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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 921 VANCE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
"Fascinating." -Hollywood Reporter "Good stuff." -New York Daily News The entertaining, complex, and surprising true story of the funniest -and most instantly recognizable -sidekick in TV history: Vivian Vance.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
"When I die, there will be people who send Ethel Mertz flowers," remarked Vivian Vance (1909-1979), Lucille Ball's neighbor and sidekick on the TV series I Love Lucy. Though the role of Ethel on the classic sitcom brought Vance fame if not fortune (she and stage hubby William "Fred Mertz" Frawley were not in on the deals that enriched others attached to the show), it also robbed her of her identity. In this candid, revealing first bio about Vance, fans will meet a vibrant woman who little resembled the frump she made famous. Long before her television career, Vance was well known as a sparkling comedic actress who worked with major stars including Jimmy Durante, Ethel Merman, Bob Hope, Ed Wynn and Gypsy Rose Lee and who carried on passionate love affairs, some during her first three marriages. When she married for the fourth time, it was to a man 12 years her junior who had been involved in a 20-year relationship with another man. The marriage was, by all accounts, a happy one. Plagued by crippling bouts of depression, Vance was one of the first celebrities to speak openly about mental illness. Fans of I Love Lucy will be taken with the behind-the-scenes stories of the show and its feuds and friendships; one of the most surprising nuggets is that Lucy and Ethel didn't get along offstage. Those who wish to meet the woman who created Ethel Mertz are unlikely ever again to mistake Vance for her alter ego. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Castelluccio and Walker's portrait of Vivian Vance, who played the classic TV gal pal Ethel Mertz in I Love Lucy, is a fine new entry in the venerated subgenre of the second banana bio. Albuquerque native Vance was, of course, the perfect foil for Lucille Ball's Lucy Ricardo, and, par for the Hollywood course, Ball early on tried to have her fired. Our plucky heroine persevered not only in the face of Ball's initial disapproval but also against depression, marital trouble, and sundry other ills. That she survived to contribute to some of the finest ensemble acting in early TV is a tribute to her strength. Given the influence of I Love Lucy on subsequent TV sitcoms, on American culture, and, perhaps, on post^-World War II culture, period, this is a notable addition to American cultural documentation. --Mike Tribby
Library Journal Review
Vivian Vance pioneered the role of female sidekick as Lucille Ball's feisty neighbor Ethel on I Love Lucy. Yet little has been written about the beloved actress and her varied career before and after Lucy. Actors as well as authors, Castelluccio and Walker remedy this oversight with the first in-depth look at the woman born Vivian Roberta Jones. Before assuming the part of frowsy Ethel Mertz, Vance was known as a Broadway beauty whose singing roles included understudy to Ethel Merman. This candid retelling of her life reveals an ambitious woman who struggled with many problems, from her fear of being cast in an unflattering role to repeated bouts of mental illness. Verbal battles with Ball and stories of enmity between Vance and William Frawley (Fred Mertz) pepper this readable tale of a woman dedicated to the theater and willing to take the role of "second banana" to new heights. Recommended where star bios are popular.Kelli N. Perkins, Herrick P.L., Holland, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
Foreword | p. ix |
Preface | p. xiii |
Acknowledgments | p. xix |
Chapter 1 A Quiet Visit | p. 1 |
Chapter 2 Waking Up in Kansas | p. 7 |
Chapter 3 Albuquerque, Here We Come! | p. 31 |
Chapter 4 Vivian Vance--the Girl of WINS | p. 61 |
Chapter 5 The Blond Menace | p. 109 |
Chapter 6 The Breakdown | p. 132 |
Chapter 7 "Ethel, I've Got an Idea!" | p. 151 |
Chapter 8 "I'm Not Ethel Mertz! My Name Is Vivian Vance!" | p. 217 |
Epilogue | p. 293 |
Authors' Note | p. 295 |
Photo Credits | p. 296 |
Play List | p. 298 |
Index | p. 303 |