Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple [Paperback]

Rob Edelman (Author), Audrey Kupferberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 1999

Meet the Mertzes is an expansive dual biography chronicling the lives of two of America's most popular situation-comedy actors, William Frawley and Vivian Vance, who portrayed Fred and Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy. This meticulously researched book contains interviews with Frawley's and Vance's colleagues, friends, and relatives, and explores their personal and professional lives before, during, and after I Love Lucy. With a complete filmography and videography of each, Meet the Mertzes finally sets the record straight on the lives and legacies of these compelling stars who detested one another.

You'll learn about:

-Vance's successful Broadway career prior to I Love Lucy
-Frawley's vaudevillian roots and his passion for baseball
-Vance's nervous breakdown after the collapse of her first marriage
-Frawley's drinking and carousing
-Lucille Ball's caustic relationship with both of her costars
-Vance's hatred of being known to the world as Ethel Mertz

Editorial Reviews

Review

"She's one of the finest gals to come out of Kansas, but I often wish she'd go back there." --William Frawley on Vivian Vance

"I loathed William Frawley and the feeling was mutual. Whenever I received a new script, I raced through it, praying that there wouldn't be a scene where we had to be in bed together." --Vivian Vance on William Frawley

About the Author

Rob Edelman and Audrey Kupferberg authored Angela Lansbury and The John Travolta Scrapbook. Edelman wrote Baseball on the Web and Great Baseball Films. He is also a contributing editor to Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide annual and Movie Encyclopedia, and is a freelance writer. Kupferberg is a film archivist, consultant, and researcher. They reside in Amersterdam, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Renaissance Books; 1st edition (September 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580630952
• ISBN-13: 978-1580630955
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and entertaining look at TV's "other couple.", January 5, 2000

By 

Hans J. Wollstein (Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple (Paperback)

Watching I LOVE LUCY and THE LUCY SHOW as a kid growing up in Europe, I was naturally not aware of Hollywood hierachy. I didn't know that there were stars and then there were the Second Bananas. In fact, I thought Lucy almost too noisily American and preferred Ethel's (and later Viv's) quiet, no-nonsense approach to life. Having working in the entertainment field for years and even lived in Los Angeles on occasion, I now realize the gulf that must have existed between the stars and their jovial support. So much more welcome is this wonderful dual biography, which finally gives Vivian Vance and Bill Frawley their well-deserved due. And although they both fought personal demons (and don't we all?), what emerges from the pages of this lovingly written biography are two top-notch professionals, whose long careers stand as testaments to their versatility. Let's hear it for the Second Bananas!

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Personal. Emotional. Every detail is here., July 10, 2003

By 

James McDonald (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple (Paperback)

This is a must-have and a must-buy for any "I Love Lucy" fan or if you simply are just a fan of Vivian Vance or William Frawley. Here is the true story of both stars in their beginnings. How they almost did not and eventually were destined to be "The Mertzes" for nine years. Here you will read Vivian Vance's and William Frawley's individual stories. Also what happened to one another after "I Love Lucy" (1951-1957)/ "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Comedy Hour" (1957-1960) came to an end.
Every movie, every television episode and work Vivian Vance did before she died is here. The same for William Frawley.
Also read the story of when Lucille Ball saw Vivian Vance for the last time when Viv was sick.
Also read when William Frawley worked with Lucille Ball one last time as a guest on "The Lucy Show" in 1965. Five months later he unexpectedly passed away after he collapsed (a heart attack) near Hollywood & Vine St. after seeing a movie. He was with his male nurse.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love those Mertzs!, March 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.I love books on what I call "footnote"people!To me,the journeyman actors' stories are more interesting than the big stars.William Frawley was apparently just as crusty in real life as he was on the show.He and Vivian Vance couldn't stand each other,yet created a memorable tv duo still fondly remembered today.A must read for the "I Love Lucy" fan.