Exploring the Greater Jamestown Region


Well, not really a region, but a bus to Celeron, one town over

This morning we took a tour of Lucille Ball's Jamestown. We saw her birthhome, her childhood home, and various other sites in Jamestown and Celoron, N.Y.

We then wen to the Lucy Ladies' Luncheon, which featured her daughter Lucie Arnaz, her secretary Wanda Clark, her cousin Cleo Smith, and her co-star Marilyn Borden ("Teensy"). It was hosted by Tom Watson, Lucy's erstwhile assistant.

Later in the day, there was a nice video of Lucille Ball doing a Q&A at the Museum of Broadcasting in 1984 or 1985. Lucy is pretty funny in an extemporaneous way, as well as when she is scripted.

The big finale to the weekend was an appearance by Barbara Eden, who, at 70, looks pretty darn good. She appeared once on an episode of \"I Love Lucy" in its last season. She played a sexpot visitor that turned all the boys' heads. Eden said that Ball was very gracious to her, which was unusual, since another older actress she had just worked with was nasty to the younger actress. Being cultured, Ms. Eden wouldn't tell the audience who dissed her. There was a big turnout for this event, and a lot of questions about "I Dream of Jeannie." Eden said that some of her most difficult work on that show was learning Farsi for the first episodes, and later using some Arabic songs her Lebanese mother-in-law had taught her. She was quite gracious.

Posted: Sun - May 29, 2005 at 02:36 PM        


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