Overview
Since publication of the first edition of this book, a lot has happened. "Lucy A to Z" has found acceptance in the hearts of Lucy fans everywhere, at the Lucy-Desi Museum in Jamestown, N.Y., at the "Loving Lucy" in Burbank, Calif., and most especially online. Several fans have gone to their local libraries and seen to it that they carry Lucy A to Z.
A lovely letter from Lucie Arnaz called Lucy A to Z a "godsend" in helping her prepare for the I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary TV Special in 2001. In fact, Lucy A to Z made a "cameo" appearance during the special, in a segment chronicling Lucy memorabilia and collectibles.
During the course of the past year, fans asked whether the "next edition" could include more information on Lucy's co-stars. This was before a "second edition" had even been considered! A trip to the New York Library for the Performing Arts and a look at the clippings files for Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance convinced the author there was indeed much more information out there to be reported.
Many of the books published about Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, and "I Love Lucy" have ignored the copious amounts of publicity material available on all those subjects. Did Lucy really love badminton? Perhaps, but at the very least there's a photo of her in the 1930s in a white badminton outfit on the court, professing that she's very good at it. That's real, after a fashion. And as a fan, it's fascinating to see what the press and studios chose to write about their stars, and how it filtered down to the public. A lot of the new entries come from publicity generated during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Most interesting to readers will be several exclusive interviews, such as the one with Jane Connell, who played Agnes Gooch in Lucy's version of "Mame" and new, detailed entries on the stage careers of the four "I Love Lucy" principals. There's a new foreword featuring an exclusive chat with the official Number one Lucy fan, Michael Stern. A special treat was the information I found on a "lost" play in which one of the major characters was based on Lucille Ball: "Nobody Loves an Albatross." Lists have been added, and added to.
The book has been slightly redesigned to make it easier to read and find the entries. But the spirit of the book remains the same: a celebration of all things Lucy, arranged alphabetically.
Lucille Ball has been a part of so many of our lives, for so long, that many of us can't picture a world without her. Give the current fractious state of our world, Lucy's legacy on film, video, and now DVD becomes even more important. Enjoy and smile, because, after all, what we're really celebrating when we celebrate Lucy is the gift of laughter."