Lucille Ball must of have had a lot of clout to get those two on her show. Even if the plot is kind of silly about Ball not recognizing Burton even though she has seen all his films, the comedy lines are outstanding If Burton and Lucy did not get along on the set it may have been because of his drinking or improvising, where Lucy was straight and narrow on the set
According to Cleo - Lucys cousin who was a producer it was Burton that approached Lucy at a party about getting on the show - probably thought it would be a bit of fun - i think Elizabeth Taylor had a good sense of humor too - maybe they didnt bargain on Lucy running such a tight ship though
I wouldn't blame the burtons for resenting the great Lucille Ball on her show ,both were overrated film stars ,used to studio folks fawning over them ,and frankly their charisma and charm did not come across in any scene ,it was lucy ,with her ebullient personality ,who stole the show .Even her hand was much more pretty and lively than the burtons Lucy came across as the star attraction while the expensive guests were reduced to being side kicks.both must have realized and thus their grouse against lucy
I think Richard Burton pitched his performance here about right. He looks like himself,so to speak, has a natural demeanour, delivers his comedy lines very successfully and is otherwise quite understated. At the time of filming, he had been about a month sober(!) and as others said below in his diary, he was polite to Lucy, whom he disliked. But of course that was his perception of himself!
That voice and that brief piece from the Bard, Burton was great. Lucille Ball had been in the business since the 1930's.....she had more clout than Jason Statham when he belted the would-be car thieves in the movie 'Blitz' ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VEvQofZvBUA.html Taylor's performance was generous, classy and very funny.
I think if you where Lucy's friend she was very loyal to you. I saw an old clip of her winning her first Emmy for I LOVE LUCY and almost immediately she gave the credit to the writers and really pushed for them to have the writing category recognized in the Emmy nominations. Desi probably made her into a cold person because of his infidelity, that and the combination of having to run Desilu Studios as the top woman at a time when (and still is) a man's game. She had to be aggressive and hard to be respected back then. If Carol Burnett loved her so much, she couldn't have been such an awful person as everyone makes her out to be.
Lucille Ball was very egotistical, and she did not do anything herself. Desi had to tell her what to say when she won her awards, because she wanted to thank herself, and nobody else. For Desi, if you think he was a two-timer, Lucille Ball was no angel. Actress Hedy Lamarr said in an interview one time: "Lucille Ball made Desi's two-timing look like he was the honest spouse. If neither one of those children looked like Desi, I would question who their father was."
@Heather Elliott I totally agree with you. Also I think it's disrespectful to speak I'll of the deceased. For a so called hated woman, she is adorably funny.
In his book the Richard Burton diaries,Burton said Lucy drove him nuts.but as he was off the drink, he stayed polite during the production. Lucy again per Burton fawned over both he and Elizabeth.
I lost i little respect for Lucy when i heard how she humiliated Joan Blondel in front of a studio audience by mocking her acting abilities - She picked the on the wrong person aparently Ms Blondel quick as a flash retorted F*** you Lucille Ball also in front of the audience - Miss Blondel was a tough cookie and had been a much bigger star in movies than Lucy ever was . Some times Lucy got too big for her boots
Met and spoke to him during the 1st "Camelot" production. A man's man if I ever met one. He exuded a charisma that was breath taking and his performance wasn't that bad either. BUT, he chose to ignore Olivier's advice regarding serious acting. Thank Liz for that! And, oh! thank you Hollywood for the Walk of Fame star in 2013 -- it was generous of you.
Burton ignored Olivier's advice because he was seduced by the idea of being a STAR and once he married Taylor he had achieved that! Why would be work hard perfecting his art? He already had what he desired more than anything - Hollywood star status thanks to reflected glory from his glittering wife. Burton was a lazy drunk who enjoyed the image of being a fine actor but wasn't willing to invest time and effort into perfecting his craft.
@@glamdolly30 True to a great extent.Too harsh, however. Nevertheless, in spite of everything he WAS a great actor. Did you see him in Hamlet or The Taming of the Shrew, Wuthering Heights, Equus, as Wagner? He was a great actor. He was far from being the only alcoholic actor.
From Burton's diary, May 14, 1970: "Those who had told us that Lucille Ball was 'very wearing' were not exaggerating. She is a monster of staggering charmlessness and monumental lack of humour. She is not 'wearing' to us because I suppose we refuse to be worn. I am coldly sarcastic with her to the point of outright contempt but she hears only what she wants to hear. She is a tired old woman and lives entirely on that weekly show which she has been doing and successfully doing for 19 years...I loathed her the first day. I loathed her the second day and the third. I loathe her today but now I also pity her...(she) can thank her lucky stars that I am not drinking. There is a chance that I might have killed her."
Well, DAMN! I admire Richard Burton as an actor; in fact, he's one of my very favorites. But on this point, I must say that that was a "monumental" piece of venom directed against a woman who is widely regarded as a comedic genius. Maybe this was a case of personalities clashing. It probably was. But to refer to a gifted, highly respected comedienne in such disrespectful terms was pretty cold and very unfair.
I agree. Burton could be extremely cutting in his journal, and in this case I have to say he went too far....on the other hand, he had no idea his journal would ever be read, so I try not to hold his extreme opinions against him when, let's face it, I'm kind of the one who's intruding.
It shows in Burton's performance -- you can tell he's not amused to be there. Lucy was also a stickler for rehearsing, to the point where it drove a lot of actors and actresses around her nuts, and on top of that Burton already had a great gift for remembering large blocks of dialogue. Apparently Elizabeth didn't mind, and was familiar with Lucy from when they both were working in movies in the mid- and late 1940s.
I too read where Burton wasn't happy working with Lucy. The problem with Lucy is that after her divorce from Desi she ended up running Desilu until she bought out Desi and later sold the company to the Paramount studio. While Lucy was great in front of the camera, she had to learn, and quickly, the intricacies of how to run a business. So she had to be very tough at times.
This show pre-dates the invention of cubic zirconia, at least not in crystals large enough to cut a replica of the Taylor-Burton Diamond. I'm pretty sure they use the actual diamond and not a replica.
Not to mention more talented. Sir Richard from the Shakespearean stage and Elizabeth with years and years of film work since childhood, and pretty fair stage actress too.
Good evening from SWANSEA in South Wales..I live 15 minutes from where Welsh wizard Richard Burton grew up.. Surprised he done this show and him and Liz Taylor are good sports .They were huge in the 1960s and half of the 70s ..Diolch .. February 2024
Elizabeth called Lucy a naughty word behind her back, which I won't write here. Liz & Dick were fawned over by the whole world, but Lucy didn't think much of them, just got them to appear to lure some viewers away from Laugh-In. One thing that drove Richard up the wall, according to him, was Lucy's teaching him the proper technique of reading comedy dialogue, which to Lucy, meant shouting.
Actually no, Lucille Ball thought very highly of Burton and Taylor and spoke well of them and their talent in interviews. So in the '80s when she read Richard Burton's comments about her in his diaries, she was shocked and hurt. She was apparently oblivious to how she came across to them. I think she was missing some self awareness.
MrVidaeverdade Actually yes. There's even a youtube here of Bette Davis speaking highly of Joan Crawford. It's called being gracious, and making nice-nice in front of the public. There is a reason Burton and Taylor had such contempt for Lucille Ball. The whole world seemed in awe of the Burtons, then along comes a completely different point of view.
@@TheJohnpandy I'm not doubting you read it but it makes no sense. Only the pilot/captain can take Lucy's meal and drink order? It makes an amusing story but I am skeptical.
If "difficult" means Lucy was a consummate professional who liked to rehearse methodically for her show and expected others appearing on it to do so too, then she was. I've never heard of her being so off the set though. You can't believe everything you read.
The last time I saw this episode was 1970, when it premiered. I was only seven years old, but always remembered the venomous look Burton gave Lucy before cursing her in Welsh! (07:20+) Probably the first time I ever heard spoken Welsh - it sounded nasty. :^)
Thanks very much for this, just reading about it. Richard Burton here looking really uncomfortable doing a sitcom, wasting punchlines and reportedly hating Lucy throughout. On the other hand, Gale Gordon is briliant, getting laughs out of nothing.
Met a taxi driver who picked her up at the Stuttgart Airport. She was with a woman friend. Taylor seemed very nice so the Taxi driver started asking her about her films. He had seen all of them. He listened intently to what she had to say. It took a half hour to get to the destination. She left him with the biggest tip he had ever gotten.
Yeah coarse Burton and Taylor were great. I think the whole world thought so at that moment in history along with Mohammed Ali and Bruce Lee. 🥰👍🏼✌🏻🏴🙌🏻🤩🗽🍷🇺🇸🇬🇧🏴🏴🇨🇮🇨🇾🇬🇷🇨🇦🇦🇺😉😇💪😎
Boy, this is terrible. We're supposed to believe that Lucy has "seen every Richard Burton movie", but DOESN'T believe that it's him when he removes his cap??? Lucy's art ended with "I Love Lucy." She just didn't know when to quit. No WONDER Burton was miserable.
Couldn't agree more. What's so astounding about Here's Lucy - for those who grew up watching the sublimely funny I Love Lucy - is just how consistently mirthless the series is. And the episodes where Lucy is in celebrity-fucker mode are the absolute worst.
How can you even mention Posh and Becks in the same sentence as Taylor and Burton? No comparison! Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were STARS in the real sense of that word. We don't have many/anyone of their calibre in public life today - sadly! Hollywood, stardom and old fashioned, full strength GLAMOUR are gone forever.
Carol Gernant, that's so interesting that you met Richard Burton. Yes, he did seem like a man's man. He was the perfect match for the beautiful, very feminine Elizabeth Taylor.
Hi there, I remember i saw a chapter where Lucy sent a letter and then she regreted, so she came back to the mailbox to take her letter back but the letter wasn't there already so she had to go to the post office and tried to get the letter but the post office assistant screamed at her.... so laughtable. I wonder if you have that chapter or at least remember it Cheers from Lima 🏛️ 🕍 ⛩️
