Was Vivian Vance a better actress than Lucille Ball?

I always enjoyed Viv over Lucy. The Lucy character could be quite irritating at times.

Vivian Vance was perfect as Ethel Mertz and had great chemistry with Lucy. It's ridiculous however to claim she was a better actress. Lucille Ball was an excellent comedic actress and had impecible nuance and timing.

She was sufficient.

Who [bold]ARE[/bold] these people?

What people r4?

They both gave smart dinner parties.

You know [bold]exactly[/bold] what I mean R6.

NOT ONLY WAS SHE A BETTER ACTRESS , SHE WAS MARRIED TO THAT OLD COOT AS WELL.

No.

Vivian Vance is a national treasure.

I don't care who was better. Who COULD care?

I do give Vivian Vance extra credit for putting up with William Frawley, whom she loathed.

I ran circles around them both.

Would Ball have been believable uttering the line, "I shall now contact Tilly!"

Christ how old R u ppl? My fuckin great grandmother was'nt even born yet when this show was on.

R14 - they used to show Lucy reruns in the 1970s.

R14 Then you must come from trash who breed at the age of 15.

Are you from a hollow in West Virginia, r14? Did your mother give birth to you when she was 12?

Girls, girls!!!!

I'm form New Jersey. I'm 21, my moms is 39 (she had me the year after she gradated HS). My gram is 59, and my great gram is 81 and was born in 1937. Lucy was on in the early and mid 30s no?

Kids these days ...

Also, r14, do you only consider art/music/film/literature/etc relevant to you if it was produced during your lifetime?

I'm not really into art and litrature. I like some oldys music from the 90s. Does Hootie and Bluefish count? Some oldys movies are'nt bad neither. When I was at my moms last christmas, we watched Airforce One. I think that was 90s. Was a pretty good movie, a little slow in some spots but pretty intresting.

R14, you don't care for grammar and punctuation, either. Am I correct?

Vivian Vance played the straight man to Lucy's funny character, and she did it very well. Without Vivian/Ethel, Lucy would not have been as funny - like all comedians she needed a straight man to prop her up and Vivian was perfect for the job. Sometimes entire episodes revolved around the characters of Lucy and Ethel, one of the great comedy teams of all time.

R24, I'm with you.

The dynamic duo.

Lucy was never funnier than when she was teamed with Vivian Vance. That must have something to do with Miss Vance's tremendous talent and skill.

More like Vance's tremendous waist line.

I find post-Viv Lucy insufferable.

So did I.

Y R all the pictures using the Inkwell filter? Didn't Instagram have Puppy or Bunny back then?

Ethel was fierce.

[quote] Christ how old R u ppl? My fuckin great grandmother was'nt even born yet when this show was on.

Hillbilly alert! Do you call your father Uncle Daddy, too?

[quote] I'm form New Jersey. I'm 21, my moms is 39 (she had me the year after she gradated HS). My gram is 59, and my great gram is 81 and was born in 1937. Lucy was on in the early and mid 30s no?

No, in the 50s, and you are pure Jersey trash. You can't even spell graduated. Did you get your GED, hon? Gram? Good god! Do you call the other one granpappy? lmao Your mom was totally knocked up at her senior prom.

r19 Please tell me you don't really believe there was television in the '30s.

R19 you ought to watch. There was an episode where Lucy and Vivian dressed up jes' like your 'moms' and 'gram'

R3 you made me lol so loud in my doctor's waiting room that now everyone is looking at me like I'm insane.

Bumping because I found a great photo of Lucille Ball when she was younger:

Vivian's run as Martha in "Virginia Woolf" was far better received than Lucy's failed attempt. While on paper, Lucy's alcoholism and bitterness would seem to make her the better Martha, it was not to be. Vivian's superior acting ability garnered her the better notices in the role. It helped that she and William Frawley, despite their personal differences, performed together as a well-oiled machine. His George was non-traditional, but a fine foil for Vance's Martha.

[quote]Lucy was on in the early and mid 30s no?

Oh dear.

[quote] R14 - they used to show Lucy reruns in the 1970s.

It’s never stopped being in reruns. It’s currently on Hallmark and Hulu.

Yes R14, there was TV in the 30s.

And yes, Hootie and Bluefish do count.

I worked at Paramount, and a few (very few) of the old Desilu employees were still around. The general consensus was that Lucy didn't have much of a sense of humor. She was "acting funny," she wasn't very funny in real life. They say Desi Arnaz had the touch to know what would work and what wouldn't work. I'd say Lucy and Viv were quite equals on the screen. But Lucy herself admits Vivian was exceptional.

During a 1986 interview, Lucille Ball talked about watching I Love Lucy reruns and her reaction to Vance's performance: "I find that now I usually spend my time looking at Viv. Viv was sensational. And back then, there were things I had to do—I was in the projection room for some reason, and I just couldn't concentrate on it. But now I can. And I enjoy every move that Viv made. She was something."