Happy Birthday To Ethel!! (Plus Poll Results and My Book Haul)

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to write yesterday. And I know I promised a celebrity/child lookalike contest for my next post, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow because today is a very special person's birthday...

But before we get onto that, I have two other things I want to talk about. First, your poll results. I'm sorry, the poll closed a few days ago, but I forgot to post it in my last Blog. The poll was a chance to choose your favorite Natalie Wood role in honor of her 73rd birthday last week. Your choices were -

• Susan in "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947)
• Judy in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1956)
• Deenie in "Splendor in the Grass" (1961)
• Maria in "West Side Story" (1961)
• Carol in "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" (1969)
• Other - please comment

And here are your results: In a tie for first place, Maria and "other" (that was me - mine is Alva in "This Property is Condemned") with one vote each. The rest didn't get any votes at all. Oh, come on people, show Natalie some love next time!

The new poll is "In the sibling rivalry of Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland, who's side are you on?" and your choices will be Team Olivia or Team Joan, fashioned after the Twilight crazed teenagers who demand to know if you're Team Edward or Team Jacob (I reply by going, "Uhm.... I dunno. Are you Team Olivia or Team Joan? Joan or Bette?") After the poll is finished, I'll write a blog about it. Be sure and vote!

Next up on the list, yesterday I paid one of my last visits to Borders. ** weep weep ** I know, many a tear cried. It was sad to see the huge "Going out of business sign" outside, and the huge yellow signs everywhere I turned in the store. Still, if anything good came out of the closing, anything at all, it was the sale. Everything in the store was marked 10% to 40% off and it was a madhouse inside (NOW YOU BUY BOOKS, PEOPLE).

That's not a super great sale, but maybe it'll be marked down more towards their last weeks. Anyway, I was a emotional wreck and bought myself five books, all hardcover. I got some great deals, especially in the Biography section. Four of them were biography -

I got: "Bette Davis * Larger than Life," by Richard Schickel and George Perry. It was originally $35, and for that price I wouldn't have gotten it, but it was on sale for $8 so OF COURSE I got it! It basically has a mini biography of Bette and her entire filmography with plot, cast details, great pictures (for scanning!), etc.... I have a book of the same type and manner called "Lucy at the Movies," by Cindy de la Hoz, which was gifted to me by a friend for Christmas and a great read, so hopefully this will be just as good.

Then I got "Katharine Hepburn: A Life in Pictures," by Pierre-Henri Verlhac. Originally $45, I got it for --- wait for it -- $4.50! It is basically a picture book starring Kate... I didn't have a picture book of her so I was excited to find it to add to my collection. And it was such a great steal.

Next, "I Know Where I'm Going: Katharine Hepburn," by Charlotte Chandler. I had Kate's autobiography, but I didn't have a bio. It was $26 originally and I paid about $20 for it, so not a super great steal, but you know.

And finally, "Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr," by Stephen Michael Shearer. Originally $30, I paid $23 for it. I had wanted to buy a Hedy book for a while, so I was content.

I was kind of upset because an Ava Gardner bio that had been there for while, and I had finally decided I was going to buy it, wasn't there anymore! I was so upset, lol. :) But I guess I'll get it from some place else. Anyway, it was a success trip. I also got "The Flappers," a teen lit book that takes place in the 1920's, so I'm also excited about that.

Okay, now I'd like to proudly wish a happy 102nd birthday to Vivian Vance - AKA, the woman who was Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy!" She was born on this date 102 years ago in Cherryvale, Kansas. Like their on screen personas, she and Lucille Ball quarreled sometime, but they grew into a great, lasting friendship that continued on until Vivian's death. Vivian even joined her on "The Lucy Show" and made guest appearances on "Here's Lucy." They considered each other, off screen, to be best friends.

Here's a picture of a younger Viv - the one you didn't see as the frumpy Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy."

Lucy and Viv, "The BFFs" together in later years.

Happy Birthday, Viv!

In honor of her birthday, I found the perfect time to make a Lucy and Ethel friendship video. I'm not happy with the quality of some of the clips, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. These are clips from a multitude of different "I Love Lucy" episodes, set to "Thank You For Being a Friend" by Andrew Gold.... if it sounds familiar,  it's because it's the theme intro for "The Golden Girls" in it's fullness, which is another awesome show. Anyway - enjoy!

Lucy and Ethel forever! <3 And I hope you all have a great "Ethel's birthday" - hey, that's the name of an "I Love Lucy" episode! I encourage everyone to watch some great Ethel starring episodes today, like the visit to her hometown or more appropriately, her birthday episode.

Ciao!