Everybody needs one, a 'bestfriend' and 'Ethel' was that to 'Lucy'. Vivian Vance was in a number of shows on Broadway, usually as a member of the chorus. Eventually she graduated to supporting parts after she replaced Kay Thompson in the musical Hooray for What! (1937). Her most successful stage role was that of Nancy Collister in the Cole Porter musical Let's Face It! (1941), in which she starred alongside Danny Kaye and Eve Arden for over 500 performances.
The love of acting keeps artist plugging away, for the 'love' of their craft, and sometimes luck is in the stars, which is just what happened when Vivian Vance met a red head named Lucille Ball, who along with hubby Desi Arnaz was casting their new television show called 'I Love Lucy' in 1951, director Marc Daniels, who had previously worked with Vance in a theater production, suggested her for the role of landlady Ethel Mertz. Lucille Ball had wanted either Bea Benaderet or Barbara Pepper, both close friends, to play the role. Fortunately for Vance CBS refused Pepper on the grounds that she had a drinking problem, and Benaderet was already playing Blanche Morton on the Burns and Allen television series. Arnaz then began searching for another actress and Daniels took him and producer Jess Oppenheimer to the La Jolla Playhouse to see Vance in the John Van Druten play The Voice of the Turtle.
Watching her perform, Arnaz was convinced he had found the right actress to play Ethel Mertz. Ball was less sure. She felt the Ethel character should be much older and less attractive; Vance was closer to Ball's age and attractive. Ultimately Vance who was 42 at the time, the show made its debut October 15, 1951 on CBS. At first Ball had a lukewarm reception to Vance, which eventually grew into respect as a friend and actress that grew into a close friendship.
Everyone needs a best friend, thankfully for Lucy and Ethel they set the bar.
Great story. The Ethel character was sooooooo relatable.
ReplyDelete