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Not merely the second husband of redhead comedian Lucille Ball (after she divorced Desi Arnaz), Morton was a talented comic in his own right, working as a stand-up entertainer at nightclubs in New York, Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas and the "Borscht Belt". Lucy (who died in 1989) brought him to Hollywood and he had another full career in television, not only as an actor but also as executive producer and audience warm-up comedian of her post-I Love Lucy shows: The Lucy Show (1962-1968), Here's Lucy (1968-1974) and the brief Life With Lucy (1986). Morton died March 30 in Rancho Mirage, Calif., from lung cancer. From This is True for 28 March 1999 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Lucille Ball List Price: $7.99 Amazon Price: $7.99 Editorial Review: The one and only New York Times bestselling autobiography by Lucille Ball... "Filled with light and laughter." (New York Times Book Review) "Lucy fans will find this book fascinating." (Detroit News) "A winner." (New York Newsday) "Intensely moving."(San Francisco Chronicle) Although Lucille Ball died in 1989, this autobiography written prior to 1964 has only recently been discovered among her papers. She describes a childhood deeply affected by her father's death and her mother's withdrawal from her life. Raised by her grandparents, Ball craved attention and developed a tempestuous, vivacious, fiery, and yet insecure personality that would later lead her to comic stardom. It took years of working from the bottom of show business before she became a television hit, with the help of her husband, co-star, and business partner, former Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz. Ball abandoned the book for fear of hurting Arnaz, although she gives him credit for the tremendous success she enjoyed with "I Love Lucy."  By: Coyne S. SandersTom Gilbert List Price: $14.95 Amazon Price: $10.17 Editorial Review: The true, behind-the-scenes story of television's happiest couple, andHollywood's most tumultuous marriage. Fifty years ago the magical union of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz enthralled American audiences who couldn't got enough of the fiery redhead or her sexy Cuban husband. But off camera the situation couldn't have been less comic, with backstage battles, oversized egos, drinking, philandering, and the demands of phenomenal success undermining what was once a storybook romance. With exclusive access to family members (including daughter Lucie Arnaz) and rare photographs, Desilu is the first candid, inside account of a celebrated, complex, passionate, but ultimately tragic relationship -- as well as a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Desilu Studios, the Golden Age of Television's most powerful production empire.  By: Michael Karol List Price: $28.95 Amazon Price: $26.05 Editorial Review: Praise for Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia ?Very important. Fresh insights. The most detailed?and most enjoyable?book available on Lucille Ball. A must-have.? ?Laura Wagner, Classic Images ?As we are producing the I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Special, [Lucy A to Z] has been a godsend.? ?Lucie Arnaz, 2001 letter to author ?[Lucy A to Z is a] compound of insight, fact, and trivia.? ?Stefan Kanfer, author, Ball of Fire ?This new Fourth Edition of Lucy A to Z is a wonderful read and I?m very pleased to recommend it to everyone.? ?Wanda Clark, Lucille Ball?s personal secretary ?If you need any ?splainin? about Lucy? life and career, you?ll find it here!? ?Craig Hamrick, author, The TV Tidbits Classic Television Trivia Quiz Book  By: Cindy De La Hoz List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $17.97 Editorial Review: The world knows her as the First Lady of Television, but Lucille Ball?s talent also shone brightly on the cinema screen in over eighty films spanning five decades, most from Hollywood?s glamorous golden age of the 1930s and ?40s. Lucy at the Movies is a long overdue showcase for this area of the star?s career, offering behind-the-scenes stories and essential information for every film in which she appeared. The pages are filled with rare photos of the beautiful young actress, many from her own first scrapbooks. Explored from her days as a showgirl through blonde, brunette, and ?Tango Red? incarnations, from black-and-white through glorious Technicolor, this is a complete reference guide and a tribute to a star and an era. ?Lucy at the Movies was an enormous undertaking. But it?s clear that it was also a labor of love. My mother would be very impressed and flattered . . . The value in this encyclopedia is the information on, not only the film career of Lucille Ball, but the way films were made. It?s an invaluable history of the motion picture industry and those who first created it.?--Lucie Arnaz  By: Jess OppenheimerLucille Ball List Price: $19.95 Amazon Price: $14.96 Editorial Review: The man Lucille Ball called "the brains" of "I Love Lucy" gives us an inside view of television history as it was being made. Jess Oppenheimer's famous sitcom was the most popular and influential television phenomenon in the history of the medium. Forty-five years after its debut, it remains a favourite the world over. Oppenheimer's book, written with his son, Gregg, is not only a record of how this groundbreaking comedy was conceived and executed, but an insider's account of the broadcasting industry's development from the early days of radio and television's golden age. Hollywood aficionados should enjoy his entertaining stories of stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Edgar Bergen, Fred Astaire, and, of course, Lucille Ball. It contains two previously unpublished scripts, dozens of previously unreleased photos and a compact disc full of rare "Lucy" performances.Laughs indeed as Jess Oppenheimer charts his rise from radio station gofer to inventor of the sitcom, as he winds up writing--then producing--Lucille Ball's show, first on radio, then on television. Luck, too, as the author recounts the good fortune that has him, within minutes of arrival in Hollywood, sitting down at a lunch counter and getting a tip that secures a job within days and a career for life. Ironic, too, that this inveterate TV writer had to be cajoled for years to set down these Hollywood heyday memoirs. He never finished, and it was left to son Gregg to complete the book. All this, plus a reproduced Lucy script, and a CD-ROM filled with famous sketches! |
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