RICK'S REAL/REEL LIFE

Bette Midler & Barbara Hershey as besties CC & Hillary in 1988's "Beaches."

The 1985 beach read bestseller Beaches became a chick flick favorite upon its 1988 release. Beaches was buoyed at the box office with its hit soundtrack. Bette Midler was at the height of her movie star success in the last half of the ‘80s. Life was a beach for all involved with this popcorn classic.

Baby besties! Mayim Bialik & Marcie Leeds as young CC and Hillary, from 1988's musical tearjerker "Beaches."

Beaches the film recycles a lot of old movie tropes to provide this latter day chick flick with some nostalgic nourishment. The opening, where the two young girls meet cute and bond at the beach, is a nod to the intro of Lana Turner’s version of Imitation of Life. And the ending, where superstar singer CC walks up the backstage stairs, telling stories to Hillary's orphaned little girl, is a wink to Roz Russell's fabulist Auntie Mame. Also, the story set up, of two totally different females, one brassy, the other classy, with their ensuing ups, downs, and uplift, is straight out of the Miriam Hopkins and Bette Davis ‘40s fave, Old Acquaintance.

As 1988's "Beaches" opens, Bette Midler's superstar rehearses a beautiful version of "Under the Boardwalk." Then she gets a dire message regarding BFF Hillary!

The soundtrack to Beaches was Bette Midler's biggest hit album. The first single off Beaches was Bette's lovely version of Under the Boardwalk, which opens the film and sets up the first flashback, when CC and Hillary first meet. Surprisingly, it failed to make the 100 Billboard. When Wind Beneath My Wings was released, it soared to #1!

One of my favorite things about movie writing is finding out new things in research. Example: I always assumed that Wind Beneath My Wings was written for Bette. The tune actually was written in 1982, first recorded by Roger Whittaker, then Sheena Easton, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Perry Como, to name a few. While all fine, distinctive singers, they didn’t give it the majestic performative take of the Divine Miss M. Bette’s version won Grammys for Best Song and Record of the Year in 1990. One reviewer aptly commented that this song and others from the Beaches soundtrack invoked more genuine emotion than the actual movie. Like the later For the Boys, the soundtrack also was better than the movie.

The power ballad "Wind Beneath My Wings" is used during the final section of "Beaches," which induced tears and record sales! Barbara Hershey & Bette Midler.

The Beaches book was a bestseller by Iris Rainer Dart. The writer has said the character of brash CC Bloom was inspired by Cher. Dart was the only female writer on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and Cher's solo variety series. This is amusing as Bette appeared on Cher's first solo series episode and from then on, seemed to declare herself Cher's frenemy. The role of CC in the movie was tailored to fit Bette like a glove.

Bette Midler's CC gives a beautiful rendition of "The Glory of Love" as a tribute to  her late friend, Hillary, played by Barbara Hershey. From 1988's "Beaches."

Bette Midler, like Cher, has only starred in a handful of movies but she’s made a lasting impression. And like Cher, Bette has a natural flair for comedy and a natural warmth and honesty in dramatic roles. When Bette Midler is good, she’s very good; but when Bette’s bad, she comes off like Ethel Merman at her most over the top. While Bette has some quietly affecting moments in the later serious scenes, the role of CC is not just larger than life, she’s over the top. The best part of Bette is some wonderful musical performances, including The Glory of Love.

Barbara Hershey's enhanced appearance in "Beaches" wouldn't even be noticed by today's moviegoers, but it raised eyebrows in 1988.

As for Barbara Hershey, Hillary is a mostly pallid character, but Hershey has some surprising moments as the suppressed society girl. Hershey seems to be an odd choice as Hillary as she was formerly hippie chick Barbara Seagull, seriously taking on the soul of a dead bird. Artsy Hershey seems to fly in the face of appearing in a glossy soap, but the movie biz attracts contradictory types.

Beaches is still a mildly entertaining movie, but it has not aged well. It feels like a collection of bits and shtick. From the girls’ adolescence to 40-ish women, they communicate mostly by letter, which still doesn't smooth over the movie's choppy, episodic nature. It especially shows in CC's career changes. One scene she's a hit, the next she's doing a “B” movie (without ever showing her breaking into movies), the next winning a Tony, the next she's a huge radio and concert performer—is this another nod to Cher's bumper car career? Maybe, but this movie doesn't segue well.

"Young" Bette Midler as CC Bloom, in the early scenes of 1988's "Beaches."

A big problem is that the two leads are not convincing as their younger selves, which is a big segment of Beaches. Bette turned 43 when Beaches was released. And despite some flattering lighting at the concert finale, Midler looks early-middle aged throughout, not like a showbiz newcomer. Barbara Hershey at 40 looks a bit worn and then over-made up and lipped-up as the society woman. Frankly, the women's various wigs depict the passage of time better than they do. 

CC & Hillary face off later in 1988's "Beaches." Thankfully, neither Bette Midler nor Barbara Hershey get their wigs ripped off!

As often the case in "women's pictures" the men are either dull as dishwater or wallpaper. While John Heard and Spalding Gray are interesting actors, here they are strictly background. James Read comes off like a one-dimensional soap actor. 

The first rift between Bette Midler's CC & Barbara Hershey's Hillary is over John Heard's artsy director, from 1988's "Beaches."

I wonder how Lainie Kazan felt about playing Bette Midler's mother. Lainie was just five years older than the Divine Miss M! Lainie has just two sequences in Beaches, at the beginning, then mid-picture, when CC goes to Florida to whine to Leona about her failing marriage. Kazan is a scene stealer and is actually quite believable as blood relation to Bette, though older sister would have been more appropriate. Why couldn't Kazan have been the big sister who wanted to be a star, who then focused her dreams on little starlet sister Bette, like Ida Lupino and Joan Leslie in The Hard Way? Hey, I can recycle movie plots, too!

Lainie Kazan's Leona gives daughter CC (Bette Midler) some tough love  in 1988's "Beaches."

The child actors, as young CC and Hillary, plus Hillary’s daughter, are all affecting. Mayim Bialik, of course, went on to Blossom, then Big Bang Theory, and finally Jeopardy! Marcie Leeds as young Hillary is sweet, and Grace Johnston as Hillary’s daughter, Victoria, does well in a challenging role.

A tearjerking final moment that dovetails back to young Hillary & CC's first day  together, as instant friends, from 1988's "Beaches."

Garry Marshall was an old pro at directing/writing feel-good laughs, mixed with heart. He made a career of it on TV with Dick Van Dyke and Lucille Ball’s shows, then hitting the jackpot in the ‘70s with Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and Mork and Mindy, among others. Marshall directed some huge successes as a movie director toward the end of his long career, notably, Pretty Woman. Marshall was also great with actors.

However, Beaches bounces along in its episodic, surface way. The last act, with Hillary’s terminal illness, is truly effective, more so than the rest of the movie. This feels a bit odd, since there's no genuine connection between the two women for the majority of the movie. 

Hillary & CC (Barbara Hershey & Bette Midler) find their bond tested with Hillary's terminal illness, in 1988's "Beaches."

This was one of Bette's last big hits as a film star. As she took increasing control of her movies, they became more like vehicles and schlocky ones at that. Stella, the '90 Stella Dallas remake was just around the corner, then For the Boys. Both were promising, but didn’t jell. The First Wives Club came eight years later, a comeback, really. A guest-starring part in Mel Gibson’s What Women Want was a hit. Hocus Pocus was a dud turned cult fave. Another no- brainer should have been as Mama Rose in Gypsy for television, but again, it was Bette overkill. On the upside, Bette had a Tony-winning Broadway hit in Hello, Dolly! And a wicked one-woman show on as brassy super agent Sue Mengers in I’ll Eat You Last. Up or down, Bette Midler is still here and mostly divine!

Bette's better acting moments are when she plays simply as the larger than life CC Bloom in 1988's "Beaches."

Old movies can be timeless, an entertaining product of their time, or worst case scenario, just plain dated. Beaches falls in the latter category, unfortunately, but has its moments. Enjoy!

Here’s my take on Old Acquaintance, where Miriam Hopkins plays the brassy friend to classy Bette Davis, for a couple of decades of fussing and fighting: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2022/01/bette-vs-miriam-old-acquaintance-1943.html

Friends to the end: Barbara Hershey & Bette Midler as Hillary & CC in 1988's comedy/tearjerker "Beaches."

Cher has been a star for 60 of her 79 years. The living legend's memoirs covers her life from 1946-1980. Photo by Richard Avedon, from their first collaboration.

Virtually all public figures with a tale to tell, a scandal to sell, have all written a book or been the subject of a documentary or podcast. Cher, with more stories than Scheherazade, finally wrote part one of her memoirs at nearly 80 years old. Cher: The Memoir begins with her family's poverty-stricken and dysfunctional history, taking the singer/actress through 1982, when Cher decided to fulfill her dream to act. 

Cherilyn Sarkisian, future glamour icon!

As a life-long Cher fan, I have read everything about the icon's life and career: the good, the bad, and the absurd. While some stories that Cher recounts have been told since the beginning of Sonny and Cher’s stardom, there’s much that I didn’t know. I was relieved that Cher's memoir wasn’t a gloss job. Stars can become protective of their legacy as they grow older. Cher freely admitted this was not a tell-all, but she tells a lot, and what she writes is candid without being unkind.

One of Cher's famous quotes was that her mother Georgia Holt was married multiple times, but hardly remembers a man in the house. Team Georgia, Cher, & Georganne! And later inspired her to make 1990's "Mermaids."

What really struck me was how Cher singles out the people in her life that were important to her, whether they were famous or not. And unlike some stars, Cher has maintained long-time friendships and collaborations. I think that Cher, who grew up poor and with no obvious attributes for stardom, gave her a perspective that she didn't lose along the way, unlike some public figures.

I wish I had kept all these magazines to resell for my retirement fund! One of Cher's  many charms is that she's always been a funny and candid interview subject.

Cher's stardom is a case of the God giving with one hand, and taking with the other, to use one of her pet expressions. Cher's fame came to her swiftly (a back-up singer at 17, her first # 1 record at 19) and Sonny as a protector helped her avoid the obvious pitfalls of stardom. On that other hand, Cher has been met with incredible resistance in the show biz world. While Sonny and Cher had incredible stardom, they were first regarded as a novelty. Their comeback as TV stars was hard-won, after honing their act on the road. After Cher was done on TV, many predicted her Las Vegas act would be her final resting place. While she had a hit disco album, what Cher really wanted was to be taken seriously as an actress. The story of Cher seeing the trailer for Silkwood with an audience, hearing applause for Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell's names, and then laughter at hers, is legendary. Or when Cher revived her music in the late '80s, with Aerosmith’s producer John Kalodner later saying he had never faced such resistance to getting an artist's music played by radio stations. The song? I Found Someone. She ran into the same thing a dozen years later with Believe. It wasn't played on US radio until it went #1 around the world.

Cher's mother Georgia Holt was a struggling starlet during the '50s. Here she is with  Lucille Ball in a famous "I Love Lucy" episode about fashion!

Lucille Ball later had no-nonsense advice for Cher, about leaving a husband/wife act in exchange for a divorce and solo career!

Cher’s mother was Georgia Holt, who worked in 1950’s show business, but never made much headway, despite her beauty, charisma, and a pleasant singing voice. A single starlet with kids was not the norm in the 1950s, either. Georgia’s other career was finding Mr. Right. It’s still a family argument about exactly how many times Georgia married! When Cher met Sonny, he had already struggled, looking for success as a singer/songwriter. By 1963, Sonny was nearly 30, divorced, with kids. In the middle of her mother and Sonny’s thwarted show biz dreams was teen-aged Cher.

Sonny wrote the songs & guided their career; Cher was the singer & made their famous fashion choices. All of which created a craze in the mid-60s.

Cher was already taking acting lessons with famed Jeff Corey, but Sonny thought she’d make a good singer. So, a serious acting career for Cher was delayed for two decades. Bono was the first of several strong men that Cher had an ambivalent attitude about regarding her life and career.

Within two years, Cher went from singing backup for Phil Spector on classics like Be My Baby and You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling to singing hits written mostly by Sonny. Originally, Cher was supposed to be a solo act, with Sonny as her producer/manager, ala Ronnie and Phil Spector. This may be hard to believe for younger fans, but badass Cher was so shy that she was afraid to sing alone, even in the studio recording booth! So the lights were dimmed, then Sonny joined her to sing harmony, and the song was Baby, Don’t Go—one of my favorite Sonny and Cher songs. At one point, they had five songs in the Top 20 pop charts. But by the late ‘60s, the Bonos seemed square as pop and rock went psychedelic.

A classic Sonny & Cher moment, proof that they had arrived, singing "I Got You Babe" on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in September, 1965,

During their down time, Sonny and Cher became seasoned performers and personalities with night club gigs and variety and talk show appearances, and developed their personas. Fred Silverman of CBS caught the duo on The Merv Griffin Show, gave them a summer TV series in 1971, which was a hit with audiences, including 12 year old me! Whether together, divorced, or reunited, Cher was a fixture on television through the ‘70s.

"The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" was one of the last hit weekly variety shows. Their show was in the Top Ten when CBS cancelled, because like Lucy & Desi Arnaz' last series, they were getting divorced!

Bob Mackie first designed for Cher on a 1967 "Carol Burnett Show" episode. Once  Sonny & Cher's summer series became a hit, Bob made Cher into a '70s glamour girl!

One of the most fun segments of Sonny & Cher's show was the V-A-M-P skits!

The stories of family and friends, with personal pictures, give Cher’s memoir resonance. Cher is very even-handed in recounting her marriages to Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman, considering that she got the short end of the stick in both cases, in my opinion. Sonny had great belief in Sonny and Cher and he did most of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. Cher has always given him credit for this, no matter how pissed she was at him personally. After their divorce, Sonny gradually became very dismissive of Cher's contributions to Sonny and Cher, which in turn, antagonized Cher toward him. How sad that it was Sonny's sudden death in 1998 that provided closure for Cher.

Cher's Time magazine cover coincided with her solo TV series. The infamous dress, designed by Bob Mackie & worn by Cher at the 1974 Met Gala. Photo by Richard Avedon.

A highlight of Cher's solo series was the big costume reveal of her opening numbers.  Bob Mackie commented that Cher wore her gorgeous gowns like they were jeans. In other words, Cher wore the gowns, they didn't wear her!

Sonny's memoir And the Beat Goes On was published in 1991. While Sonny was certainly entitled to tell his side of the Sonny and Cher saga, but his need to always be seen as the nice guy skewed the book's credibility. Cher has admitted that she's not always been a ray of sunshine, but the near-total focus of Bono’s book was how no matter what he did for Cher, she was rarely grateful. Some of the reasons why came out at the time of their divorce. In her book, Cher cites Sonny's charm as to why it was hard to stay mad at him, but Bono wasn't as lovable off-camera. Sonny's stint as Phil Spector's gofer seemed to inspire his style as a star maker. Also, the fact that Sonny's stardom, followed by a hard-won comeback, seemed to make him a control freak. Terri Garr recalled Bono referring to Sonny and Cher show regulars as "atmosphere" and assigning favored cast and crew jackets, with his emblazoned with "El Primo." Cher never wore her jacket! 

Basically, Sonny treated Cher in a more humane version of how Phil Spector imprisoned his muse and wife, Ronnie. Sonny the warden had many rules. Cher was not allowed to play music or wear perfume inside the house. Sonny had the final say where Cher could go, and never alone. He opposed Cher taking tennis lessons and burned her tennis clothes when he found out there were men at there. She was not allowed to hang out with their tour band. When Cher went to a therapist of Sonny's suggestion, he got transcripts from the doc of their sessions! Of course, none of this is mentioned in Son's book. Sonny admits to being unfaithful to Cher once. Well, that's the first time he got caught. When Cher was no longer sleeping with Sonny, she expressed romantic interest in a band member. Sonny’s response was to sleep with the guy’s girlfriend first, as revenge. There’s a way to woo your estranged wife back! What Sonny and Cher's relationship had come down to was work, with Cher having no say about anything. 

Sonny & Cher AFTER their divorce, making up some gigs committed to before  breaking up. What amazed me was that they were separated, while living in a house divided, & performing on "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" for the last two seasons! And Sonny still tried to control Cher--which wasn't working anymore!

When Cher officially wanted out, after living War of the Roses-style in their mansion, Sonny pulls all the classic bully husband lines: Everyone will hate you. You can't make it without me, etc. Here's the real clincher: Cher finds out that “Cher Enterprises” is comprised of Sonny Bono as president, his lawyer as vice-president, and Cher as… a salaried employee! When Cher confronted Sonny as to why he would do this, this was his revealing response: "Because I always knew that you would leave me."

It amazes me that Cher ever wanted to speak to Sonny again. Ultimately, Sonny and Cher had a bond that endured beyond all the bad stuff. They later reunited professionally on occasion and Cher always gave him credit as a good father and cited him as great fun to work with. Also, Sonny’s death seemed to surprise Cher as to the depth of her feelings for him that she still had.

When Sonny & Cher appeared on David Letterman's show in '87, Cher was clearly not pleased at Dave egging them on to sing "I Got You Babe." They did do their classic duet and the emotional moment was a bit of show biz history.

As for Gregg Allman, Cher has often said he was the sweetest man in the world when sober and a complete mess when on drugs and alcohol. Gregg’s addictions were common knowledge, but Cher took most of the flack when their marriage failed, due to her notorious Hollywood image. Despite the reality that Gregg married six times, had children all over the place, made 11 trips to rehab, and didn’t sober up until 1996. Allman later wrote his self-rationalizing memoir, aptly titled My Cross to Bear. Cher and Gregg mended their fences; ultimately, Cher and their son Elijah Blue travelled to Georgia for Allman’s funeral in 2017.

Gregg Allman & Cher on their Las Vegas wedding day. Flanked by her sis Georgeanne & Cher's BFF of over 50 years, Paulette. The only gap in their friendship was when Paulette married Dickey Betts after The Allman Brothers broke up. When the women's marriages to the guys broke up, they resumed their friendship. Fun fact: a bellhop named Tom Hanks carried the Allmans' luggage up to their room!

Luck has played a great role in Cher’s career. Cher got to fill in as a back-up singer because Darlene Love had car trouble one day, which opened Phil Spector's eyes to Cher. Or when Sonny and Cher's straight arrow costumes didn’t arrive for a gig and forced them to go out in their funky clothes, which caused a stir with audiences. Or Cher's mom Georgia, as pals with Robert Altman's wife, and mistakenly calling Bob instead of Cher, who was in New York studying acting. This led an intrigued Bob to eventually cast Cher in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean on Broadway. Luck, along with hard work and persistence, have been Cher's life-long calling cards.

"Cher: The Memoir" ends when Cher is about to go to New York City to study acting and find work. This was the result and led to Cher's film career.

It's interesting watching Cher today on her various 70’s TV shows when all this chaos was going on in the background. What a trouper Cher was to carry on. As Cher has commented, what other TV star has hosted a show with an ex-husband, while carrying the baby of her current husband? (And while hashing out divorce details with the former, and financially supporting the current spouse, after Allman's band split over a FBI drug sting!) Thankfully, there wasn't TMZ then! 

It's extremely ironic that Cher, who has long had a notorious reputation, was not into drugs or alcohol, and was not a swinger as the tabloids suggested, but a serial monogamist. Cher stayed better friends with exes like David Geffen, Gene Simmons, Val Kilmer, and Rob Camilletti, than the mercurial connections with ex-husbands Sonny and Gregg.

Cher fans will love her take on behind the scenes in her music career and TV shows. Cher has a memory like her beloved elephants and offers typically succinct impressions. Another fun thing about Cher is she enjoys being a star but also is a fan of other stars. Cher has mostly great memories of everyone from Bob Dylan, Phil Spector, The Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell to Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Elton John, Tina Turner, The Jackson 5, Ronald Reagan, Kate Smith, etc. etc. etc. Cher has worked with practically everybody in her music, TV, and movie career.

Dolly Parton appeared with Cher on one of the latter's TV specials. Two classic baby boomers and showbiz survivors, who did it their own way.

As of this writing, Cher has been a star for 60 years, despite every decade bringing new naysayers predicting her diva demise. As Cher recently said, "I've seen them come, and I've seen them go..."  To paraphrase Sondheim, “And Cher, my dears, is still here!”

Here’s my take on Cher, in her Oscar-winning Moonstruck: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2021/05/cher-shines-in-modern-classic.html

Here’s an on-screen and off-screen look at Lucille Ball’s TV stardom, with a comparison to Cher’s similar challenges as part of a beloved husband and wife act that’s come to an end: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2021/12/id-rather-love-real-lucy.html 

When it was suggested that Cher be a "What Becomes a Legend Most?" model in the '70s, Blackglama boss Peter Rogers dismissed her as a flash in the pan.  So, when he approached her as actress Cher in the '80s, she agreed. And wore her Oscars headdress with the fur, worn upside down!

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, when they first became Lucy & Ricky Ricardo.

The bongo drums are beating hard for Being the Ricardos, but I will pass. Top talent is involved, but they’re a mismatch to the material. After suffering through Feud in 2017, B.S. that was ballyhooed to restore the reputations of dueling divas Davis and Crawford, I swore never again to celebrity bios. 

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, with Vivian Vance & William Frawley, in "I Love Lucy."

The thought of Aaron Sorkin 'splainin' about the real Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, with his on the nose banter and op-ed speeches, makes me grimace like Lucy Ricardo. While I admire past performances by Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, they are 14 and 18 years older than Lucy and Desi when they became the Ricardos. And flashbacks? Shades of 70-ish Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce! I don't expect impersonations, but I expect an actor playing an icon like Joan, Liz, or Lucy to at least superficially resemble them, and not look embalmed. The film is getting the kind of reviews I thought: fans of Kidman and Sorkin are raving, and others are giving it mixed reviews for the reasons I gave.

What interests me far more are topics brought up in regard to Lucy and Desi's legacy. They were indeed a fascinating couple personally and a trailblazing one, professionally. Like Ava & Frank and Liz & Dick, Lucy & Desi couldn't live with each other, but also couldn't live without each other. Like those other fabled duos, Lucy and Desi stayed cordial, and it was generally understood by friends and family that they had a bond that divorce didn't break.

Famous "I Love Lucy" scene when Lucy tells Ricky she's pregnant. Lucy & Desi mixed their on/off-screen lives, but scenes like this showed their great love was real.

Lucy always gave Desi credit as the unsung hero of their success. Some have questioned this as patronizing on Ball's part, but all you have to do is watch an interview with Lucy to see that she meant every word. It reminds me much of how Cher, though often sharp-tongued about her famous ex-husband's ways, ALWAYS gave Sonny credit for their success, and that he was much more than the good-natured clown. This was also much the way Desi as Ricky was perceived. Lucy claimed to be the muse and at home, the Mom, with Desi as the big picture guy who took care of business. Also like Cher, Lucy was surprisingly serious off-camera. Their men were the big personalities who got stuff done. In different ways, both men lost sight of their original vision, and lost their superstar wives in the process. With Sonny, it was womanizing and controlling behavior; with Desi, it was drinking, gambling, and womanizing. Both women didn’t take it well.

Like Lucy and Desi, Sonny and Cher first were thrilled to be in a weekly show for CBS because it got them off the road. But working together and going home every night for both couples made their problems even more apparent. Ironically, both couples’ shows played off and romanticized their personal lives. When Cher went solo, she immediately called Lucy, as they were friendly. Here’s Lucy's response to Cher's fears: "Get out there and work your ass off!" 

I don't know about Cher's love life, but Lucy gave her some career advice.

The biggest difference between Lucy and Desi was her workaholic, perfectionist personality and his laissez-faire charm. To a certain extent, they rubbed off on each other for the better. But once I Love Lucy led to a Desilu empire, the pressure was enormous.

Keeping an eye on Desi Arnaz took its toll on Lucille Ball, and their marriage.

Why was Lucy so uptight, some fans have wondered, disappointed that she wasn't fun-loving Lucy Ricardo. Well, Lucy's rise to the top in showbiz was very slow, and filled with obstacles. At the beginning of her career, Lucy went to acting school in NYC. Ball struggled hard, but came back home, rejected and defeated. In Hollywood, one reason given that Lucy's contract was sold by RKO was that she was too old to become a movie star. Lucy was then 31, the same age as top RKO star Ginger Rogers. Though Lucy and Ginger both arrived in Hollywood about the same time, Rogers quickly ascended from Busby Berkeley musicals to starring with Fred Astaire, while Ball toiled away in mostly B movies. Even after personal raves for 1942’s The Big Street, with top critic James Agee praising Lucy, saying she was born for the parts that fellow star Ginger Rogers sweated over, no dice. At MGM, Lucy didn't fare much better, though Ball dyed her hair famously red. Nobody seemed to know what to do with this obviously talented lady.

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz at the beginning of their life together, beautiful & in love. But it wasn't a rose garden, right from the start.

Some say that Lucy's beauty and comedy persona didn't mix for audiences. Yet, the '30s were the screwball comedy heyday as were romantic comedies of the war years, which made stars of Ginger, Kate Hepburn, Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, and especially Carole Lombard, who befriended Ball.

I think decades of Ball trying to make it as an actress, to no great effect, made Lucy not just strong, but gradually bitter—and scared. Once she hit the jackpot with I Love Lucy, Ball was 40, when many of her contemporaries were fading. But once Lucy was finally at the top, I think she was scared of losing it all, and having a careless husband didn't help. And once she went solo in the '60s, with more hit variations of her “Lucy” character, Desi's warmth was much missed. Lucy's comedic energy later seemed more like frantic tension. 

Desi Arnaz & Lucille Ball near the end of their being the Ricardos... and married.

Desi gradually phased out of Desilu and Lucy took over. Though Lucy claimed she didn’t enjoy being a boss, Ball sure loved bossing people around. Even great stars were run roughshod over. Richard Burton dished in his diaries about life with Lucy; Elizabeth Taylor, not one to tell tales out of school, when Rosie O' Donnell innocently asked if she had fun working with Lucy, ET looked at her in mock horror. Rosie pressed on and Taylor demonstrated, as if grabbing someone by the shoulders, barking, "You! Over here!" 

I think what everyone close to Lucy understood and this was expressed in the great TV documentary, Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie, was that Lucy operated on tension, and everyone wished she could have just relaxed. 

Aside from their love, Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz stayed close because they both adored their two children, who came in the last half of their 20 year marriage.

But Lucy pressed on, going from Here's Lucy to the ill-advised Mame, dated TV dramatic appearances, and one last attempt at being “Lucy” in the '80s. Lucy revealed herself on latter day talk show appearances to be a rather tough cookie. Daughter Lucie told Joan Rivers that Ball was a control freak. Despite all this, Lucy's decades of good will with the public overrode all of this. The TV talk show appearances indeed revealed that Lucy wasn't a picnic. But Ball wasn't a phony either, and never hid behind a fake persona. What you saw was what you got.

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, with children Desi Jr. & Lucie.

Some were shocked when Lucy referred to Desi as a loser to Barbara Walters in a 1977 interview. It wasn't said as an insult. Lucy lauded Desi as a talent who made their success possible and put up with a lot of crap regarding his race and role in their careers. By loser, Lucy said Desi couldn't control the urge to throw away all his success with drinking, gambling, and other women. And despite nearly two decades, a devoted second husband at her side, it was painfully obvious that Lucy was still very hurt by the memories.

Desi seemed to drift in retirement, but like Lucy, he had a great second great spouse, who even met with exacting Lucy’s approval. Arnaz occasionally surprised everybody, as with his excellent memoirs and a memorable appearance on SNL.

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz at a family affair.

As Lucy and Desi appeared together at milestones in their adult children's lives, it was obvious that there was still great affection between them. If you get a chance to see Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie, the final scene with them in the pool with their baby grandson is a tearjerker. You can watch this 1993 TV doc on Amazon Prime or IMDB TV here:

https://www.amazon.com/Lucy-Desi-Movie-Lucille-Ball/dp/B07QDPP86F

And for an excellent account of their lives and career, read Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, by Coyne S. Sanders and Tom Gilbert. Go here:

https://www.amazon.com/Desilu-Story-Lucille-Ball-Arnaz/dp/0062020013

There are many great interviews with Lucy and Desi, and also their family and friends, on YouTube. I would much rather see the real Lucy and Desi, than an imitation of their life together.

FYI: I put all the movie overflow on my public FB  movie page. 

Check it out & join!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/178488909366865/

Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, in happier times.