Do you realize Lucy was in her 40s...

[MonkeyFunk]

during the run of "I Love Lucy"? She started it when she was 41 years old.

I always ALWAYS thought of her as in her early 30s. Damn, the woman was in shape.

[EstimatedProphet]

1. The earliest thing I ever saw her in was a 3 Stooges from the 30's

She was around in Hollywood for quite a while.

[Erva]

2. I thought she was much younger!

I am shocked. I can't believe it. Gad, I am a serious frump. That woman looked great.

[AllegroRondo]

3. Wow, how old was she when she had Little Ricky?

[PassingFair]

4. 42....

Ball was born in 1911,
Desi Arnez, Jr. was born in 1953.

[AllegroRondo]

5. and this was years before fertility drugs

amazing.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

9. Give me a break

lots of women have normal pregnancies, without fertility drugs while in their 40's.

I'll just be those Dugger's will have 4 or 5 when Mrs. Breeder hits her 40's.

(BTW, I was in my 40's when I had my 2 children)

[AllegroRondo]

at that time, having your first child over the age of 40 was a rarity

now, its pretty common.

[CBHagman]

16. I know. My great-great-grandmother...

...had the last of her children in her 40s, by my 50-something great-great-grandfather -- well, as far as I know! ;-) -- and that was back in the 19th century. It was called "life."

[Sequoia]

37. Anyone know.....?

Was she called to testify during the Red Scare? After all, she was a card carrying Red who married a.....guy from a....Communist Nation!!!!!!!!!!!

[IdaBriggs]

18. No, *lots* of women do not -- yes, it *can* happen, but

fertility drops dramatically for a large chunk of the population at about age 35. Please do not spread misinformation which can lead women to believe they have "all the time in the world" when the odds are seriously against them.

I am not trying to be obnoxious to you, but this is a serious issue for me and tens of thousands of other women.

[Iris]

19. but there's nothing to prove those women were overly fertile before the age of 35.

It's all speculation. Some of it fueled by the infertility industry since insurance companies won't pay for treatments for women over 36 or 37.

Women in their 40s still account for the 2nd highest number of unplanned pregnancies, with teenagers being #1.

[IdaBriggs]

23. I'm sorry, but you are incorrect.

Repeated studies have shown that fertility decreases dramatically as a particular set of hormones rise -- FSH levels can be charted, and the higher they get, the smaller the odds of achieving a pregnancy.

Yes, it *can* and still does happen for some lucky few, and for some reason, women who have previously been pregnant have an "easier" time of getting pregnant, but "first timers" are rarely in the "no problem" category. I am aware that it does happen sometimes, but with 4 out of 5 couples having fertility problems these days, and tens of thousands of women having issues, 'don't worry/blame the fertility industry/insurance company' is simply naive. Older woman are also at increased risk for pre-eclampsia, premature birth, and an entire host of birth defects.

Unfortunately, eggs seem to come with an expiration date, and a healthy lifestyle/good looks/exercise doesn't change that. It is possible (one theory) that the "expiration date" is nature's way of making sure a child has a parent who will live to be old enough to raise them to maturity, but honestly, no one knows for sure, and nature apparently hasn't caught on to the fact that a bunch of us have longer life expectancies nowadays than we did even a hundred years ago (and are thus postponing our child bearing as a result).

From my perspective, I think the only people who will end up "accidentally" pregnant in their forties are the ones who don't want to be, since that seems to be the way the universe works occasionally. :eyes:

Please keep in mind that I am speaking as someone who spent eight years *trying* to get pregnant, had help conceiving my twins, who I gave birth to at age 41 at 32 wks, 3 days after nearly dying from pre-eclampsia and suffering with hyperemisis the entire pregnancy. I have spent a great deal of time dealing with these issues, and have been a member of on-line support groups of women working through these issues, as well as a resource for a great many friends who have been dealing with fertility issues. No one "plans" to have issues, but many have felt angry/betrayed by the casual assurance of "it won't be a big deal when I'm ready" because of the common myth that "older woman" have no problem getting pregnant as demonstrated by many "older" actresses/entertainment industry folks (as just some of the examples). While these people are completely entitled to privacy regarding their medical decisions, and everyone seems to have at least one family expert who suggests things like "go on vacation" or "relax" or (my favorite!) "adopt, and you'll be guaranteed to get pregnant" the reality is that good looks and plastic surgery do not change your FSH levels.

:shrug:

[IdaBriggs]

39. Doh! Just for the record -- I reversed a statistic!

Its ONE out of FIVE couples having problems, not FOUR out of FIVE. No one probably cares, but it was a brain fart moment! :)

[Sanity Claws]

14. Didn't she have her daughter after that?

Actually I do think she looked around 40. A healthy and in shape version of 40, but still 40.

[CBHagman]

17. She had Lucie first, then Desi Jr.

I guess these things are imprinted on baby boomers' brains.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000840/bio

[TommyO]

6. I knew that!

And Vivian Vance was younger than Lucille!

[Arugula Latte]

8. Are you serious?!

I never knew that. I always assumed Vivian was about 15 or 20 years older than Lucy. :wow:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. The character was supposed to be.

Vance didn't appreciate being "married" to an old frump. Led to a lot of behind the scenes squabbles.

[TommyO]

13. Actually I'm wrong, and not too proud to admit it.

Vivian Vance was born on 07/26/1909, Lucille Ball was born on 08/06/1911 (corrected the birth date, I was wrong again, damned flying fingers).

OOPS! Still, there was just two years separating them.

[Cabcere]

21. 09/11/1911

That was my great-grandfather's birthday too! :) Cool - you learn something new every day. :hi:

[Kali]

31. I bet Mayor Rudy would like to be connected to that date too.

:rofl:

[Cabcere]

32. Haha...I just bet he would.

:rofl: Mayor Rudy can, however, kiss my ass. :P



*sigh* Sometimes I'm glad my great-grandfather didn't live to see his 90th birthday...and the exploitation surrounding it (not naming any names, Bush, Giuliani, et al.). x(

RIP, Papa. O8)

[TK421]

33. Nowadays, I bet he was wishing he was actually there n/t

[bikebloke]

7. Stage Door

She was in Stage Door, made in 1937. An Altmanesque comedy-drama with other unknowns (at the time) like Katherine Hephburn, Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden and Ann Miller.

[cmkramer]

29. Actually

Katharine Hepburn had already won an Oscar and Ginger Rogers had starred with Fred Astaire in several musicals but the rest of the cast were not "stars" yet.

Another movie of Lucy's I love is "The Big Street" where Henry Fonda plays a busboy in love with a crippled nightclub singer (Lucy).

[bikebloke]

36. oops...

I guess I heard that when I was so young, I wasn't around yet.:hi:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. Sure. She started out as a fashion model.

Took a long, roundabout route before getting into comedy.

[Oeditpus Rex]

26. She started as a chorus girl with the Zigfield Follies in 1927

working for awhile under the name Diane Belmont. (Her resumé noted that she was from Butte, Montana, as she thought the "wild West" more glamorous than upstate New York.)

It was a few years later that she got into modeling, first as the "Chesterfield Girl," then working for fashion designer Hattie Carnegie. She collapsed one day in the middle of a show and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She was bedridden for two years, and the illness so damaged her leg muscles that she had to learn to walk again.

She returned to New York and modeling, then chanced upon another chorus-girl role with the "Goldwyn Girls" in "Roman Scandals," a musical comedy starring Eddie Cantor. And the rest is history.



I've been a "Lucy" fanatic for years. :D



http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VWZM68KNL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41BS86ATN1L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg

[QueenOfCalifornia]

11. I really do

LOVE Lucy.

She was a one of a kind woman. She was tough, funny, smart and beautiful. Not to mention a brilliant business woman.

Rest In Peace -

[Oeditpus Rex]

27. And a control freak

who could be very difficult to get along with.



But, hey — nobody's perfect. :D

[MonkeyFunk]

28. Yes indeed.

I'm reading a biography of her now. She was a tough broad.

But she had to be - she was the first woman to run a studio since Mary Pickford (and she shared the job).

[Oeditpus Rex]

30. By her own admission, she wasn't cut out for it

Too bad she didn't intern under her husband, who was a business genius. But, as she often told him, "You take care of business, I play Lucy."

It strikes me as odd that Lucy gets the majority of the credit for the amazing success of "I Love Lucy." Desi Arnaz was a marvelous comedic actor. He was just naturally funny (Lucy wasn't), and he had a gift for knowing when to use hyperbole — thus the ¡Mira qué tiene qué cosa la mujer esta! bit with bugged-out eyes. Plus, he was a talented musician and a businessman — and he did it all at once.

Arnaz was a pretty good dramatic actor, too. See "Bataan."

Lucy's main gifts were incredible comedic timing and the willingness to do almost anything for a laugh. But she didn't really know what "funny" was; the writers had to tell her. (And thank dog they had Madeline Pugh and Bob Carroll to do that.)

[MonkeyFunk]

35. I agree that Desi Arnaz

is underestimated. The guy invented syndication!

They were both amazingly talented, smart people.

[LisaM]

15. I know, she looked great.

Actually, I thought Vivian Vance looked good, too, and I got a little tired of them always referring to her as fat - there were a couple of seasons (probably post Lucy's pregnancy) when I thought Vivian actually looked THINNER than Lucy.

They were both beautiful, and Lucy was just gorgeous when she was young.

For that matter, when she was in the movie "Yours, Mine, and Ours", she must have been at least 50, yet she got pregnant in that movie too!

[TommyO]

20. The movie was released in 1968 when Lucy was 56!

That means she was probably 55 while filming the movie. Definitely impressive.

[MonkeyFunk]

22. My family saw that movie in the theater

when it first came out. Loved it!

Many years later, I went to the Buena Vista in SF and immediately recognized it as the bar in which Lucy lost her slip in Yours, Mine & Ours. I was thrilled.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

24. I saw a biography of her a few months ago - she is one of my all time favs

[DS1]

25. MILF

:hide:

[TK421]

34. Dirty bastard ..........................

................................................
















yeah, definitely MILF!!!!!! :D

[Pendrench]

38. She was also in "Room Service" with the Marx Brothers (1938)

And of course she did the famous "Mirror Routine" with Harpo years later on an episode of I Love Lucy.

Tim

[Bucky]

40. Truly, she was like the Reese Witherspoon of her day

*snort*

[jpgray]

41. I dunno... even in the soft black and white her makeup drifted into Baby Jane territory at times

Though come to think Laura Petrie didn't look a hell of a lot better.

[Fran Kubelik]

42. HERETIC!!!