LUCILLE BALL "Rona Barrett interview" (STONE PILLOW)

[sbmsalz2]

Very touching when Lucy speaks of her mother. Though her mother was gone some 8 years at the time of this interview, you can see how affected she still is by the loss. They apparently were very close, more like sisters some have said. Getting old is difficult and especially for a world-class beauty like Lucille Ball. She looks wonderful in this interview. Wish is was a little clearer and the sound was better. But Thank You for posting this anyway! Great to see and save for further generations!

[cmatthews926]

Happy 100th Lucy!

[maxbaby29]

LUCY IS SO REAL WHEN SHE TALKS

[MsDebbieReynolds]

this was a gud interview because wen she talks about her mom and how she only thought she was pleasing her then wen she died she said that there wasn't any one to please and you can see the hurt and sadness in her eyes but then again she was very very close to her mother because her father died wen Lucille was about 3 or 4 so her mom has had a huge impact on her during her life

[uncoverbrother]

horrible interviewer!

[Showinbulge]

Rona Barret...the QUEEN of interviewers. The dreadfull Barbara Walters could take a lesson or two from Rona.

[HattieLovesCattie]

@Showinbulge I saw Rona at a movie in LA many years ago.As for Lucy,I hope to visit her hometown someday and see the house where she grew up.She and her parents are buried in Jamestown now.Lucy's body was at Forest Lawn where MJ and Liz are for many years then her kids had her sent home.

[tyjeffries]

Wonderful Lucy says that no one recognised her...well I DID! lol

I was living in NYC in the mid 80s ( this must have been winter 84 or 85) and I saw her all dolled up as the bag lady....and I knew in an instant. I asked one of the crew...and they confirmed it was her. It was a highlight of my life to see her.

[TriggerZz]

so sad to see these legandary people age... sometimes i wish you could go back in time and bring them to our present year

[Blatino]

The look at the end when she talks about her mother is just heartwrenching.

[eveville1]

@Blatino agreed!  very movin

[screenwitch]

OMG. The end of the interview, So powerful. Her drive to please her mother.

[cuttock]

I woulda butt-fucked Lucy.

[gf1001]

I saw Stone Pillow Lucille gave a WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE one of my favs thanks for posting this.

[froggyleap86]

I don't think she was a bitch or a diva, just a perfectionist who sought refuge in her work. I also think she took great pleasure in making others laugh, which probably helped fill a void in her own life. Celebrities are human just like us, full of demons and complexities. Who are we to judge?...Ok, just felt compelled to say that in response to a few "my best friend's neighbor's mom told me Lucy was a bitch in real life" comments i've seen here and there. lol

[OliviaClutterbuck]

The love of her mother is beautiful. The relationship between mother and daughter

[HelloJKim]

when did this interview air???

[Forevaitalia]

what is wrong with her voice?

[Fluttercry]

@Forevaitalia She smoked and she yelled in that fake Lucy voice for so long it killed her vocal cords.

[junglejezzabel]

@Forevaitalia she smoked lots of cigs her whole life. and was a spokesmodel for a cig company too

[itsken007]

My mother passed away two years ago yesterday. When I saw Lucy reminise about her mom, it was the first time that I realized that Lucy was just another human being like the rest of us who dealt with suffering and loss the way we all do. What a great lady she was and will remain for me. , With all my heart, I thank you Lucy.

[PoshRupaul]

this is so sad.. u can tell shes drifting off thinking of her mother @ 2:30

[helloeveryone9]

i read she did not recieve emmy because the public was chagrined that she, a very wealthy woman, was playing a homeless woman. get it? i agree it was not a good career move to make this garbage. now, if she had donated like a million bucks to house and feed the homeless as part of the marketing for this movie....

[TheFamousDeaths]

wen da fuck wuzz diz?

[MediaWatchDawg]

Selling-off the Star Trek franchise may have been the her, if not the family's, biggest regret.

[Farrahsmom13]

"bigger than life status".... I totally agree.

[NFitalianGuy]

The Past is done & we cant change it. Lucy was smart enough throughout her life to get where she was. So if her 4th series wasn't good, forgive her. Think of the Good memories she Gave us. Lucy remained a class act all her life. You think of Lucille Ball & the word "Classy Legendary Comedic Actress'' comes to mind. She was only human. We all made bad decisions & Life With Lucy series hurt Lucy more than anyone & felt people no longer loved her in the end. How wrong she was. We all Love You Lucy!

[lovelifealways22]

exactly <3

[NFitalianGuy]

Lucy was Larger than life. No comedian can ever be like her. Lucy did her comedy without doing anything intentionally illegal, mean spirited, or relied on Vulgarity. She was extremely Intelligent,blunt & honest. Told it like it is & was very grounded & raised her kids not to be spoiled. Hollywood brats. Lucy really loved her Mother. It's sad to watch her talk about Pleasing her mother & when her Mother wasnt there anymore to see her act, She got a faraway look in her eye. It's sad. I miss her.

[NFitalianGuy]

Lucy was the first one in Entertainment to be known just by her first name "LUCY" Then came Judy and Liza and then it went down hill to Madonna etc. I a a huge Fant of Miss Ball and of Judy Garland they were friends too bad Judy couldn't have been on I Love Lucy when they went to Hollywood. Judy was Great at dramam and comedy. Lucille Ball once was asked if she thought her self as being funny in real life, Lucy answered "You know who's Funny? Judy Garland, she makes me look like a Mortition!"

[selander62]

God, I love that woman. I have been an adoring fan of Lucille Ball for over 40 years. I can never get enough of that wonderful lady. Amazing how she is so humble at her "Legendary Status". A legend like no other. Life was rough, but seem to keep her strong regardless. It was really sad after "Stone Pillow" how the fans reacted, so she came back with her last series, and ABC basically screwed her, so only the 8 out of 13 episodes aired. I got to see the first six, the last one with John Ritter.

[aquest4u]

One of the greatest talents of the 1900's, there will never be another Lucille Ball =(

[TIPTON340]

As she got older and in her late years she became very saddened by the past and bitter about being out of the business. I heard once that after her short lived Life with Lucy ended she had a cast & crew party in a vacant house. When she came

to talk to said the group of people: "Hello,

I'm Lucille Ball." (Applause) ".. I used to

be on television."

[honeyblonde06]

yea, she had a rough life...losing a father at a young age and desi's cheating...

[shealways]

i luv that woman

[moccalou]

@shealways Everyone loves Lucy! Hell it's the name of her first hit show! XD

[BeBitched86]

Good God, I miss this woman....

[softwater88]

BeBitched86 . . . Yeah I miss Rona Barrett also. What a woman. I remember when she had another talk show attempt when she had "Rona's Place" and all of the inverviewed were eating lunch.

[BeBitched86]

Ohh.

actually, i meant Lucy.

lol.

But still interesting to know!

:)

[rachelazw]

Someone who didn't miss her was Sir Clement Freud. Look up the Youtube video titled "Rona Barrett and Sir Clement Freud go at it on Jack Paar Tonite - 8/24/1973" Wow!

[inventer912]

I guess Lucille was un-aware that many years later her image as Lucy would be on postage stamps and heavy syndication. The i love Lucy show "is" and will forever be a legendary show....to me.

[Tyrell667]

Regardless of WHO it is...it WILL always be a legendary show. It goes outside the realm of opinon.

[lasuvidaboy]

Lucy was extremely close to her mother. You can see that clearly at 2:30 when she seems to drift off thinking about her. Very touching.

[debrajl529]

Yes. Lucy was one of a kind... May she rest in peace.

[italianman1992]

I love this movie. It came out 3.5 years before I was born. I can't believe it was Lucy playing a homeless person. I am lucky to have a copy of it on DVD. It wasn't easy to film though because it was during a spring heat wave and she had to wear layers and layers of clothes and she even passed out occasinally. I read about it in a biography called "Ball of Fire." The saddest part was when she flashed back to when she had a family and she was sitting in a rocking chair smiling and fanning herself

[mkbell2003]

Lucille Ball did "Stone Pillow" to have something to do. Retirement was not good for her. Money (and she earned alot)never gave her the satisfaction that her work did. Her career peaked in middle age when most woman are in decline.

At age 55, she was paid 90k a show to perform "Lucy" on her CBS show, "The Lucy Show". A hefty salary even by today's standards. All the more reason that Bette Davis and Joan Crawford started doing TV later in their careers.

[carbload]

Lucy was amazing

[crossroads70]

I would love to get this movie on DVD.

Is it even available?

I remember seeing it as a kid and thought it was her greatest movie.

[rachelazw]

Yes, "Stone Pillow" is available on DVD. I have it. Her performance in it is wonderful.

[ronnykmarshall]

She was great in that. Should have got an Emmy.

[Beejjjjjj]

Rude questions? I think Rona was asking insightful questions, and Lucy didn't seem to take any offense. In fact, Lucy was a very blunt and straightforward person and probably appreciated people who got right to the point like Rona did. Lucy, herself, would talk to people as directly as Rona did, so she probably related well to her.

[rachelazw]

Rona is degrading her career? She talks about Lucy's legendary status and says she's "bigger than life." How is that degrading?

[myrnaturner]

@Cunard51

HUH??

[Cunard51]

It's my personal opinion! so don't take offense! if you don't like what people say then you shouldn't reply to their comments!

[selgomezrcks75]

Man,i honestly miss her in all,but she REALLY shouldn't have smoked because she would have lived WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY longer!

[badleez]

Rona Barrett I thought rude & stupid to ask Such A DUM Q "regrets about her legendary status?" like that then Cut her off.

We Need learn from this

I Love Lucy and to me she remains Alive Everyday and Everywhere in the World.

[badleez]

I LOVE LUCY EVEN MORE!

[ilovelucyfanwhoishot]

the part when lucy was talking to her mom really got to me. I could tell that Lucy really worked hard to impress her mom and when she was gone there was no point of working hard anymore, but Lucy still worked hard. God i love lucy really i do

[sglynch]

god! she looks great!!

[Angelabethany]

This was I think pretty sure the last movie she ever made I am a big Lucy fan so I know alot about her. It is sad in the end when she talks about her Mother..

[rickhatch1]

Yes, it was made in 1985, and she died in 1989. It was her last movie. I wished that she could have done another, looking more like the Lucy we knew, but that's the secret of a good actress, being versatile. I had never seen this interview before, I knew she felt very sad when Dee-Dee (her Mom) died in 1977.

[Beejjjjjj]

Personally, I wish Lucy would have made more films like "Stone Pillow." In this role, she tapped into another side of her great talent. She proved herself a great dramatic actress in this film & communicated a great message. I think she had outgrown the TV "Lucy" character, and could have moved on in this direction ("Stone Pillow" got great ratings, by the way). Lucy was offered "Driving Miss Daisy" a few years later, but unfortunately, Gary Morton said no. It could have gotten Lucy an Oscar.

[rickhatch1]

I don't think Gary Morton was always the best judge of the kind of work Lucy should be doing, unfortunately. Case in point, rushing into making "Life With Lucy", which was a fiasco. Lucy's brand of 'physical comedy' really ended in 1971 with the popularity of "All In The Family", which changed the course of situation comedies forever. The one exception, perhaps being John Ritter in 'Three's Company'. By the time Lucy had been retired for 12 years, and came back to tv, times had changed.

[rachelazw]

More than one exception. Besides "Three's Company," physical comedy was the primary ingredient of "Laverne & Shirley," "Perfect Strangers," and to a certain degree, "Alice" and "Ellen." If this type of comedy has lost favor, I think it's largely due to the fact that few people are good at it. Once Lucy came along, everyone else paled in comparison. Even during the "Lucy" years, there were not that many sitcoms that did physical comedy. Lucy dominated the genre because she was the best at it.

[rickhatch1]

Lucy's "I Love Lucy" writers wrote some of the episodes of "Alice", I believe. Of course Lucy was the best at physical comedy. She learned from Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers. I loved "Three's Company", and "Alice", but did not care for the other shows you mentioned. Also,what I meant, in addition to the loss of physical comedies after Lucy, was the loss of the innocence in situation comedies. That's why in the 80's Lucy would have been better suited to a "Golden Girl's" format.

[marytylermoore08]

i dont know why but i didn't like gary that much......i think in my opinion he held lucy back a little......if things had been different and she was still married to Desi he would have said go for it.

[tlf243]

I agree.

[BeBitched86]

it's funny you should mention that, because i always thought the same. IF you read the book "I Loved Lucy" by Lee Tannen, he shares our opinion that Gary was ..well.. if i can't say something nice i'm not gonna say anything at all *Smiles*

[Siege1k]

I may be wrong but I think it was her last movie she ever did. I recall watching it on tv and it was like a hallmark kinda thing which isn't lucy but she played this role very well .. is always reminded me of my grandma. I need to find it on dvd if I can now.

[fl1992]

Stone Pillow touched me as a child. God Bless Lucille Ball- May she always rest in peace in heaven.

[lasuvidaboy]

She was so close to her mother Dede Ball. They were buried next to each other first at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills then later moved to Jamestown, NY.

[1985dude]

I'll have to get this movie sometime.

[ZachChanning]

I think Lucille looked great in this interview and I think the moment of vulnerability that she showed only reinforced how grateful she was for all she had acheived.

[1timysand]

Never could stand Rona Barrett (mean spirited) but this is heartbreaking- Lucy talking about how she missed her mother.

[stevedalepetworld]

Lucy hated 'retirement,'her reason for being was her work. Another reason for being, her mother. Rona asked a question, and received an answer to another. In interviews (I know I interviewed her lots), generally Lucy told it like it is - at least according to her mood at the time. She was straight on. You get a glimpse here of her real feelings.

[chalastay51]

Just beautiful, thanks for this. I've never seen Stone Pillow. Lucy is so great and beautiful, no matter how old. I would love to watch more of this interview too.

[mearte]

I love that woman... Lucille Ball. It´s so much.

All!.

Haha

=).

Watch my videos.

[Starlet21]

Lucy looked great! Can you post more of this interview?