We All Loved Lucy! (And we still do)

Story and photos by KRIS GRANT

I’ll bet you that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz never dreamed that their I Love Lucy series would still be running on television. The “First Couple of Comedy” have been gone from our lives since the 1980s, (Desi died in 1986; Lucy in 1989) but their legends and their comedy live on.

It’s timeless. Who can ever forget the Vitameatavegamin commercial that featured a smiling Lucy who cites all the attributes of the concoction and proclaims “It’s so tasty, too!” She swallows a spoonful, with her face dissolving into shock from the insipid taste. Worse still, Lucy has to retake the scene over and over, and becomes increasingly inebriated and slurs her words due to the high, shall we say “medicinal,” content of the formula? Or how ‘bout the time that Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz worked the line at a candy factory? Unable to keep pace with the conveyor belt, they stuffed the chocolates into their mouths, down their shirts, and finally scooped them up into their chef hats. At that point their supervisor walks in and compliments the two gals on their proficiency. They are speechless because their mouths are full of chocolates, but their eyes express their shock when the supervisor then yells out, “Speed ‘er up a little!”

Over the past month, I traveled back in time to walk in the footsteps of America’s favorite redhead. Lucy’s hometown of Jamestown, New York, located in Chautauqua County in the most southwestern part of the state, is now the site of the Lucille Ball – Desi Arnaz Museum. It’s a blast from the past.

To convince CBS TV decision makers that Cuban-born Desi Arnaz would be accepted as Lucy’s screen husband, Lucy and Desi performed a vaudeville act, which they took across America. They spent two weeks in 1950 at Hotel del Coronado rehearsing and perfecting their act, before taking it coast to coast. It was a huge success and the first episode of I Love Lucy premiered on the CBS network on Monday, October 15, 1951.

Then I popped over to Palm Springs, one of Lucy and Desi’s favorite vacation spots (mine as well) and the site of one of their homes. I found that their legends live on there in fun and whimsical ways. It’s also where their daughter, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill and her husband have lived for decades. Lucy and Desi also made their way to Coronado and the Hotel del Coronado for an important chapter of their lives.

Come along now, and I’ll fill in all the details!

Young Lucille Desiree Ball

Lucille Desirée Ball was born Aug. 6, 1911 in Jamestown to parents DeDe and Henry Ball. Shortly after she was born, the family moved to Montana and then to Michigan where Henry was employed as a telephone lineman. But due to working in inclement weather, he caught influenza that worsened into typhoid fever and he died in 1915 when Lucy was just three and her mother was pregnant. DeDe and Lucy moved back to Jamestown to live with DeDe’s parents, Fred and Flora Hunt; Lucy’s brother Freddy was born shortly thereafter.

Three years later DeDe remarried a stern and indifferent man named Edward Peterson. Lucy was sent to live for a year with his devoutly religious parents, while Freddy stayed in Jamestown. After Ed’s failure to find work in Detroit, the family moved back to Jamestown, settling with Lucy’s grandparents in the Jamestown suburb of Celoron. Lucy’s mother and second husband eventually divorced.

Lucy’s grandfather took on the paternal role and the children called him “Daddy” for the rest of their lives. He worked as a storeowner, chiropractor and woodworker.

While the family struggled financially, it was a happy time for Lucy who loved watching stage plays at the Celoron Amusement Park and acting out plays with her brother and childhood friends. In high school, she put on a play with her best friend and they sold tickets for 25 cents each. DeDe made the costumes.

Tragedy struck when Lucy was 16. It was the 4th of July and Grandfather Hunt set up a tin-can target in the backyard, inviting neighborhood kids to take turns shooting the target. As one of the boys watched from the sidelines, his mother shouted to him to come home; he jumped up and ran directly into the line of fire. He was paralyzed from the waist down and Lucy’s grandfather was charged with negligence. He lost his entire life’s savings and the family was forced to move from their family home into a small apartment in Jamestown.

Lucy had to change high schools and she hated her new school, often skipping classes and running away. Yet DeDe saw great promise in Lucy’s talents and managed to pay for her to go to acting school in New York when she was seventeen. But Lucy felt bullied by classmates (one of whom was Bette Davis), and she would return again and again to her Jamestown roots. DeDe would bolster her back up and Lucy would return to New York, constantly auditioning for any stage work she could find. It was now the early years of the Depression, and stages were closing. Lucy began to take on modeling work. A big break came when she posed for an ad for Chesterfield Cigarettes in 1933, which brought her to the attention of a talent scout who was working with producer Eddie Cantor for Samuel Goldwyn, the producer of the musical Roman Scandals. When a chorus girl backed out, Lucy got the part and headed to Hollywood. She gained respect for her hard work, arriving early and leaving late on sets. As a “Goldwyn Girl,” she was loaned out to other studios and made brief appearances in films. Eddie Cantor became Lucy’s advocate, and encouraged her to do comedy. She left Goldwyn and joined Columbia Pictures, where she had a part in Frank Capra’s Broadway Bill, and then Roberta, where she formed a lifelong friendship with the film’s star, Ginger Rogers. She was then given a part in the Ginger Rogers-Fred Astaire film, Top Hat. Ginger’s mother, Lela Rogers, took Lucy under her wing, helping her to hone her acting skills, and helping her secure a role in Stage Door, which starred Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn. Lucy, in the role of Judy, delivered wisecracks in rapid-fire repertoire.

Lucy’s career was flourishing and she was able to bring her entire family to Los Angeles. After starring in a number of “B” movies, she was dubbed “The Queen Bee” and was soon to meet the man who would sweep her off her feet.

Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz d Acha III, Desi Arnaz was the son of the mayor of Santiago de Cuba. He led a privileged life up until 1933 when the Cuban Revolution put his father’s party out of power and the family fled to the United States. They had lost everything. His parents divorced, and Desi supported his mother for the rest of his life. In Miami, Desi formed a band focusing on Cuban conga dance rhythms. They were immediately popular, and soon Desi was performing at the La Conga nightclub in New York. That’s when he was recruited for the musical film, Too Many Girls, which also starred Lucille Ball. Lucy was introduced to her future co-star at the RKO studio commissary and was immediately smitten. Desi was just twenty-three, five-and-a-half years younger than Lucy.

They eloped to Greenwich, Connecticut on Nov. 30, 1940 and soon after Desi moved to Los Angeles. They purchased a ranch in the San Fernando Valley, which they christened “Desilu.”

Among their friends: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, William and Brenda Holden.

World War II interrupted the couple’s bliss; Desi joined the Air Force and Lucy worked for various war funding causes. The years after the war were difficult ones for the couple; Desi returned to traveling with his band and Lucy made a few more films. Her most successful venture, however, was a CBS radio show, “My Favorite Husband.” When television came of age, CBS recruited Lucy to star in a show of the same name, but she insisted that her husband Desi be cast as her onscreen husband. It was 1950 and CBS was reticent to cast All-American Lucy with a Cubanborn, heavily accented husband, thinking America would not accept the duo. To prove them wrong, Lucy and Desi holed up for two weeks at Hotel del Coronado, rehearsing a vaudeville act that they would take nationwide.

The show was a success, CBS relented and I Love Lucy was born. The first episode of the series featured an act from the vaudeville show; large pajamas and a clown costume helped disguise the fact that Lucy was pregnant for the first time.

Her second pregnancy two years later was written into four of the scripts, but the word pregnant wasn’t permitted. Instead, Lucy was “expecting,” or as Desi would remark, “Lucy is ‘specting.”

The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Museum recounts these years, with videos of favorite scenes, and commentary from the writers of the time. Even the Hollywood sets are recreated in the museum.

Lucy and Desi’s production company, Desilu Productions owned I Love Lucy and made advances in production. They recorded on film, rather than kinoscope, which produced a lower-grade image, and would have made the preservation of the series impossible. Desi also introduced a three-camera process. Other series that Desilu produced were The Ann Sothern Show, The Untouchables and in later years, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible.

In 1953 Lucy and Desi starred in and filmed one of the most hilarious films I’ve ever seen, The Long, Long TrailerThe MGM film showcased Lucy and Desi as naïve newlyweds lumbering cross country in a colossally long trailer.The MGM film showcased Lucy and Desi as naïve newlyweds lumbering cross country in a colossally long trailer.

Alas, the marriage of Desi and Lucy came to an end in 1960 (along with their show) due to Desi’s marital infidelity. They continued to work together for a while, then Desi sold his shares in Desilu to Lucy. Both couples remarried; Lucy to actor and comedian Gary Morton and Desi to Edith Hirsch, settling in Del Mar. Edith predecessed Desi.

Just two days before his death, Lucy called Desi. According to their two children and those who knew them, their love for each other continued throughout their lives.

America’s “First Couple of Comedy,” Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

©2024 Images of Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz licensed by Desilu, too, LLC. All rights reserved.

Chautauqua County

There’s much more to see in Chautauqua County, including the National Comedy Center, building on the legacy of Lucy and Desi and continuing with stand-up comedians, TV sitcoms, film and more. It’s an outstanding museum, where you create a profile of the type of comedy you enjoy, whether it’s the Marx Brothers, Billy Crystal or Carl Reiner, and thousands of other choices. Your experience is then tailored as you visit the galleries. You could easily spend an entire day here, enjoying lunch and a trip to the bar between watching TV reels, the Movie Lounge or heading downstairs for “blue” comedy.

The Harbor Hotel overlooks Chautauqua Lake in Celoron, where young Lucy once lived.

Also noteworthy in Chautauqua are two museums: The Roger Tory Peterson Institute covers the history of the Peterson field guides, with the first publication 90 years ago. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the Institute whose mission states it is a leader for the “study, exhibition and nurturing of art that matters to the planet.” The other is the Robert H. Jackson Museum, which honors and promotes the legacy of Robert H. Jackson, U.S. Solicitor General, U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and Chief U.S. Prosecutor of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. It’s fascinating, particularly the gallery of portraits of the defendants of the Nuremberg trial, two of whom committed suicide while incarcerated and awaiting trail.

On a happier note, you might want to visit The Grape Discovery Center. Who knew this region bordering Lake Erie was the home of the Concord Grape and Welch’s? They also make some pretty outstanding Reislings, so pop over to some local wineries.

Finally, Chautauqua County is home to the famous Chautauqua Institute. Each summer, a different topic each week for nine weeks, dealing with human values and the enrichment of life is presented, featuring indepth lectures, plus music and concerts, with noted speakers from industry, politics, religion and culture. This is where British-American novelist Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, was nearly knifed to death by an assailant in 2022. More than thirty years prior, the Supreme Leader of Iran had issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s assassination.

Most attendees rent a home on the institute grounds, most in Victorian style for about $3,000 or more for the week; transportation throughout the facility is mostly via walking or bicycling. It will cost you a pretty penny to have a car on the grounds and you’d feel awkward. I stayed in the one hotel on the property, the venerable Anthenauem. There’s a fundraising program underway to modernize the hotel that was built in 1881.

Chautauqua was founded in 1874 as a Methodist study camp, its participants staying in canvas tents, similar to those of Coronado’s historic “Tent City.” Its first speaker was President Ulysses S. Grant; founder Lewis Miller’s son-inlaw Thomas Edison also spoke at the institute. No, he didn’t stay in a tent; Miller built him a chalet home, which is still on the premises today.

But if I were visiting Chautauqua, I’d opt to stay some 30 minutes away in Celoron at the beautiful lakeside Harbor Hotel. It’s well designed; the service is impeccable. I loved my room with a balcony overlooking Chautauqua Lake, the outdoor pool, and the lively Carousel Bar where locals were gathered enmasse to cheer on the Buffalo Bills, while others, probably non-New Yorkers, enjoyed the warmth of the outdoor firepits, which lent a glow over the entire scene.

It’s the kind of place where you can’t wait to return.

Palm Springs

I lucked out on my three-day visit to Palm Springs last month; the temps were in the 70s and 80s; the local news station was giddy in reporting that the average for those days was 102 degrees. So it was beautiful and, at mid-week, not crowded at all. Most summer residents had not yet returned.

The good news for you is that this month and all the months through April are the best time to visit Palm Springs, just a two-and-a-half hour drive from Coronado. You’ll want to take in the sites, like shopping in the historic downtown, perhaps taking the tram up to Mt. San Jacinto (be sure to take a sweater – it’s cold up at the top!), or enjoy an afternoon of spa treatments at the new Spa at Seć he.

Here’s my most important tip: stay in one of Palm Springs exquisite, small, intimate inns, and don’t schedule yourself too tightly.

The delight of Palm Springs is that you can unwind. Choose to spend a day or two just lazing around your hotel. Most have inviting pools –small and medium sized, not the type you’ll swim laps and train for the Olympics. No, here the emphasis is, say, floating on a swan, or relaxing poolside in a cabana or on a comfy chaise lounge. Most of these small properties have poolside (or nearby) complimentary continental breakfasts.

Now how do you find these smaller, more intimate hotels? The City of Palm Springs has made it easy for you and me. Just go go online to Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels.

You’ll find 80 properties, not one of them more than 49 rooms and most with just 12 or 20 rooms or suites. The website and promotion of the small hotels debutted in 2017, made possible when the City of Palm Springs set up a Business Improvement District that allowed the more intimate properties to compete against the marketing clout of the big boy resorts.

The entryway to Lucille Palm Springs captures the elegance of the property.

Acúzar & Sugar High Rooftop Lounge at Le Serena Villas.

A statue of Lucy Ricardo, bronze, 1995 by Emmanul and Janet Snitkovsky can be found at the intersection of Tahquitz Canyon Way and Palm Canyon Drive.

That’s how I found Lucille Palm Springs! Yes, let’s get back to the story of Lucy and Desi! This petite resort in Spanish Revival style dates back to 1921 and was completely renovated and rebranded just last year. I stayed in the “Prickly Pear,” the very bungalow that Lucy and Desi made their vacation retreat with their youngsters Lucie and Desi, Jr., back in the ‘50s. Today, the suite features a living room with fireplace, full kitchen and a bath that features a shower with seating and a large soaking tub. Three private patios surround the suite, the largest featuring an outdoor whirlpool tub and firepit.

Lucille’s landscaping is full and lush, with curving bricked walkways opening onto sitting areas with trickling fountains. Throughout I found orange, lemon and grapefruit trees, and I could imagine their sweet scents in springtime.

Knowing that I was seeking out all-things-Lucy, my guide from Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels, Kimberli Munkres, couldn’t wait to show me the newly redone Velvet Rope boutique hotel, and in particular, the Ricardo Suite.

The Ricardo Suite at The Velvet Rope

Each of the nine rooms here is so cleverly themed that it’s hard to decide on a favorite. Maybe the Lavender Suite, done up in Elizabeth Taylor style. Or the Candelabra Suite where a portrait of Liberace features him in effervescent glory sitting in a bubbling hot tub, accented with candelabras. Both the kitchen and bathroom faucets are golden swans.

The Velvet Rope’s beautifully decadent lounge with bar stools of rich green velvet is the site of near nightly entertainment, and on certain nights of the week there’s drag queen-led bingo and drag queen-led karaoke. This is Palm Springs, after all!

The Velvet Rope is the brainchild of its owner, designer David Rios, who took the former circa-1950 Desert Mirage hotel and transformed it into an homage to Hollywood’s heyday. He maintained the hotel’s mid-century modern architecture and designed each room with custom art, vibrant and inviting colors and hints of fun. For example, the Presidential suite features photos of JFK… and Marilyn Monroe in “that dress” where she sang Happy Birthday to the president. The Velvet Rope features a central pool surrounded by lounge chairs and cabanas. The hotel offers a day rate for pool and bar use; $45. A deal.

I stayed at Lucy and Desi’s former bungalow at Lucille Palm Springs.

Dinner under the arbor at The Barn Kitchen, Sparrows Lodge, was magical.

IF YOU GO…

Palm Springs

Lodging

Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels

Choose from 80 properties, all with fewer than 50 rooms. Here are a few of my fave’s! www.palmspringspreferredsmallhotels.com

Korakia PensioneChoose from 80 properties, all with fewer than 50 rooms. Here are a few of my fave’s! www.palmspringspreferredsmallhotels.com

Lucille Luxurious, lush and elegant. www.lucillepalmsprings.comSparrows LodgeDarling, rustic modern. Steel horse-trough bathtub anyone? www.sparrowslodge.com

The MuseJust nine suites, filled with fun, whimsy and color. www.themusehotelpalmsprings

The Velvet RopeAll rooms here have been designed by artist David Rio in old Hollywood style. Ask for The Ricardo Suite.www.thevelvetropeps.com

Recommended Restaurants(I’ve eaten at all of these over the years.)

The FarmGreat breakfasts, especially sweet or savory crepes. Three-course prix-fixe dinners, Friday – Tuesdays; $69. www.farmpalmsprings.com

Cheeky’sTry the world-famous bacon flight and homemade cinnamon rolls. www.cheekysf10.com

Copley’s on Palm CanyonCary Grant’s 1940 guesthouse. www.copleyspalmsprings.com

Eight4Nine Restaurant and LoungeIndoor. Outdoor. Artful. Eclectic. Yum. www.eight4nine.com

The Barn KitchenFeaturing Coachella Valley farms’ finest www.sparrowslodge com>thebarnkitchen

Aźucar Palm SpringsRestaurant and rooftop bar at La Serena Villas www.azucarpalmsprings.com

Attractions

Palm Springs Art Museumwww.psmuseum.org

Palm Springs Aerial TramwayThe world’s only rotating tram www.pstramway.com

Jamestown, Chautauqua County, New York

Recommended Hotels

The Chautauqua Harbor Hotel 10 Dunham Avenue, Celoron www.thechautauquaharborhotel.com

DoubleTree InnJamestownwww.hilton.com

Restaurants/ Breweries/Wineries

Heirloom RestaurantAntheneaum Hotel Chautauqua www.chq.org/visit/accommodations/ athenaeum-hotel/

Johnson Estate WineryWestfield www.johnsonwinery.com

Landmark RestaurantJamestown www.landmark.restaurant

Mazza Five & 20 Spirits and BrewingWestfieldwww.fiveand20.com

Southern Tier BrewingLakewoodwww.lakewood.stbcbeer.com

Attractions

CHQ Black Car(813) 952-4804sharonsoehnlein@gmail.com Sharon knows Chautauqua County well and is a delight!

Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Museum Jamestown www.lucydesi.com

National Comedy Center Jamestown www.comedycenter.org

Roger Tory Peterson Institute Jamestownwww.rtpi.org

The Robert H. Jackson Center Jamestown www.roberthjackson.org

Village of Bemus Point Bemus Point www.bemusppointny.org

The Grape Discovery Center Westfieldwww.grapediscoverycenter.com

Chautauqua Institute Chautauquawww.chq.org