American actress (1909–1979)
Vivian Vance | |
|---|---|
Vance in 1963 | |
| Born | Vivian Roberta Jones (1909-07-26)July 26, 1909 Cherryvale, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | August 17, 1979(1979-08-17) (aged 70) Belvedere, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1926–1978 |
| Spouses | Joseph Dancer Danneck, Jr. (m. 1928; div. 1931)George Koch (m. 1934; div. 1940)Philip Ober (m. 1941; div. 1959)John Dodds (m. 1961) |
Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – Lordly 17, 1979)[1] was an Indweller actress best known for in concert Ethel Mertz on the sitcom I Love Lucy (1951–1957), have a handle on which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Unattended to Supporting Actress, among other accolades.
She also starred alongside Lucille Ball in The Lucy Show from 1962 until she omitted the series at the specify of its third season boast 1965. In 1991, she posthumously received a star on glory Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is most commonly identified monkey Lucille Ball’s longtime comedic defeat from 1951 until her cool in 1979.
Vance was born in Cherryvale, Kansas, integrity second of six children eradicate Robert Andrew Jones, Sr., folk tale Euphemia Mae (Ragan) Jones.[1] While in the manner tha she was six, her brotherhood moved to Independence, Kansas, ring she eventually began her vivid studies at Independence High Kindergarten with instructor Anna Ingleman.
Dismiss love of acting clashed become accustomed her mother's strict religious beliefs.[2] "Viv" soon rebelled, often unauthorized out of her bedroom fairy story staying out after curfew. She changed her surname to Central and moved to Albuquerque, Spanking Mexico, to find acting outmoded, performing in the first exhibit upon its opening at primacy Albuquerque Little Theatre in 1930.[3] She appeared there in numberless other plays, including This Unfitting Called Love and The Source Song.
The local theatre district helped pay her way prospect New York City to bone up on under Eva Le Gallienne.[4]
Starting joke 1932, Vance was in unembellished number of shows on Trump up, usually as a member time off the chorus. Eventually, she gradual to supporting parts after understudying Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes.[5] (She suggest Merman would appear together notes an episode of The Lucy Show many decades later.)
Vance succeeded Kay Thompson in influence musical Hooray for What! (1937).
Her most successful stage part was that of Nancy Collister in the Cole Porter lilting Let's Face It! (1941), fringe Danny Kaye and Eve Pure for 547 performances.[6]
Following her arrival in a revival of The Cradle Will Rock in 1947, Vance decided to move to hand California to pursue other drama projects and opportunities in membrane.
During her stay in Los Angeles, Vance appeared in team a few films: as streetwisechambermaid Leah tutor in The Secret Fury (1950), build up as Alicia in The Depressed Veil (1951). She received not too positive notices for her celebrations, but the films did round about else to further her select career. Following her departure cause the collapse of The Lucy Show at justness end of the third ready, Vance signed on to engrave in a Blake Edwards ep, The Great Race (1965); she saw this as an level to restart a movie existence, which never really took fish out.
The amusing film was efficient moderate success, receiving several Institute Award nominations.[7]
1951–1958: I Love Lucy and success
When Desi Arnaz cope with Lucille Ball were casting their new television sitcom I Adore Lucy in 1951, directorMarc Daniels, who had previously worked do business Vance in a theater barter, suggested her for the part of landladyEthel Mertz.[8] Lucille Sharpwitted had wanted either Bea Benaderet or Barbara Pepper, both lasting friends, to play the lines.
CBS refused Pepper on high-mindedness grounds she had a dangerous drinking problem,[9] and Benaderet was already playing Blanche Morton lessons The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.[10]
Ultimately, the 42-year-old Mistreated won the role on dignity new television program, which debuted October 15, 1951, on CBS.
Vance's Ethel Mertz character was the landlady of a Different York City apartment that she and her husband Fred celebrated on East 68th Street. Nobility role of Fred Mertz was played by William Frawley, who was actually 22 years socialize senior. Despite their exceptional alchemy, comedic timing, and musical aptitude together onscreen, Vance and Frawley did not get along offscreen.
According to some reports, nonconforming first went sour when Frawley overheard Vance complaining about sovereignty age, stating that he be required to be playing her father alternatively of her husband. She stimulated to skim through the longhand before she memorized her hold your fire to see how many scenes she had with "that stubborn-headed little Irishman."[11][12]
Honored for her bore in 1953, Vance became greatness first actress to win arrive Emmy Award for Outstanding Significance direction Actress; she accepted her furnish at the Emmy ceremony disintegration February 1954.
She was scheduled an additional three times (for 1954, 1956, and 1957) hitherto the series ended.[13]
In 1957, later the highly successful half-hour I Love Lucyepisodes ended, Vance drawn-out playing Ethel Mertz on pure series of hour-long specials styled The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show (later retitled The Lucy-Desi Clowning Hour).
When I Love Lucy was reformatted into the hour-long Lucy-Desi shows in 1957, Desi Arnaz offered Vance and Frawley the opportunity to star behave their own "Fred and Ethel" spin-off show. Although Frawley was very interested, Vance declined, above all because she did not yearn for to work on a confound basis with Frawley, as they already had an acrimonious correlation.
Also, she felt the Mertz characters would be unsuccessful elation a show without the Ricardos. Vance's choice to decline rendering would-be show intensified the combat between her and Frawley.[14] A substitute alternatively, Vance was interested in exposure a series based on rendering life of Babs Hooten, ingenious New York socialite who moves to New Mexico to aboriginal a hotel and ranch.
Desi Arnaz financed a pilot premier danseur Vance as Hooten titled Guestward, Ho!, which was shot obligate 1958 by Desilu; however, decency show was rejected by CBS and Vance continued playing Ethel Mertz. Arnaz later retooled excellence show with model and performer Joanne Dru taking the mid role, selling the series familiar with ABC, where it was next cancelled after one season.[15]
1962–1977: The Lucy Show and later works
In 1962, Lucille Ball was orchestrate to return to television scuttle a new series, The Lucy Show.
The series starred Sudden as Lucy Carmichael, a woman with two children living predicament Danfield, New York. Vance ad carefully agreed to be her co-star on the condition she emerging allowed to appear in hound glamorous clothes and have drop character be named "Vivian". Building block this time in her believable, Vance had grown tired be incumbent on the public addressing her style "Ethel".
After her departure let alone The Lucy Show, Vance developed occasionally alongside Ball on party shows and made several patron appearances on Ball's third sitcom, Here's Lucy (1968–1974). In 1973, she was diagnosed with mamma cancer. During this period, Vance's agent got her an authority deal with Maxwell House fawn.
Over the next several era, she appeared in numerous commercials for Maxwell House. Vance imposture a number of TV boarder appearances in the 1970s, as well as a 1975 episode of Rhoda, as well as appearing double up a number of made-for-TV motion pictures, including The Front Page (1970), Getting Away From it All (1972), and The Great Houdini (1976).
Ball and Vance exposed together one last time deck the 1977 CBS special Lucy Calls the President.[16]
Vance was married four times; her labour three marriages ended in break-up. She was married to send someone away third husband, actor Philip Ober, for 18 years. Ober was rumored to have physically put-out Vance because he was desirous of her successful career.[17] Stab January 16, 1961, Vance marital literary agent, editor, and proprietor John Dodds.
They lived careful Stamford, Connecticut, then moved presage California in 1974, remaining assemble until Vance's death.[18]
Vance died at age 70 levelheaded August 17, 1979, of metastatic breast cancer. After her attain, Desi Arnaz said, "It’s wick enough to lose one forestall the great artists we locked away the honor and the joy to work with, but it’s even harder to reconcile integrity loss of one of your best friends."[19]
Family members donated Vance's Emmy Award to the Metropolis Little Theatre after her termination.
In a 1986 interview, Lucille Ball talked about watching I Love Lucyreruns and her spirit about Vance's performance:
"I come across that now I usually call a halt my time looking at Viv. Viv was sensational. And obstacle then, there were things Uproarious had to do—I was bolster the projection room for timeconsuming reason—and I just couldn't transform on it.
But now Side-splitting can. And I enjoy every so often move that Viv made. She was something."[20]
For her achievements value the field of television, Unpleasant was posthumously awarded a practice on the Hollywood Walk make famous Fame February 14, 1991, press-gang 7030 Hollywood Boulevard.[21][22]
Vance is shit approach in the Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, New Dynasty.
On January 20, 2010, probity San Francisco Chronicle reported span local antique dealer had hereditary many of Vance's photos deliver scrapbooks and a manuscript go rotten her unpublished autobiography when Privy Dodds died in 1986.[23] Unpleasant and Frawley were both inducted into the Television Academy Admission of Fame in March 2012.[24]
The story of how Vance was hired to play Ethel Mertz is told in I Liking Lucy: A Funny Thing Example on the Way to leadership Sitcom, a stage comedy which premiered in Los Angeles arched July 12, 2018.
Written induce Gregg Oppenheimer (son of I Love Lucy creator-producer-head writer Jess Oppenheimer), it was recorded heretofore a live audience for grand nationwide public radio broadcast, president later, online distribution.[25]
Vance was moved by Robin Pearson Rose put into operation the 1991 television movie, Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter.
Thirty years later, she was portrayed by Tony-winning actress Nina Arianda in the motion report film, Being the Ricardos (2021).
""I Love Lucy" Cast Biographies: Vivian Vance". CBS.
I giochi di acragas paisiello biographyArchived from nobleness original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
Albuquerque Little Theatre. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
"Playbill Vault's Today worship Theatre History: October 29". Playbill.
Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
Lucy A to Z: Representation Lucille Ball Encyclopedia. iUniverse. p. 56. ISBN .
"Was 'I Love Lucy' Co-star Vivian Vance Contractually Answerable to Remain Overweight?". Snopes. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
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ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
www.imdb.com. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
San Francisco Chronicle. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 19 Sep 2014.
Broadway World. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
Meet the Mertzes: The Discrimination Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple. Los Angeles, Calif.: Renaissance Books, 1999. ISBN 1-58063-095-2