Customer Reviews

Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball

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

 

 

When I was ten and heard that Lucy and Desi were divorcing, I was devastated. No one in my little village had ever divorced, and I did not know anyone who knew anyone who had. So, Lucy and Ricky, who were interchangeable in my mind with Lucy and Desi, were the first people I "knew" who took that drastic step. I couldn't figure out how they could be so happy on TV and still want to split.

A few years later, when Lucy returned to television, along with Ethel, rechristened as Vivian, I kept longing for DesiRicky to show up. Of course he didn't. Later, I saw some of her early movies and became one of the three people in the US who loved her on the screen as Mame. Even though I appreciated her skill and talent, for me, she was always Lucy Riccardo. Somewhere along the line, though, I realized that Lucille Ball was more complex than her TV counterpart.

Of the half-dozen books I've read about Lucy, which include the newly-released "Ball of Fire", a couple of the books about the series, and Vance's biography, Kathleen Brady's is my favorite. She comes closest to cracking the code, finding what drove Lucille Ball to the top of her profession.

Brady treats her subject tenderly, but does whitewash the harder side of her character. Rather, she tries to bring the apparently incompatible parts of her personality together into one whole, very understandable person. As much as is possible, she succeeds.

Where she is sure of details, she gives them. Where she is not, she offers alternate possibilities, for example, the unknown cause of Ball's paralysis that sent her home from NY and to bed for months or, on the more humorous side, exactly what happened the night that Tallulah Bankhead decided to disrobe during a production meeting of the LucyDesi Comedy Hour.

Well-researched and well-written, this is mandatory reading for any die-hard Lucy fan and an excellent choice for anyone who intends reading only one book about America's most famous comedienne.

The Lucille Ball in Kathleen Brady's book, "Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball" is a study of contradictions. Partly an homage to a star she clearly adores, partly an expose on Lucy's dark side, this book paints an incomplete and unsatisfying picture of America's premiere television comedianne.

The Lucy in this book comes across both as a scrappy fighter early in her career, and a hardened soul at the end of it, which may very well be true, or not. It was difficult to discover the viewpoint of Lucy that the author was trying to take. At times, it was clearly injected with personal opinions and commentaries not warranted in the biography of someone else's life, both glowing and scandalous. And whereas the majority of the book takes up the years of Desilu's powerhold on the television industry, from I Love Lucy to Star Trek, it shortchanges both her early career and later career, almost as insignificant bookends to her highest pinnacle in the 1950's. Certainly, Lucy had a full, complete life, only some of which is shown here.

However, there were some parts I did enjoy. Lucy's less-than-impressive movie career which eventually gave birth to her TV persona was interesting, as you root for her to make the transition earlier. Her undying devotion to Desi in the early years, despite mutual fits of jealousy and rage, made for a deepening look at their marriage. And the occasional parts that show her softer, kinder side were warm to read.

Which leads to this thought. Clearly Lucy is loved country wide; were we ready to learn some negative things about the woman we cherished? Certainly not unknown, nor surprising to anyone who's read other things. The issue perhaps comes in balancing all viewpoints to present a clearer one, rather than being all over the board haphazardly.

As for Lucie and Desi Arnaz, Jr.'s objections to the book were clear to me as I read through to the end. Kathleen Brady seemed to have a personal vendetta against these two, as she paints them very unfavorably as spoiled Hollywood rich kids. Nary a kind word was said about these two, which leads me to think they offered no assistance in creating this book, so a price was paid for their silence.

In the end, I did not feel closer to Lucy than I had before reading this. I may suggest grabbing a bowl of popcorn, putting up your feet, and watching some classic episodes of I Love Lucy, to remember Lucy the way she wanted us to remember her, with a smile and a laugh.

Lucie Arnaz herself said this book is full of false statements.The information is wrong and way off. There is a picture in there that says "Lucy trying to make it in New York, in early modeling days", and it shows a woman with no top on. Lucie Arnaz said that it is not Lucy, it doesn't even look like her. If Lucille Ball could see that she would be very embarrassed. If you want learn about the true life of Lucille Ball read Love,Lucy the one and only autobiography of Lucille Ball told straight from her heart.

This is not the best book ever written about Lucille Ball, and although I found it a very interesting read, I can't say that it was all that accurate. I'm not the only one who feels that way. Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucy and Desi, has said her self that this is not the most accurate account of her mother's life, and I have to agree with her. For example, the part about Lucy having no memory of her father is not true at all, because in her memoirs Lucy vividly recalled her father tossing her into the air and catching her while she screamed with glee. The topless photo does not much resemble her and some things are just plain absurd. As Lucie said, either Ms. Brady didn't check the facts thoroughly or the people who she talked to made things up.If you want an accurate, honest account on the amazing life of the TV goddess, then you really shouldn't read this book. The best thing to do is read Lucy's own memoirs, "Love, Lucy." All in all, this book was an interesting read, but not very accurate.

Lucie Arnaz herself said this book is full of false statements.The information is wrong and way off. There is a picture in there that says "Lucy trying to make it in New York, in early modeling days", and it shows a woman with no top on. Lucie Arnaz said that it is not Lucy, it doesn't even look like her. If Lucille Ball could see that she would be very embarrassed. If you want learn about the true life of Lucille Ball read Love,Lucy the one and only autobiography of Lucille Ball told straight from her heart.

After reading Lucille Ball's own autobiography I read this book. It tell the rest of the story of Lucille's life. Well researched and written, this book tells vividly of Lucille's early life in Hollywood, and her relationship with Desi Arnaz. It also covers the latter part of Lucille's life after the tremendous success of I Love Lucy. A very good read!

I discovered a lot of interesting information while reading this book. I enjoyed the fact that the author did not spend time writing about every minute detail. She was straight to the point on every issue covered.

This is an absolute must-read for anyone who enjoys reading biographies or learning about the lives of old Hollywood stars.

I bought this book with a few other items about Lucille Ball. I thought it was put together well. Though the book has factual items in it there are some things that are not correct. Otherwise it is a wonderful read.

The author tried really hard to portray Ms Ball realistically. And I think for the most part she succeeded. Certainly, I felt no less for the famous comedienne than I had before. If anything, I was greatly saddened by her childhood, which, I think Ms Ball herself mildly characterized in her own autobio, as difficult. She's short-changing herself there. Parts of her early life were traumatic in my opinion.

Nevertheless, she clearly triumphed over the adversity she had. Most impressive to me is that she always thought about the welfare of her immediate family, mother, brother, grandfather, etc...and worked very hard to keep the relationship between them close. That's amazing to me and shows what kind of woman she really was.

The fact that the author brought out some of the more unpleasant aspects of her personality, only made her seem more human to me. Nobody's perfect. But because society tends to deify celebrity, many become intolerant or unwilling to listen to the truth about their very human side.

But this is exactly why I enjoy reading these bio's. Some books are better than others. This one is well-researched even if the facts are a bit skewed here and there. It doesn't detract from a sympathetic portrait of the famous comedienne. At least not for me, because as I read it, I discovered that Ms Ball was an extraordinarily gifted woman who cared deeply about humanity, and left a priceless legacy.

She sure as heck still makes me laugh!

There are some minor factual errors with regard to some of the TV series indicating that the author--an obvious admirer--was not a fan per se. This actually helps in terms of objectivity. The book is unflinching but warm, and is the sole book to really go in depth about Lucille's childhood and teen/young adult years. "Ball of Fire" and many others are shockingly un-new in their stoties and historical references. No one can really know "Lucille" after the fact but this book, and "Desilu" come as close as you canget.