Rob Edelman > Quotes

“As she won fame playing Ethel Mertz, she perceived all of her theater work not as an end in itself, let alone the fulfillment of a childhood dream, but solely as preparation for I Love Lucy. She never really could savor the fact that, while no Broadway legend, she had become a respected and regularly employed working actress.”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple

“you cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you’re afraid of.” Then she added, “I had passed thirty-five before I realized that one can no more neglect chronic unhappiness than one can neglect an infected tooth. If misery, like a tooth, is left too long to fester the infection spreads and deepens.”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple

“Television is fine,” he continues, “but it can’t give you the thrills and the fun ya have at the game, getting the sunshine and fresh air and being a real part of our national pastime. So let’s all forget our worries and have fun at the ball game whenever we can get to one.” Frawley concludes his spiel with a robust, “Whaddya say?” followed by an equally hearty, “Let’s go!”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple

“Lucy also noted, “Nobody ever enjoyed their work more than we did.… Vivian and I had an absolute ball … [and] it showed, I think.… We did everything together happily. We used to have so much fun on the set. Seriously—not just the two of us giggling. I’m not talking about that. [We had fun] by making things evolve, making things work out, making what the writers had written come to life.”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple

“It is no secret that Desi was cheating on Lucy, and that he shared with Bill Frawley a fondness for alcohol.”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple

“Had he been a few years younger and lived a decade or two longer, Frawley would have been perfectly cast as lovable bigot Archie Bunker on All in the Family, the classic CBS sitcom that came to television in 1971.”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple

“Later, in 1962, when Vance agreed to rejoin Ball as her TV second banana on the forthcoming The Lucy Show, she made a strong stipulation: she must never again be paired with Frawley. “I loathed William Frawley and the feeling was mutual,” she recalled. “Whenever I received a new [I Love Lucy] script, I raced through it, praying that there wouldn’t be a scene where we had to be in bed together.”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple

“to gain attention, wear a lightly but attractively colored chiffon scarf; if you wish to appear as if you weigh less, wear a size larger than your actual one.”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple

“After de Havilland handed him the award, Matthau began, rather formally, “Uh, when one is nominated for an achievement award in any field of endeavour, I suppose it’s natural that one immediately starts thinking of an acceptance speech in the event that one wins. I must confess that I’ve given the matter some thought, but I haven’t been able to come up with anything.” After a burst of audience laughter, he continued, “However, my wife” – and he paused right here, for added emphasis – “wrote something for me.” He removed a piece of paper from his breast pocket, which he began reading: “This award, which I have won tonight, is due in no small part to the constant inspiration and selfless devotion of one beautiful, wise, witty, charming, and rich girl whose being is a monument to pure love. Carol Matthau, thank you.” As he read the note, he paused after each phrase.

[…]

Matthau earned the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and Best Actor Tony for The Odd Couple… Just as he did in his earlier Tony Award acceptance speech, Matthau declared that his words were composed by Carol. In what Variety described as a “poker-faced reading,” he managed to cleverly work in the names of his children, mother-in-law, and wife.”
― Rob Edelman, Matthau: A Life

“Before departing Independence, she selected a stage name: Vivian Vance. She borrowed the moniker from Vance Randolph, a member of the local theater crowd.”
― Rob Edelman, Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple