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TO SEE THIS INTERVIEW IN ITS ENTIRETY, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjQXA1AlI8U
In this interview, broadcast in November 1973, three months before MAME was released, Lucille Ball acknowledges she is not a singer or dancer and explains why she thinks that should not be an issue in MAME. Please note that this was well before any portion of the film had been seen by the critics or the public. Even Lucy, herself, had not yet seen any finished takes from the film. Besides Lucille Ball, MAME also featured Bea Arthur, Robert Preston, Bruce Davison and Kirby Furlong and Jane Connell.
I think Lucy was much more comfortable doing the kind of “singing” she did as Lucy Ricardo on I LOVE LUCY. 
By: dkri2
Rating: 
Viewed: 32794 times
Tags: Lucille Ball love Lucy MGS Mame Angela Lansbury Rosalind Russell Lisa Kirk Onna White Bea Arthur 1973 BJV
Length: 04:5
Comments
His name was Desi, not Dezi. I’ve seen the film AUNTIE MAME and didn’t like it near as much as as this film, which I’ve seen numerous times. I’ve heard all the nasty criticisms: Lucy’s voice and dancing, the film’s direction, Bea Arthur “looked like a football player in drag” etc. It’s often been said that critics are just bitter showbiz wannabes, so I don’t really care what they think. What matters to me is whether I enjoy something. If you prefer AUNTIE MAME, fine. To each his own.
Angela Landsbury should’ve yelled “RAPE”
I love Lucy, but her voice is so low–so deep
smoking…she sounded way cuter in the 50’s on “i love lucy”
oh God, MAME was terrible
That “I Love Lucy” voice wasn’t her voice. She pushed her more baritone voice to it’s upper register for the “Lucy” voice. That’s actually what damaged her vocal chords, decades of using it (improperly) for that characterization.
I had heard that, but i didn’t know if it was true.
i LOVE this version and i thought Lucy was FABULOUS! perhaps cause i saw this first. had i seen Angela Lansberry version, who knows. like iwas very disappointed with the Johnny Depp version of Sweeny Todd but LOVED the Broadway version with Angela…um, wait, i forgot my point. OH, yea, that whole thing about “expectations” can cause u not to enjoy something.
little trivia - can’t remember which episode it was but the credits once read Dezi not Desi after an episode of I Love Lucy, pretty funny!
You’re correct that the artificially high-pitched Lucy Ricardo voice damaged her vocal chords. Also years of voice projection to a studio audience (compounded by the high pitch); it’s common for stage performers to have vocal chord damage & her shows were done in that style. Also, acting, directing, producing and running a company simultaneously meant she probably talked non-stop, which is also damaging. Add to all that, improper voice projection when she sang in WILDCAT … and the smoking.
☻//▌/ \This is bob, Copy and paste him, and soon he will take over Youtube
omg she is hideous, Lucile ball is BUTT UGLY
And just as I suspected, you go around Youtube posting these sophomoric flame messages. Obviously, you’re seriously starving for attention. It’s too bad you lead such a sad life with nothing more useful to offer. You might consider getting counseling before it’s too late.
Check out the Youtube clip of with this title: “What’s My Line” (w/ guest Lucille Ball, Deborah Kerr) 3/3 Starting at 4:38 in that clip, you can hear Lucille Ball’s natural speaking voice back in the “I Love Lucy” days when she WASN’T playing Lucy Ricardo. It’s much deeper than on her show. And by continuing to do that “Lucy” voice, she would drive her voice even deeper.
omg like you??
omg like you??
Check out the Youtube clip of with this title: “What’s My Line” (w/ guest Lucille Ball, Deborah Kerr) 3/3 Starting at 4:38 in that clip, you can hear Lucille Ball’s natural speaking voice back in the “I Love Lucy” days when she WASN’T playing Lucy Ricardo. It’s much deeper than on her show. And by continuing to do that “Lucy” voice, she would drive her voice even deeper.
Check out the Youtube clip of with this title: “What’s My Line” (w/ guest Lucille Ball, Deborah Kerr) 3/3 Starting at 4:38 in that clip, you can hear Lucille Ball’s natural speaking voice back in the “I Love Lucy” days when she WASN’T playing Lucy Ricardo. It’s much deeper than on her show. And by continuing to do that “Lucy” voice, she would drive her voice even deeper.
omg like you vieetverite SHUT THAT DAMN MOUTH YOU DUMB BITCH
omg like you vieetverite SHUT THAT DAMN MOUTH YOU DUMB BITCH
Well there’s a glimpse of the future voice of our Fran Drescher,lol.
Well there’s a glimpse of the future voice of our Fran Drescher,lol.
Why are so angry? You obviously don’t spend much time reading or you would have a better choice of vocabulary. You’re quite pitiful….I’m sure your parents are quite proud of you…
Why are so angry? You obviously don’t spend much time reading or you would have a better choice of vocabulary. You’re quite pitiful….I’m sure your parents are quite proud of you…
Why is her voice so raspy and deep? is it from age or smoking?
Why is her voice so raspy and deep? is it from age or smoking?
It’s partly from smoking, but mainly from bad vocal projection technique (including singing) and from playing Lucy Ricardo.
It’s partly from smoking, but mainly from bad vocal projection technique (including singing) and from playing Lucy Ricardo.
3 things
1: You have NO life because you go around posting these mad messages.
2: You are just plain STUPID because your vocabulary is atrocious and fucking plain BAD
3: Get off youtube. Lucy was always beautiful in PERSONALITY! You’ll notice that as you get older you’ll get unactractive too unless you get work done. Lucy’s skin was to fair to get a face lift. Look up her pictures from her 20’s. Go ahead you worthless piece of life.
3 things1: You have NO life because you go around posting these mad messages.2: You are just plain STUPID because your vocabulary is atrocious and fucking plain BAD3: Get off youtube. Lucy was always beautiful in PERSONALITY! You’ll notice that as you get older you’ll get unactractive too unless you get work done. Lucy’s skin was to fair to get a face lift. Look up her pictures from her 20’s. Go ahead you worthless piece of life.
shut the hell up. number 1 omg your a fukking fruit man. I HOPE your not in NC because i might just start looking for you
shut the hell up. number 1 omg your a fukking fruit man. I HOPE your not in NC because i might just start looking for you
umm, im not a fruit bcuz im a GIRL.
I live in Florida dumbass.
and dnt call me MAN. nd u dnt intimidarte me. U think ur so cool. But If u WERE cool, you would stop threatening people and posting these evil messages!
umm, im not a fruit bcuz im a GIRL.I live in Florida dumbass.and dnt call me MAN. nd u dnt intimidarte me. U think ur so cool. But If u WERE cool, you would stop threatening people and posting these evil messages!
Lucy!! I love Lucy is one of my favorite shows!!
Hah…an absolute “Ball” making it…-Henry
RIP Lucille
I really enjoyed this clip…especially since it was on tv before any critics saw a preview…truly one of the greatest flops ever produced …I love Mame for its sheer over the top badness. Lucy was also the executive producer so she had no one to blame but herself…all the critics agreed that it played to none of Lucy’s strengths and should have been made 8 yrs before it was - with Angela Lansbury. Truly an ego driven project. A real shame that Lucy ended her movie career w/such a dud
When Lucy says, she can’t sing, I admire her honesty.
very honest person i am very happy 2 c this clip
lon live lucy. we loved her in australia, her shows were ALWAYS on!
Unfortunately, it was spectacular flop.
Mame is a fantastic film everytime I see it, it makes me laugh funny, funny funny.
Yes, I’ve heard that this film was not received well - but I’ve seen it many times and it follows the “show” script very closely - and I thought Lucille Ball was great!
I agree! I saw this movie in its original Radio City release. The audience was cheering for the movie - and Lucy - at the end. Ball is brilliant throughout the picture but I think she tops herself as she sits between the Upsons watching Gloria in home movies. Watch her reactions. A wonderful actor, Lucy.
I like the movie. One of my faves. With her and Bea Arthur
ya in du barry was a lady she lip sync one song
I love Lucy and loved this movie when it came out, but I wish like HELL they’d let Landsbury do the movie. Not so much as I wish they’d given “Gypsy” to Merman, but there you are.
Lansbury might have been a better Mame, but she too didn’t have a very good singing voice. It was just average too. Better than Lucy, but not the best choice. The best person I ever saw do Mame was SHANI WALLIS of Oliver! fame. She was fantastic and unlike Angela Lansbury or Lucy , Shani Wallis is a REAL singer. Why I think Lucy is a good Mame is she is a beauty in it, even at the age she was. She looked great.
Unfortuately for Lucy, Mame was a huge flop
Love her
“Mame” it’s better than “Hello, Dolly!” for me. Isn’t boring!
Lucy’s story about the voice dubbing is a bit fishy- It sounds like the producers hired someone to dub her voice, and Lucy put the kibosh on it, Otherwise, why would Lisa Kirk even have been mentioned? Lucy a great comedian, but not right for the role of a rich sophisticated freespirit Too bad we can’t go back in time and persuade Lucy and Hello Dolly Streisand in to switch roles
The real story is Lucy WANTED her voice dubbed in MAME, as had been done in most of her early musicals, but Warners balked, saying 1970s audiences were too sophisticated for that. Perhaps Lucy suggested Lisa Kirk dub her voice, but it didn’t happen.
oh my goodness. I have never read a comment on youtube that I have agreed with so much. SO TRUE.
Does she have a bad cold or a sore throat? Or did something happen to her voice ?Her voice sounds so low in comparison to her I love Lucy shows.
Not true. Her voice sounded like the “I love Lucy” Character in all her movies in the 30’s-40’s and 50’s. It began to lower in the 60’s. Somthing happened to her voice. I have no idea what. She sounds like she has a bad cold or sore throat
Not true. Watch her movies in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s and in all those years she had the Lucy Ricardo voice. It lowered after 1960…but who knows why. We probably will never know. Unless maybe her kids have the answer?Anyway High voice or low…LUCY IS LUCY and very loved !
That wasn’t her normal tone, it was more baritone. She pushed it even higher for the “Lucy” character. Not to mention having to project her voice each week to a studio audience (as the mics then weren’t as sophisticated as they are now). By the 60’s she was having trouble pushing her voice to that higher octave. Probably after years and years of damage from using that artificial tone. I’ve also read that she developed polyps and had to have an operation (though I don’t know how true that is).
and of course, the smoking didn’t help.Either way, she manage to not only have a career, but stay on top of her profession for over five decades. Very few people who can say that.
Her voice got even lower in 1961 because of WILDCAT. Her co-star, Keith Andes, said she ruined her voice in that play because she didn’t use proper singing technique. Search “What’s my Line? Lucille Ball” (the clip where she’s wearing a big black fur collar). This show is from 1961 during the run of WILDCAT. It’s obvious from this she is doing damage to her voice because it’s seriously hoarse.
After WILDCAT, she returned to weekly TV where she played to the back seats of her studio audience by yelling lines. This, plus the screaming exercises early on, the fake high pitch for Lucy Ricardo, the poor singing technique in WILDCAT, and having to talk constantly as star, director & studio head, all wreaked havoc on her voice. Certainly smoking had a big role, too, and most likely was responsible for the polyps she later developed (which cause raspiness), but it wasn’t JUST the smoking.
In her movies in the 30s, 40s and 50s, she was PERFORMING, not as Lucille Ball but as a character. Besides, in the 30s she was still young and her voice THEN was high. Around the time she met Desi in 1940 she started doing those screaming exercises in the car to deepen her voice. By the 50s it WAS deeper. Search “What’s My Line” (w/ guest Lucille Ball, Deborah Kerr) 3/3″ and, starting at 4:35 you can hear the real deeper-voice Lucille Ball in 1954, that does NOT sound like Lucy Ricardo.
Also, her co-star in WILDCAT, Keith Andes, said she destroyed her voice in that show by not using proper singing techniques. Search “What’s My Line? Lucille Ball” (the one where she’s wearing a big black fur collar). This is from 1961 right in the middle of the run of WILDCAT. Her voice is seriously hoarse here, obviously from vocal strain.