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Birthday:
07-26-1909
Deathday:
08-17-1979 (70 years)
Birthplace:
Cherryvale, Kansas, USA
Biography
Vivian Vance (July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress and singer from Kansas, best known for her role as Ethel Mertz on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy (1951–1957).
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Their works
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The Great Race
Act like Hester Goodbody
event1965 star_border 7.1
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Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention.
The Lorax
Act like Singer
event1972 star_border 7.1
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The Once-ler, a ruined industrialist, tells the tale of his rise to wealth and subsequent fall, as he disregarded the warnings of a wise old forest creature called the Lorax about the environmental destruction caused by his greed.
The Secret Fury
Act like Leah
event1950 star_border 5.4
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The wedding of Ellen and David is halted by a stranger who insists that the bride is already married to someone else. Though the flabbergasted Ellen denies the charge, the interloper produces enough evidence that his accusation must be investigated. Ellen and David travel to the small coastal town where her first wedding allegedly occurred. There, they meet a number of individuals whose stories make Ellen question her own sanity.
Lucy and Desi
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2022 star_border 7.2
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Explore the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together.
The Blue Veil
Act like Alicia
event1951 star_border 6.6
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A World War I widow loses her only child and spends the rest of her life as a children's nurse.
The Great Houdinis
Act like Minnie
event1976 star_border 6
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A biography of the renowned escape artist Harry Houdini, examining his fascination with the occult and his promise to his wife on her deathbed that he would speak from the beyond.
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
Act like Self
event1976 star_border 7
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CBS honors Lucille Ball with this celebration of her three CBS series: I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy.
Lucy Calls the President
Act like Viv
event1977 star_border 5
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Homemaker Lucy Whittaker calls up President Carter to complain about a local political issue—and to her astonishment, he agrees to come dine at her house. Now Lucy has her hands full as family, friends and Secret Service agents invade her home in preparation for the big dinner summit.
Television: The First Fifty Years
Act like Ethel Mertz (archive footage)
event1999
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Trace the history of television and its impact on American culture with clips, newsreels, and exclusive interviews from television greats like Walter Cronkite, Carol Burnett, and Jay Leno.
Take a Chance
Act like Dancehall Girl
event1933 star_border 4
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Take a Chance was based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name, though only one of the original songs, Eadie Was a Lady, has been retained. The thinnish plot involves the misadventures of a pair of pickpockets, played on Broadway by Jack Haley and Sid Silvers and on film by James Dunn and Cliff “Ukelele Ike” Edwards.
I Love Lucy: The Movie
Act like Ethel Mertz
event1953 star_border 7.2
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The film plays out, with three first-season episodes edited together into a single story: "The Benefit", "Breaking the Lease", and "The Ballet", with new footage included between episodes to help transition the episodes into one coherent storyline. As the series routinely took the format of filming scenes in chronological order, this adds to the "show within a show within a show" format of the film, as viewers watch the cast perform the episodes live. The film itself ends with a "curtain call", as the cast comes out and Arnaz thanks the audience for their support.
Lucy's Really Lost Moments
Act like Ethel Mertz
event1956 star_border 6.5
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The legendary Lucille Ball as you've never seen her before! Laugh along with Lucy and Desi in these extremely rare television appearances, beautifully restored! Includes a rare appearance of the I Love Lucy cast on the Bob Hope Show and the lost Lucy pilot. A must-have collection of gems from the first lady of comedy! - The I Love Lucy cast on the Bob Hope Show - Westinghouse special with Lucy and Desi - Segment with Lucy on the game show I've Got a Secret with panelist Johnny Carson - A rare lost Lucy pilot directed by Desi.
I Love Lucy Christmas Special
Act like Ethel Mertz
event2016 star_border 10
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Celebrate the holidays with the I LOVE LUCY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, a new one-hour special featuring two back-to-back colorized classic episodes of the series. In "The Fashion Show," Lucy's lifelong dream of appearing in a motion picture seems to have come true when Ricky arranges for her to play a showgirl in a new musical. Unfortunately, the enormous feathered headdress she is expected to wear as she descends a staircase proves to be too cumbersome. After numerous mishaps on the stairs, the musical's frustrated director decides to make a change.
Getting Away from It All
Act like May Brodey
event1972
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Two city couples decide to leave the hectic urban life and retreat to the country, but find that rural living isn't quite what they thought it would be.
The Bob Hope Chevy Show
Act like Ethel Mertz
event1956
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The Bob Hope Chevy Show (21 October 1956) is an episode of The Bob Hope Show. It first aired 21 October 1956 on NBC. Includes a spoof of "I Love Lucy" in which Bob plays Ricky Ricardo and Desi plays Fred Mertz. Cameo appearances by James Cagney and Diana Dors.
Rhoda
(1 ep.)
event1974 star_border 6.2
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Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which aired 109 episodes over five seasons, from 1974 to 1978. The show was a spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky, weight-conscious, flamboyantly fashioned Jewish neighbor and native New Yorker in the role of Mary Richards' best friend. After four seasons, Rhoda left Minneapolis and returned to her original hometown of New York City. The series is noted for breaking two television records, and was the winner of two Golden Globes and two Emmy Awards.
Rhoda was filmed Friday evenings in front of a live studio audience at CBS Studio Center, Stage 14 in Studio City, Los Angeles, California.
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Act like Ethel Mertz (13 ep.)
event1957 star_border 8.6
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The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour is a collection of thirteen one-hour specials airing occasionally from 1957 to 1960, and originally served as part of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Its original network title was The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show for the first season, and The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Presents The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show for the following seasons. It was the successor to the classic comedy, I Love Lucy, and featured the same major cast members. The production schedule avoided the grind of a regular weekly series.
Desilu produced the show, which was mostly filmed at their Los Angeles studios with occasional on-location shoots at Lake Arrowhead, Las Vegas and Sun Valley, Idaho. CBS reran the show under the "Lucy-Desi" title during the summers of 1962-1967, after which it went into syndication.
I Love Lucy
Act like Ethel Mertz (180 ep.)
event1951 star_border 7.9
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Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends.
The Merv Griffin Show
Act like Self (2 ep.)
event1962 star_border 5.6
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The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to August 15, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in first-run syndication from February 14, 1972 to September 5, 1986.
Password
(1 ep.)
event1961 star_border 7.3
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Password is an American television game show which was created by Bob Stewart for Goodson-Todman Productions. The host was Allen Ludden, who had previously been well known as the host of the G.E. College Bowl.
Password originally aired for 1,555 daytime telecasts each weekday from October 2, 1961 to September 15, 1967 on CBS, along with weekly prime time airings from January 2, 1962 to September 9, 1965 and December 25, 1966 to May 22, 1967. An additional 1,099 daytime shows aired from April 5, 1971 to June 27, 1975 on ABC.
The show's announcers were Jack Clark and Lee Vines on CBS and John Harlan on ABC.
Two revivals later aired on NBC from 1979–1982 and 1984–1989, followed by a prime time version on CBS from 2008–2009.
In 2013, TV Guide ranked it #8 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
(5 ep.)
event1958 star_border 5.3
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Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on CBS television between 1958 and 1960. Two of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s television series The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables.
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1957 star_border 6.5
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Tonight Starring Jack Paar is an American talk show hosted by Jack Paar under The Tonight Show franchise from 1957 to 1962. It originally aired during late-night.
During most of its run it was broadcast from Studio 6B inside the RCA Building. The same studio would also host early episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Its theme song was an instrumental version of "Everything's Coming Up Roses", and the closing theme was "So Until I See You" by Al Lerner.
Love, American Style
Act like Madame Zimia Zygmundt (1 ep.)
event1969 star_border 6
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An anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in anywhere from one, two, three, and four short stories or vignettes within an hour about versions of love and romance.
The Bob Hope Show
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1950 star_border 7
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The Bob Hope Show hosted by Bob Hope, debuted on April 9, 1950. During the 1952-1953 season, NBC rotated with other variety shows in a Sunday night block known as "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (Sept. 1950 to Dec. 1955). Also known as, "The Chevy Show with Bob Hope." When the first special debuted in October of 1950 it was the most expensive television program made up to that point - costing an astronomical $1,500 a minute to produce. Bob Hope had his own television show and radio show at the same time. For the next three seasons, The Bob Hope Show was broadcast once a month on Tuesday nights, giving Milton Berle a week off. Bob ended his radio show in April, 1956. Bob Hope also had another show by a similar name, "The Bob Hope Show (All Star Revue)". In addition, he performed in "Specials" for many years. It is the longest running variety program in television's history with a record of 45 years of televised entertainment.
The Ed Sullivan Show
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1948 star_border 6.6
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The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows.
In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Deputy
Act like Emma Gant (1 ep.)
event1959 star_border 6.2
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The Deputy is an American western series that aired on NBC from September 1959, to July 1961. The series stars Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.
The Lucy Show
Act like Vivian Bagley (87 ep.)
event1962 star_border 7
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The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965–66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program for its second season, remained. For the first three seasons, Vivian Vance was the co-star.
The earliest scripts were entitled The Lucille Ball Show, but when this title was declined, producers thought of calling the show This Is Lucy or The New Adventures of Lucy, before deciding on the title The Lucy Show. Ball won consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' final two seasons, 1966–67 and 1967–68.
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1973 star_border 5.4
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The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts is a NBC television special show hosted by entertainer Dean Martin from 1974 to 1984. For a series of 54 specials and shows, Martin would periodically "roast" a celebrity. These roasts were patterned after the roasts held at the New York Friars' Club in New York City. The format would have the celebrity guest seated at a banquet table, and one by one the guest of honor was affectionately chided or insulted about his career by his fellow celebrity friends.
In 1973, The Dean Martin Show was declining in popularity. The final season of his variety show would be retooled into one of celebrity roasts, requiring less of Martin's involvement. For the 1973–1974 season, a new feature called “Man of the Week Celebrity Roast" was added to try to pick up the ratings. The roasts seemed to be popular among television audiences and are often marketed in post-issues as part of the official Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts and not The Dean Martin Show. After The Dean Martin Show was cancelled in 1974, NBC drew up a contract with Martin to do several specials and do more roast specials. Starting with Bob Hope in 1974, the roast was taped in California and turned out to be a hit, leading to many other roasts to follow.
I Love Lucy: In Color
Act like Ethel Mertz (18 ep.)
event2018
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In 1951, film actress Lucille Ball and her musician husband Desi Arnaz spent $5,000 to produce a TV sitcom pilot about a Cuban-born bandleader named Ricky Ricardo, his zany, starstruck wife Lucy, and their madcap life in a Manhattan apartment. The result was the decade's biggest show and a landmark in TV history that ran until 1957. William Frawley and Vivian Vance co-star as the Ricardos' best friends and neighbors, Fred and Ethel Mertz. This special colorized version of the series includes fan-favorite episodes "Pioneer Women," "Lucy Does a TV Commercial," "Job Switching," "The Million Dollar Idea," "Bonus Bucks," "L. A. at Last," "Lucy Gets in Pictures," "The Fashion Show," "The Dancing Star," "Harpo Marx," "Lucy Visits Grauman's," "Lucy and John Wayne," "Lucy Goes to Scotland," "Lucy's Italian Movie," "Christmas Show," "Lucy and Superman," and more!
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