Tinseltown icons Lucille Ball and Joan Crawford each left their indelible mark in their given sector of the Hollywood realm. But when they came together in an episode of Ball’s sitcom, The Lucy Show, these two entertainment titans clashed.
A Closer Look
According to Hollywood Reminders on Facebook, The Lucy Show frequently featured several celebrity guest stars. That was also the case with Ball’s previous sitcom, I Love Lucy, and her third and fourth shows, Here’s Lucy, and Life With Lucy, respectively, the guest-stars in question more often than not portrayed themselves.
In The Lucy Show, Ball played Lucy Carmichael, who had moved to Hollywood in that sitcom’s fourth season.
As such, Carmichael, who worked in a bank under her boss, Mr. Mooney, played by Gale Cordon, would have frequent contact with Hollywood stars.
The episode in which Joan Crawford guest starred, “Lucy and the Lost Star,” made for much fanfare in the press, due to Ball and Crawford’s “very public feud during the filming.”
Ball was disturbed by Crawford, who was frequently inebriated during filming and did not know her lines. Allegedly, the superstar redhead had many times requested that Crawford be replaced with Gloria Swanson, who was originally set to guest star on the show but could not do so due to health concerns.
In the End
As Hollywood Reminders explained, Joan “Crawford was so upset that at one point, she wouldn’t leave her dressing room.”
“According to Ball’s friend, singer-comedienne Kaye Ballard,” Hollywood Reminders continued to replayed, “…it was Vanda Barra, a featured actress frequently used on The Lucy Show, who finally persuaded Crawford to continue with the show by giving her a much-needed pep talk.”
“As a result,” Hollywood Reminders concluded, “…Crawford sailed through the filming with nary a flaw.
