Lucy & Desi: The Conception and Legacy of a Turgid Biography

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When Lucille Ball passed away on April 26th, 1989 at the age of 77, the entire world grieved the loss of everyone’s favorite funny lady. In response to her death, everything Lucy related took a huge upsurge in popularity. CBS’s already popular I Love Lucy videotapes were flying off the shelves, reruns were bringing in sensational ratings, and memorabilia were fast becoming collector’s items. But while the world was in love with the show, not everyone knew as much about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as they did Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.

Such was the thought that occurred to producer Larry Thompson, who decided to produce a telefilm in 1990 chronicling the early years of Lucy and Desi’s relationship leading up to the creation of I Love Lucy. Not only was it an opportunity to educate the public on the private lives of America’s favorite couple, it was also a chance for Thompson to provide what he felt would be a tribute to the recently departed Lucille and her ex-husband Desi, who died of lung cancer in 1986.

Doing a biographical film for a well-known celebrity is always a gamble, as it’s very difficult for even the most gifted of actors to inhabit all the qualities of a person so ingrained on the public consciousness. It’s even more challenging to create an effective illusion when big name actors are called upon to play the big names portrayed in the film. So Thompson decided the time was right to find some fresh talent to bring Lucy and Desi to life.

"In light of the fact that so many people in America and around the world have such an image of what these people look like, we'd like to cast people who don't bring their own fame to the role," said Thompson. A well-known face "would get in the way" of audience acceptance of the cast, he said. ''We don't need big names. We already have the two biggest stars in TV history on our marquee: Desi and Lucy Arnaz.”

Casting calls were held in Los Angeles, Miami and New York on July 16th, 18th and 20th, respectively. More than 1,000 hopefuls turned up at the three calls, every type of Lucy and Desi imaginable: tall, short, young, old, heavy, skinny. Even those who knew they didn’t stand a chance showed up just to say they were there.

The casting calls certainly generated much interest and publicity, but ultimately didn’t fetch the hoped for results. "I [got] calls from everything from a woman who said she was Lucy incarnate and had to play the part, to a woman from Australia who wanted directions to my office," Thompson said, who mostly learned what he didn’t want from the sessions. Despite his desire for unknowns, he realized that, more likely than not, professionals would be needed. Having a hunch this would be necessary, Thompson had earlier arranged private interviews with 29 well-known actresses as a safety net.

Among the stable of pros waiting in the wings was 38 year-old Frances Fisher, best remembered today for playing Ruth DeWitt-Bukater in James Cameron's Titanic. Fisher's angular features not only bore a certain resemblance to Lucille Ball, she was also a redhead…a natural redhead. For her, playing Lucille Ball would be realizing a dream role.

Fisher had first been intrigued by the idea of playing Ball back in 1982, when a photographer had commented on her physical resemblance to the comedienne. “It was the first time I realized there was a similarity,” said Fisher. “Over the years, when one of her old movies came on TV, I’d watch it. I’d read whatever I could find about her. I got it into my head I’d like to play her one day. I was fascinated by this woman.” Although she and Ball never met, Fisher did entertain the idea of introducing herself. “I wanted to tell her I wanted to play her story, but that would’ve been presumptuous.”

Despite the open casting calls, Fisher had the distinction of being the first actress interviewed for the role. “When CBS said they were doing the movie, I went back to the same photographer and was made up to look like Lucy in the 1940s and ‘50s. I was the first one called because of my enthusiasm.”

That enthusiasm paid off. In October of 1990, Larry Thompson concluded that Frances should be his Lucy, and thus his leading lady was cast. “I wanted to find someone who looked the part and also had the vulnerability and comedic ability,” said Thompson. For him, that was Fisher.

For his leading man, 27 year old Maurice Benard, best known at the time as Nico Kelly on the popular soap opera All My Children, was selected to play Desi. John Wheeler, who had appeared opposite the real Lucy in Mame as well as in an episode of Here’s Lucy, was chosen to play William Frawley, while Robin Pearson Rose donned the schlumpy bathrobe of Ethel Mertz to portray Vivian Vance. Veteran director Charles Jarrott, meanwhile, was assigned directorial duties.

Wheeler wasn’t the only cast member who had worked with or known Lucille in real life. Jim Brochu, who had befriended Ball in her later years and penned the book Lucy in the Afternoon, played Max, while Lucille’s Life With Lucy co-star Larry Anderson was cast as Percy.

The film itself takes place on September 8th, 1951, the day the very first I Love Lucy episode was filmed. As everyone anxiously prepares for the show, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz frequently pause and gaze reminiscently into space, each pause leading to a series of flashbacks that detail how the couple first met, the trials and tribulations of their romance, and the actions that led to them joining forces to do television. For all the ups and downs of their relationship that the film dramatizes, it ends on a high note: Lucille and Desi waving enthusiastically at the audience as the camera freeze frames, with the obligatory TV movie subtitle informing us of how successful  I Love Lucy became. The ending was deliberately open-ended, as Larry Thompson envisioned making two more films chronicling the further adventures of Lucy and Desi if this one proved successful.

Unfortunately, despite the pedigree of those involved with the production, controversy about the film had already begun even prior to its development. Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. had initially approached CBS prior to their mother’s passing about doing a biographical film about Desi Arnaz. A script was written and underwent extensive rewrites by Lucie’s husband, Larry Luckinbill, but CBS turned down the offer. Luckinbill then joined forces with his manager Larry Thompson, and the two of them again tried to sell CBS on the idea. CBS was uninterested, however, in doing a film strictly about Desi. They were more interested in pursuing a story about both Lucy and Desi. It wasn’t until after Lucille’s death that Luckinbill and Thompson returned to CBS and agreed to a story dealing with Lucy and Desi’s relationship. However, Lucie Arnaz learned that she would not have final script approval, and withdrew her support for the idea. Luckinbill and Thompson parted ways, and it appeared as if the project was dead.

Imagine Lucie’s shock, therefore, when she opened Variety not long afterwards to find that Thompson was proceeding with the project on his own. It was all the more upsetting due to CBS having given her the distinct impression that no film would be produced without her consent and involvement. “I totally freaked,” said Arnaz. “I felt CBS would not have done this. I felt raped, to say the least.”

Arnaz felt even worse after reading an early draft of William Luce and Cynthia A. Cherbak’s screenplay, which she found “shallow” and “extraordinarily biased” in making her mother a hero and her father a villain.  “I just thought it wasn't enough,” added Lucie. “I wanted to see a deeper story. I wanted to see what made these people tick.”

She immediately arranged a meeting with CBS President Jeff Sagansky to try and get him to call off production. “Don’t you think they deserve better than this?” Arnaz asked tearfully, handing him the script. Unfortunately for Lucie, it was too late. CBS informed her that it would be cost prohibitive to buy Thompson out of his production commitment and that the film would go ahead as planned.

Though Lucie continued to make her grievances known, she was careful to mention that she held Sagansky blameless, given that the project had been given the greenlight by his predecessors Kim LeMasters and Pat Faulstich. It was important that Lucie not tread too hard on any toes at CBS due to her starring role in the dramedy Sons and Daughters airing on the network. “I’d like to tell all 1,200 people with Nielsen boxes to please watch,” she said with forced diplomacy. “I would like to see CBS get a great rating on this movie, make a fortune, and then spend it on scripts for our series. I’d like to tell the other 40 million people, however, that there is more to this story – and someday somebody will tell it right.” (For the record, Sons and Daughters lasted a mere 7 episodes)

Desi Arnaz Jr. also made it clear that he was on his sister’s side. “This project is not authorized by our family, and to defend our position or say anything about it would validate the film, which we have no interest in doing.”

In spite of all the negative publicity generated by the Arnaz children, Thompson boldly stood by his production through it all. He proudly boasted that it was a “truthful but loving” depiction of Lucy and Desi’s life together, and casually handwaved Lucie’s critcisms. “We are telling a factual story. If we were to tell it differently than how I told it, it would be untrue. I think I told the truth in a loving way. I have the fantasy that she and the rest of the family will eventually see it and they will like it.”

Frances Fisher, though aware of Lucie and Desi Jr.’s concerns, chose to keep her distance and focus on the part as best as she knew how. “I approached it as I would any role,” she said. “I tried to perceive what she was all about. We’re storytellers, we’re not doing a documentary. All we’re doing is interpreting a story. Nobody but Lucille Ball knew what really went on. We approached it with respect and admiration. We all loved Lucille Ball.”

Not that she didn’t sympathize with the Arnaz children’s defensiveness of their parents. “I feel very protective about Lucille Ball. I want it to be done right, and as a tribute to her, because she was such an amazing woman. All I can say is, I did it with the best intentions and with a lot of love.”

Fisher admitted to being most nervous about the reaction to her recreating  I Love Lucy moments. “My only concern were the portions of the movie where I play Lucy Ricardo. That’s the Lucille Ball people know. That’s how they remember her. I knew that if I didn’t catch the essence of that, the public would shoot me down.”

Thompson continued to defend his position all throughout production and promotion of the film, which was being billed as a “fascinating, kiss and tell biography” by the network. “I’ve been a fan of  I Love Lucy all my life. I happen to think the CBS movie is a loving tribute done with taste and style. After the show airs, I think the American public will continue to love Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, but they will also now love Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz because they will know more about them."

CBS broadcast the film on February 10th, 1991. In spite of Thompson’s pride over the film and despite Fisher’s best intentions, the reception was less than positive critically. People magazine felt the “bitter bio-flick” was “nicely photographed and costumed” and carried “considerable nostalgic weight behind it” but deemed the performances “terrible.” It also criticized “the clumsy set pieces that [made] up the exposition” and concluded by mocking Maurice Benard’s affected Cuban accent: “If ju goan to do something so tacky, at least make it funny.” The final grade given was a C minus.

John J. O’Connor, writing for the New York Times, was even more merciless, calling it “so terrible it shouldn’t be missed. Television milestones don’t come along all that often.” Despite his issues with the script and execution, O’Connor did have some encouraging words for the two stars: “Seen from the right angle, and under careful lighting, Ms. Fisher does bear an uncanny resemblance to our Lucy. And playing Desi Arnaz, Maurice Benard is reasonably on target, getting the cute Cuban accent down pat and singing ‘Babalu’ without looking too silly.” (Desi’s singing voice was dubbed by Robert West)

In the Desert News, Scott. D Pierce lauded Frances Fisher: “In makeup, Fisher bears a sometimes-startling resemblance to Ball. But what makes her portrayal of Lucy believable is her ability to act, not simply do an imitation.” But the niceties ended there, with Pierce going on to say that Benard “fails miserably” as Arnaz and that the film as a whole was a shallow cash-in: “The biggest problem with this movie is that it's obvious there's only one reason it was produced - to bring in big ratings by trading on the name of Lucille Ball.”

Ken Tucker, writing for Entertainment Weekly, wasn’t much more charitable, lamenting how Lucy and Desi were “reduced to the simplest stereotypes”, Arnaz an “incurable womanizer” and Lucille “a self-righteous bore.” He criticized Benard’s lack of similarity to Desi in addition to the way the character was written, although he did write kindly of Fisher: “her face will remind you of Ball’s angularity, and she does a good job of imitating Ball’s pop-eyed double takes and breathless screeching.” He ultimately concluded that “reducing a TV legend to the banal story of a troubled marriage…is a woeful mistake” and that “CBS has wound up trashing two of its most illustrious stars.”

Tom Jicha of the South Florida Sun Sentinel was upset at the film’s less than thorough detailing of Desi Arnaz’s contribution to the television industry, and likened Benard’s performance to Al Pacino’s Scarface doing a Desi impression. He did admire Fisher's appearance as Ball, however: “Fisher`s resemblance to the legend she plays is so striking, it`s distracting. You`re liable to find yourself gawking increduously at the screen, oblivious to the story.”

But the most damning vilification still came from Lucie Arnaz. Contrary to Thompson’s fantasy, she did not appreciate the final product at all. “It exploited their worst faults and it didn’t explain much about them as people. It didn’t even get the history right of the I Love Lucy show being created, and I thought…there must be a way to show these two people and be more realistic and have more fun watching it but also answer some questions.” It was largely in response to Before the Laughter that Lucie and her husband produced the Emmy award winning documentary Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie, which featured interviews and rare footage of the Arnaz family’s private life to tell their story.

Arnaz’s biggest beef with Before the Laughter was its depiction of Desi’s infidelity, bluntly dramatized in several scenes. One in particular showed Lucille discovering Desi and a blonde starlet embracing on a bus. Although aware that infidelities did occur to an extent in real life, Arnaz found the film’s handling of the matter to be in poor taste. “They can’t prove any of those things. [The producers] haven’t interviewed anyone who knew them as private people. This film is based on nothing.” It should be noted that Thompson disputes that claim, saying he did interview people who knew Lucy and Desi as well as conducting extensive research with the screenwriters in books, articles, magazines and videotapes.

“Everybody thinks I didn’t want my parents’ flaws shown,” Lucie said. “But that’s not true. What I found distressing was that this is a very surface piece. I did everything I could possibly do to stop this from happening. This is not their lives…This is a much a cartoon of their lives as any unauthorized fiction.”

Though easy to forget nowadays, not all reviews were negative. Mick Martin and Marsha Porter, in their popular Video Guide book, gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it a “warts and all portrayal” that was “particularly distinguished by Frances Fisher’s passionate turn as the redheaded queen of comedy,” although they did advise it was not for those who wished to maintain the I Love Lucy image of Lucy and Desi being just like Lucy and Ricky.

Linda Seger, in her book The Art of Adaptation: Turning Fact and Fiction into Film, complemented the screenplay’s format. “The present-tense scenes helped structure and frame the flashback scenes, which were somewhat episodic. Without some kind of frame or structuring, they would have seemed like random scenes from two lives, instead of forming a cohesive narrative line.”

The Los Angeles Times, though critical of the screenwriters for “unfortunately [devoting] too much agonizing to the clash between Arnaz’s irrepressible libido and Ball’s fear of losing him to another woman” nonetheless praised the production and costume design as well as the casting: “Frances Fisher's wide-eyed Ball is pert and expressive. Her live-stage clown act as a warm-up to her ‘Lucy’ pilot and her black-and-white reproductions of a classic ‘Lucy’ kitchen episode are the movie's sweetest moments.” This was in stark contrast to People Magazine’s view of those recreations, which found them to be “totally torturous.”

The LA Times also gave Benard one of the very few positive notices he received for playing Desi: “Maurice Benard's shorter, shoulder-swaying lothario catches the boyish charm of a ba-ba-loo [sic] bongo player. Benard also conveys in the ‘Lucy’ acts the subtle, skillful Arnaz timing that was easily overlooked.”

Benard himself certainly wouldn’t offer that appraisal, and has gone on to express regret over the nature of the project. ''Frances and I worked so hard on the movie. But from the beginning, it was a mess. Lucy and Desi's daughter Lucie hated the concept. So did the public. They wanted to see the Lucy and Desi they knew from television, not the real couple.”

When asked about the film’s portrayal of Arnaz, Benard said that “he was brilliant in business. So much of what television is about today - reruns, syndication - that is because of Desi, and the movie didn't do much with that.''

Benard also blamed his lack of acting ability at the time for negatively affecting his performance. “I really thought I knew what I was doing. And from an emotional point of view, I did. I use my acting as a way of showing my own emotions, which I keep pretty much to myself in real life. But there is more to acting than emotions. I went to an acting coach in L.A. He looked at me and said I was awful. You bet it hurt. But he was right. I had no technical ability. I have that now.''

Looking back on the project, there’s a lot he would do differently. “My wife and I watched it on TV a few years after it came out. There was a scene and my wife looked over at me and I said, ‘What did you think?’ She got quiet and I said, ‘I know, pretty bad.’ I had him down as far as an impersonation. I studied his voice and mannerisms. But if I were to do it again now, I would go way deeper inside into who he was…I've had to learn to lie about that performance because a lot of people have told me it was great. I'm thinking, ’Are you serious?’ But now I'll just say, ‘Thank you, I appreciate it.’"

Today, the film is a largely forgotten cult oddity, a vaguely remembered footnote in the annals of television biopic history. It was popular enough at the time to warrant an official VHS and Laserdisc release from Republic Pictures, both of which are long out of print and command high prices on the secondhand market. Perhaps one day it will receive an official DVD or digital release, given the rather high curiosity factor among Lucy and Desi’s younger fan base that missed the film when it premiered. The lack of critical success did nothing to dampen Larry Thompson’s spirits, who went on to produce Lifetime’s ill-received Liz & Dick biopic with Lindsay Lohan in 2012. Thompson even boasted of his credentials with the Lucy and Desi movie when discussing Liz and Dick (couples with the initials L and D better look out for Thompson down the line).

Despite the subsequent video release (not to mention two Emmy nominations, for hairstyling and costume design), the critical reaction and ratings were such that Thompson never realized his dream of making a Lucy and Desi trilogy. In 2003, after interest in Lucy and Desi peaked again after the 50th anniversary of  I Love Lucy in 2001, Storyline Entertainment produced a second Lucille Ball biopic entitled Lucy, which CBS aired on May 4th of that year. That film, which starred Rachel York as Lucille Ball and Daniel Pino as Desi Arnaz, still received mixed reviews but on the whole the reception was considerably more positive. The second film also sparked re-interest in this initial outing, and both films are worth comparing for their very different takes on the same couple.

Regardless of one’s opinion of the film, it does stand at an important point in Lucy/Desi history. As Stefan Kanfer notes in his book Ball of Fire, it was one of several projects in the early 90s that “marked the beginning of the apotheosis, a phenomenon that was to make Lucille Ball unique in the history of American show business”. The movie neither enhanced nor tarnished Lucille’s image in the eyes of the public. It merely commented on it. Lucy and Desi’s popularity never dwindled for an instant. And today, even in an age when black-and-white is often looked down upon by younger generations,  I Love Lucy is as vividly remembered and respected as it ever was. With countless biographies written, every episode available on DVD, and yearly conventions in Lucille’s hometown of Jamestown, New York, Lucy’s life remains as fresh and invigorating today as it did back in 1990 when a film producer set out to create a biographical tribute. But whether or not he succeeded or failed is irrelevant, as the film is merely proof of the biggest success of all: Lucille Ball’s never-ending popularity in the eyes of her audience.

Sources

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