The Loving Lucy blogathon entries!

Happy 100th birthday, Lucy!

Before we list all the entries for the blogathon, Carrie, Nikki, and I want to take a moment to sincerely thank each and every one of the talented, amazing bloggers who contributed posts to this event. This is the first blogathon that we have ever hosted, and we have been so impressed with your willingness to join in our little shindig and celebrate all of the wonderful things Lucille Ball has contributed to the world of entertainment. THANK YOU ALL!

Now, go forth and check out the brilliance of these contributions!

Posts about Lucy’s film career:

David Lobosco at The Great Entertainment Media Archive takes an interesting look at “Lucille Ball’s folly”— her final big-screen film, 1974’s Mame.

Audrey from Fedoras and High Heels gives her reaction after watching 1949’s Miss Grant Takes Richmond for the first time, and draws some links to future Lucy guest stars in the cast.

Dorian at Tales of the Easily Distracted has re-posted a fabulous in-depth analysis of one of Lucy’s two forays into film noir, 1946’s The Dark Corner.

Caftan Woman has posted a fond look back at the four films Lucy made with Bob Hope. Two icons of comedy sharing the big screen–who could ask for anything more?

Marya, the Cinema Fanatic, also takes a look at the comedy caper Miss Grant Takes Richmond, which paired Lucy with the fabulous William Holden.

Gabrielle of Cinderbella’s Diary has posted a lovely piece on how 1954’s The Long, Long Trailer showcases the timeless quality of Lucy’s work.

Caroline from Garbo Laughs gives an enthusiastic thumbs up to Lucy’s performance as a selfish, manipulative nightclub singer in the underrated 1942 film The Big Street.

 

Posts about Lucy’s television work:

Sew Technicolor’s Kristin counts down her top ten favorite episodes of I Love Lucy. Are your favorites among them? There are some fabulous choices here!

The Lady Eve looks back at Lucy’s hilarious television encounters with William Holden in a post that also fondly remembers her Lucy-esque mother!

Clara of Via Margutta 51 fame posted a fascinating examination of how I Love Lucy’s use of Spanish dialogue shows the difficulty that sometimes comes in trying to cross cultural barriers. She uses a wide variety of clips from different episodes to demonstrate how Lucy and Ricky try to communicate even when they can’t exactly understand one another!

Over at the Inner Toob, Toby has written a series of interesting posts on Lucy’s television legacy, from an examination of Lucy’s two television encounters with John Wayne to a zany link between Here’s Lucy and the series F Troop.

David of FilmClassics also reminisces about his favorite (and mine!) I Love Lucy episode, season four’s “L.A. at Last” with Holden, and links to a beautiful video tribute he prepared for Lucy’s centennial.

Jen of the Ida Lupino blog discusses the 1959 Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode called “Lucy’s Summer Vacation,” a classic battle-of-the-sexes in which Lucy and Ida team up to thwart fisherman spouses Ricky and Howard (Duff).

Over at The Movie Projector, R.D. Finch examines fifteen character actors and actresses who each played a vital role (or two) in the success of I Love Lucy. Some of the names on his list (Edward Everett Horton, Charles Lane, Mary Wickes …) will be awfully familiar to classic film fans!

Meredith over at Forever Classics has listed her favorite episode from each of the six seasons of I Love Lucy. Her list contains some truly great choices, including the ever-popular “Vitameatavegamin” episode from season 1 and the hilarious “Paris At Last” from season 5!

Yvette from …in so many words posts about her fondness for I Love Lucy, along with some beautiful pictures of the Ricardos and the Mertzes, doing what they do best.

On his self-titled blog, Raymond Owen writes about the “lost pilot” of I Love Lucy, tracing the history of the episode’s development and the reasons it remained “lost” for 39 years.

Doug Bonner of Boiling Sand has posted an in-depth look at “Home Movies,” one of the later I Love Lucy episodes, paying particular attention to the way editing techniques are used to tell the story.

 

Posts about Lucy’s radio performances:

Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. of Thrilling Days of Yesteryear takes an interesting and detailed look back at My Favorite Husband, the radio show that greatly inspired the creation of I Love Lucy. 

Miss Carley from The Kitty Packard Pictorial examines the way the initial radio partnership between producer/writer Jess Oppenheimer and Lucy helped pave the way for their groundbreaking television collaboration.

 

General articles about Lucy’s life and career:

Vincent from Carole & Co. relates the friendship between Lucille Ball and Carole Lombard, and how Carole may have influenced Lucy’s career long after her tragic 1942 death.

Erin of Silver Screen Scribblings presents a look at Lucy’s autobiography, Love, Lucy, which was discovered after her death and published seven years later. She includes several interesting excerpts from the book detailing Lucy’s perspective on her own life and talent!

Craig at Blame Mame has a list of interesting Lucy trivia for us (for example, did you know Lucy was originally considered for the leads in such films as Born Yesterday and Ball of Fire?).

Lara from Backlots examines “Lucy’s lasting legacy,” from her sometimes forgotten early film work through her days as the reigning queen of television.

Rich from Widescreen World gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of Desilu to discuss Lucille Ball’s role as the first female president of a major studio.

Rianna of Frankly, My Dear has spent the past week recognizing Lucy’s centennial with a series of intriguing posts, and caps off the celebration with a loving personal tribute to one seriously inspiring redhead.

Over at Edward Copeland on Film … and more, Ivan is back with a centennial tribute to Ball, featuring an in-depth look at her career from her earliest days as a Goldwyn Girl through the varying success of her four eponymous television series.

Angela of The Hollywood Revue gives us five incredibly convincing reasons why she simply loves Lucy (as Angela says, number one, “Plain and simply, she’s hilarious!”).

Katrina of the Edelweiss Patterns blog shows off some of the work of I Love Lucy costume designer Elois Jennsen, whose clothes perfectly captured the mood of the 1950s … and the zaniness of Lucy Ricardo’s many schemes!

Shades of Magick, a nail polish blog (which happens to be run by my bestie–nepotism!), offers a Lucy-inspired manicure and nail art in celebration of the comedienne’s birthday!

Speaking of nepotism, here at True Classics, Carrie explains some of the reasons why we ALL love Lucy 100 years later … and why we’ll always love her!

Returning to Backlots, Lara gives us a great biographical profile of Lucille Ball, complete with a number of memorable and fantastic clips from her many television and film roles.

Dawn at Noir and Chick Flicks has a great profile of Lucy, including some wonderful photographs and a brief glimpse of one of Ball’s early dramatic film roles in 1939’s Panama Lady.

Le at Crítica Retrô has contributed another interesting profile of Lucy’s prolific career … and in Portuguese!

Meredith at Movie Montage examines why Lucy is such an appealing star/goober (love that word!) hybrid.

The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower, Casee Marie, has crafted a personal “thank you” to Lucy, complete with some beautiful photos and screencaps.

The ladies of The Scarlett Olive has a two-fer for us: a post on Lucy’s place within the clowning tradition, and a Lucy-centric edition of their wonderful podcast!

Brian at Classicfilmboy’s Movie Paradise takes a look at the cultural phenomenon that is Lucille Ball and includes personal photos of Lucy’s former home and RKO office!

Terence Towles Canote from A Shroud of Thoughts has written a heartfelt and comprehensive biography of Lucy’s life and career. As you will learn when you read his entry, Terence is actually Lucy’s distant cousin!

Sophie of Waitin’ on a Sunny Day gives her own personal thanks to Lucy with a lovely tribute and series of gorgeous photographs!

Juliana of Hepburn, Bennett, Ball and Others has posted several great Lucy-related photos on her Tumblr page!

The Noir Dame examines several roles for which Lucy could have been classified as “miscast,” and proposes that such against-type roles might actually mark some of the strongest performances of Lucy’s career.

And again here at True Classics, Brandie presents a list of half a dozen books and documentaries which she recommends that all self-professed “Lucy-philes” read and see!