Back in April 2018, I took some time to highlight the lesser side of Lucille Ball. Lucy was one of the most famous people in the world 75 years ago, so famous that people whose parents weren’t born at the height of her fame still know who she is. Her role in shaping the entertainment landscape is a little better known now than it was at the time, owing to a couple of biopics created about her since then.
Still, I continue to be amazed by this woman’s ongoing influence. Of course, her comedy is timeless. Young kids still enjoy it, because it’s silly and it really doesn’t get old. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she was an absolute master of the craft. It was incredibly rare for a woman to be a physical comedian in those days. Come to think of it, it’s not super common today.
Still, a product of her time
While it’s true that Lucy and some of her contemporaries like Betty White were pioneers, it’s also fair to say that she was a product of her time. Back then, a lot of TV shows had the stars do the commercials, live. And, while it may surprise you to see, both Lucy and Desi did commercials for cigarettes, live on air.
And let’s be honest, as perfect as a lot of those I Love Lucy shows can be, there are parts that haven’t aged well. On the show, the dynamics between women and men can seem very strange to modern eyes. Any of the episodes where Lucy gets a job are based on the “humorous” assumption that women don’t belong in the workplace. And, as funny as VitaMeataVegeMin is, getting drunk at the workplace isn’t considered the laugh riot it once was.
In real life…
The real Lucy and Desi weren’t a lot like their TV counterparts. Lucy was said to be a serious, tough parent and a harsh business partner. Desi’s reputation for womanizing is still something we talk about. Rather than a modest New York apartment, the two lived a life that was only possibly due to their incredible success. Remember according to reports at the time, something like 70% of literally everyone watched their show. Today a sitcom considers itself a success if their share is over 5%.
Not sure if we’ll see their kind again
Lucile Ball invented a lot of modern television. She broke social conventions, not only in marrying a Latin man, but for even mentioning the idea of pregnancy on TV. Her vision in promoting adventure shows like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible have paid impossibly high dividents– and continue to today.
It’s hard to know if we’ll ever have another new idiom like that of TV. If so, the challenge will be to find someone who does it as well as Lucy did TV.
