Lucy Calls the President

It looked awful, from that clip.

And wow did the booze and cigs really do a number on Lucy's voice. It turned so low and raspy.

Was just going to start a thread on this.

This clip alone makes me ... I don't know. Sad? (Yes I know MARY!!!!!!!) It's clear Viv is not well (I think she recently suffered a stroke, and maybe was suffering from the cancer that eventually killed her). And this was the last time Lucy and Viv appeared on screen together.

But what is also amusing is that, despite her illness, Viv looks and sounds fresher than Lucy ....

And Gale Gordon remains as unfunny as ever

Funny that a second poster was wanted to start a thread on Lucy Calls the President. How random is that? Is it “trending” (hate that term) for some reason? Things like this are why I love coming here.

Loved Lucy...but always felt Vivian Vance was underrated and enjoyed the Lucy/Viv interplay

Poor Lucy. After Viv was gone, she missed her every day of her life.

Lucy got real hard real quick. Lucy and Viv's trademark "surprise jump" is just sad. You can't do the same comedy in your 60's as you can in your 30's. It just stops working at some point. I think it's the fluidity of movement you eventually lose.

I always felt like Vivian Vance was underrated as an actress, and truly, a nice, classy lady in real life. Shame she had a bad run of it with some terrible marriages and mental illness. RIP.

I haven't seen it since its network TV rerun, having watched it when it first aired, and remember nothing about it except Lillian Carter's cameo at the end and Lucy speaking funny because she broke a tooth on peanut brittle.

[quote]You can't do the same comedy in your 60's as you can in your 30's.

Hold my beer.

God, people looked so much older back then. Lucy, Viv and Gale were only in their 60s and they all looked like a modern 80something.

What role did Mary Jane Croft play?

r10 there's only so much tape in the world

Lucy with that truck stop waitress voice.

The booze and cigs really did a number on Lucy's voice and looks.

[quote]What role did Mary Jane Croft play?

Desi's fluffer.

I think this was Mary Jane Croft's last television appearance

Sorry boys, I’m late to the party. Is this a TV movie?

I think it was more of a "TV special" r17

It was not done on the Maude set.

For shame, r19.

R19, they didn't even change the wallpaper in the kitchen. It was absolutely the same set.

Maude Findley's kitchen

Good eye r22

These Lucy specials sound godawful, and I need to see every one of them.

[quote]Lucy Collins comes to Las Vegas to see Dean Martin perform at the newly-opened MGM Grand Hotel. When Lucy’s reservation falls through, she hears that Martin is doing a special show for employees and promptly gets herself hired. Naturally, Lucy causes chaos in each department she is transferred to: valet parking, cocktail waitress, Keno girl. But Lucy gets lucky when Dean Martin takes a liking to her and arranges a front row seat at his show.

I'm watching it now. It's... not good.

Lucy would have been great as a foil to Archie Bunker or Maude, but she hated those "topical" shows, so instead stuck to dated dreck like this.

OK, they used the same kitchen. I didn't watch the piece of crap that far.

The living room is NOT from Maude.

I read years ago that Lucy was offered a guest spot on the golden girls as rose’s cousin from st Olaf and she was close to doing it but ultimately passed.

Gary...?

[quote]Gary...?

Right, Gary Morton advised against it.

"Who wants to watch a show about a bunch of dykes living in a house in Miami ?"

[quote]Lucy would have been great as a foil to Archie Bunker or Maude, but she hated those "topical" shows, so instead stuck to dated dreck like this.

It's too bad Lucy didn't move with the times, she could've done some interesting work. Instead she kept playing the wacky "Lucy" character for the rest of her career and of course it was so dated and she was too old. I've watched some "Life With Lucy" clips on Youtube and it was so embarrassing.

"Lucy Calls the President" is referred to by hardcore Lucy fans as "the last hurrah," the last time Lucy, Vivian, Gale, and Mary Jane worked together. So it has considerable sentimental value.

Lucy couldn't move with the times the way Cloris Leachman did or even the way Mary Tyler Moore did (from the DVD Show to the MTM Show).

It was kind of painful to watch Lucy as she got older and was still doing the same type of comedy. She looked embalmed and you were scared she was going to break a hip doing those pratfalls.

[quote]It was kind of painful to watch Lucy as she got older and was still doing the same type of comedy. She looked embalmed and you were scared she was going to break a hip doing those pratfalls.

Tape up the face, slap on the wig, put her in a jewel-toned velour running suit and COMEDY MAGIC.

And also on Life With Lucy, she was supposed to be a "health nut" when the ravages of booze and cigs were so obvious.

Oh, r24, make sure you don't miss...

[quote]Tape up the face, slap on the wig, put her in a jewel-toned velour running suit and COMEDY MAGIC.

Marry me r34

[quote]It was kind of painful to watch Lucy as she got older and was still doing the same type of comedy. She looked embalmed and you were scared she was going to break a hip doing those pratfalls.

I agree, r33. I don't think it helped that Lucy, essentially, could only "do" one type of comedy. Granted, she could do it very well. But she wasn't particularly versatile.

I loved that clip. Better than anything today.