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Lucille Ball passed away 31 years ago today but her legacy – and popularity – lives on
When Lucille Ball died 31 years ago today, the outpouring of grief was deep and widespread.
My brother, a fellow I Love Lucy fanatic, called me with the news that morning. It’s one of the celebrity deaths that I remember most vividly and felt most personally. We had just seen her at the Academy Awards a month earlier (pictured, left) looking terrific in a gown with a high slit. She and Bob Hope introduced a segment featuring young Hollywood performers and got an ovation for the ages.
It was her last public appearance.
I grew up watching her sitcoms in reruns of I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show and in new episodes of Here’s Lucy on Monday nights. When I was in college, I even watched every episode of her final and least successful sitcom, Life With Lucy.
Watching I Love Lucy reruns has been one of the most relaxing things I’ve been able to do during the quarantine Covid-19 pandemic. And what a testament to the enduring popularity of the sitcom than the brilliant tribute recently on one of the final episodes of Will & Grace in which the cast re-enacted some of the sitcom’s most classic scenes.
Here are scenes from each of Miss Ball’s sitcoms:
Comments
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rick gould says:
Greg,
I felt the same way. I remember watching her on the Oscars, so happy to be there, having fun with Bob, thrilled by the audience reception, and a month later, gone!
Adding to the shock was Gilda Radner’s death less than a month after Lucy’s. What a shock for us baby boomers!
Great tribute,
Rick
Leo says:
My mom and I were such big fans. Well. we both were fans of Old Hollywood, actually. Once I took my mom to LA, she was thrilled. We got to see Hollywood Blvd, the famous sidewalk. She lit up when she got to see her star on the Walk of Fame.along with many of her favourite Hollywood stars.