Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > Individual actors & performers
|
Buy Now
the Sad and Tragic Ending of Lucille Ball - Volume Two (1961-1989) (Paperback)
Loot Price: R922
Discovery Miles 9 220
You Save: R204
(18%)
|
|
the Sad and Tragic Ending of Lucille Ball - Volume Two (1961-1989) (Paperback)
Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days
|
In the mid-1950s, Lucille Ball rose to the top of the Gallup Poll
as the most famous woman on Earth. Today, she's one of the best
examples of a celebrity who succeeded at crafting an influential
"Second Act" after I Love Lucy and her devastating divorce from her
show-biz partner, Desi Arnaz. The is the second volume of a
two-part biography crafted by two of the most prolific show-biz
biographers in America. Fans and readers have good reasons to
anticipate it with gusto: The limited number of previous Lucille
Ball biographies have each virtually ignored the last thirty years
of her life, implying that her life ended in 1960 after her divorce
from Desi Arnaz. One noted biographer summed up her three
(emotional and fraught) final decades in five abbreviated pages. In
vivid contrast, we maintain that Lucille, an artist and renowned
businesswoman, deserves more. She gets it in the 500+ pages (with
photos) of this book, the most in-depth portrait of this great
American star ever published. It examines her second husband, Gary
Morton, a "Borscht-Belt" stand-up comedian with a gift for
diplomacy and the tactful handling of divas. It describes how she
reinforced her status as a reliable television "staple" with at
least two ongoing (albeit derivative) series, The Lucy Show, Here's
Lucy, and as a last hurrah, the ill-fated Life With Lucy. It
examines the final years of a fast-collapsing Desi Arnaz, who,
"post-Lucy," gambled away his millions and destroyed his health
with late nights, liquor, and endless Havana cigars. It explores
the drug addiction (and recuperation) of Lucille's son, Desi Jr.,
and the show-biz struggles (and occasional resentments) of both of
her children, including Lucie Arnaz. It also contrasts Lucille's
"vintage mystique" with the "Generation Gap" and the emerging
careers of younger stars (Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore, Tom
Selleck, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cher, and about forty others) who
admired and perhaps resented her, too. It's also filled with
details about Lucille's behind-the scenes banter with MGM's, Warner
Brothers', and Fox's "dragons of yesteryear," once-celebrated stars
dragged, by Lucille, back into the limelight through a formulaic
roster of "TV Specials" that celebrated a fast-dying way of
American life. Extra-marital, post-Desi indiscretions? Let's just
say that our favorite redhead liked her men big and strong-"No
pretty boys for me." Her most frequent co-star in the final decade
of her life was the nostalgic "for the way things used to be in
Hollywood," Bob Hope. In one format or another, the very durable
Lucille Ball appeared on television every year of the last thirty
years of her life, making her last appearance (alongside an even
more durable show-biz warhorse, Bob Hope) at the Academy Awards in
March 1989. She died about a month later of heart failure. Tributes
poured in from around the world. Her legend, obviously, continues
to thrive, stronger, perhaps, than ever. From the grave, Lucille
might refer to the media brouhahas surrounding her demise as "My
Comeback." Actually, she has never gone away. Her telecasts have
been broadcast somewhere, in some country, every day since the
1950s. Her reign continues decades after her heyday. Everybody
Loves Lucy. This book goes a long way in explaining why.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
You might also like..
Mellencamp
Paul Rees
Paperback
R475
Discovery Miles 4 750
Love, Pamela
Pamela Anderson
Paperback
R390
R312
Discovery Miles 3 120
Will
Will Smith, Mark Manson
Paperback
(5)
R350
R280
Discovery Miles 2 800
See more
|