Lucille Ball : What is your favorite Biography of Lucille Ball?

What is your favorite Biography of Lucille Ball?

Help! I am about to attempt to have a library again (never let anyone else take care of your precious, expensive books unless you want to lose them forever, ouch) and my favorite section has always been my Classic Hollywood books. I did not have book about Lucy and would love to read a few.

Thank you to anyone who has read and has any books to recommend - or to warn me away from :)

Re: What is your favorite Biography of Lucille Ball?

"Love lucy" its by lucy ball and I loved it!!

Re: What is your favorite Biography of Lucille Ball?

"Lucy and Desi: the Legendary Love Story of Television's Most Famous Couple," by Warren Harris. This is one of the best books about Lucy and Desi's relationship.

"Desilu" by Coyne Sanders and Tom Gilbert. This is mostly about Lucy and Desi's business relationship and the studio that shared their names.

Two of the best biographies about Lucy are "Lucille" by Kathleen Brady, and "Ball of Fire." I forget who the author is, but that's by far the newest biography. "Lucille" was written in 1994, so the author interviewed a lot of Lucy's childhood friends in Jamestown. I enjoyed reading that, as I'm from western New York.

Lucy and Desi's autobiographies are both very good as well. The only thing I dislike is they both ended early. Desi's "A Book" was written in 1976, but the book was only written up to the last scene in The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour in 1960. Lucy's dictated her autobiography in the mid 1960's.

Jim Brouchu's "Lucy in the Afternoon" was unique. Brouchu was a writer for stage and screen who was a huge Lucy fan. He played backgammon with Lucy at her house almost every day for the last year of her life. His book mixes stories of their time together with a biography of Lucy. For example, she tells him about a dream she has about a man on a horse in the sea. He says it sounds like Desi; this story leads up to Lucy and Desi meeting for the first time.
When the two of them watch the 1988 presidential election returns, he asks Lucy if she voted. She responds that she hadn't voted since they called he 5b4 r a communist. This obviously led to the red scare she had in the 1950's.
Lucie Arnaz criticized this biography as being inaccurate and portrayed Brouchu as cashing in on the fame of Lucy's death. However, Brouchu portrayed Lucy in a very positive light. If anything, he portrayed Lucy's relationship with her daughter and husband as more positive than it really was. He also doesn't wrote anything about Lucy's drinking.
Gary Morton's cousin wrote a biography about his time with Lucy in the remaining years of her life, but it isn't as flattering. It shows Lucy as someone who could lose her temper easily, who drank heavily, and took bad career advice from Gary Morton.

Re: What is your favorite Biography of Lucille Ball?

Coyne Steven Sanders wrote an excellent one about I LOVE LUCY. It was called 'Desilu.' Sanders had also written the definitive account of THE JUDY GARLAND SHOW [with 'Rainbow's End'], he noted the differences between Judy and Lucy,

"I can also say that when I wrote a book on Lucille Ball, I came away profoundly disappointed at the woman I uncovered -- difficult, angry, bitter, controlling and distant from her children, husband and co-workers; on the other hand, when I concluded my book on Judy, I came away with only more respect, gratitude, appreciation and sense of her awareness, compassion, caring and deep commitment to her work at to those close to her."

Re: What is your favorite Biography of Lucille Ball?



"I can also say that when I wrote a book on Lucille Ball, I came away profoundly disappointed at the woman I uncovered -- difficult, angry, bitter, controlling and distant from her children, husband and co-workers; on the b68 other hand,



Well, to be fair, the woman had been through a lot in her life. Having to lose a father at a very young age, suffering three miscarriages, and then having to deal with Desi's infidelities. It can drive anyone insane. Yet, she survived through it all and had continued on working.

Don't play games with a girl who can play better.

Re: What is your favorite Biography of Lucille Ball?

I agree with your list of choices. "Desilu" and "Lucy In The Afternoon" are definitely my favorite ones. I remember reading those books when I was really young, and was shocked to find out that they weren't what they seemed to be on TV.

I have a copy of "Love, Lucy". I would love to have a chance to read Desi's "A Book", but it's so 5b4 expensive to get from Amazon and anywhere else.

You dodge a question like a character dodges a punch on Mortal Kombat.-IceJJFish

Re: What is your favorite Biography of Lucille Ball?

The Bart Andrews books (THE I LOVE LUCY BOOK originally released as LUCY & RICKY & FRED & ETHEL) and LOVING LUCY are the best and most enjoyable IMO.
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