Customer Reviews

Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Drawn entirely from secondary sources, there is nothing new to be found in this biography. I wouldn't even recommend it to someone who has read no other biography of Ball, as it is filled with the most elementary mistakes. The author doesn't even describe the "Lucy" episode with William Holden accurately. Just skip this one.

correctly, you have no business being a Ball biographer. (Lucy had an 'argument' with Holden at the Brown Derby? As Ricky would say "Whaaaa????")

A tepid rehashing of every Lucille Ball book ever written. We know every story by now, and his one original thesis )that she was more successful on television than in the movies) is never really argued or clarified.

Rent it at the library if you must but I would save my dough.

Ball of Fire concentrates on the I Love Lucy show, how it came about (and almost didn't get off the ground), behind the scenes tidbits, its effect on America. Kanfer doesn't stint on the rest of Lucy's life, both before and after the Show, but I Love Lucy really is the star of this book.

Never having read a biography of Lucille Ball, this was all news to me, and I enjoyed discovering that Vivian Vance loathed William Frawley, and that Ball was such a stickler and control freak. Kanfer's style is easy and very readable, and there are plenty of photos to round things out, including an unexpected one of a young topless Lucille Ball.

If you are in the mood for an entertaining and, let's face it, unimportant, book, this one is worth the money.

So.... if I choose a subject matter, and then read several different books about that subject matter, and then summarize all the facts (while managing to get many of them wrong because I have no real understanding of what I'm writing about in the first place) into a new book... I can get published? Because that's exactly what this guy did. No new information of any consequence, and all he did was take information that he read from "Desilu", "Love, Lucy", "Lucille", "Lucy in the Afternoon", "I Loved Lucy", and a few others, and regurgitate it into one book. Yes, he sourced all of his information and gave credit appropriately, but still... isn't this what a book report is? Also, numerous errors throughout where he gets the different shows confused. I'm not suggesting he has to be one of those people who can answer trivia quizzes about every single episode of every show, but still -- there were only 3. It shouldn't be THAT hard to keep track of. He confuses the timelines several times, including having Robert Stack on the set of "I Love Lucy" (it was "The Lucy Show") and Joan Crawford on the set of "Here's Lucy" (it was "The Lucy Show.") The book is kind of like a "Greatest Hits" album -- except he didn't perform any of the songs himself.

Lucille Ball is one of the totems of America in the 1950s, but she has proved to transfer very well into the next century and into other cultures. At every second of every day, people somewhere in the world are watching Lucy stomp grapes, drunkenly pitch a vitamin product, or get woefully behind on a candy assembly line. "I Love Lucy" was the hallmark of her career; she didn't do anything as well before or after, but it wasn't for lack of trying. _Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball_ (Knopf) by Stefan Kanfer is a big, entertaining biography that spends about a third of its pages on the "Lucy" years, when the star produced a classic program that will, like the films of other clowns such as Chaplin and Keaton, always find an audience. Even during those years, however, Lucy's life was tense and unhappy except for her professional efforts. It is the standard paradox of comedians, and Kanfer rightly evaluates it in full.

Lucy was a beautiful brunette from Jamestown, New York. She worked as a model and then became "Queen of the Bs", a hardworking actress stuck in second-rate pictures. Her eventual success on television stemmed directly from her marriage to Desi Arnaz, but their joint effort was from the beginning an attempt to keep the marriage together. Kanfer is careful to show just how much Desi contributed and how revolutionary the format of the show was; production in front of a live audience with three cameras going had never been tried before, for instance. But he knew she was the core of the show; when she tripped on a cable, he told everyone, "Amigos, anything happens to her, we're all in the shrimp business.") She got opportunities to show off a physical comedy that movie producers had denied her. The television success did not, of course, save the marriage. There are wonderful anecdotes about the production of the show, and surprising facts such as Lucy's summons to appear before HUAC because she had been a registered Communist, and her role in bringing such shows to the air as _Star Trek_.

Lucy was increasingly anxious even during the height of her success. Her marriage failed, and she had fitting worries as her children tried being adults. She had a phobia about birds and about dirt, and she was a prig, fretting over the morals of movies and upbraiding Marlon Brando for _Last Tango in Paris_. Spinoffs after "I Love Lucy" were derivative failures, and her movies, except for _Yours, Mine, and Ours_, were embarrassments. Toward the end of her career as at the beginning, she just did not fit; but it was a glorious second act. Kanfer, who wrote an excellent biography of Groucho (who along with Harpo and Zeppo has a cameo in this book), has loaded it with facts and anecdotes that anyone who likes Lucy reruns will enjoy. He has not been able to explain just where Lucy's amazing gift for an almost universally enjoyed brand of comedy came from. No one could do that. She had more than her share of failures and disappointments, but harnessing that gift was her main aspiration in life. The best part of her energies went to acting happy in a television marriage and acting a manic fool in improbable situations with which everyone could identify. She had a decidedly sad life overall, but increased the world's mirth. _Ball of Fire_ helps fans appreciate how much of a gift that was.

By now, die-hard Lucy fans know about her early years as a model, her career in Hollywood as the queen of the B-pictures and her attempts to save her marriage by including her ever-wandering, hot-tempered husband, Desi, in the proposed TV show based on her successful radio show. We know that she was a complicated woman, driven to succeed, a person who would now be called a workaholic and that she credited Desi with being the brains of the operation. She could be arrogant and demanding and she could be loving. She was larger than life.

And, we know about her intricate, not always happy relationship with Vivian Vance, her perpetual second banana. That Ethel and Fred did not get along off camera is not new, nor is the birth of Little Ricky on stage and the conflict that caused for the real Desi, Jr. Lucy fans already have read, and probably have in their collections, the various biographies and histories of I Love Lucy - not to mention a few pieces of memorabilia.

So, what can Stefan Kanfer offer that we have not read before? Actually, not much. While "Ball of Fire" a readable and farily well organized, Kanfer covers much the same ground we have been over before, particularly in "Lucille" Kathleen Brady's authoritative study of this comic legend.

His individual twist, which, to be fair, he sticks to admirably, is why was the moderately successful B-movie queen such a run-away success on the small screen. Unfortunately, he could have stated the answer in one sentence -- actually, he does -- rather than attempt to base a whole biography on that one point.

Kanfer usually paints with broader strokes than does Brady, who is more attentive to detail. At times, the two diverge, for example in discussions of the possible causes of Ball's leg problems when she was a young model and the intricacies of her early home life. Post "I Love Lucy" Brady is much stronger, particularly in describing Ball's relationship with her children and her ex-husband, Desi Arnaz.

Die-hard Lucy fans will probably want to read Kanfer, if only to glean an added tidbit of knowledge here and there. Anyone who has not previously read a Lucy biography, or who expects to read only one, would probably get more information by starting with Brady.

From the "cutesy", unimaginative title, to the last page, this book disappoints. The "author", Stefan Kanfer, has done nothing but a "Cut and Paste" job in this biography of Lucille Ball, and a clumsy one at that. If this book were a taco salad, with previously published biographies of Ms. Ball serving as the ingredients, "Love, Lucy" by Lucille Ball herself would be the tomatoes-- splashing brilliantly red "balls" of firmness throughout,sometimes "mushy"-- and ALWAYS juicy. "A Book" by Desi Arnaz would be the salsa dressing: bold and spicy, with a little unpredictability, due to it's fluidity. The "chips" are supplied by lesser known sources: skimpy, yet crisp quotations from sources such as Vivan Vance's never published memoirs, and "Laughs, Luck, and Lucy", by producer Jess Oppenheimer. A dollop of meaty facts and sometimes tough observations from the wonderfully talented Geoffrey Fidelman's "Lucy on Television" stands in for the ground beef . And the lettuce, the ingredient that composes most of the body? The author steals liberally from the near-perfect biography "Desilu", written by Coyne Steven Sanders and Thomas Gilbert. Why these two fine artists have not united and sued Mr. Kanfer for plagarism is a mystery to me, as he very blatantly steals quotes, information, and even whole paragraphs from their book. Maybe the reason they haven't sued him is because, to prove their case, they'd actually have to have READ this book- and I'm sure they haven't.
I have read literally every book written about "I Love Lucy" and its stars so far. If you pass up "Ball of Fire", you'll miss nothing: the pictures are all photos you've seen before. The writing and phrasing of the text is banal. He gets the dates wrong. He plays with quotes and twists and edits them at will. However, the most glaring sin this writer commits is one that we "Lucy-philes" find most offensive. If you're a fan like me, you've seen every "I Love Lucy" at least a dozen times. So, we know all of the plots, gags, and story lines. This man does not. He describes even the most popular "I Love Lucy" episodes incorrectly. For instance, he tries to give a detailed break-down of "L.A. At Last!"(or, as we fans refer to it, "Lucy and William Holden"). The author relates the scene at the Brown Derby, saying that Lucy had "argued rudely" with Bill Holden in the restaurant, which is why Lucy was afraid to face Holden when Ricky brought him up their hotel suite to meet her. These mistakes go on, ad nauseum- which makes me wonder: has this man ever even WATCHED "I Love Lucy"? And, if not, WHY would he write a book about something he's not interested in? I don't know the answer, but I DO think that Stefan Kanfer, author, has failed to create the feeling of intimacy with his subject matter; for example, by only the second chapter of "Desilu", you can tell that the authors ADORED not only their subject matter, but all the other supporting cast members in both their "reel", AND real lives' scripts. "Desilu" is quite a tough act to follow, and those who try better bring their "A" game, or not bother to show up at all.
I WILL give this author credit for telling me just ONE "new" thing about Lucille Ball (and what a shame that it's only one) : upon learning of his wife's death, Gary Morton, Lucy's second husband, supposedly commented, "Well, I guess Lucy's happy; she's with Desi now." I've always wondered if Gary Morton thought Lucy was still "starry-eyed" over Desi, and that gave me the answer. For some unknown reason, that made ME happy- so I'll give Mr. Kanfer "one star".

If you've watched all the "I Love Lucy" episodes, yet never read a book on Lucille Ball, then this is the place to start. Although this book may be seen as a tell-all, there's a strong undercurrent of admiration the author obviously has for his subject.

Ball, as seen by Kanfer, knew she was a star but never seemed to enjoy the priviledges and the adulation that came with the role. Instead, Ball was insecure during all her adult life and showed it by being tactless on the set, overly authoritative to her directors and fellow actors, and hated the fact that she was growing older and people might forget about her (no chance of that). One wonders, from reading the book, how Ball managed ever to have any friends.

But Kanfer shows another side of Ball that displays his admiration of her talent. Ball was perfect on her timing, a very hard worker, and tried to do everything just right. Although these tendencies tended to grate people at time, Kanfer expertly shows that this contributed to her stardom and most importantly, making sure that people would never forget Lucille Ball.

Stafan Kanfer does what few other writers do to famous people - he helps his readers understand Lucille Ball in a much better light by pointing out her faults and making sure they know the world owes much to this red-headed commedienn.

You know how some biographies are dreadful to read, filled with mundane details or too much author opinion? This is definitely not one of those! After rediscovering I Love Lucy on DVD I became more and more curious as to the woman behind the myth. This book didn't disappoint.

It was very sad in that it completely shattered the persona Lucy and Desi portrayed in I Love Lucy. Desi was an alcoholic and a womanizer while Lucy was a workaholic. Their children readily admit that a nanny raised them and after wanting children so badly, Lucy and Desi were actually terrible parents.

The thing I like best about the book was that Kanfer seems to know what parts of her subject's life made a good story. The parts on her childhood and later years weren't a major part of the book, while I Love Lucy and her film career took center stage. He doesn't sugar-coat anyone. At times you will hate Lucy and Desi, at times your heart will break for them.

It truly read more like a story (which is what makes a great biography in my opinion). I would recommend this book to everyone, especially Lucy fans.

This was the first and so far only biography I read of Lucille Ball; I found it to be good. It covers her life from childhood to death and discusses everything that seems important: her years starting out in modeling and show business in New York, moving to Los Angeles, meeting Desi, starting the show that became so famous, Desilu studios, the breakup with Desi, her later years. I would've liked to read more about her kids and her relationship with them, but it's her biography, not theirs, and maybe that kind of information isn't forthcoming to a biographer. I would've liked more photos, too. But I shut the book feeling that I've gotten a good solid basis for my Lucille Ball education. This seems like a good book from which to go on to others.