Customer Reviews (20)

Jim Brochu will do anything for a buck
His whole life has been devoted to "the stars" and with his gift of bullsheat he has managed to meet them all and weasel his way into "something for him". This book is pathetic. ANYthing to get his name on a cover.

This may not be a great biography, but it was pleasant, easy reading
I read this biography before I read through most of these reviews, so I won't say anything about Lucie Arnaz and her warning.

However, I will say it had some interesting information in it, even though I don't know if it's true.

The author claims Lucy hated Judy Garland's singing voice, commanding the author to stop an MGM musical compilation when she heard Garland. Lucy also claimed that Liza Minnelli lived with her and her family for a year since Judy was an unfit mother. I never heard that before, and I doubt that Liza ever lived with Lucy. True, Judy may not have always been the quintessential mother, but during Liza's childhood and early teenage years, I think Judy was in relative good shape with husband Sid Luft's help.

The author also states that Lucy was offered another chance at a Broadway show after "Wildcat!" as Dolly Levi in "Hello, Dolly!" and she turned it down since she would only do it if she were guaranteed the film version too. I never heard this, but it might be possible.

Anyway, I enjoyed reading the book, and I will wonder how much of what I read is pure fiction.

Go ahead and read it if you like. It's an easy read, and who knows you might enjoy it regardless.

Lucy was one of the greatest!
This is Carol Butler's son. I rather enjoyed this book. I have read it three times before, and it touches my heart every time more and more. Of course, not any Lucy book will be completely accurate, except her autobiography, "Love, Lucy". This book talks about two good friends, even though Jim only knew her the last 8 months of her life, which is not really enough to really get to know someone, but it's still a touching story and I would recommend it! I love Lucy! =)

Not endorsed by Lucie Arnaz....Skip it!
I bought this in hardcover when it first came out in 1990.Having pulled it off the bookshelf, I reread it again recently and had forgotten that there are indeed many, many, inacuraccies in this book.The author, who claims to be the most avid Lucy fan ever made one big mistake in this book.In referring twice to the "William Holden..L.A. at Last" episode on "I Love Lucy" he says she dumped a platter of spaghetti on him.Any TRUE Lucy aficionado who has seen this episode hundreds of times would know that Lucy did NOT dump a plate of spaghetti on Holden.She bumped into a waiter who was carrying a tray of "creme deserts" and it was her bumping into the waiter that caused the waiter to dump the desert tray on him.You'd think the author would know this as any "true" Lucy devotee does.

Another thing, he comes across crass and vulgar and makes it sound as though he was the ONLY friend Lucy had during the last few months of his life. It seems odd that she would allow him to spend every afternoon with her......just very weird stuff.The guy himself looks like a creepy boogeyman.

Lucie Arnaz does NOT endorse this book on her website.She advises to skip it.As there is nothing new here to add to the Lucy legend, my advice is to follow Lucie's advice.

Lucy
Jim Brochu's bio was an interesting read for this avid Lucy fan - but take it - the entire dish - with a grain of salt.
I was aleady forewarned that Brochu exaggerates his friendship with Lucy (I found myself rolling my eyes plenty of times). This is filled with historical innacuracies matched only by Brochu's continual lapses into fantasy - he claims he and Lucy's hubby Gary Morton sat on the lanai one afternoon discussing deal-making with a TV network.
Why oh why would Morton discuss anything of the kind with Lucy's new backgammon bud?
A much better bio (endorsed by Lucie Arnaz) can be found in Lee Tannen's excellent biography of Lucy's last ten years in which he was her close friend. Unlike Brochu who knew her the last eight months of her life, Tannen really was there. And the guy can write.
I found it amusing (or was it alarming) that Brochu reports with great authority on incidents he was not involved in - Tannen was, incidentally but Brochu never mentions this. He glosses over Tannen like he does everything else that's real in the bio. His daydreams (he claims they are real dreams)about Lucy and his scary eyes in the phhotos tell me Lucy dropped dead to escape him.
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This digital document is an article from St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1140 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Signed essays ranging from 500 to 2,500 words, written by subject experts and edited to form a consistent, readable, and straightforward reference. Entries include subject-specific bibliographies and textual cross-references to related essays. ... Read more

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Chapters: Deaths From Aortic Aneurysm, Humphrey Lyttelton, Walter Huston, James L. Holloway, Jr., Lucille Ball, Henry M. Jackson, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Ian Hornak, Zero Mostel, Jack Oakie, Wally Kinnan, Michel-Gaspard Coppenrath, William F. Harrah, David Hare, Eric Munoz, Euell Gibbons, Yabby You, André de Toth, Elizabeth George Speare, Mick Cronin, Ethel Azama, Neil Bartlett, Walter Landor Dickens, Mano Solo, Hildegard Behrens, Makoto Fujita, Harold J. Gibbons, Nobu Mccarthy, Duke Bainum, Hunt Stromberg Jr., Vladek Sheybal, Alexis, Warren Mitofsky, Carol Grace, Clarice Sherry, Richard Wolfson, Darrett B. Rutman, Grant Cooper, James Beatty, Lloyd Gough, Dave Wilson. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 221. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt:Alexis Alexis (September 18, 1946 September 7, 1977) was the pseudonym of Dominique Vallet , a French comics artist , best known for his work on the series Al Crane and Superdupont .Biography Alexis started working for Pilote in 1968, providing illustrations and gags. In 1969, he began a collaboration with Fred on the series Timoléon , and started his working relationship with Gotlib on the film parody series Cinémastok in 1970.The partnership with Gotlib continued for several years, leading to the creation of the magazine Fluide Glacial in 1975 where the advertising parody series La Publicité dans la Joie was published. In 1976, Alexis started the humorous western series Al Crane , in collaboration with Gérard Lauzier , and in 1977 he succeeded Gotlib as artist of the series Superdupont , written by Jacques Lob .While working on the post-apocalyptic work Le Transperceneige , Alexis died as a result of a ruptured aneurysm on September 7, 1977. His final work was later completed by Jean-Marc Rochette . Bibliography Cover image of Al Crane References (URLs online) Websites (URLs on... ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy. One of the most popular and influential stars in America during her lifetime, with one of Hollywood's longest careers, especially on television, Ball was acting in the 1930s, becoming a B-movie star in the 1940s and a television star in the 1950s. She was still making films in the 1960s and 1970s. She was a radio actress during the 1940s, as well. Ball received thirteen Emmy Award nominations and four wins. She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986 and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1989. ... Read more

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Lucille Ball Arnaz Signed Personal Check -- Dated 12 July 1955 to Della Fox in the Amount of$1.75 -- From Account of Lucy & Desi -- Exc. ... Read more