Vivian
She was born Vivian Roberta Jones, with a brother and four sisters.
After the family moved from Cherryvale to Independence KS, she studied
drama under Anna Ingleman and William Inge. Their next move, to
Albequerque NM brought her to the Albuquerque Little Theatre, which
provided her the money she needed to study under Eva LeGallience in New
York. After arriving in 1932 she had trouble finding work until she
began a two-year stint in Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's "Music in
the Air." She next understudied Ethel Merman in "Anything Goes." Her
first starring role was as Kay Thompson's last minute replacement in
"Hooray for What!" starring Ed Wynn. Other Broadway costars included
Danny Kaye, Eve Arden and Nanette Fabray. In 1945 while starring in a
touring company of "Voice of the Turtle" she had a nervous breakdown.
After undergoing psychotherapy and limited movie work, she returned to
"Voice of the Turtle" at the La Jolla Playhouse, where she was seen by
Desi Arnaz who decided she was perfect for the role of Ethel Mertz in
the "I Love Lucy" television series. At first she didn't want the part
(too frumpy), and she always hated being cast as the wife of William
Frawley (she was 39, he was 64; the two never got along). After Lucy
ended she divorced her first husband, married again, and moved to
Stamford Connecticut. In 1962 she began work on a new Lucy show, but the
pressures of long-distance comuting didn't suit her, so after three
years she limited her performances to guest appearances. In 1974 she and
her husband moved to Belvedere (just north of Francisco Bay) so she
could be near her sister. Five years later she died there, of cancer.
Email: flubb10@aol.com
