Love, Lucy

Rating:
Summary: Very informative and well written! I will always Love Lucy!
Review: I have been a major Lucille Ball fan for many, many years now. I read this book through with great interest. This is Lucy's story as she recorded it many years ago. It details her childhood, and desires for becoming a star. It talks about most, if not every movie and television show that she did. There are some great stories about William Frawley and Vivian Vance, from I Love Lucy.

It goes through her meeting Desi Arnaz, and their entire relationship. She covered the good as well as the bad. Of course, there are stories about their children as well.

One of the most interesting facts that I noted when reading the book, was the fact that the names of Friends or important people from her past, were used as names of friends in I Love Lucy, the Lucy Desi Comedy Hour and I believe even some in The Lucy Show. One example is Lillian Appleby who was a former teacher, and another is Marion Strong, who was a good friend.

As I read this book, I could hear Lucy's voice coming through the pages. If you are a true Lucy fan, you should read this book!

Rating:
Summary: an excellent funny and moving book about the queen of comedy
Review: This book is a brilliant look into the life of america's and the world's greatest comedienne!!! This book takes you inside the life of Lucille Ball, from her early days as a performer in vaudeville and radio, to her chance meeting with Desi, and their love affair and how both Desi and Lucy fought to get their show I Love Lucy on the air. It also talks about life with Desi, and Lucy's relationship with co-stars Vivian Vance(Ethel Mertz), and William Frawley(Fred Mertz). And the book also talks about Lucy's relationship with Lucie And Desi Jr. And It shows how Lucy and Desi's marriage fell apart, and Desi's Involvement with RKO Studios. And It finishes off with Lucy's marriage to Actor Gary Morton and how both he and Vivian Vance saved her life! (Vivian from drowning, and Gary from electrocution!!!) This book is a must have if you are a die-hard Lucy fan!!! Even regular I Love Lucy fans will enjoy this book!!!

Rating:
Summary: Why "Love Lucy"?
Review: While reading Love, Lucy, I began to understand where Lucille Ball had come from and what she had done. This book gives us insight into the mind of a comedy legend. Beginning in Jamestown, New York, the young Lucille Ball enjoyed her life and making people laugh. She was moved around a lot as her mother was widowed at a very young age and needed some space from the world in order to find out who she was. Young Lucille lived with grandparents or aunts and uncles in her early years and always knew that she wanted to make people happy and she wanted to be noticed. The death of her father, and of her grandmother reinforced her drive to bring joys to others and end the sadness that had engulfed her life during that time. She moved to New York City as an older teenager and gained recognition while modeling for small dress shops in the city, and was in many runway shows. It was then that she was noticed by a photographer and named "Model of the Month." Soon after, she was recognized by a producer at RKO studios and offered a role as a showgirl. At RKO studios she met her first real mentor, Lela Rogers, the mother of the famous Ginger Rogers. Lela ran a small acting class / studio and immediately saw Lucille's potential. She knew there was something special inside of her and helped young Lucille to find it herself. It was then that she began receiving larger roles in more prominent films. After a "run-in" with a perverted producer,(who wanted to leave his wife and marry her) Lucille, now in her mid-twenties, was only cast in "B" films as the wife of the producer was extremely upset. She made sure that Lucille would never cross the path of her husband again as he was the producer of "A" films. This turned out to be a good thing because she was cast as either second leading lady or the lead. She made many public appearances. One happened to be in New York City at Broadway to see a theater production of a movie she would possibly be starring in. She met Desi Arnez and they were both smitten; they eloped a year or so later. With the birth of their first child, Lucie, the couple was more sure than ever that they wanted to be co-starring in a show together. The I Love Lucy show was born and turned out to be a huge success. During the end of the first season, Lucy gave birth to another child, a son, Desi Jr. After his birth the marriage began to fall apart and the couple divorced. Custody of the children consisted of Lucille having the kids for the school year, and Desi having them during the summer. Eventually Lucille remarried and established a somewhat normal lifestyle.

Lucille Ball's relationship with her work was very unique as she wouldn't do a scene if she didn't believe it. She needed to feel the reality behind it if she wanted the audience to believe it as well. She was very passionate about her work and willing to try anything, even in her early years. "No Sir, I haven't done anything on Broadway, but I'd sure like to try." she would say to any producer who would listen. She tried to please everyone but realized that she couldn't be who everyone wanted her to be. She stayed true to herself and did what was best for her and her family.

Lucille Ball is bubbly and vivacious in this autobiography. Her liveliness seems to be contagious to everyone she meets and she brings joy to all who came in contact with her, and those who still come in contact with her work. Although I have a high opinion of Lucille herself, I felt that the book was somewhat lacking. Most parts were full of realism and passion for her work; some parts just didn't flow with the rest of the novel. She seemed to not have much to say in certain chapters as she kind of rambled on a bit about the same things over and over again such as her pay and her relationship with RKO studios.


Overall, this book was a great read and was very informative, but some things could have been edited out as they were not worth the time of the reader.

Rating:
Summary: too hard to put down!!
Review: Lucille Ball's autobiography, Love, Lucy, is the perfect place to find the truth about her and her life. She starts with memories as far back as she can remember and ends in 1962 after her marriage with Gary Morton. She wrote this very well and keeps you interested. It can be hard to put down sometimes! I really like Love, Lucy because it is easy to read. I also think I enjoyed this book because I am a fan of Lucille Ball's. It is always neat to learn about the life of a famous actor/actress. Lucille was very wrong to think that "nobody would want to hear any of this stuff!" This is a book for any Lucille Ball fan to have and to read.

Rating:
Summary: Lucy lives forever!
Review: I loved this book! Ever since I saw my first episode of I Love Lucy, I've been fascinated with Lucille Ball. I just had to know more about her. I found "Love, Lucy" in a store one day and I begged my mom to buy it for me. Well, she did, and I loved every minute of reading it. It's like she's talking one-on-one with you in a way. In "Love, Lucy", Lucy talks about her marriages, her children, her family, and her work. Although alot of details are left out (mainly because she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings), the descriptions of the events in her life are amazing. My mother couldn't pry me away from reading this book with a crowbar, and she still can't whenever I re-read it. I was also overcome with emotion at some points in reading this wonderful memoir. The way she talked about her love for Desi Arnaz was so touching. I've never heard anything like it before. I started to sob a little when Lucy described the day she filed for divorce from Desi, and I'm not a big crier. It was so sad that everything happened the way it did, and that they couldn't work things out. I'm glad that she found happiness in her second marriage, though. I was also stunned when I learned that Lucy had hidden this for over thirty years until her children found it in with some old files about four years ago. Imagine writing something like this that you know everyone in the world is dying to read and then putting it away! Well, in a way I respect Lucy's decision, because I wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of any loved ones that were still alive that I had talked about. And sometime soon I am going to get a copy of "A Book", by Desi Arnaz, because after all there are two sides to every story. Before I go, I want to thank Lucy's children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., for letting their mother's millions of fans take a peek inside of her private world. The book could have been easily just tucked back into the files and forgotten about. Taking it out and publishing it was great idea, and I know that no matter what, I'll always love Lucy.

Rating:
Summary: A "Politically Correct" Autobiography
Review: I read Lucille Ball's autobiography "Love, Lucy" and was impressed by the wealth of detail. It was so wonderful to get to finally see how Lucille Ball looked at life. And it was also inspiring to see the amount of work that Ball had to put in to attain super-stardom.

But, as with many autobiographies, you need to take this work with a grain of salt. Ball obviously wasn't interested in making herself (or anyone else, for that matter,) look bad. She deliberately sidesteps issues regarding husband Desi Arnaz's marital fidelty, and she also downplays her own jealous and controlling nature.

So if you want to read a very "politically correct" version of Lucy's life, I suggest you read this autobiography. But if you want to read the hard facts, I suggest you look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Hear Lucille Ball in her OWN Words!!!
Review: This book is too hard to put down! It is written by one of the greatest movie stars there is: Luciile Ball herself. With the help of Betty Hannah Hopfmen, Lucille is able to tell us, in her eyes, about her life. I have to go along with the reviewer that said it is absolutly thrilling to go along with Lucy. And it is. It is nice to have such an accurate book on her life. She goes along and not only tells you her life, but also gives you her thoughts and what she got out of her life. She also goes along with Desi; telling you a little about his life before, during their marriage and then after they separaed. She covers her life from as far back as to her birth till 1964 when she finished writting the book (Lucie Arnaz wrote the Forword and gives you information from 1964 till Lucille Ball's death in 1989). This book is great and I encourage you greatly to get this book so that YOU can have the thrill of felling like you can get to know Lucy personally. Get yours, read it, and enjoy!!

Rating:
Summary: Much better than the TV movie!
Review: I saw the TV movie "Lucy" on CBS and loved it. When I found this book, I figured it would be like the movie, so I bought it. It is NOTHING like the movie! The movie barely tells you 1/4 of the stuff Lucy tells you in her book. Plus, the movie shows her being in a play in her hometown before she went into modeling. In the book, she develops rheumatoid arthritis and is sent home for a while, heals, and then does the play. I give the book 5/5 and the movie 4.5/5.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book!!!
Review: This is on of the best books that can be put on a shelf. The book "Love, Lucy" is written by Lucille Ball herself. It is absolutally thrilling to go along with Lucy and her life. It does not go through her entire life but it covers it through 1964.It was written by her so it tells her life in her eyes looking back. She gives little side notes on the side sometimes, it seems. She tells you how what she got out of her life and how she was going to try to improve.

Lucille also give a little background on Desi and his life. She goes along with his life as she does her; which proves she still loved him...even after the separation.

Going along with Lucy gives you the sad, happy and the exsiting times she went through. If you are a Lucy fan, and even if you are not, you will surely love this book.

Rating:
Summary: I LOVE LUCY
Review: I never knew so much about Lucy. I really enjoyed this book and think anyone who has grown up watching her show "I Love Lucy", whether they were the originals or the reruns, would love it just as much as I have if not more. It was comforting to know that Lucille had gone through much of the troubles that each of us experience. She didn't have an easy ride through Hollywood, that's for sure! I don't believe there was a person who hated the I Love Lucy show while it was filming and I don't think that there is a person now who hates the I Love Lucy show. You'll love her book just as much! Promise!