i love lucy soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much she is just amazing
I wish I could have seen this on Bway, but I was pretty young back then... but a memory I love is my mom singing this song to us kids. At the time I didn't realize this was Lucy's big number from Wildcat. That song was perfect for her... (and mom!)
An absolute delight, that only underscores what a true National Treasure she was. She's spot on with that counterpoint (and counterpoint is sadly something one almost never encounters these days).
I remember reading that a fan went to see her ask for an autograph after Wildcat. Fan said she was wonderful spent some time with her and the other fans around; while the younger blond woman (Paula Stewart) paid no attention to them, like she couldn't be bothered.
What a performance, she definitely gave it her all when she went to Broadway, so much she stated that the singing and years of ILL ruined her vocal cords and that, along with cigs gave her that deeper monotone voice from the Lucy show to her death.
@@scottmiller6495 Marc Daniels said Lucy was the best actor he ever directed - which included Sally Fields, Paul Newman, Sir Lawrence Oliver and many others. Also when Orson Welles appeared on an I Love Lucy episode and was watching Lucy from the wings, when asked what are you doing? He replied, watching one of the greatest actors ever. Pretty amazing coming from someone like Orson Welles.
@@LJ-ht4zs That says a lot! Again there will never ever be anyone like Lucille Ball again, not only a brilliant lady and entertainer, but beautiful as well!!!!!
It was completely sold out for its entire run. Lucy had to drop out due to health reasons and she refunded those who had tickets out of her own pocket.
@@stevewoodland464 Actually, it was probably singing without properly warming up in Wildcat that ruined her voice. Chain-smoking can't do THAT to your voice. And just compare this clip to how she sounded pretty much right after her run on Broadway ended - in The Lucy Show. It's night and day. There is no way your voice changes this much in just a year from smoking alone.
There's a guy where I work (restaurant business)who sings the first line of this song again and again almost every day. I HAD to look it up! It was driving me crazy. I was kind of happy to see Lucy doing it. that's cool! Both those girls were "eff eye enn ee" fine, too. I could almost be jealous of Desi. :-)
There'll never be another Lucy..I love Lucy. Lucy is a treasure...A real piece of gold. What Ed Sullivan says at 4:44 is completely true. Lucy was a blessing to this world. She made the world bright when it was dark...and Happy when it was sad. Her talent was indescribably wonderful.
+Charlene McClintock I totally agree. In my life I've only been truly saddened by three celebrities' deaths: Lucille Ball, Johnny Carson, and Don Knotts. Lucy's contributions to television are beyond measure.
Here it is 2022 - First saw I Love Lucy in 1951 - my favorite star ever! To this day, have seen her shows so many times - but always laugh - belly laughs! She gave laughter to the entire world. Thank you Lucy - you are remembered in my heart forever.
Another sense of irony is that Lucille Ball's performances in "Wildcat" permanently ruined her voice because she didn't use proper voicing techniques. Stage performers have to use them to avoid damage to the vocal cords. Per RU-vid hearsay, heavy smoking and the high pitch voice she used for the Lucy Ricardo character also deteriorated Ball's voice.
BrownBrother27 I think it was the cigarettes. Phillip Morris was the big sponsor for I Love Lucy. Also, her voice was high in her early movies. I think it got lower from smoking.
@@pcbassoon3892 It was the cigarettes, 'Wildcat,' and the high-pitched "Lucy" voice. It caused great stress on her vocal cords. Compare her voice from 1960 to 1962. It's dramatically different.
She sang in some of her early movies, Dance, Girl, Dance for example, and in The Long Long Trailer "Breezing Along with the Breeze." I even like her singing which was "talk singing" in Mame, similar to Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady.
I believe the young woman in this clip was married to comedian Jack Carter and they were friends with another comedian they introduced Lucy to- Gary Morton.
That's so cool. I wish my school would put on a play of my favorite husband I love Lucy or a movie she did. That would be awesome. Or at leased something comedic. Last year it was Alice in wonderland Jr. and the year before it was Annie. We NEED more props and a much bigger stage.
@DisneyAshmanDemos You're right. And it's even more proof of what a consummate performer she was. Always on top of things. The epitomy of professionalism.
If in some alternate reality "Mame" were a musical a few years earlier and Angela Lansbury hadn't been so brilliant in the role, Lucille Ball would have been perfect -- but before 1965. Oh well.
misplacedstoic same for Hello Dolly. Lucy would have been great as Dolly Gallagher Levi. She would have been great with all the physical comedy. And Gale Gordon as Vandergelder would have been perfection!
Actually I really liked Lucille in the movie "Mame"- complaints about her age saying the soft lens helped her (so what) I didn't notice it. Also her dancing was great (remember she had a serious accident where her leg was broken in 4 places the year before); finally, her voice was panned - again did not bother me a bit - reminded me of the "talk singing"that Rex Harrison did in My Fair Lady. I loved Rosalind Russell in the movie "Auntie Mame"(non musical) earlier. She was great in that part; but I loved Lucille Ball in the musical version of Mame. People talk about her cult following that finally made this movie capture more positive attention later on. I first saw I Love Lucy in 1951 when I was 6; now at 77 I can still watch all the episodes again, which I have done during these tough political times and during Covid19. I can name at least 10 of her movies that I have watched more than once, (a lot more). Yes I am a fan but she really is an incredible performer in whatever she is in - movies, tv, radio. Should have had 3 stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Okay l am totally confused now. When l was in middle school, the chorus class sang songs from The Sound of Music for their performance, yet this one was sang too. It was second song they sang too. I kept thinking, “l don’t remember this one being in the movie…”🤷♀️
I agree with you but for whatever reason Lucy couldn't pull off doing 8 shows a week in "Wildcat." Right before this was filmed the show had been closed for a week so that Lucy could rest. It had been open for say a month and a half. Later at some point during the run she would collapse on stage in the middle of a performance from exhaustion. So I don't think there's any way at that point that she would step into such a high-profile role as Dolly. Besides by the time Dolly was up and running she was on her second very successful TV series. Although original Dolly Carole Channing did make a guest appearance on episode.
@@chocolatesouljah this show followed the I Love Lucy and Lucy-Desi Comedy Comedy and her divorce from Desi immediately after. I think she was exhausted physically and emotionally but took on the Broadway play Wildcat to revive - but she was exhausted. If she had taken off a few months and relaxed - she would have been physically healthier. But I would have gladly bought a ticket to see this play. I loved Lucy in 1951 and still do now in 2024.
If only she sounded this good in Mame! I heard this show ruined her voice because she didn’t sing correctly and was straining her voice singing from her throat instead of her diaphragm. That and the chain smoking!
Lucy sings and dances.... like Lucy in "I Love Lucy" and she was no great shucks as a singer but yeah, cuz it's Lucy...it's entertaining. For my money she really shined best as Lucy without out too much music and exuberance.
She was great in "Dance Girl Dance" (1940) singing and dancing all the numbers as a burlesque star co-starring Maureen O'Hara. I like O'Hara but Lucy stole the show.
Lucy Ricardo was not her natural voice - the role called her to have a higher voice. In fact, during the run of the show, Desi recommended that she not give any interviews because her voice was so much lower and her essence was much more serious. Desi said best not to break character since she was such a beloved figure in I Love Lucy.
I think Lucy smoked before she was a showgirl. Reminds me of my father, who went to a top high school in NYC 12-15 graduating in 3 years. Also at that age, he worked in the Brooklyn Navy Yard - took up smoking at age 12. (He was a big kid and looked older). When he graduated at age 15 went to work in Bell Labs. Lucy was born in 1911 my Dad in 1919 - those were hard times when you did not have money. My Dad's father was a wounded WWI vet. Dad had to help support his family by age 12. Lucy went to NYC at age 15 - and when she finally got a job as a model - she sent home money to help support her family. In Hollywood when she bought a house, she sent for her mother, mgf, her younger brother, and cousin Cleo. Financially support all, til Fred had Cleo were old enough to support themselves; but supported mgf and mother till they died. I really admire people like my Dad and Lucy who put it all out there and much was expected of them and they delivered. 🥰
