Sunday, June 30, 2019

LOVE LUCY by LUCILLE BALL : MISTRESS MANIFESTO BLOGSPOT BOOK REVIEW

Did you know that comedic actress Lucille Ball was a Shubert Girl (like being a Ziegfield Follies girl) at 17?  





That she went a little hungry and modeled in Hattie Carnegie's fashion showroom in New York City?  (And might have been wasting away from hunger?)

That she became a Goldwyn Girl in Hollywood in 1933?

That she moved into reading scripts for RKO radio and signed with that studio and made more films?

That she avoided marriage to an already married executive who fell in love with her at RKO? (Her friends called her a "dope" and told her that now she'd never make it at RKO because his wife would have all the other Hollywood wives blacklist her. (page 109)

In 1938 she dated a director who was 20 years older than her for two years with "no demands" on either side.  Soon she was successful enough to buy her first fur for herself and got a personal maid who she kept for year.

No, don't expect to read this book and have Lucille tell you how she lost her virginity or when. Let's just say that the woman who has been considered one of the funniest comedic actresses, and is a mainstay on reruns to this day, went around the block. She might not use the term feminist on herself but she was living life a whole lot like women do now back in the day.

She met Desi Arnaz in 1939 when she was 29.  He was slightly younger than she.

They talked for hours and thought long and hard about marrying and decided they were too different.  They were right about that in the long run but they married anyway.  He was the romantic.  Also an astute businessman.

They were head over heels in love.

By 1942 Lucille Ball was one of the highest paid stars on contract with RKO at $1000 a week but she saw that RKO was going downhill.  So she went to MGM and made more B movies.

In 1944 the Lucy and Dezi were headed for divorce.  Once again they decided to make a go of it.

In 1949 Lucille was nearing 40 when she had her first child.
Both of her children were delivered by C section.

She became the first woman to own her own studio.

She was introduced to her next husband Gary Morton by friends.  He was a comedian. They married and stayed married  until her death; they were married longer than Lucy and Desi ever were.

The manuscript for this book was written by Lucy and put away unpublished.  Her children found it and decided to publish it.


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