Publication Date:September 1, 2005 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Editorial Reviews:
Product Description At any time, night or day, I Love Lucy is being broadcast somewhere in the world. Four generations have grown up watching I Love Lucy, and Lucille Balls is the most recognized face in the world. Madelyn Pugh Davis was Lucys staff writer for nearly half a century. Davis was the first female writer in television and was responsible for thousands of hours of memorable programming. Many of the plot lines used on I Love Lucy were taken from Daviss own life and immortalized by Balls comic genius. In Laughing with Lucy, Davis and her long-term writing partner, Bob Carroll Jr., recount her rise in television and her many years working on the set and behind the scenes with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. She recounts her experiences as a pioneer in the entertainment industry, one of the first women writers in Hollywood. Lighthearted and witty, this book fondly remembers Lucy and the early days of television.
Disappointing Memoir with Little InsightJuly 25, 2008 Mediaman(USA) 0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Lucy's shows have been analzyed in book form so often that you would think that one of the actual writers of the show would produce a book of incredible new insight into the comedian. But instead this is a dull, ego-centric going-through-the motions memoir that produces little new material.
The author brags a lot about her involvement with Lucy's various series but brings little depth to the standard stories that are told. For example, a chapter is "devoted" to "Lucy Isn't Pregnant, She's Expecting." You'd expect there to be a fascinating story of the battle over using the word pregnant but instead it's just nine paragraphs devoted to the entire second season which included the pregnancy. She does reprint the original script wording that was censored, but then admits that she doesn't remember when the "edict came down" to change the word pregnant and doesn't recall the details of when or why it was changed!
When it comes to the major flop "Life with Lucy" (which she wrote), she almost ignores the show. Near the very end of the book she spends FOUR WHOLE PARAGRAPHS on it and spends most of her time praising it! She obviously doesn't get that the series is considered one of the biggest sitcom flops of all time.
She also offers the small tidbit that she was married to Quinn Martin, one of the greatest TV producers of the 60s and 70s. Yet she onlys mentions him in FIVE SENTENCES. (She does spend more space on her second husband.)
This woman appears to have allowed success to go to her head and uses much of the book to brag (she claims to have broken down barriers for women in the business, when in truth there were previous TV female pioneers like Gertrude Berg and Irna Phillips), yet she provides no insight into why these series were successful. There are a few interesting stories but much of this is actually covered better in many of the other books about Lucy.
WE Love LucyMay 29, 2008 Barry A. Barsamian(Oakland, CA USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's always great to read about the behind the scenes of the I Love Lucy show...I knew most of what I read already, but REALLY enjoyed the photos from the author's collection.
A Must Read for any Devout Lucy FanApril 11, 2008 Mary Ingram(Asheville, NC) I was in my 20's when Lucy and Desi first aired. It is simply
the best comedy show ever and that includes the writing. I always
wondered just who these superb writers were. Now I have found out
due to this excellent book. The show was so very funny, you do
wonder what people wrote the lines but then you also know that
they had to have Lucy. Her timing was better than I ever seen in
any actor and actress. Thank you, Madelyn, it was indeed a joy
to read your rememberances.
Madelyn's madcap lifeMarch 25, 2008 Gary N. Zupancic(wimberley, TX USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A good biography of one of the brains behind the Lucy factory. Knowing the limitations and talents of Lucy helped make the Lucy icon what it is today. Giving Desi credit where it is long overdue, and busting a few myths that Lucy herself liked to perpetuate, this is a good read of behind the scenes and one of, if not the first, female comedy writers.
Her trials as one of the first female writers doesn't seem to stop her excellent comedic writing abilities and reminds all of us how hard it was for those first female TV writers. Perhaps this is one of the reasons Lucy was so funny - because she had Ms. Pugh there to bring the male writers up (not down) to reality.
With Lucy's other writers had done books, too.August 6, 2007 Michael K. Harrison(Greensboro, NC) 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Having read tons of other books on everything tied to Lucy, I was especially happy to come across this memoir of what I consider to be one of television's best writers. Ms. Davis writes succinctly but thoroughly and entertainingly about many of her memories associated with what many people consider to be television's all-time best sit-com. It is a great, fun read for anyone interested in "I Love Lucy."
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