00:49:53,449 LUCY: I only remember the serenity and the rest, 1040 00:49:53,533 --> 00:49:56,786 which I needed badly, and I was allowed to get my rest. 1041 00:49:56,869 --> 00:49:58,621 -BETTY: Mm-hmm. -LUCY: That was the last, uh, 1042 00:49:58,705 --> 00:50:00,373 that I was allowed to get. 1043 00:50:00,456 --> 00:50:02,375 ♪ ♪ 1044 00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:06,045 It is my pleasure to present the Television Academy's 1045 00:50:06,129 --> 00:50:10,258 1953 National Award for the Best Situation Comedy 1046 00:50:10,341 --> 00:50:12,593 -to I Love Lucy. -(audience cheering) 1047 00:50:12,677 --> 00:50:15,722 LUCY: We didn't expect to win this tonight. 1048 00:50:15,805 --> 00:50:17,974 We're awful happy we did. 1049 00:50:18,057 --> 00:50:19,767 We're awful proud to be a part of this industry, 1050 00:50:19,851 --> 00:50:21,144 really we are. 1051 00:50:21,227 --> 00:50:22,603 We're trying real hard and we're gonna keep it up. 1052 00:50:22,687 --> 00:50:24,605 -Thank you. -(applause) 1053 00:50:24,689 --> 00:50:27,692 Uh, the Lucy show was at its peak that second year. 1054 00:50:27,775 --> 00:50:29,610 (camera clicking) 1055 00:50:29,694 --> 00:50:31,821 LaPLACA: They're setting records every week, 1056 00:50:31,904 --> 00:50:35,575 outpacing the inauguration of the president, 1057 00:50:35,658 --> 00:50:37,827 outpacing the coronation of the queen. 1058 00:50:39,078 --> 00:50:40,580 LUCY: Oh, honey, look. 1059 00:50:40,663 --> 00:50:43,666 Fry pans, a griddle, a Dutch oven, a saucepan. 1060 00:50:43,750 --> 00:50:46,377 LaPLACA: They're like the first lifestyle brand. 1061 00:50:46,461 --> 00:50:49,297 For great Christmas buys, it's Westinghouse Royal gifts. 1062 00:50:49,380 --> 00:50:52,133 Why not give your husband a carton of Philip Morris cigarettes? 1063 00:50:52,216 --> 00:50:54,343 DESI: There is nothing newer in the world than a Ford. 1064 00:50:54,427 --> 00:50:56,304 We just love ours. 1065 00:50:56,387 --> 00:50:57,555 (horn honks) 1066 00:50:57,638 --> 00:51:00,099 LaPLACA: It was really a part of people's psyche 1067 00:51:00,183 --> 00:51:03,060 as American postwar consumers. 1068 00:51:03,144 --> 00:51:04,645 You get out! Come on out! 1069 00:51:04,729 --> 00:51:06,481 I can't. I'm not dry yet. 1070 00:51:06,564 --> 00:51:07,940 (audience laughter) 1071 00:51:10,318 --> 00:51:11,360 (gavel pounding) 1072 00:51:11,444 --> 00:51:13,112 (cameras clicking) 1073 00:51:13,196 --> 00:51:14,489 (gallery murmuring) 1074 00:51:14,572 --> 00:51:17,492 JOHN PARNELL THOMAS: The question before this committee 1075 00:51:17,575 --> 00:51:20,870 and the scope of its present inquiry will be to determine 1076 00:51:20,953 --> 00:51:24,081 the extent of Communist infiltration 1077 00:51:24,165 --> 00:51:26,709 in the Hollywood motion picture industry. 1078 00:51:26,793 --> 00:51:28,002 ♪ ♪ 1079 00:51:28,085 --> 00:51:30,213 We have subpoenaed witnesses. 1080 00:51:30,296 --> 00:51:32,715 All we are after are the facts. 1081 00:51:32,799 --> 00:51:34,175 MAN: Are you a member of the Communist Party 1082 00:51:34,258 --> 00:51:35,343 or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? 1083 00:51:35,426 --> 00:51:36,594 MAN: Are you a member of the Communist Party? 1084 00:51:36,677 --> 00:51:39,180 MAN: Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? 1085 00:51:40,556 --> 00:51:42,725 LUCIE: This was a horrifying thing going on 1086 00:51:42,809 --> 00:51:44,101 in the country right then, 1087 00:51:44,185 --> 00:51:45,895 where the House on Un-American Activities Committee 1088 00:51:45,978 --> 00:51:48,856 was literally dragging people off the streets 1089 00:51:48,940 --> 00:51:51,234 and saying, "You're a Communist." 1090 00:51:51,317 --> 00:51:52,902 LUCY: There was a lot of witch-hunting 1091 00:51:52,985 --> 00:51:55,655 at the time, and they definitely took people 1092 00:51:55,738 --> 00:51:59,909 that they knew were absolutely cleared of anything like this. 1093 00:52:01,118 --> 00:52:05,039 The responsibility of a congressional investigating committee 1094 00:52:05,122 --> 00:52:08,960 was never better pointed up than in the case of Lucille Ball. 1095 00:52:09,043 --> 00:52:10,545 ♪ ♪ 1096 00:52:10,628 --> 00:52:14,090 The committee has long been in possession of information indicating that Miss Ball, 1097 00:52:14,173 --> 00:52:20,513 for purposes of voting, uh, signed as a Communist in 1936. 1098 00:52:22,181 --> 00:52:24,350 Grandpa was always for the working man. 1099 00:52:25,393 --> 00:52:28,896 We did register Communist to pacify him. 1100 00:52:30,690 --> 00:52:33,442 LUCIE: They interviewed her about it at great length, 1101 00:52:33,526 --> 00:52:35,403 and they cleared her. 1102 00:52:35,486 --> 00:52:37,780 Then later on, somebody found that card, 1103 00:52:37,864 --> 00:52:40,616 and this one paper ran this huge, big, red headline-- 1104 00:52:40,700 --> 00:52:41,951 red ink-- 1105 00:52:42,034 --> 00:52:44,328 "Lucille Ball is a card-carrying Communist." 1106 00:52:46,622 --> 00:52:49,041 And she was just scared. 1107 00:52:50,209 --> 00:52:52,211 She was scared that people wouldn't believe her. 1108 00:52:53,796 --> 00:52:57,049 This could destroy everything that they had. 1109 00:52:57,133 --> 00:53:00,386 And my father took charge that week. 1110 00:53:02,138 --> 00:53:04,473 ♪ ♪ 1111 00:53:06,100 --> 00:53:08,895 He invited all the press into our house, 1112 00:53:08,978 --> 00:53:12,356 and he told them exactly what my mother had done, 1113 00:53:12,440 --> 00:53:15,318 that she'd never been involved in the Communist Party. 1114 00:53:17,778 --> 00:53:19,655 When he brought them to the filming of the show, 1115 00:53:19,739 --> 00:53:22,366 he got J. Edgar Hoover on the phone 1116 00:53:22,450 --> 00:53:24,744 and, you know, put the phone up to the microphone. 1117 00:53:24,827 --> 00:53:29,999 He said, "Your wife is cleared of any charges, 100% clear." 1118 00:53:31,459 --> 00:53:33,252 Then he introduced my mother to the audience, 1119 00:53:33,336 --> 00:53:35,713 and he came up with his famous line. 1120 00:53:35,796 --> 00:53:37,715 DESI: The only thing red about her 1121 00:53:37,798 --> 00:53:39,383 -was her hair. -(audience laughter) 1122 00:53:39,467 --> 00:53:41,260 And even that was not legitimate. 1123 00:53:41,344 --> 00:53:43,763 (cheering, applause) 1124 00:53:43,846 --> 00:53:47,058 LUCIE: Then the whole audience stood up and gave her a standing ovation. 1125 00:53:48,059 --> 00:53:50,019 DESI: It made me so mad because, 1126 00:53:50,102 --> 00:53:54,190 in Cuba, we lost all of our money because my father was the first guy 1127 00:53:54,273 --> 00:53:56,150 that put a Communist in jail. 1128 00:53:56,233 --> 00:53:59,028 Now I'm here in this country and we're doing all right then, 1129 00:53:59,111 --> 00:54:00,905 you know, we're doing real good, 1130 00:54:00,988 --> 00:54:03,157 and then she's accused of being a Communist. 1131 00:54:06,494 --> 00:54:08,079 ♪ ♪ 1132 00:54:08,162 --> 00:54:10,706 LUCIE: He would talk about Cuba sometimes, 1133 00:54:10,790 --> 00:54:13,250 and he would talk about how beautiful it was. 1134 00:54:13,334 --> 00:54:15,461 Once in a while, he'd say that. 1135 00:54:15,544 --> 00:54:17,463 But he didn't talk about it a lot. 1136 00:54:17,546 --> 00:54:19,715 Thank you, Ed. 1137 00:54:19,799 --> 00:54:22,468 Thank you very, very much, ladies and gentlemen. (sniffs) 1138 00:54:23,511 --> 00:54:27,306 You know, I think if it wouldn't have been for Lucy, 1139 00:54:27,390 --> 00:54:29,183 I would have stopped trying a long time ago 1140 00:54:29,266 --> 00:54:32,478 because I was always the guy that didn't fit. 1141 00:54:32,561 --> 00:54:36,983 And you know something, though, that I really want to tell you tonight? 1142 00:54:37,066 --> 00:54:39,735 We came to this country and we didn't have a cent 1143 00:54:39,819 --> 00:54:41,696 in our pockets. 1144 00:54:41,779 --> 00:54:46,200 From cleaning canary cages to this night here in New York 1145 00:54:46,283 --> 00:54:48,285 is a long ways. 1146 00:54:48,369 --> 00:54:50,746 And I don't think there's any other country in the world 1147 00:54:50,830 --> 00:54:52,790 that could give you that opportunity. 1148 00:54:52,873 --> 00:54:55,251 I want to say thank you, thank you, America. 1149 00:54:55,334 --> 00:54:56,502 Thank you. 1150 00:54:56,585 --> 00:54:58,587 (applause) 1151 00:55:01,674 --> 00:55:03,676 LUCIE: For years and years and years, 1152 00:55:03,759 --> 00:55:07,847 he did not tell me that story, and nobody else did either. 1153 00:55:07,930 --> 00:55:09,974 ("Quimbara" by Celia Cruz playing) 1154 00:55:10,057 --> 00:55:12,101 It was too traumatic. 1155 00:55:12,184 --> 00:55:14,270 (song continues, lyrics in Spanish) 1156 00:55:21,193 --> 00:55:24,280 DESI: My whole life has been a bunch of accidents. 1157 00:55:25,698 --> 00:55:29,035 Everything that happened to me is because something else happened. 1158 00:55:36,208 --> 00:55:38,711 My father was the mayor of my hometown. 1159 00:55:38,794 --> 00:55:41,213 My uncle was the chief of police. 1160 00:55:41,297 --> 00:55:43,090 We had that town-- we were really popular. 1161 00:55:43,174 --> 00:55:44,717 (laughter, clapping) 1162 00:55:44,800 --> 00:55:46,218 (song continues, lyrics in Spanish) 1163 00:55:49,972 --> 00:55:51,348 LUCIE: My father came from 1164 00:55:51,432 --> 00:55:54,060 a very comfortable childhood in Cuba. 1165 00:55:54,143 --> 00:55:55,978 DESI ARNAZ JR.: The Arnaz family comes from 1166 00:55:56,062 --> 00:55:59,607 a paramilitary and medical background. 1167 00:55:59,690 --> 00:56:00,816 LUCIE: They had several homes. 1168 00:56:00,900 --> 00:56:04,487 They had ranches, boats, servants. 1169 00:56:04,570 --> 00:56:08,324 He was an only child, but my grandfather 1170 00:56:08,407 --> 00:56:11,577 and my grandmother's family were one of the founders of Bacardí Rum. 1171 00:56:11,660 --> 00:56:13,162 DESI ARNAZ JR.: And Dad was either gonna be 1172 00:56:13,245 --> 00:56:16,749 a lawyer or doctor, go to Notre Dame in America. 1173 00:56:16,832 --> 00:56:18,375 (song ends) 1174 00:56:18,459 --> 00:56:20,461 (clamoring) 1175 00:56:22,838 --> 00:56:26,467 The Cuban Revolution happened when he was 14 years old. 1176 00:56:26,550 --> 00:56:28,177 LUCIE: The Machado administration 1177 00:56:28,260 --> 00:56:31,597 that his father worked for was overthrown. 1178 00:56:31,680 --> 00:56:33,390 His uncle called him and said, 1179 00:56:33,474 --> 00:56:36,102 "You got to get your mother right now and you got to get out of the house." 1180 00:56:36,185 --> 00:56:37,686 He said, "What do I take?" He goes, "Nothing! 1181 00:56:37,770 --> 00:56:40,147 Take her now. They're coming down the street." 1182 00:56:48,239 --> 00:56:51,450 DESI: In 48 hours we lost everything we had. Everything. 1183 00:56:51,534 --> 00:56:55,621 They put all the congressmen in jail. All the mayors. All the governors. 1184 00:56:55,704 --> 00:56:57,665 Everybody was in the can. 1185 00:56:57,748 --> 00:57:00,167 And my dad was there for 6 months. 1186 00:57:00,251 --> 00:57:04,213 LUCIE: Everything was gone in an instant. 1187 00:57:04,296 --> 00:57:08,259 No matter what he did for the rest of his life, 1188 00:57:08,342 --> 00:57:10,636 it was never gonna be good enough. 1189 00:57:10,719 --> 00:57:12,179 It's never gonna be Cuba. 1190 00:57:12,263 --> 00:57:14,431 We're never gonna go home. 1191 00:57:22,565 --> 00:57:23,816 MACHADO: There's a big difference 1192 00:57:23,899 --> 00:57:26,318 between being an immigrant and being a refugee, 1193 00:57:26,402 --> 00:57:28,988 and Desi was a refugee. 1194 00:57:30,239 --> 00:57:32,366 ♪ ♪ 1195 00:57:32,449 --> 00:57:34,660 A refugee doesn't want to leave 1196 00:57:34,743 --> 00:57:38,455 and has to for political reasons. 1197 00:57:42,543 --> 00:57:47,840 The longing is to find a place where you feel like you belong 1198 00:57:47,923 --> 00:57:51,927 and where you feel the warmth of who you used to be. 1199 00:57:58,851 --> 00:58:01,187 But there's no way to ever really find it. 1200 00:58:02,897 --> 00:58:05,941 And I think that's at the core of Desi. 1201 00:58:06,025 --> 00:58:08,777 And certainly at the core of Desi's mother. 1202 00:58:12,990 --> 00:58:17,286 When he got really successful, he bought her a house for Christmas. 1203 00:58:17,369 --> 00:58:22,374 And he wanted everything to look like the house they had in Cuba. 1204 00:58:22,458 --> 00:58:28,422 And she said, "Nice try, Desi, but it's still not Cuba." 1205 00:58:31,383 --> 00:58:34,970 And I think that was Desi's struggle in his life. 1206 00:58:37,431 --> 00:58:40,142 Because he never really felt at home, 1207 00:58:40,226 --> 00:58:42,895 and he kept looking for it. 1208 00:58:42,978 --> 00:58:44,563 Everywhere. 1209 00:58:50,945 --> 00:58:52,863 LUCY: Naturally, you-you want to know 1210 00:58:52,947 --> 00:58:56,242 how much you can do to help and, uh, what you can do to change, 1211 00:58:56,325 --> 00:59:00,579 and, uh, anything to get him to talk and to air his-his discontent. 1212 00:59:00,663 --> 00:59:03,165 That-that was my purpose at the time. 1213 00:59:03,249 --> 00:59:05,834 Are your eggs all right, dear? 1214 00:59:07,253 --> 00:59:09,338 (scattered audience laughter) 1215 00:59:09,421 --> 00:59:11,465 "How are your eggs, Lucy?" 1216 00:59:11,548 --> 00:59:13,092 Oh, they're just fine, thank you. 1217 00:59:13,175 --> 00:59:14,969 (audience laughter) 1218 00:59:15,052 --> 00:59:16,595 "Would you care for some more coffee?" 1219 00:59:16,679 --> 00:59:18,639 Oh, no, thanks. It's just right, thank you. 1220 00:59:18,722 --> 00:59:20,849 "You're a wonderful cook." Oh, do you really think so? 1221 00:59:20,933 --> 00:59:22,142 Oh, thank you. 1222 00:59:22,226 --> 00:59:23,227 (audience laughter) 1223 00:59:23,310 --> 00:59:24,812 Would you care for sugar in your coffee? 1224 00:59:24,895 --> 00:59:26,981 "Oh, well, thank you. Don't mind if I do." 1225 00:59:29,984 --> 00:59:31,986 You are back there, aren't you? 1226 00:59:32,069 --> 00:59:33,362 (audience laughter) 1227 00:59:33,445 --> 00:59:35,030 ♪ ♪ 1228 00:59:35,114 --> 00:59:39,827 DESI: We here at Desilu are aiming high. 1229 00:59:39,910 --> 00:59:41,620 We're aiming very high. 1230 00:59:43,122 --> 00:59:46,000 LEAR: They established their own studio. 1231 00:59:46,083 --> 00:59:50,004 I mean, that's an enormous business operation. 1232 00:59:50,087 --> 00:59:53,048 And Desi took the lead in that. 1233 00:59:53,132 --> 00:59:56,385 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: And when I Love Lucy became a megahit, 1234 00:59:56,468 --> 00:59:58,679 that whole studio filled up soundstages 1235 00:59:58,762 --> 01:00:00,264 because of everybody wanting to use 1236 01:00:00,347 --> 01:00:02,683 what they called "the Desilu technique." 1237 01:00:02,766 --> 01:00:04,560 JOHNNY CARSON: You know, the remarkable thing about you 1238 01:00:04,643 --> 01:00:07,271 and-and your life is that you came from Cuba 1239 01:00:07,354 --> 01:00:09,356 and ended up as one of the biggest producers 1240 01:00:09,440 --> 01:00:11,191 of television shows here in Hollywood. 1241 01:00:11,275 --> 01:00:12,609 ♪ ♪ 1242 01:00:14,820 --> 01:00:17,114 You had many, many big stars working for Desilu. 1243 01:00:17,197 --> 01:00:19,366 DESI: Yeah. Mainly, I had Lucy. 1244 01:00:24,204 --> 01:00:27,333 DANIELS: You know, my father said, over and over and over again, 1245 01:00:27,416 --> 01:00:31,962 Lucille Ball was the greatest actor of the 20th century. 1246 01:00:32,046 --> 01:00:33,881 He directed Sir Laurence Olivier, 1247 01:00:33,964 --> 01:00:36,342 Julie Harris, Sally Field, Paul Newman. 1248 01:00:36,425 --> 01:00:38,802 But no matter who he was talking to, 1249 01:00:38,886 --> 01:00:42,139 Lucille Ball was the greatest actor he had ever worked with. 1250 01:00:42,222 --> 01:00:43,474 LUCY RICARDO: Hello, friends. 1251 01:00:43,557 --> 01:00:45,517 I'm your Vitameatavegamin girl. 1252 01:00:45,601 --> 01:00:49,188 All you do is take a tablespoonful after every meal. 1253 01:00:49,271 --> 01:00:51,315 -DIRECTOR: Now you take some. -Oh. 1254 01:00:51,398 --> 01:00:53,233 (audience laughter) 1255 01:00:54,651 --> 01:00:56,570 It's so tasty, too. 1256 01:00:58,113 --> 01:01:00,115 (audience laughter) 1257 01:01:01,575 --> 01:01:05,412 LUCY: You don't necessarily have to be a funny person to get a laugh. 1258 01:01:06,538 --> 01:01:08,832 I'm not a funny person. 1259 01:01:08,916 --> 01:01:10,709 ♪ ♪ 1260 01:01:11,710 --> 01:01:14,004 JESS OPPENHEIMER: Lucille Ball is the kind of 1261 01:01:14,088 --> 01:01:15,964 a performer who needs a lot of rehearsal, 1262 01:01:16,048 --> 01:01:17,966 and if she gets enough of it, 1263 01:01:18,050 --> 01:01:21,428 there's just no heights to what sh-- what she can't reach. 1264 01:01:21,512 --> 01:01:24,556 Rehearsal, for my mom, came from years ago 1265 01:01:24,640 --> 01:01:28,644 with people like Buster Keaton, who was a mentor to her 1266 01:01:28,727 --> 01:01:30,938 and taught her all about how important the props were. 1267 01:01:31,021 --> 01:01:33,023 -(shouting frantically) -(audience laughter) 1268 01:01:36,235 --> 01:01:37,653 LUCY: We absolutely believe 1269 01:01:37,736 --> 01:01:41,156 the silly things we do, and I mean really believe it. 1270 01:01:41,240 --> 01:01:43,575 (audience laughter) 1271 01:01:43,659 --> 01:01:46,412 You can usually identify with the initial trouble. 1272 01:01:46,495 --> 01:01:47,955 (woman shouts) 1273 01:01:48,038 --> 01:01:50,541 (audience laughter) 1274 01:01:50,624 --> 01:01:52,709 She gets to do what most everyone 1275 01:01:52,793 --> 01:01:55,587 would really like to do in a situation. 1276 01:01:56,630 --> 01:01:58,549 (audience laughter) 1277 01:01:58,632 --> 01:02:02,636 It's the exaggeration of a believable star. 1278 01:02:02,719 --> 01:02:05,055 (woman speaking Italian angrily) 1279 01:02:08,392 --> 01:02:09,935 (audience exclaiming, laughing) 1280 01:02:10,018 --> 01:02:15,732 As an actress, body movement is one of the most divine things 1281 01:02:15,816 --> 01:02:17,109 to know about. 1282 01:02:17,192 --> 01:02:20,279 You should be observing everyone's body movements, 1283 01:02:20,362 --> 01:02:25,325 everyone's-- cats, dogs, old ladies in the park, drunks. 1284 01:02:25,409 --> 01:02:26,660 Just observe. 1285 01:02:31,707 --> 01:02:33,125 (audience laughter) 1286 01:02:33,208 --> 01:02:35,002 ♪ ♪ 1287 01:02:39,631 --> 01:02:42,885 I'm happy that I brought laughter 1288 01:02:42,968 --> 01:02:46,013 because I have been shown the value of it. 1289 01:02:47,890 --> 01:02:49,349 In so many ways. 1290 01:02:53,103 --> 01:02:54,730 (drumroll) 1291 01:02:54,813 --> 01:02:58,400 (band playing fanfare) 1292 01:02:58,484 --> 01:02:59,818 (band playing gentle music) 1293 01:02:59,902 --> 01:03:01,403 ANNOUNCER: This is the main studio 1294 01:03:01,487 --> 01:03:04,448 of Desilu Productions. 1295 01:03:04,531 --> 01:03:06,533 Just behind this door 1296 01:03:06,617 --> 01:03:09,495 is the office of the president of Desilu Productions. 1297 01:03:09,578 --> 01:03:13,248 And here seated at his desk, we find the boss. 1298 01:03:13,332 --> 01:03:14,458 (band playing I Love Lucy theme) 1299 01:03:14,541 --> 01:03:17,085 Uh, correction. This is the boss's boss. 1300 01:03:17,169 --> 01:03:19,838 JESS OPPENHEIMER: Lucy, of course, had been a star for years. 1301 01:03:19,922 --> 01:03:21,465 Desi had a terrible time adjusting, 1302 01:03:21,548 --> 01:03:24,301 and he was hurt, I think, by all the publicity which said 1303 01:03:24,384 --> 01:03:27,638 the success of I Love Lucy was due to her artistry. 1304 01:03:27,721 --> 01:03:30,349 DESI: Just a minute. This is my desk. 1305 01:03:30,432 --> 01:03:31,517 It says here "president." 1306 01:03:34,811 --> 01:03:37,105 Well, if you want to get technical. 1307 01:03:41,068 --> 01:03:42,444 LUCIE: No matter how hard he worked 1308 01:03:42,528 --> 01:03:44,988 or what a great businessman he was, she was the clown. 1309 01:03:45,072 --> 01:03:46,907 The show was built around her. 1310 01:03:46,990 --> 01:03:48,450 DESI: As president of Desilu Productions, 1311 01:03:48,534 --> 01:03:50,035 I would like to... 1312 01:03:50,118 --> 01:03:52,829 Hi, Joan! I just saw your show and I thought you were marvelous. 1313 01:03:52,913 --> 01:03:54,706 -You were so cute! -Thank you, Lucy. 1314 01:03:54,790 --> 01:03:56,542 Oh, when you were on that horse, I just-- 1315 01:03:56,625 --> 01:03:57,960 Oh, hi. How are you? 1316 01:03:58,043 --> 01:04:00,045 -That golf routine was a riot. -Lucy, I was... 1317 01:04:00,128 --> 01:04:02,130 I've never laughed so... (laughs) 1318 01:04:02,214 --> 01:04:04,341 -Lucy, I was just... -You are interrupting me. 1319 01:04:04,424 --> 01:04:05,342 (audience laughter) 1320 01:04:05,425 --> 01:04:07,761 I am interrupting you? 1321 01:04:07,844 --> 01:04:09,680 You interrupted me. 1322 01:04:09,763 --> 01:04:11,515 ♪ ♪ 1323 01:04:11,598 --> 01:04:13,809 JESS OPPENHEIMER: I don't think that he was very happy 1324 01:04:13,892 --> 01:04:15,894 in a relationship where his wife was 1325 01:04:15,978 --> 01:04:17,938 more powerful than he was. 1326 01:04:18,021 --> 01:04:20,190 And as he started to get stronger and stronger 1327 01:04:20,274 --> 01:04:22,025 in the producing side of it, 1328 01:04:22,109 --> 01:04:24,736 he kept staying away more and more. 1329 01:04:24,820 --> 01:04:27,155 LUCY: His work was harder, 1330 01:04:27,239 --> 01:04:29,157 he was getting more tired, 1331 01:04:29,241 --> 01:04:32,703 and, uh, he felt great need to run off on his boat 1332 01:04:32,786 --> 01:04:36,456 and his golf vacations and to the racetrack. 1333 01:04:36,540 --> 01:04:38,750 He always had to go, go, go. 1334 01:04:43,964 --> 01:04:46,174 JESS OPPENHEIMER: Her home life was very unhappy, 1335 01:04:46,258 --> 01:04:49,469 and, uh, the release that she had was in her work. 1336 01:04:51,221 --> 01:04:53,140 She'd come in and she would want to 1337 01:04:53,223 --> 01:04:56,852 rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, day in and day out, long hours. 1338 01:04:58,395 --> 01:05:00,439 LUCY: We had no idea that Desilu 1339 01:05:00,522 --> 01:05:02,524 was going to become what it was. 1340 01:05:04,401 --> 01:05:07,070 Work became our whole life. 1341 01:05:12,367 --> 01:05:15,704 BETTY: And what happened after you sold the reruns for 5 million? 1342 01:05:15,787 --> 01:05:18,373 Why didn't he retire right then and there? 1343 01:05:18,457 --> 01:05:21,376 LUCY: He wanted to because we had done our five years, 1344 01:05:21,460 --> 01:05:23,045 and that's all we planned was five years. 1345 01:05:23,128 --> 01:05:25,839 And I remember we talked about it. 1346 01:05:27,633 --> 01:05:29,217 DESI: She didn't want to quit. 1347 01:05:29,301 --> 01:05:31,094 She'll never want to quit. 1348 01:05:31,511 --> 01:05:34,264 Why doesn't Bob Hope quit? Or Jack Benny? 1349 01:05:34,348 --> 01:05:36,892 Like Hope says, he gets bored fishing 1350 01:05:36,975 --> 01:05:39,728 because he can't get a laugh from the fish. 1351 01:05:39,811 --> 01:05:42,856 That's... I'm not judging. 1352 01:05:42,939 --> 01:05:45,525 Because that's their life and they enjoy that. 1353 01:05:45,609 --> 01:05:51,239 I happen to like other things, besides being in front of an audience. 1354 01:05:53,909 --> 01:05:55,911 (applause) 1355 01:05:57,162 --> 01:05:59,581 Thank you. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, 1356 01:05:59,665 --> 01:06:01,625 and welcome to our new show. 1357 01:06:01,708 --> 01:06:04,670 We have some wonderful guests lined up for you. 1358 01:06:04,753 --> 01:06:06,046 -LUCY: Psst. -What's the matter? 1359 01:06:06,129 --> 01:06:07,756 It's time to do the show. 1360 01:06:07,839 --> 01:06:09,508 -Oh. Time to do the show. -(audience laughter) 1361 01:06:09,591 --> 01:06:10,717 I'll see you in a minute. 1362 01:06:10,801 --> 01:06:12,803 (drumroll) 1363 01:06:14,596 --> 01:06:15,639 (band playing lively intro) 1364 01:06:15,722 --> 01:06:17,974 ANNOUNCER: The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. 1365 01:06:18,058 --> 01:06:19,476 (band playing I Love Lucy theme) 1366 01:06:19,559 --> 01:06:20,727 LUCIE: They wanted to keep working, 1367 01:06:20,811 --> 01:06:22,562 but they wanted to work less, and so they said, 1368 01:06:22,646 --> 01:06:24,272 "We're gonna do the same show, 1369 01:06:24,356 --> 01:06:27,275 but we'll do it as a monthly thing, like once a month." 1370 01:06:27,359 --> 01:06:30,320 -(screams) -(audience laughter) 1371 01:06:30,404 --> 01:06:33,573 LaPLACA: Those shows have this really 1372 01:06:33,657 --> 01:06:36,159 dramatic loss of quality. 1373 01:06:36,243 --> 01:06:38,203 -(audience laughter) -Now, stop it! 1374 01:06:38,286 --> 01:06:39,996 LaPLACA: There's a lot of stories 1375 01:06:40,080 --> 01:06:42,833 about how difficult it was for them on the set, 1376 01:06:42,916 --> 01:06:46,128 and I think it's very visible on the screen. 1377 01:06:46,211 --> 01:06:49,381 Why do I have to act like such a goof always? 1378 01:06:49,464 --> 01:06:50,757 Oh, I don't know. 1379 01:06:50,841 --> 01:06:52,843 I guess it's part of your charm. 1380 01:06:52,926 --> 01:06:54,678 -(audience laughter) -Yeah. 1381 01:06:54,761 --> 01:06:56,930 Somebody ought to give me a good swift kick in the pants. 1382 01:06:57,013 --> 01:06:59,182 -I'll volunteer. -(audience laughter) 1383 01:06:59,266 --> 01:07:01,518 That is merely a figure of speech. 1384 01:07:01,601 --> 01:07:03,228 LUCIE: I think there was a cost 1385 01:07:03,311 --> 01:07:05,188 to the success that they attained with I Love Lucy. 1386 01:07:05,272 --> 01:07:06,606 I do. 1387 01:07:06,690 --> 01:07:09,568 ♪ ♪ 1388 01:07:09,651 --> 01:07:13,029 But they didn't know how to just appreciate 1389 01:07:13,113 --> 01:07:15,866 the joy of doing the show without making it bigger, 1390 01:07:15,949 --> 01:07:17,909 making it better, getting a bigger space. 1391 01:07:17,993 --> 01:07:22,372 It just seemed to mushroom and-and get all out of hand. 1392 01:07:25,167 --> 01:07:27,836 DESI: When the opportunity came to buy RKO, I bought RKO. 1393 01:07:27,919 --> 01:07:29,504 Not because I wanted RKO. 1394 01:07:29,588 --> 01:07:32,799 But I had only two choices. Either quit or get bigger. 1395 01:07:32,883 --> 01:07:35,844 That is the way business is in the United States. 1396 01:07:35,927 --> 01:07:38,388 You cannot be half-assed successful. 1397 01:07:38,472 --> 01:07:40,182 (helicopter whirring) 1398 01:07:40,265 --> 01:07:42,017 MAN: Didn't that used to be RKO? 1399 01:07:44,227 --> 01:07:45,604 DESI: That's right. 1400 01:07:46,897 --> 01:07:50,317 MAN: You know, one thing is sure, you're not gonna be cramped for space. 1401 01:07:50,400 --> 01:07:54,154 DESI: No, sir, not with 35 soundstages and three studios. 1402 01:07:54,237 --> 01:07:56,239 ♪ ♪ 1403 01:07:57,532 --> 01:07:59,993 LaPLACA: Within a span of about five years, 1404 01:08:00,076 --> 01:08:02,078 they go from filming the I Love Lucy pilot 1405 01:08:02,162 --> 01:08:05,540 to operating the largest independent television company in the world. 1406 01:08:06,625 --> 01:08:10,045 LUCY: To see it come to life was something. 1407 01:08:10,128 --> 01:08:13,465 To see 16, 17, 18, 19 shows going, 1408 01:08:13,548 --> 01:08:16,259 it was a revelation how he did it. 1409 01:08:16,927 --> 01:08:19,262 DESI: I was at that place at 8 o'clock in the morning, 1410 01:08:19,346 --> 01:08:21,598 and I had all my calls to New York, 1411 01:08:21,681 --> 01:08:25,977 and I don't think I ever left the place before 10 or 11 o'clock at night. 1412 01:08:28,063 --> 01:08:30,023 GREGG OPPENHEIMER: And as Desi had more and more 1413 01:08:30,106 --> 01:08:32,818 responsibilities with the studio, 1414 01:08:32,901 --> 01:08:34,569 he kept getting called away from the set, 1415 01:08:34,653 --> 01:08:36,530 and Lucy would say, "Where you going? 1416 01:08:36,613 --> 01:08:37,781 We-we need to rehearse." 1417 01:08:37,864 --> 01:08:39,324 And Desi'd say, "What are you talking about? 1418 01:08:39,407 --> 01:08:41,034 We know the lines." 1419 01:08:42,577 --> 01:08:44,204 LUCIE: And as it got more stressful, 1420 01:08:44,287 --> 01:08:46,206 it was harder for him to survive. 1421 01:08:46,289 --> 01:08:47,582 He started to drink more. 1422 01:08:50,836 --> 01:08:55,257 Then, with the drinking, he would forget and he would be 1423 01:08:55,340 --> 01:08:57,509 photographed with some dame. 1424 01:08:57,592 --> 01:09:01,972 She was willing to go the extra mile for him, 1425 01:09:02,055 --> 01:09:03,515 and he still couldn't pull it back. 1426 01:09:06,351 --> 01:09:10,355 And my mother had her own problems, and they didn't make it any better. 1427 01:09:10,438 --> 01:09:15,694 She was very hard-edged, and that's the last thing he needed 1428 01:09:15,777 --> 01:09:17,821 was a hard edge. 1429 01:09:19,114 --> 01:09:23,118 He hurt her by his actions, and she hurt him by her words. 1430 01:09:26,413 --> 01:09:28,582 DESI: I got a one track mind. 1431 01:09:28,665 --> 01:09:33,169 The biggest fault in my life is that I never learned moderation. 1432 01:09:33,253 --> 01:09:34,629 ♪ ♪ 1433 01:09:34,796 --> 01:09:37,924 I either work too hard or I play too hard. 1434 01:09:38,008 --> 01:09:40,719 If I drank, I drank too much. If I worked, I worked too much. 1435 01:09:40,802 --> 01:09:44,848 I don't know. One of the greatest virtues in the world is moderation. 1436 01:09:44,931 --> 01:09:47,976 That's the one I could never learn. 1437 01:09:49,978 --> 01:09:52,272 LUCY: So I finally got permission from Desi, 1438 01:09:52,355 --> 01:09:56,318 after a long time, to come and join in a conversation. 1439 01:09:56,401 --> 01:09:58,403 BETTY: This was the New York psychiatrist? 1440 01:09:58,486 --> 01:09:59,529 LUCY: Yes. 1441 01:10:01,948 --> 01:10:03,533 We tried to get Desi to continue, 1442 01:10:03,617 --> 01:10:06,369 but, uh, Desi never felt that he had a problem, 1443 01:10:06,453 --> 01:10:08,121 so he certainly didn't want to discuss it. 1444 01:10:08,204 --> 01:10:10,123 BETTY: Did you feel like you got anything out of it yourself? 1445 01:10:10,206 --> 01:10:12,959 -LUCY: Yes. -Did you get any insight into yourself? 1446 01:10:13,043 --> 01:10:14,669 LUCY: Yes, I did. I got the answer I wanted: 1447 01:10:14,753 --> 01:10:16,713 was it my fault or how much of it was my fault 1448 01:10:16,796 --> 01:10:18,214 and what to do about it. 1449 01:10:18,298 --> 01:10:20,091 BETTY: You decided it wasn't your fault? 1450 01:10:20,175 --> 01:10:21,676 LUCY: No, I didn't decide that at all. 1451 01:10:21,760 --> 01:10:23,762 I knew where it was my fault. 1452 01:10:28,308 --> 01:10:30,477 I was at fault, too, because you can't go 1453 01:10:30,560 --> 01:10:33,146 years and years and years being unhappy about a situation 1454 01:10:33,229 --> 01:10:35,941 without having it change you. 1455 01:10:36,024 --> 01:10:38,526 You get so you can't stand yourself. 1456 01:10:43,531 --> 01:10:45,283 LUCIE: They tried this last 1457 01:10:45,367 --> 01:10:47,869 family vacation to Europe. 1458 01:10:47,953 --> 01:10:49,162 That was a real nightmare. 1459 01:10:49,245 --> 01:10:51,331 Then I-I remember a horrible fight one night. 1460 01:10:51,414 --> 01:10:54,960 I don't know what it was about, but I-I do remember hearing that. 1461 01:10:55,043 --> 01:10:58,713 LUCY: It was a miserable month and a miserable trip. 1462 01:10:58,797 --> 01:11:01,174 And, uh... 1463 01:11:01,257 --> 01:11:04,552 that's where I decided that, uh, that would be it. 1464 01:11:05,845 --> 01:11:07,889 ♪ ♪ 1465 01:11:13,019 --> 01:11:14,854 DESI: I was the one who wanted out. 1466 01:11:14,938 --> 01:11:17,440 I brought it up and I, and I laid it. 1467 01:11:17,524 --> 01:11:22,028 And I laid the plan for months ahead of time so it would work. 1468 01:11:22,779 --> 01:11:24,823 Because I didn't want any part of it anymore. 1469 01:11:24,906 --> 01:11:28,702 I just made up my mind I couldn't live anymore, that way. 1470 01:11:33,081 --> 01:11:34,290 ♪ ♪ 1471 01:11:37,335 --> 01:11:39,963 LUCY: With the last of the Lucy shows, 1472 01:11:40,046 --> 01:11:42,841 it was obvious that Desi was, uh, not, uh-- 1473 01:11:42,924 --> 01:11:44,509 you know, that we were having trouble. 1474 01:11:45,552 --> 01:11:47,804 -Well, I heard. -(women scream) 1475 01:11:47,887 --> 01:11:49,764 I heard everything. 1476 01:11:49,848 --> 01:11:52,267 I knew it. 1477 01:11:52,350 --> 01:11:53,727 I'm through. 1478 01:11:53,810 --> 01:11:55,270 Finished. 1479 01:11:55,353 --> 01:11:57,856 Oh, now, honey. 1480 01:11:57,939 --> 01:12:01,109 Where I really belong is on my uncle's tobacco plantation. 1481 01:12:01,192 --> 01:12:02,444 In Cuba. 1482 01:12:02,527 --> 01:12:04,654 (audience laughter) 1483 01:12:06,114 --> 01:12:08,366 BETTY: Well weren't you rather weepy on that last show? 1484 01:12:08,450 --> 01:12:10,326 LUCY: Oh, I was a wreck. 1485 01:12:10,410 --> 01:12:12,412 And Desi was a wreck. 1486 01:12:12,495 --> 01:12:15,582 Yeah. The cameramen were crying and the... 1487 01:12:15,665 --> 01:12:17,000 everybody was in tears. 1488 01:12:17,083 --> 01:12:18,668 It was sad. 1489 01:12:18,877 --> 01:12:22,130 BETTY: You probably thought there would never by any more didn't you? 1490 01:12:22,213 --> 01:12:24,049 LUCY: Well, I didn't care one way or another, 1491 01:12:24,132 --> 01:12:25,925 but it was a finish of so many things. 1492 01:12:26,009 --> 01:12:27,260 BETTY: Mm-hmm. 1493 01:12:27,343 --> 01:12:30,597 ("Break It to Me Gently" by Brenda Lee playing) 1494 01:12:33,224 --> 01:12:35,518 So then you waited until he asked for the divorce? 1495 01:12:35,602 --> 01:12:38,730 LUCY: Oh, I had everything prepared and ready. 1496 01:12:38,813 --> 01:12:41,733 Uh, in 20 minutes, I had the lawyer there. 1497 01:12:41,816 --> 01:12:43,526 ♪ Break it ♪ 1498 01:12:44,903 --> 01:12:47,238 ♪ To me gently ♪ 1499 01:12:49,157 --> 01:12:51,576 ♪ Let me down ♪ 1500 01:12:51,659 --> 01:12:55,872 ♪ The easy way... ♪ 1501 01:12:55,955 --> 01:12:59,542 LUCIE: They went at it for all the right reasons, originally. 1502 01:12:59,626 --> 01:13:02,420 And the only reason I Love Lucy exists 1503 01:13:02,504 --> 01:13:04,297 is because they wanted to be together 1504 01:13:04,380 --> 01:13:07,675 so they could have a family and make the marriage work. 1505 01:13:08,927 --> 01:13:11,346 So they made this show, 1506 01:13:11,429 --> 01:13:16,226 and now the rest of the universe has it, and they never got what they wanted. 1507 01:13:16,309 --> 01:13:20,188 ♪ Love again ♪ 1508 01:13:20,271 --> 01:13:23,399 ♪ 'Cause I'll never ♪ 1509 01:13:23,483 --> 01:13:27,278 ♪ Love ♪ 1510 01:13:27,362 --> 01:13:30,573 ♪ Again ♪ 1511 01:13:30,657 --> 01:13:34,702 -♪ Never love again. ♪ -(song ends) 1512 01:13:37,622 --> 01:13:39,624 ♪ ♪ 1513 01:13:42,794 --> 01:13:47,132 They both, um, sat us down in the living room in Palm Springs. 1514 01:13:47,215 --> 01:13:48,550 I remember it so clearly. 1515 01:13:48,633 --> 01:13:52,262 And they basically said that, "Your mother and I... 1516 01:13:53,680 --> 01:13:58,977 ...can't get along well enough to be together anymore." 1517 01:13:59,060 --> 01:14:03,189 It was very scary, and I felt so sorry for my dad. 1518 01:14:03,273 --> 01:14:05,275 ♪ ♪ 1519 01:14:11,573 --> 01:14:13,741 But the minute they separated, 1520 01:14:13,825 --> 01:14:16,703 they became kinder to one another. 1521 01:14:17,829 --> 01:14:21,457 The hard edge softened the minute they got divorced. 1522 01:14:23,084 --> 01:14:25,170 Because they did love one another. 1523 01:14:28,339 --> 01:14:29,924 DANIELS: I Love Lucy built 1524 01:14:30,008 --> 01:14:34,095 every episode around that-that idea of fracture 1525 01:14:34,179 --> 01:14:37,223 and then coming back together. 1526 01:14:37,307 --> 01:14:39,517 And I think we crave that as humans in life. 1527 01:14:39,601 --> 01:14:43,229 These were not people that held resentments. 1528 01:14:43,313 --> 01:14:46,858 You know, they couldn't be married, but they kept working together. 1529 01:14:47,859 --> 01:14:50,111 LUCY: You see, when we worked, we were happy. 1530 01:14:50,195 --> 01:14:52,488 We loved our work. We worked very well together. 1531 01:14:52,572 --> 01:14:55,450 Even after we were divorced, we worked together. 1532 01:14:55,533 --> 01:14:57,535 ♪ ♪ 1533 01:14:59,621 --> 01:15:02,582 Desilu Productions was responsible 1534 01:15:02,665 --> 01:15:06,336 for some of the greatest television of the 20th century. 1535 01:15:06,419 --> 01:15:08,671 The original Star Trek series, 1536 01:15:08,755 --> 01:15:09,714 Mission: Impossible. 1537 01:15:09,797 --> 01:15:11,716 Uh, you know, the list goes on and on. 1538 01:15:11,799 --> 01:15:16,596 All of these shows were either shot at Desilu or produced by Desilu. 1539 01:15:16,679 --> 01:15:21,059 And as a result, there's just a library of contribution 1540 01:15:21,142 --> 01:15:23,603 to our culture throughout the world. 1541 01:15:23,686 --> 01:15:27,023 (audio dubbed, man speaking Spanish) 1542 01:15:27,106 --> 01:15:28,441 -(man laughs) -(audience laughter) 1543 01:15:28,524 --> 01:15:30,360 And all of that was Desi. 1544 01:15:30,443 --> 01:15:31,569 (camera clicking) 1545 01:15:31,653 --> 01:15:33,696 Desi was at the helm of that ship. 1546 01:15:37,742 --> 01:15:39,744 ♪ ♪ 1547 01:15:42,914 --> 01:15:44,832 LUCIE: My father wanted the business so bad 1548 01:15:44,916 --> 01:15:47,168 that he let the marriage fall apart. 1549 01:15:47,252 --> 01:15:52,048 And then the simple joy of creating became the part he had no time to do. 1550 01:15:52,131 --> 01:15:55,051 And the business overwhelmed him. 1551 01:15:56,386 --> 01:15:58,388 DESI: I hated every minute of it... 1552 01:15:58,471 --> 01:15:59,764 ...after a while. 1553 01:16:07,939 --> 01:16:10,775 ♪ ♪ 1554 01:16:10,858 --> 01:16:12,860 LUCY: I wanted to get as far away as possible. 1555 01:16:12,944 --> 01:16:16,155 And I was actually headed for Europe to live. 1556 01:16:16,239 --> 01:16:18,700 The children were much smaller, and that would've been 1557 01:16:18,783 --> 01:16:21,077 a nice place for their schooling. 1558 01:16:21,160 --> 01:16:23,705 But then the Wildcat thing of course formulated. 1559 01:16:23,788 --> 01:16:25,039 (band playing "Hey, Look Me Over") 1560 01:16:25,123 --> 01:16:27,083 ♪ You gotta say, "Hey, look me over ♪ 1561 01:16:27,166 --> 01:16:29,168 ♪ Lend me an ear" ♪ 1562 01:16:29,252 --> 01:16:31,004 ♪ Fresh outta clover ♪ 1563 01:16:31,087 --> 01:16:32,922 ♪ Mortgage up to here... ♪ 1564 01:16:33,006 --> 01:16:34,716 LUCIE: She was not a theater person. 1565 01:16:34,799 --> 01:16:36,926 She's not a singer. She's not a dancer. 1566 01:16:37,010 --> 01:16:38,761 ♪ I'd figure whenever you're down and out... ♪ 1567 01:16:38,845 --> 01:16:41,097 And she's gonna give herself a singing, dancing role 1568 01:16:41,180 --> 01:16:42,932 on Broadway, eight shows a week. 1569 01:16:43,016 --> 01:16:47,061 I can't even figure out what on earth she must have been thinking. 1570 01:16:47,145 --> 01:16:50,231 ♪ And, look out, world, here I come... ♪ 1571 01:16:50,315 --> 01:16:51,816 LUCY: Wildcat didn't embarrass me. 1572 01:16:51,899 --> 01:16:53,943 It was the choreography that went with it. 1573 01:16:54,027 --> 01:16:56,696 ♪ ♪ 1574 01:16:56,779 --> 01:16:59,657 The choreography was done by a very nice gal 1575 01:16:59,741 --> 01:17:01,826 and a very feminine girl, 1576 01:17:01,909 --> 01:17:04,287 and the routine came out feminine. 1577 01:17:04,370 --> 01:17:08,416 And I just didn't feel that it fit the robustness of the show. 1578 01:17:08,499 --> 01:17:10,835 But mostly I got hurt. 1579 01:17:13,463 --> 01:17:16,924 I like to be strong. That's about the quickest answer. 1580 01:17:17,008 --> 01:17:20,136 I don't like to be a weakling. I don't like to be ill. 1581 01:17:20,219 --> 01:17:22,388 I'm not a-- at all, a hypochondriac. 1582 01:17:22,472 --> 01:17:25,224 I don't enjoy weakness. 1583 01:17:25,308 --> 01:17:28,102 I like to have the strength to do what I have to do. 1584 01:17:30,772 --> 01:17:33,149 ♪ ♪ 1585 01:17:34,984 --> 01:17:40,073 BURNETT: I remember I went to see a show, and afterwards we went backstage 1586 01:17:40,156 --> 01:17:42,033 to see Lucy. 1587 01:17:42,116 --> 01:17:45,453 Gary was in the dressing room, and she said, "You know, kid, 1588 01:17:45,536 --> 01:17:48,122 he makes me laugh." 1589 01:17:50,625 --> 01:17:53,294 Gary was a comedian. 1590 01:17:53,378 --> 01:17:55,963 She felt very secure with him. 1591 01:17:56,047 --> 01:17:58,758 LUCY: He said, "Will you be my girl?" 1592 01:17:58,841 --> 01:18:03,930 (chuckles) The actual "Shall we get married?" came a bit later. 1593 01:18:04,013 --> 01:18:07,350 And when I decided it was right, 1594 01:18:07,433 --> 01:18:08,976 we did it immediately. 1595 01:18:09,060 --> 01:18:10,520 (crowd cheering) 1596 01:18:10,603 --> 01:18:12,522 Within five days. 1597 01:18:15,691 --> 01:18:17,235 LaPLACA: I don't think the public 1598 01:18:17,318 --> 01:18:19,028 rejected Gary Morton, but I think the public 1599 01:18:19,112 --> 01:18:22,073 ignored Gary Morton and continues to. 1600 01:18:22,156 --> 01:18:26,327 Because it disrupts the fantasy that they want to hold in their minds. 1601 01:18:27,370 --> 01:18:29,747 LUCIE: And I know it broke my father's heart, 1602 01:18:29,831 --> 01:18:33,668 but my father ended up remarrying after a few years. 1603 01:18:33,751 --> 01:18:36,087 ♪ ♪ 1604 01:18:37,755 --> 01:18:39,674 Her name was Edie. 1605 01:18:39,757 --> 01:18:42,260 Gorgeous, freckles, 1606 01:18:42,343 --> 01:18:43,719 redhead. 1607 01:18:43,803 --> 01:18:46,139 He was married to Edie for 26 years. 1608 01:18:46,222 --> 01:18:47,723 My mother was married to Gary Morton for 27 years. 1609 01:18:47,807 --> 01:18:49,142 They were married to those people 1610 01:18:49,225 --> 01:18:50,685 longer than they were married to each other. 1611 01:18:50,768 --> 01:18:53,062 It was the best thing, really, in the long run 1612 01:18:53,146 --> 01:18:55,022 that happened to either one of them. 1613 01:18:55,106 --> 01:18:56,566 (band playing The Lucy Show theme) 1614 01:18:56,649 --> 01:18:59,694 ANNOUNCER: The Lucy Show. 1615 01:18:59,777 --> 01:19:02,071 Starring Lucille Ball. 1616 01:19:02,155 --> 01:19:04,907 Costarring Vivian Vance. 1617 01:19:06,451 --> 01:19:07,827 Hey, kids, guess what. 1618 01:19:07,910 --> 01:19:10,204 I, uh, I got a referee for your game. 1619 01:19:10,288 --> 01:19:11,664 -No kidding! -Who?! 1620 01:19:11,747 --> 01:19:13,374 It's me. 1621 01:19:13,458 --> 01:19:15,710 What do moms know about football? 1622 01:19:15,793 --> 01:19:17,253 Especially you. 1623 01:19:17,336 --> 01:19:18,671 (audience laughter) 1624 01:19:18,754 --> 01:19:20,673 LaPLACA: The Lucy Show was about 1625 01:19:20,756 --> 01:19:23,968 two single women raising kids on their own. 1626 01:19:24,051 --> 01:19:28,014 It got a lot of flak in its first year because it was all about Lucy and Viv. 1627 01:19:28,097 --> 01:19:31,767 After all, we're all alone here, just two women without a man. 1628 01:19:31,851 --> 01:19:33,603 You don't have to rub it in. 1629 01:19:33,686 --> 01:19:35,813 (audience laughter) 1630 01:19:35,897 --> 01:19:37,440 LUCY: Even with a slight change of format 1631 01:19:37,523 --> 01:19:41,194 two or three times, there's always been audience identification with Lucy. 1632 01:19:41,277 --> 01:19:44,197 And then without, uh, the husbands, 1633 01:19:44,280 --> 01:19:46,324 was certainly audience identification 1634 01:19:46,407 --> 01:19:48,951 for millions of women who try to go through life 1635 01:19:49,035 --> 01:19:51,496 without a man and have to raise children 1636 01:19:51,579 --> 01:19:54,499 and-and what goes on, life without a man. 1637 01:19:54,582 --> 01:19:55,875 -Oh. -How do you like this one? 1638 01:19:55,958 --> 01:19:57,877 Yeah, he's kind of cute. You like black sheep, Viv? 1639 01:19:57,960 --> 01:20:00,338 Like 'em? I was married to one. 1640 01:20:00,421 --> 01:20:01,672 (audience laughter) 1641 01:20:01,756 --> 01:20:04,258 LaPLACA: Vivian Vance was playing 1642 01:20:04,342 --> 01:20:06,010 a divorced single mother. 1643 01:20:06,093 --> 01:20:09,639 She was really amplifying a lot of feminist narratives 1644 01:20:09,722 --> 01:20:12,725 in a moment when a lot of the women on television around her 1645 01:20:12,808 --> 01:20:14,644 were not doing that. 1646 01:20:14,727 --> 01:20:17,813 The character she played on television for all those years 1647 01:20:17,897 --> 01:20:20,608 was motivating generations of women. 1648 01:20:20,691 --> 01:20:22,902 -MAN: Marker. -(quiet chatter) 1649 01:20:22,985 --> 01:20:24,946 DIRECTOR: Settle down! 1650 01:20:25,029 --> 01:20:26,239 Action! 1651 01:20:27,365 --> 01:20:30,368 Hi. I hope you enjoyed our little show. 1652 01:20:30,451 --> 01:20:31,369 Oh. 1653 01:20:31,452 --> 01:20:34,288 (laughter, applause) 1654 01:20:35,540 --> 01:20:38,042 DESI: Oh goddamn! We're giving the minorities a break this week huh? 1655 01:20:38,125 --> 01:20:39,335 (Lucy laughs) 1656 01:20:40,211 --> 01:20:42,046 Jesus Christ! 1657 01:20:42,129 --> 01:20:44,382 The minorities are working this week huh? 1658 01:20:44,465 --> 01:20:48,135 -(rhythmic drumming) -♪ Babalú ♪ 1659 01:20:48,219 --> 01:20:49,470 ♪ Babalú ♪ 1660 01:20:49,554 --> 01:20:50,721 (Desi chatters) 1661 01:20:50,805 --> 01:20:52,807 LUCIE: My dad produced the show. 1662 01:20:52,890 --> 01:20:54,934 They were already divorced when that happened. 1663 01:20:55,017 --> 01:20:57,019 ♪ ♪ 1664 01:20:58,813 --> 01:21:01,315 My mother called him all the time for advice. 1665 01:21:01,399 --> 01:21:03,025 LUCY: I never saw anybody 1666 01:21:03,109 --> 01:21:07,071 really get down to the root of a story and give you 1667 01:21:07,154 --> 01:21:09,448 the fundamentals of it and what we're after. 1668 01:21:09,532 --> 01:21:14,078 He could see what was happening, uh, where a lot of other people didn't. 1669 01:21:15,246 --> 01:21:19,500 LUCIE: But he didn't enjoy it as much as those early days 1670 01:21:19,584 --> 01:21:21,794 when he was figuring it out. 1671 01:21:23,504 --> 01:21:27,466 And, um, he got very depressed because of that. 1672 01:21:29,510 --> 01:21:31,762 And he drank more. 1673 01:21:31,846 --> 01:21:35,933 Basically, his health deteriorated and he wasn't able to function. 1674 01:21:36,017 --> 01:21:38,853 And that was a real shame because nobody did it better. 1675 01:21:39,979 --> 01:21:41,439 You know, it was like you got to tell the pilot, 1676 01:21:41,522 --> 01:21:45,359 "You can't fly the plane anymore because you're not healthy enough." 1677 01:21:45,443 --> 01:21:47,445 ♪ ♪ 1678 01:21:52,575 --> 01:21:54,035 MACHADO: He gave up. 1679 01:21:55,036 --> 01:21:59,248 I just think it became so connected between the two of them 1680 01:21:59,332 --> 01:22:02,335 that, in that way, he was faithful. 1681 01:22:02,418 --> 01:22:07,840 But after that show where so much was defined, 1682 01:22:07,923 --> 01:22:10,718 he couldn't... 1683 01:22:10,801 --> 01:22:12,595 keep going. 1684 01:22:12,678 --> 01:22:15,389 He couldn't do it anymore. 1685 01:22:17,350 --> 01:22:21,646 And she, because she came from nothing, had to keep going. 1686 01:22:26,984 --> 01:22:28,944 Thank you, Oscar. 1687 01:22:29,028 --> 01:22:31,322 Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. 1688 01:22:34,992 --> 01:22:36,952 -Are we ready? -MAN: Yeah, we are. 1689 01:22:37,036 --> 01:22:39,121 LUCY: The financial results of the fiscal year 1690 01:22:39,205 --> 01:22:42,124 which ended May 2, 1964. 1691 01:22:42,208 --> 01:22:46,879 Gross income for that year was $23,885,251... 1692 01:22:46,962 --> 01:22:49,715 BETTY: Now isn't your job unique in the whole world right now? 1693 01:22:49,799 --> 01:22:54,512 Aren't you the only woman who's the head of a corporation as big as Desilu? 1694 01:22:54,595 --> 01:22:57,973 LUCY: In the entertainment business, I guess, yes. 1695 01:22:58,057 --> 01:23:01,811 The other thing that makes mine, uh, even more different 1696 01:23:01,894 --> 01:23:03,729 is the fact that I'm working every day. 1697 01:23:03,813 --> 01:23:05,981 I'm not in an office presiding. 1698 01:23:06,065 --> 01:23:09,151 I'm in a-- I'm-I'm on a stage doing The Lucy Show. 1699 01:23:09,235 --> 01:23:11,862 And this makes everything double time, you know. 1700 01:23:11,946 --> 01:23:13,823 Double time for everything. 1701 01:23:14,865 --> 01:23:16,409 BURNETT: She said, "You know, 1702 01:23:16,492 --> 01:23:20,121 "when I was married to the Cuban, Desi did everything. 1703 01:23:20,204 --> 01:23:21,914 "Then all I had to do 1704 01:23:21,997 --> 01:23:25,501 "was come in on a Monday and be crazy little Lucy. 1705 01:23:25,584 --> 01:23:27,211 Everything was there." 1706 01:23:28,212 --> 01:23:29,964 LUCY: I have to handle the real problems 1707 01:23:30,047 --> 01:23:31,966 of running the studio the way I run it, 1708 01:23:32,049 --> 01:23:33,926 and I'm getting there earlier, I'm staying later. 1709 01:23:34,009 --> 01:23:38,556 I'm having to oversee a lot of things that I-I'm interested in, 1710 01:23:38,639 --> 01:23:41,726 I'd rather someone else would be doing, but at the moment, I have to do it myself. 1711 01:23:41,809 --> 01:23:44,437 Well, all I know is, whenever I say, "Do this," 1712 01:23:44,520 --> 01:23:47,022 you say you can't bring that camera in for a close two-shot 1713 01:23:47,106 --> 01:23:48,858 because of the camera shadows. 1714 01:23:48,941 --> 01:23:50,985 -Yeah. -Try and find out how to eliminate it. 1715 01:23:51,277 --> 01:23:53,237 We're bringing it in to the very limit. 1716 01:23:53,320 --> 01:23:54,572 And there is no- 1717 01:23:54,655 --> 01:23:57,825 I don't know how to light a scene without lights. 1718 01:23:57,908 --> 01:23:59,326 Period. 1719 01:23:59,410 --> 01:24:00,995 No. No, I'm not asking that. 1720 01:24:01,078 --> 01:24:02,496 I'm not questioning that. 1721 01:24:02,580 --> 01:24:05,040 ♪ ♪ 1722 01:24:05,124 --> 01:24:08,669 BURNETT: She said, "So now I've got to confront." 1723 01:24:08,753 --> 01:24:10,546 And sh-she never had to do that before. 1724 01:24:13,424 --> 01:24:14,967 And she said, "Kid, 1725 01:24:15,050 --> 01:24:18,596 that's when they put the 'S' on the end of my last name." 1726 01:24:18,679 --> 01:24:20,681 ♪ ♪ 1727 01:24:25,227 --> 01:24:27,646 LUCY: I have already sold the one pilot, 1728 01:24:27,730 --> 01:24:29,815 The Greatest Show on Earth, and it's going to be on ABC, 1729 01:24:29,899 --> 01:24:32,902 and that's an hour show, and it's gonna mean a lot to the company. 1730 01:24:32,985 --> 01:24:36,322 And we consummated another deal for three years 1731 01:24:36,405 --> 01:24:38,574 with the Danny Thomas empire. 1732 01:24:38,657 --> 01:24:42,369 He has, uh, six or seven shows over in my other studio. 1733 01:24:46,707 --> 01:24:49,960 George Stevens is making The Greatest Story Ever Told, 1734 01:24:50,044 --> 01:24:52,713 and Jesus Christ is parting the waters out there 1735 01:24:52,797 --> 01:24:54,548 on the Culver, uh, 40 Acres. 1736 01:24:54,632 --> 01:24:56,592 So we're very happy about that. 1737 01:24:56,675 --> 01:25:00,930 Our stock is climbing a little bit, and, uh, we're happy about that. 1738 01:25:03,641 --> 01:25:05,643 ♪ ♪ 1739 01:25:08,646 --> 01:25:13,025 LUCIE: My mom loved the creative process. 1740 01:25:13,108 --> 01:25:16,070 When she could be the Lucy character 1741 01:25:16,153 --> 01:25:20,115 and Desi could run the studio, that was all the best. 1742 01:25:20,199 --> 01:25:22,910 When she had to take on all of that stuff-- 1743 01:25:22,993 --> 01:25:25,371 first of all, just run the show without him, 1744 01:25:25,454 --> 01:25:28,374 but then run a studio without him?-- 1745 01:25:28,457 --> 01:25:29,500 she did not like that at all. 1746 01:25:29,583 --> 01:25:33,587 She didn't, she didn't care about being the first woman anything. 1747 01:25:33,671 --> 01:25:38,300 So as soon as somebody made her a decent offer, she took it. 1748 01:25:44,723 --> 01:25:47,518 In Hollywood, the winner is Lucille Ball. 1749 01:25:47,601 --> 01:25:48,727 (cheering, applause) 1750 01:25:48,811 --> 01:25:50,855 (band playing upbeat theme) 1751 01:26:02,658 --> 01:26:03,659 (sighs) 1752 01:26:03,742 --> 01:26:04,785 (laughs): Well... 1753 01:26:04,869 --> 01:26:06,036 I can't believe it. 1754 01:26:06,120 --> 01:26:07,204 (laughter) 1755 01:26:07,288 --> 01:26:10,457 I honestly cannot believe it. 1756 01:26:10,541 --> 01:26:15,296 I don't have one thing prepared to say because I just didn't expect it. 1757 01:26:15,379 --> 01:26:17,673 It's been a long, long time. 1758 01:26:17,756 --> 01:26:18,841 (laughter) 1759 01:26:18,924 --> 01:26:20,926 (applause) 1760 01:26:33,314 --> 01:26:34,940 I have one or two. 1761 01:26:37,359 --> 01:26:38,944 And they... 1762 01:26:40,905 --> 01:26:43,449 ...they mean a lot 1763 01:26:43,532 --> 01:26:46,952 because it's given by you all, 1764 01:26:47,036 --> 01:26:48,704 part of the industry. 1765 01:26:51,665 --> 01:26:54,209 I don't know. It just sort of... 1766 01:26:55,628 --> 01:27:00,591 ...seemed away and apart of what we're really doing. 1767 01:27:00,674 --> 01:27:04,178 It left a long time ago, and I'm glad it's back. 1768 01:27:06,889 --> 01:27:09,016 Last time I got it, I thought they gave it to me 1769 01:27:09,099 --> 01:27:10,517 because I had a baby. 1770 01:27:10,601 --> 01:27:13,103 (laughter) 1771 01:27:13,187 --> 01:27:16,065 And that baby is 14 years old now. 1772 01:27:16,148 --> 01:27:17,816 (laughter) 1773 01:27:19,401 --> 01:27:21,403 I love my work. 1774 01:27:21,487 --> 01:27:23,489 Thank you for giving me this for it. 1775 01:27:23,572 --> 01:27:25,574 -(applause) -Thank you. 1776 01:27:25,658 --> 01:27:27,326 (band playing "Shy") 1777 01:27:27,409 --> 01:27:28,994 ♪ I'm going fishing for a mate ♪ 1778 01:27:29,078 --> 01:27:30,746 ♪ She's going fishing for a mate ♪ 1779 01:27:30,829 --> 01:27:32,414 ♪ I'm gonna look in every brook ♪ 1780 01:27:32,498 --> 01:27:34,208 ♪ She's gonna look in every brook... ♪ 1781 01:27:34,291 --> 01:27:36,669 BURNETT: I got my first big break, 1782 01:27:36,752 --> 01:27:39,129 and I-I was cast in an off-Broadway show. 1783 01:27:39,213 --> 01:27:41,298 ♪ ♪ 1784 01:27:41,382 --> 01:27:45,052 This one night, there was a big buzz in the audience 1785 01:27:45,135 --> 01:27:47,388 before the curtain was gonna go up, 1786 01:27:47,471 --> 01:27:50,933 and I made the mistake of peeking through and looking out, 1787 01:27:51,016 --> 01:27:55,145 and there was that orange hair in the second row. 1788 01:27:56,146 --> 01:27:57,314 (sighs) 1789 01:27:57,398 --> 01:27:59,566 I was working at the Universal Amphitheatre 1790 01:27:59,650 --> 01:28:01,151 before it had a roof. 1791 01:28:01,235 --> 01:28:04,697 No one was more surprised than I was to see her at my show. 1792 01:28:04,780 --> 01:28:05,990 'Cause I work blue. 1793 01:28:06,073 --> 01:28:08,200 You know, it-- you aren't supposed to work blue. 1794 01:28:08,283 --> 01:28:11,412 I was early working blue. But she loved to laugh. 1795 01:28:12,579 --> 01:28:14,039 BURNETT: We went backstage, 1796 01:28:14,123 --> 01:28:15,457 and she said, "Hey, kid." 1797 01:28:15,541 --> 01:28:20,254 She called me "kid" because she was 22 years older. 1798 01:28:20,337 --> 01:28:22,589 She was so encouraging, 1799 01:28:22,673 --> 01:28:24,925 and she said, "Kid, 1800 01:28:25,009 --> 01:28:27,678 if you ever need me, you give me a call." 1801 01:28:27,761 --> 01:28:29,763 (audience laughter) 1802 01:28:30,973 --> 01:28:32,433 LUCY: Touché. 1803 01:28:32,516 --> 01:28:33,642 (sneezes loudly) 1804 01:28:33,726 --> 01:28:35,561 (audience laughter) 1805 01:28:36,770 --> 01:28:39,189 BURNETT: What Lucy gave me was a sense 1806 01:28:39,273 --> 01:28:41,650 I could do anything and try anything 1807 01:28:41,734 --> 01:28:45,904 and not be afraid of falling on my face. 1808 01:28:45,988 --> 01:28:47,573 That I could be free. 1809 01:28:47,656 --> 01:28:49,658 (applause) 1810 01:28:54,997 --> 01:28:57,249 MIDLER: She was so kind. 1811 01:28:57,332 --> 01:29:00,002 And she did take me under her wing. 1812 01:29:00,085 --> 01:29:02,087 (cheering, applause) 1813 01:29:04,298 --> 01:29:06,300 I think, at that-- by that time in her life, 1814 01:29:06,383 --> 01:29:08,761 she sort of decided that was her role. 1815 01:29:10,554 --> 01:29:11,889 DAVID SHEEHAN: We have a young lady here 1816 01:29:11,972 --> 01:29:14,058 with an I Love Lucy T-shirt on. 1817 01:29:14,141 --> 01:29:16,477 -Stand up and... -LUCY: Take your hands off her, David. 1818 01:29:16,560 --> 01:29:17,895 -SHEEHAN: Oh, excuse me. -(laughter) 1819 01:29:17,978 --> 01:29:19,980 -LUCY: I can see the shirt. -So... 1820 01:29:20,064 --> 01:29:21,815 -(laughter) -Thought I'd try to... 1821 01:29:21,899 --> 01:29:23,734 MIDLER: You know, big sister or big mama. 1822 01:29:23,817 --> 01:29:26,445 Oh, these are some of the actors from our little theater group. 1823 01:29:28,655 --> 01:29:32,326 MIDLER: To guide people, to guide younger women along. 1824 01:29:32,409 --> 01:29:36,205 BURNETT: Oh, well, I think she felt very proud 1825 01:29:36,288 --> 01:29:41,668 when somebody that she mentored and loved did well. 1826 01:29:41,752 --> 01:29:43,587 I don't think there's a day goes by 1827 01:29:43,670 --> 01:29:46,131 that I don't think of her. 1828 01:29:46,215 --> 01:29:50,219 That she doesn't dip into my mind and my heart. 1829 01:29:50,302 --> 01:29:52,805 ♪ ♪ 1830 01:29:52,888 --> 01:29:54,890 (applause) 1831 01:30:02,481 --> 01:30:04,441 He's right, girls. You look sensational! 1832 01:30:04,525 --> 01:30:06,443 -Yeah. -You see, Kim, 1833 01:30:06,527 --> 01:30:08,862 apparently we were destined to be gherkins. 1834 01:30:08,946 --> 01:30:10,864 -(audience laughter) -(laughs) 1835 01:30:10,948 --> 01:30:14,243 MACHADO: Watching Lucy in the later shows, 1836 01:30:14,326 --> 01:30:16,620 she became the straight man. 1837 01:30:16,703 --> 01:30:18,247 -Young lady, -(clears throat) 1838 01:30:18,330 --> 01:30:20,874 will you please explain why you, a waitress, 1839 01:30:20,958 --> 01:30:23,544 are sitting at a table and leaving customers standing? 1840 01:30:23,627 --> 01:30:26,213 Because it's my coffee break. 1841 01:30:26,296 --> 01:30:27,589 (audience laughter) 1842 01:30:27,673 --> 01:30:29,299 Well, you could take your coffee break in the kitchen. 1843 01:30:29,383 --> 01:30:31,135 Honey, you could eat in the kitchen. 1844 01:30:31,218 --> 01:30:32,719 (audience laughter) 1845 01:30:32,803 --> 01:30:36,014 MACHADO: And she lost the shoulder she hung on 1846 01:30:36,098 --> 01:30:38,183 because that was Desi. 1847 01:30:38,267 --> 01:30:40,686 (waves crashing) 1848 01:30:40,769 --> 01:30:42,396 (seagulls chirping) 1849 01:30:47,234 --> 01:30:51,446 LUCIE: So, my dad had lung cancer, and, um... 1850 01:30:51,530 --> 01:30:53,115 there weren't any other treatments for him, 1851 01:30:53,198 --> 01:30:56,118 and he decided to forgo any chemo, 1852 01:30:56,201 --> 01:30:58,787 and I was taking care of him. 1853 01:30:58,871 --> 01:31:02,499 And, uh, I called my mom at one point, 1854 01:31:02,583 --> 01:31:04,918 and I said, you know, "I think maybe you should think about 1855 01:31:05,002 --> 01:31:06,879 "coming down to Del Mar. 1856 01:31:06,962 --> 01:31:08,714 I don't know how much time he has left." 1857 01:31:08,797 --> 01:31:13,343 It made her... scared, I think, a little scared. 1858 01:31:15,053 --> 01:31:18,807 And when she got there, I, uh, I-I let her sit in his room. 1859 01:31:18,891 --> 01:31:21,977 And, um... I did the goofiest thing. 1860 01:31:22,060 --> 01:31:25,689 I-I put on old I Love Lucy shows and let them watch them together. 1861 01:31:25,772 --> 01:31:29,443 Hey, this is great, Fred. 1862 01:31:29,526 --> 01:31:31,904 -This is wonderful. -Yeah, look how big and roomy. 1863 01:31:31,987 --> 01:31:34,156 I bet you could hang a whole side of beef in there. 1864 01:31:34,239 --> 01:31:35,532 Are you kidding? I bet that you... 1865 01:31:35,616 --> 01:31:37,534 (Ricky screams) 1866 01:31:37,618 --> 01:31:40,412 (audience laughter) 1867 01:31:40,495 --> 01:31:42,080 Hi, Ricky, honey. 1868 01:31:42,164 --> 01:31:44,166 (audience laughter) 1869 01:31:48,462 --> 01:31:50,047 ♪ ♪ 1870 01:31:50,130 --> 01:31:51,924 Cigarette? 1871 01:31:52,007 --> 01:31:54,009 (audience laughter) 1872 01:31:58,847 --> 01:32:00,057 (audience laughter) 1873 01:32:04,311 --> 01:32:05,687 LUCIE: I-I wasn't in the room. 1874 01:32:05,771 --> 01:32:08,106 I just heard what was going on from outside the door. 1875 01:32:08,190 --> 01:32:10,567 (audience laughter) 1876 01:32:10,651 --> 01:32:12,903 I could hear them laughing together. 1877 01:32:12,986 --> 01:32:14,613 (weakly): ♪ Babalú ♪ 1878 01:32:14,696 --> 01:32:15,906 (audience laughter) 1879 01:32:15,989 --> 01:32:17,324 Where does this go?! 1880 01:32:17,407 --> 01:32:20,202 Goes down to the starch vat! 1881 01:32:21,536 --> 01:32:23,205 (audience laughter) 1882 01:32:24,623 --> 01:32:26,625 (audience laughter) 1883 01:32:27,793 --> 01:32:30,504 Oh! Honey, take it off! 1884 01:32:30,587 --> 01:32:31,588 Oh! 1885 01:32:31,672 --> 01:32:33,298 (audience laughter) 1886 01:32:37,511 --> 01:32:39,179 Hey, what's going on here?! 1887 01:32:39,263 --> 01:32:40,514 (audience laughter) 1888 01:32:42,432 --> 01:32:44,184 (screams) 1889 01:32:44,268 --> 01:32:45,811 (audience laughter) 1890 01:32:45,894 --> 01:32:46,937 Oh! 1891 01:32:47,020 --> 01:32:49,773 ♪ ♪ 1892 01:32:54,653 --> 01:32:56,655 (audience laughter) 1893 01:32:57,656 --> 01:32:59,324 LUCIE: And then she left, she went home, 1894 01:32:59,408 --> 01:33:01,743 and she told me she cried all the way home. 1895 01:33:06,331 --> 01:33:10,335 About a month later, when he was really, really ill, 1896 01:33:10,419 --> 01:33:13,714 I called her and I said, uh... 1897 01:33:15,549 --> 01:33:17,926 ..."I-I think you should talk to him. 1898 01:33:18,010 --> 01:33:20,220 "Don't know if he's gonna be awake much longer. 1899 01:33:20,304 --> 01:33:23,432 So if you want to say anything at all, now's a good time." 1900 01:33:23,515 --> 01:33:26,143 "Oh, okay. O-Okay." You know. 1901 01:33:26,226 --> 01:33:29,563 And I-I... held the phone 1902 01:33:29,646 --> 01:33:32,774 o-over to him, and I leaned down like this. 1903 01:33:32,858 --> 01:33:34,067 And... 1904 01:33:35,402 --> 01:33:37,029 (sighs) ...she said... 1905 01:33:40,365 --> 01:33:44,578 ..."I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. 1906 01:33:44,661 --> 01:33:46,204 I love you." 1907 01:33:47,831 --> 01:33:51,960 And he said, "I love you, too, honey." 1908 01:33:52,044 --> 01:33:54,046 ♪ ♪ 1909 01:33:56,006 --> 01:33:58,842 The next morning, at 12:05 in the morning, 1910 01:33:58,925 --> 01:34:01,595 he died in my arms. 1911 01:34:01,678 --> 01:34:03,764 And I thought, "Wow, he got a chance to speak to her." 1912 01:34:03,847 --> 01:34:07,893 The last person he spoke to, other than me and a nurse, 1913 01:34:07,976 --> 01:34:09,102 was my mom. 1914 01:34:09,186 --> 01:34:10,562 That's great. 1915 01:34:10,645 --> 01:34:12,564 And then I realized that December-- 1916 01:34:12,647 --> 01:34:16,234 12:05 a.m. on December 2nd, 1917 01:34:16,318 --> 01:34:19,738 was 24 hours he'd been in a coma-- 1918 01:34:19,821 --> 01:34:22,949 the day they spoke was November 30th, 1919 01:34:23,033 --> 01:34:24,618 their anniversary. 1920 01:34:25,619 --> 01:34:27,579 ♪ ♪ 1921 01:34:43,428 --> 01:34:45,430 (applause) 1922 01:34:51,520 --> 01:34:53,647 ANNOUNCER: From the John F. Kennedy Center 1923 01:34:53,730 --> 01:34:55,774 for the Performing Arts in Washington, 1924 01:34:55,857 --> 01:34:58,944 the ninth annual Kennedy Center Honors. 1925 01:35:08,370 --> 01:35:09,955 When I was offered the part 1926 01:35:10,038 --> 01:35:12,249 of Eliot Ness on The Untouchables... 1927 01:35:13,792 --> 01:35:16,169 ...I can remember the lady sitting up there 1928 01:35:16,253 --> 01:35:19,172 was sitting in the front office 'cause she was the boss. 1929 01:35:19,256 --> 01:35:20,924 The boss? She owned the studio. 1930 01:35:21,007 --> 01:35:22,843 (laughter) 1931 01:35:22,926 --> 01:35:24,594 But it was her partner 1932 01:35:24,678 --> 01:35:27,806 who persuaded me that I-I should do the show. 1933 01:35:27,889 --> 01:35:29,224 (imitating Desi): He said, "We gonna make 1934 01:35:29,307 --> 01:35:32,227 the best damn television show on television." 1935 01:35:32,310 --> 01:35:34,855 (laughter) 1936 01:35:34,938 --> 01:35:37,315 He wanted to be here tonight. 1937 01:35:37,399 --> 01:35:40,235 I'd like to read something that he wrote. 1938 01:35:42,237 --> 01:35:44,614 "I Love Lucy had just one mission: 1939 01:35:44,698 --> 01:35:46,867 "to make people laugh. 1940 01:35:46,950 --> 01:35:49,578 "Lucy gave it a rare quality. 1941 01:35:49,661 --> 01:35:51,955 "She can perform the wildest, even the messiest 1942 01:35:52,038 --> 01:35:55,208 "physical comedy without losing her feminine appeal. 1943 01:35:55,292 --> 01:35:58,211 "The New York Times asked me to divide the credit 1944 01:35:58,295 --> 01:36:01,715 "for its success between the writers, the directors and the cast. 1945 01:36:01,798 --> 01:36:06,636 "I told them, 'Give Lucy 90% of the credit 1946 01:36:06,720 --> 01:36:09,764 and divide the other ten percent among the rest of us.'" 1947 01:36:09,848 --> 01:36:14,186 Desi concluded, "Lucy was the show. 1948 01:36:14,269 --> 01:36:16,605 "Viv and Fred and I were just props-- 1949 01:36:16,688 --> 01:36:20,901 "damn good props, but props nevertheless. 1950 01:36:20,984 --> 01:36:23,195 "P.S. 1951 01:36:23,278 --> 01:36:27,574 I Love Lucy was never just a title." 1952 01:36:27,657 --> 01:36:29,659 ♪ ♪ 1953 01:36:50,972 --> 01:36:53,517 ♪ ♪ 1954 01:37:04,903 --> 01:37:07,072 ♪ ♪ 1955 01:37:07,155 --> 01:37:09,491 LUCY (over speakers): Some people in this industry 1956 01:37:09,574 --> 01:37:11,034 are still saying, "We got to get big stars. 1957 01:37:11,117 --> 01:37:12,160 We got to get big stars." 1958 01:37:12,244 --> 01:37:16,331 Well, we'd have to dig some of them up 'cause they're most of them dead. 1959 01:37:16,414 --> 01:37:18,625 We've got to make stars now. 1960 01:37:18,708 --> 01:37:19,918 So how do you make a star? 1961 01:37:20,001 --> 01:37:21,586 You don't necessarily go out and find somebody 1962 01:37:21,670 --> 01:37:23,463 wearing a sweater, sitting in a soda fountain. 1963 01:37:23,547 --> 01:37:25,674 That's an old, uh, Cinderella story. 1964 01:37:25,757 --> 01:37:28,635 I prefer to find a trouper. 1965 01:37:30,303 --> 01:37:33,265 People who know what to do when they're given a great opportunity 1966 01:37:33,348 --> 01:37:36,560 and they don't take advantage, take advantage, take advantage. 1967 01:37:37,644 --> 01:37:40,063 Show business means that the show must go on. 1968 01:37:40,146 --> 01:37:42,941 The show comes first instead of your personality. 1969 01:37:44,651 --> 01:37:49,072 All of these things can be applied at home 1970 01:37:49,155 --> 01:37:51,700 just as easily as it can to your work, 1971 01:37:51,783 --> 01:37:53,910 and it's something that I would like to expand on later, 1972 01:37:53,994 --> 01:37:57,122 but I hate to put any more time on this tape. 1973 01:37:57,205 --> 01:37:58,331 Bye for now. 1974 01:37:58,415 --> 01:37:59,624 (tape clicks) 1975 01:38:03,837 --> 01:38:05,839 ♪ ♪ 1976 01:38:35,910 --> 01:38:37,912 ♪ ♪ 1977 01:39:04,356 --> 01:39:06,358 ♪ ♪ 1978 01:39:35,970 --> 01:39:37,972 ♪ ♪ 1979 01:40:08,002 --> 01:40:10,004 ♪ ♪ 1980 01:40:40,034 --> 01:40:42,036 ♪ ♪ 1981 01:41:12,066 --> 01:41:14,068 ♪ ♪ 1982 01:41:44,098 --> 01:41:46,100 ♪ ♪ 1983 01:42:16,130 --> 01:42:18,132 ♪ ♪ 1984 01:42:29,143 --> 01:42:31,145 (music fades)