If you would like to see a splendid example of the portraitist's art, take a look at Augustus John's portrait of the young Tallulah, painted when she was performing in London.
Tallulah was truly unique in every way. Whilst sauntering down a NYC street someone stopped her, asking if she was Tallulah Bankhead. She replied, "I'm what's left of her daaahling!" Priceless.
Reminds me of what James Mason said he was asked by a little old lady in Dublin. She went up to him on the street and said: "Excuse me sir. But might you be, by chance, Mr. James Mason in his declining years?"
Tallulah Bankhead was the daughter of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the granddaughter of one Alabama Senator, and the niece of another. She openly campaigned for Harry Truman in 1948. She was a prominent supporter of equal rights for black people in a day and age when that was not popular. Quite a gal.
Yes I had read this long ago and she did this against some of the will of her family. Seemed liked a opened minded person that lived her life by her own way. Also a great actor I have enjoyed a few of her movies.
Exactly I'm from Birmingham al and when I did my research on TALLULAH G.O.A.T. I LOVED HER EVEN MORE SHE LIVED HER LIFE FOR HER NOBODY'S APPROVAL WAS NEEDED WANTED OR CARED ABOUT. She loved to have fun spoke her mind no matter who didn't like what she said she was 100%REAL ALWAYS. TALLULAH BANKHEAD MISSED NEVER FORGOTTEN OFTEN IMITATED NEVER DUPLICATED
Tallulah Bankhead: " my father warned me about men and booze, but he never mentioned a word about women and cocaine."😂😂 that woman was a true individual!
It's funny seeing Lucy and Tallulah in the same room. They're both such powerful presences, such legends, and yet they give off completely different energies
Lucy did not get along with Tallulah during rehearsals and taping, and wanted to fire her for her lackadaisical rehearsing attitude and for possible drinking on the set. But when it came time to actually tape the show, Bankhead kicked in and delivered a perfect, professional performance that stunned Ball and Arnaz. It was the highest rated show that week and is a classic to this day.
@@1Cheytown She gave him an ultimatum that if she ever suspected him of breaking his word about not drinking on the set or showing up tipsy, he’d be gone. He kept his promise and had another success after Lucy, as Bub on My Three Sons.
I wish women still dressed like this, particularly in the evenings foe a night out. Today they all look like they just stepped off an 8 hour shift on a garbage truck!
Tallulah Bankhead is the bomb! Of course it goes without saying that Lucille Ball's a genius. But how great is Tallulah Bankhead for poking fun at herself. She has a real comic's sensibility. This. Was. Great!
I don't see how these two great actresses could say their lines to each other without cracking up. Shows true professionalism. Lucy and Tallulah, what gems!
I love Tallulah Bankhead (mostly for appearing in one of my all-time favorite movies, "Lifeboat"), but also for a comment she made near the end of her life and career. When she saw the rushes of her work in the thriller 'Die! Die! My Darling", with Stefanie Powers, and realized how pitilessly the camera had revealed the ravages of the years, she turned to the director and said, "They used to shoot Shirley Temple through gauze. They should shoot me through linoleum."
I thought they only shot older actresses thru gauze to erase the wrinkles and such. Why would they use it on a young kid like Shirley Temple was at the time?
@@lray1948 It wasn't only done to improve facial appearance. Shirley (like Mary Pickford, another cinematic icon of sweetness and light) was often shot through gauze to make her look more angelic. "Soft focus" was another such technique. Similarly, villains were lit and photographed so as to seem to have angular, rock-hewn features. The ultimate in this form of "tagging" characters was achieved in 1965's biopic about Jesus, "The Greatest Story Ever Told", where, as one critic wrote sarcastically: "Everyone in the scene where the Pharisees catch the woman in adultery is dressed in white, except for the woman, who is in red; which, as everybody knows, is what adulteresses wear."
If you're partial to the theatre I highly recommend checking out Looped if you ever get the chance. It's a play about Tallulah in the studio trying to re-record a line from Die! Die, My Darling. Based on true events, but also with a good sprinkle of creative license ... it's quite a riot.
Verlicka Trickle It’s by far my favorite episode as well. The only other one that even comes close is Bob Cummings in Japan, with Lucy and Ethel as Geisha Girls.
Definitely a group effort, Lucy was secure enough to let Tallulah have the funniest lines, just like Jackie Gleason let Art Carney shine in the Honeymooners.
@@ActionMediaProductions Or Andy Griffith doing the same for Don Knotts. It's so nice to know some actors were secure in their own "self" that it wasn't always about them.
I think this was the best of the hour long episodes. It felt the most like an I Love Lucy episode from a pacing and tone perspective. And Tallulah is superb.
It is definitely my favorite. When sitcoms bring on celebrity guests playing themselves it's often stiff and awkward, the celeb is just there for the effect. But here you have a legend like Bankhead (and this goes for the other Comedy Hour episodes and ones on I Love Lucy in Hollywood, etc) jumping right into the action just like any other 'regular' cast member
@@bookerjones8123 Lucy may be the only sitcom that had celebrities play themselves and have it be natural. They certainly had a long time to hone the practice. Lots of eps going back to the Holywood eps. It wasn't as natural on The Lucy Show. The way Lucy would just walk into their homes and hotel rooms was very skit-like.
@@nycp1969 I did kind of like the Milton Berle episode of The Lucy Show, and I recently re-watched the Here's Lucy one with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor; I actually hadn't seen that one since it first aired when I was a kid Somehow it was funnier than I remembered. But the I Love Lucy and Comedy Hour ones are definitely the best. It's not my favorite one, but who but Lucy could get Betty Grable to play herself scheming with Lucy to get Little Ricky a horse, like she's Ethel or something? Rather more entertaining than the way most sitcoms did it, where the guest star coming on stops the action and humor dead in its tracks and everyone gets real polite like it's visiting royalty or something
I read she drank heavily and didn't show up for practice which had Lucy and Desi very worried but they didn't know she was a professional and would know her lines, Lucy told her what a great job she did afterwards
@@dramamajor1985 Exactly. We never say "practice" in the theatah! Nor, for that matter, do we ever say "tryouts" when we mean "auditions!" So gauche!! 😉😄
I think growing up watching old shows prepares you to converse with older people in various generations and see how they experienced how life was like decades before you were born.
They used to have a “Block Party Summer” where each day they’d run 6 episodes back to back of different shows. I know “I Love Lucy” was on Tuesdays and I couldn’t wait to get home from camp on Tuesdays to settle in and watch 6 whole episodes!
Its truly great that she had enough of a sense of humor about herself that she would do a scene like this. The ending in particular is poking fun at her whole on screen persona.
@@RLucas3000 I respectfully disagree. I love the very first of what I call "The Long Long Lucys," which showed how the Ricardos met when Lucy's cruise ship stopped in Havana, Guest stars like Ann Sothern, Cesar Romero, and Rudy Vallee, great period costumes (Fred with hair!), and musical numbers that included a drum duet, in which Ricky thumped what he said contained a coded message, and Lucy thumped it back to him on a table top. The pounding got more and more intense, and although it's been six decades since we watched it together, I still remember my mother screaming with laughter when it ended and a wild-eyed Lucy shouted "WHAT DID WE SAY?" Ricky just shook his head and said she was better off not knowing. Otherwise, I agree. "The Celebrity Next Door" is hands-down the best of the baker's dozen. As someone who drove around LA for 15 years with a "LUCY WHO" license plate framed by "Ethel Mae Potter We Never Forgot Her," it pains me to say that I think the "Three Bobs and a Babe" never really got the hang of filling twice as much air time. That's why we got the big musical number in "Lucy Wins a Racehorse," and the nine-minute pantomime sketch with Red Skelton in "Lucy Goes To Alaska." The latter was a highlight of the whole series, but "The Westport PTA 'Western Frolics'" with Milton Berle is downright embarrassing. The settings and the guest stars make the LLLs fun to watch, but, alas, we'll never treasure them like we do so many of the half-hours.
@@bobzeschin3154my son and I bonded over the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours. The one with Ms. Bankhead was outstanding, but the other 12-- with the great guest stars--were hilarious as well. My favorite scene was with Tallulah and Ricky in the play--she has unwittingly warren something with strawberries and begins to itch uncontrollably. Ricky...well, y'all know the rest 😂
The original guest was Bette Davis, who was iving in Westport CT at the time. When she almost broke her leg, Tallulah stepped in at the last moment and did a magnificent job.
I love Tallulah Bankhead. She is totally hilarious and plays every character perfectly whether a caricature of herself or one of her many roles. You can’t help but love her. 💕
When Vivian Vance names those stage hits of Bankhead there is a grain of truth . Vance was on Broadway as a supporting player in the 1930s when many of those Bankhead hits were current .
My all-time favorite Tallulah story concerned Our Heroine when she was appearing on Broadway. For some reason, the director didn't consider her bosom to be equal to the occasion, and insisted that she wear falsies. (How would you like to have been the guy who had to tell TALLULAH BANKHEAD that she had to wear falsies?) On opening night, Tallulah made a grand entrance at the top of a curving staircase, with her leading man awaiting her at the bottom. As she began her descent, one of the falsies popped out of her gown, and went bouncing down the stairs. The audience went crazy, and got even louder when Tallulah put her index finger on her cheek and STUDIED the offending object, as if she were Marie Curie examining radium. Then she looked down at the leading man, as the falsie continued its way down the stairs. "Well, for God's sake, darling, don't just stand there; SHOOT THE DAMNED THING!"
When I was 8 years old and was learning to speak English, I used to watch I Love Lucy a lot because there was so much physical comedy. And I remember the moment when I first saw Tallulah Bankhead on the show- I had never seen anyone like that in my life! She was stylish, stunning, and a little intimidating- lol. I was like, man I want to be just like her!
Betty Davis must have been Tallulah Bankhead's " *Eve* " for sure ( _All About Eve_ ) ; it seems that Betty continued playing this _persona_ where Tallulah left off. P.S: Tallulah looked gorgeous here, ( _considering the decades of hard lights, hard liquor + cartons of non filtered cigarettes_ ) she was 55 yrs old. RIP to all of these great legends.
@@02chevyguy There are a lot of kids on these boards, and by kids, I mean under 30, who have the vaguest ideas about the great stars. Davis, Crawford, Garbo, Harlow.
@Jay Cee Tallulah Bankhead also played Judith in Dark Victory..who Bette played on film. Apparently Bankhead resented Davis for always getting to play the parts she excelled/made famous on Broadway.
@@leroymccoy9008 Tallulah also never forgave Davis for her shameless Bankhead impersonation in All About Eve, right down to the hairstyle. While the movie set box office records, Tallulah went on the radio and constantly quipped 'Dahling, have you seen that delightful little film, All About ME!?'
Arnaz and Ball were afraid that Bankhead would blow up during the filming of this episode , such at her state of drunkeness or being doped up . Also she did not like to rehearse , unlike Ball. They were surprised that she did this program spot on during the actual filming . Bankhead could apparently glance at a script and have everything down pat . She probably had been doing that for 30 years before this show . Arnaz should realized this since he was a " quick study " also.
The amazing thing is that Miss Bankhead was so lousy in rehearsals all week. She showed up drunk, missed her cues, flubbed her lines and Lucy and Desi were worried that they had made a mistake getting Tallulah Bankhead (An aside: they had originally tried to get Bette Davis; Tallulah was a last minute choice; Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead were rivals and despised each other). Then, on the night of filming this episode, Tallulah was nothing short of brilliant!
@@huascar66 Yes, I read about that and I also read that Tallullah when drunk flashed her twat to Lucy and Ricky and the crew : O I forgot where I read this but I do remember it.
@@huascar66 Are you sure they despised each other? I think Davis watched her playing the Little Foxes on Broadway to take ideas for the film and she said Bankhead was brilliant.
Her outfit could have easily been a haute couture creation during the John Galliano Dior days, especially with that paint on the back, or even Christian LaCroix haute couture during his career.
I read once that *Tallulah Bankhead* once said to a former lover she hadn't seen in years... she said:: _"I thought I told you to wait in the car!"_ LOL! Class! 🚗
This was top notch.My Goodness. What greatness those days were. Exquisite Talent everywhere.Amazing. Love watching and listening to anything from the past.
This is the best of those one hour shows.Tallulah was drinking during rehearsals and Lucy was on edge the entire time. So everyone was on their toes and that helped the pacing and delivery was great.
I was 9 yrs. old when she played "Black Widow, Strikes Again"(1967), on Batman. She's buried on the Eastern Shore, here in Maryland, near Chesapeake Bay. A very scenic area. I adored(& still adore)her. R.I.P. darling! 💘
@@SyonisMacias Really? You would think they would hit it off, They are both strong and opionated. woman .Also Ms. Bankhead met her match, Lucy was sassy as she was.
@@SyonisMaciasHate is a pretty strong word and you say Tallulah Bankhead despised it but certainly did the full episode . Who cares about what you say in my opinion they really were awesome together .
Thanks so much for posting this. It's one of the rare moments to see the later-day Tallulah Bankhead performing at her comedic best. Story has it that she was a royal pain during rehearsals, but when it came time for the taping, she was perfect. Just reading the quotes below makes me laugh; but I have to add another of my favorites: "What are these? Leftovers from 'The king and I'?"
The outfits there and on I L L always took me for a loop! I couldn't imagine going to the park with either of my children in the carriage or stroller dressed to the tee. Thank God for sneakers, jeans and tee shirts WOW! And the episode the loving cup when Ethel says I have never rode the subway in my blue jeans and am not about to start now I wonder what Ethel and Lucy would think about women wearing designer ripped jeans. Fred having a heart attack as a par is sometimes as high as $100! Phew!
Tallulah belonged to The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan's Actors Guild along with Rex Harrison, Joan Fontaine, Basil Rathbone and Charlton Huston. An actor in the late 1800s was rejected for burial in other churchyards. His fellow actor, when Tr said yes, exclaimed, "God bless the Little Church Around the Corner." The charming church is still there for prayer and worship. She helped several families escape during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
The first time I ever watched The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, this was the episode, of course I had seen I Love Lucy 100 times or more, and all of those episodes were always funny and entertaining, but this episode took the cake for me, I literally was in tears with laughter, and it still makes me crack up HARD every time I see it again. It's probably my favorite episode out of all of the different Lucy tv shows. Both Lucille Ball and Tallulah Bankhead we're both very strong ,independent highly intelligent, beautiful and funny women, especially for the time of their eras, they were both brilliant and determined and they knew where they wanted to go and what they needed to do to get there. After watching this episode the first time, it got me curious & fascinated with who this lady was, I was intrigued with her boldness, bluntness, her southern drawl, & her signature "Daaahling", so later I asked my mamaw about who she was & after the interesting Info she gave me, I did my own research and was pleasantly surprised & even amazed at this woman's real life and personal stories and antics, her career and her blatant IDGAF attitude. She didn't care to tell it like it was and she didn't appear to keep her personal life too personal or private at all, when asked (or when not asked) she told what ppl were shocked to hear about herself, especially for way back when with her "immorality" and especially when it came down to the subject of sex and obscenities! She would be totally serious about something and be shockingly crude while telling the truth in a jokingly & sarcastic manner . Disney's Cruella Deville cartoon was modeled after her, so there ya go lol I think I like Tallulah Bankhead most for her person and rowdiness and bold attitude, basically for being a badass woman in old country H'Wood, more than for her celebrity status and acting bc it's like Hell Yeah, you go girl, at the time while living in a man's world she definitely held her own, and could even cause some of those men to blush!😳 Some of Bankhead's quotes are absolutely legendary, it shows her true self and personality as a person & not as just an actress, I love that she was a woman that didn't feel suppressed by society in those times to be or say anything other than what she was or felt, I guess that's what I was trying to say the whole time! Lol🤣👍
This was one of the really early ones in the comedy hour. It was so funny I never forgot it and remembered many of the lines as I watched it here. Classic.
I always Love to see these old movies 🎬 from the time Before I was born. I don't like to miss anything, just because I wasn't born Yet and I couldn't see these Wonderful and Funny 😆 movies. I also like to see how Beautiful 😍 the Actresses were in the Good Old days. Thank You for this video. Efrat. Israel 🇮🇱
Of the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hours, this episode is my absolute favorite. It doesn't let up for one moment. I love t when Lucy calls Ethel her nanny. Actually, I shouldn't single that moment out - because I love EVERYTHING. And this wonderful cut doesn't even show us the play that they do in the end. (Watch out: Tallulah is allergic to strawberries!)
@@mazerook This particular episode of the *Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour* entitled "The Celebrity Next Door" originally aired on Tuesday, 3 December 1957. www.imdb.com/title/tt0637539/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_16
"When Miss Bankhead is bored Miss Bankhead will let you know"
I_luv_pudding 😂😂👍
I_luv_pudding w2
Awesome line. More awesome delivery
Hahahaha 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
If you would like to see a splendid example of the portraitist's art, take a look at Augustus John's portrait of the young Tallulah, painted when she was performing in London.
Tallulah was truly unique in every way. Whilst sauntering down a NYC street someone stopped her, asking if she was Tallulah Bankhead. She replied, "I'm what's left of her daaahling!" Priceless.
Reminds me of what James Mason said he was asked by a little old lady in Dublin. She went up to him on the street and said: "Excuse me sir. But might you be, by chance, Mr. James Mason in his declining years?"
@@lray1948 I wonder what Mason said in his reply?
@@josephcarlbreil5380 It probably isn't printable. I don't think he had much of a sense of humor.
Now.. she would probably gett mugged or shot on the streets of NYC. DeBlasio has destroyed that city.
@@patr70 Girl bye
Tallulah Bankhead was the daughter of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the granddaughter of one Alabama Senator, and the niece of another. She openly campaigned for Harry Truman in 1948. She was a prominent supporter of equal rights for black people in a day and age when that was not popular. Quite a gal.
phtevlin Thank you for the history lesson
Also quite a friend of LGBT !
Yes I had read this long ago and she did this against some of the will of her family. Seemed liked a opened minded person that lived her life by her own way. Also a great actor I have enjoyed a few of her movies.
phtevlin who would dare argue with her.
Exactly I'm from Birmingham al and when I did my research on TALLULAH G.O.A.T. I LOVED HER EVEN MORE SHE LIVED HER LIFE FOR HER NOBODY'S APPROVAL WAS NEEDED WANTED OR CARED ABOUT. She loved to have fun spoke her mind no matter who didn't like what she said she was 100%REAL ALWAYS. TALLULAH BANKHEAD MISSED NEVER FORGOTTEN OFTEN IMITATED NEVER DUPLICATED
She said she called everyone darling because she couldn't remember their name.
That was Zsa Zsa Gabor :)
@@JennyCherMeryl no it was Tallulah. I remember her saying that in an interview. Perhaps Zsa Zsa did the same.
that's true....I heard that
I must start doing that cause I'm the same lol.
@@rosalyngummer6587 both said that...
Tallulah Bankhead: " my father warned me about men and booze, but he never mentioned a word about women and cocaine."😂😂 that woman was a true individual!
Evil
Are you addressing yourself?
What ever happened with To Each His Own 👋 individuality is a REBEL❤😊
Bankhead’s comic timing is razor sharp!
Tallulah is like a cross between Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, and Marlene Dietrich.
Yessss!
And Susan Sarandon.
She can be Margot Channing.
WELL SAID I AGREE
Not surprising you should think so as Tallula was indeed a pivotal and often acknowledged influence on all three acting greats!
'YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN IN BETTER PLACES THAN THIS!' 😂😂😂
Amy G b
Savage. The shade!
Fightin words
Ha ha ha...Love it. One of my favorite lines from this most excellent Cat Fight. hisssssss!! claws out.
The sass was epic. 🤣
They way she says, "Yes.....?" after she finds out it's Lucy on the phone gets me every time.
That's truly hilarious
Same here 😂
"When Miss Bankhead is bored, Miss Bankhead will let you know." LOL, gotta give props for that mid-20th century shading. :-D
It's funny seeing Lucy and Tallulah in the same room. They're both such powerful presences, such legends, and yet they give off completely different energies
Well Lucy gave it to Tallulah bankhead Lucy had the last laugh by saying I'll see you later darriinngg.✍️📺❤️🎫🎶💋
Yes-thought that too!
Lucy did not get along with Tallulah during rehearsals and taping, and wanted to fire her for her lackadaisical rehearsing attitude and for possible drinking on the set. But when it came time to actually tape the show, Bankhead kicked in and delivered a perfect, professional performance that stunned Ball and Arnaz. It was the highest rated show that week and is a classic to this day.
Is it true that Fred was a massive alcoholic?
Lucy didn't like a lot of people. Not easy to get along with
Lala Addas Yes Bill Frawley was a big time drunk and Desi was warned by multiple insiders NOT to cast him as Fred because of it
@@1Cheytown She gave him an ultimatum that if she ever suspected him of breaking his word about not drinking on the set or showing up tipsy, he’d be gone. He kept his promise and had another success after Lucy, as Bub on My Three Sons.
@@tiggersboy I know that
Tallulah's comic timing was incredible. She totally got it 🤠
"YOU'VVVVE NEVER BEEN IN ANY BETTER PLACES THAN THIS"! Priceless.
Hilarious! "I'll be pulling out your pink hair by your black roots!" 😂
The original line, I'll pull out your blonde hair by its black roots was uttered by Bette Davis, in a movie, but Tallulah said it wonderfully.
I said yikes then laughed hard 😂😂
Even at her age here she is gorgeous! Love the old school style.
I wish women still dressed like this, particularly in the evenings foe a night out. Today they all look like they just stepped off an 8 hour shift on a garbage truck!
jc brown even
@@lauremehrkens5891 Thanks. The darn tablet must've changed it to a name.
Ms. Bankhead was only 55 when this was filmed, and Ms. Ball and Ms. Vance were in their mid-forties.
We need to stop saying good for her age ...quitr ofdensive
.
Tallulah Bankhead is the bomb! Of course it goes without saying that Lucille Ball's a genius. But how great is Tallulah Bankhead for poking fun at herself. She has a real comic's sensibility. This. Was. Great!
I don't see how these two great actresses could say their lines to each other without cracking up. Shows true professionalism. Lucy and Tallulah, what gems!
I thought I saw Miss Bankhead chuckling once at the dinner table!
Three great actresses. Vivian Vance was just as great.
I don't think Lucy was in that frame of mind since Tallulah had been difficult: wasn't taking rehearsal seriously and drinking apparently.
I think after a the table read and a few rehearsals the jokes isn’t as funny to the actors.
@@DRthistle
No, that was Joan Crawford who was on The Lucy Show.
I love Tallulah Bankhead (mostly for appearing in one of my all-time favorite movies, "Lifeboat"), but also for a comment she made near the end of her life and career. When she saw the rushes of her work in the thriller 'Die! Die! My Darling", with Stefanie Powers, and realized how pitilessly the camera had revealed the ravages of the years, she turned to the director and said, "They used to shoot Shirley Temple through gauze. They should shoot me through linoleum."
Thomas DiMaggio Lifeboat is excellent, as was she.
I thought they only shot older actresses thru gauze to erase the wrinkles and such. Why would they use it on a young kid like Shirley Temple was at the time?
@@lray1948 It wasn't only done to improve facial appearance. Shirley (like Mary Pickford, another cinematic icon of sweetness and light) was often shot through gauze to make her look more angelic. "Soft focus" was another such technique. Similarly, villains were lit and photographed so as to seem to have angular, rock-hewn features. The ultimate in this form of "tagging" characters was achieved in 1965's biopic about Jesus, "The Greatest Story Ever Told", where, as one critic wrote sarcastically: "Everyone in the scene where the Pharisees catch the woman in adultery is dressed in white, except for the woman, who is in red; which, as everybody knows, is what adulteresses wear."
Loved "Lifeboat" too!
If you're partial to the theatre I highly recommend checking out Looped if you ever get the chance. It's a play about Tallulah in the studio trying to re-record a line from Die! Die, My Darling. Based on true events, but also with a good sprinkle of creative license ... it's quite a riot.
One of the funniest shows of the Desilu Comedy Hour. Bankhead was priceless ! What a catch ! Still funny today !
She should've played Cruella De Vil
I read recently that the lady who voiced Curella De Vil based the voice on Tallulah Bankhead's...
agreed.
Apparently the creator of the cartoon version of Cruella based her also on Bankhead
@@Pixelslet That's who she meant.
My favorite Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode. Tallulah showcasing some impressive comedic chops and Lucy is....Lucy. Everybody was on top of their game.
Verlicka Trickle It’s by far my favorite episode as well. The only other one that even comes close is Bob Cummings in Japan, with Lucy and Ethel as Geisha Girls.
Definitely a group effort, Lucy was secure enough to let Tallulah have the funniest lines, just like Jackie Gleason let Art Carney shine in the Honeymooners.
@@ActionMediaProductions
Or Andy Griffith doing the same for Don Knotts. It's so nice to know some actors were secure in their own "self" that it wasn't always about them.
@@ActionMediaProductions Call it the Jack Benny Principle.
I think this was the best of the hour long episodes. It felt the most like an I Love Lucy episode from a pacing and tone perspective. And Tallulah is superb.
It is definitely my favorite. When sitcoms bring on celebrity guests playing themselves it's often stiff and awkward, the celeb is just there for the effect. But here you have a legend like Bankhead (and this goes for the other Comedy Hour episodes and ones on I Love Lucy in Hollywood, etc) jumping right into the action just like any other 'regular' cast member
@@bookerjones8123 Lucy may be the only sitcom that had celebrities play themselves and have it be natural. They certainly had a long time to hone the practice. Lots of eps going back to the Holywood eps. It wasn't as natural on The Lucy Show. The way Lucy would just walk into their homes and hotel rooms was very skit-like.
@@nycp1969
I did kind of like the Milton Berle episode of The Lucy Show, and I recently re-watched the Here's Lucy one with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor; I actually hadn't seen that one since it first aired when I was a kid Somehow it was funnier than I remembered. But the I Love Lucy and Comedy Hour ones are definitely the best. It's not my favorite one, but who but Lucy could get Betty Grable to play herself scheming with Lucy to get Little Ricky a horse, like she's Ethel or something?
Rather more entertaining than the way most sitcoms did it, where the guest star coming on stops the action and humor dead in its tracks and everyone gets real polite like it's visiting royalty or something
I read she drank heavily and didn't show up for practice which had Lucy and Desi very worried but they didn't know she was a professional and would know her lines, Lucy told her what a great job she did afterwards
Rehearsal not practice. Practice is for sports.
@@dramamajor1985 you knew what they meant 😒🙄
@@Zenguy89 I know what he meant and I corrected him... 🙄🙄🙄
@@dramamajor1985 🤣🤣🤣
@@dramamajor1985 Exactly. We never say "practice" in the theatah! Nor, for that matter, do we ever say "tryouts" when we mean "auditions!" So gauche!! 😉😄
When Lucy said "Ethel Mae was my nanny." when I was a kid I laughed so hard at that. Boy I miss Nick @ Nite from the 1990's.
Those shows were 13 of the best hours on television.
@make it make sense I just found out!
I think growing up watching old shows prepares you to converse with older people in various generations and see how they experienced how life was like decades before you were born.
They used to have a “Block Party Summer” where each day they’d run 6 episodes back to back of different shows. I know “I Love Lucy” was on Tuesdays and I couldn’t wait to get home from camp on Tuesdays to settle in and watch 6 whole episodes!
Nick@Nite from 90s would show an episode of I Love Lucy , The Lucy Show & the Lucy -Desi Comedy Show! I loved it !
I love how they got spiffed up for dinner - beautiful dresses and the good jewelry!
Hello Juliette, how are you doing?
Its truly great that she had enough of a sense of humor about herself that she would do a scene like this. The ending in particular is poking fun at her whole on screen persona.
This episode is the best of the 13 hour long Lucy & Desi show.
Martin Beneteau It sure is. The only one that comes close is Bob Cummings in Japan with Lucy and Ethel as Geisha Girls.
Better than the chickens?
@@RLucas3000 I respectfully disagree. I love the very first of what I call "The Long Long Lucys," which showed how the Ricardos met when Lucy's cruise ship stopped in Havana, Guest stars like Ann Sothern, Cesar Romero, and Rudy Vallee, great period costumes (Fred with hair!), and musical numbers that included a drum duet, in which Ricky thumped what he said contained a coded message, and Lucy thumped it back to him on a table top. The pounding got more and more intense, and although it's been six decades since we watched it together, I still remember my mother screaming with laughter when it ended and a wild-eyed Lucy shouted "WHAT DID WE SAY?" Ricky just shook his head and said she was better off not knowing.
Otherwise, I agree. "The Celebrity Next Door" is hands-down the best of the baker's dozen. As someone who drove around LA for 15 years with a "LUCY WHO" license plate framed by "Ethel Mae Potter We Never Forgot Her," it pains me to say that I think the "Three Bobs and a Babe" never really got the hang of filling twice as much air time. That's why we got the big musical number in "Lucy Wins a Racehorse," and the nine-minute pantomime sketch with Red Skelton in "Lucy Goes To Alaska." The latter was a highlight of the whole series, but "The Westport PTA 'Western Frolics'" with Milton Berle is downright embarrassing. The settings and the guest stars make the LLLs fun to watch, but, alas, we'll never treasure them like we do so many of the half-hours.
@@bobzeschin3154my son and I bonded over the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours. The one with Ms. Bankhead was outstanding, but the other 12-- with the great guest stars--were hilarious as well.
My favorite scene was with Tallulah and Ricky in the play--she has unwittingly warren something with strawberries and begins to itch uncontrollably. Ricky...well, y'all know the rest 😂
I wish they showed the rest of the dinner when Lucy says to Ethel "that will be ALL Ethel Mae" and Ethel says "you bet your sweet LIFE it will!"
YES
Yes and I wish they showed when Lucy gets up from the table and pulls off the table cloth, and the entire contents on top of it.
Absolutely, that is one of the best laughs in the episode and one of Vivian Vance's most hilarious moments as Ethel Mertz.
@@Gary_Jaffe Just the way Vivian delivered that line cracks me up every time! LOL
Yes and yes. . . Ethel's line "you bet your sweet life. . ." and Lucy's fiasco with the table cloth were both hilarious
What is impressive beside Tallulah's timing is her way of speaking. One only has to hear her voice and DICTION to recognize her.
The original guest was Bette Davis, who was iving in Westport CT at the time. When she almost broke her leg, Tallulah stepped in at the last moment and did a magnificent job.
Tallulah was probably thrilled to take a part from Bette. Bette had already taken three from Tallulah!
Tallulah a legend dhalling
I love Tallulah Bankhead. She is totally hilarious and plays every character perfectly whether a caricature of herself or one of her many roles. You can’t help but love her. 💕
Truly one of the greatest, with the greatest stage name.
Tallulah Bankhead was her reai name.
Named after Talluah Gorge, a beautiful part of Georga!!!
" yes I had a feeling he wasn't from Alabama " 😄
Hello Lisa, how are you doing?
@@callumnye2562 Hello! I am doing well. Hope you are staying safe and healthy.
@@lisabaker9036 I’m well thanks, where are you from?
@@callumnye2562 originally from Missouri, live on the west coast USA.
@@lisabaker9036 I’m from Chicago Illinois, I will like us to be friends hope you don’t mind?
Both utterly fabulous
Yes indeed .
When Vivian Vance names those stage hits of Bankhead there is a grain of truth . Vance was on Broadway as a supporting player in the 1930s when many of those Bankhead hits were current .
"When Ms. Bankhead is bored Ms. Bankhead will let you know" classic!!!!
I watch this over and over, cracks me up.
Better than any anti depressant I have used
How do people "thumbs down" things like this?! There must be some sad, sad people in this world.
Sublime Music Channel it’s not worth your time or energy thinking about why people give a thumbs down; probably for the simple reason, they can.
Sublime they were probably to young to know anything about this show
They have no sense of humor and don't know true class when they see it.
You never know what things like this causes to come into there minds.or during that Era how it affected them.
THE UNDISPUTED GODDESS OF ALL TIME(G.O.A.T.) TALLULAH BANKHEAD. OFTEN IMITATED NEVER DUPLICATED. BABY YOU'RE THE BEST. TALLULAH FAN NOW TILL INFINITY
Tallu's timing is perfection !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this lady was hilarious!
Loved Ms Bankhead saw her in person once with Estelle Winwood
My all-time favorite Tallulah story concerned Our Heroine when she was appearing on Broadway. For some reason, the director didn't consider her bosom to be equal to the occasion, and insisted that she wear falsies. (How would you like to have been the guy who had to tell TALLULAH BANKHEAD that she had to wear falsies?) On opening night, Tallulah made a grand entrance at the top of a curving staircase, with her leading man awaiting her at the bottom. As she began her descent, one of the falsies popped out of her gown, and went bouncing down the stairs. The audience went crazy, and got even louder when Tallulah put her index finger on her cheek and STUDIED the offending object, as if she were Marie Curie examining radium. Then she looked down at the leading man, as the falsie continued its way down the stairs. "Well, for God's sake, darling, don't just stand there; SHOOT THE DAMNED THING!"
Who wouldn't want to be called darling by her.
Tallulah Bankhead, a truly great comic actress...
Wow Tallulah Bankhead was fantastic. She reminds me of Bette Davis a little
Tallulah’s house in Alabama is beautiful. I’ve toured it twice. The caretaker there told me she still “resides” there.
When I was 8 years old and was learning to speak English, I used to watch I Love Lucy a lot because there was so much physical comedy. And I remember the moment when I first saw Tallulah Bankhead on the show- I had never seen anyone like that in my life! She was stylish, stunning, and a little intimidating- lol. I was like, man I want to be just like her!
Tallulah going for those mashed potatoes is a mood. 🤣
Betty Davis must have been Tallulah Bankhead's " *Eve* " for sure ( _All About Eve_ ) ; it seems that Betty continued playing this _persona_ where Tallulah left off.
P.S: Tallulah looked gorgeous here, ( _considering the decades of hard lights, hard liquor + cartons of non filtered cigarettes_ ) she was 55 yrs old. RIP to all of these great legends.
Not trying or wanting to be rude, but it's BETTE!
Tallulah played Margot Channing in the play. Warner gave her role to Davis
@@02chevyguy There are a lot of kids on these boards, and by kids, I mean under 30, who have the vaguest ideas about the great stars. Davis, Crawford, Garbo, Harlow.
@Jay Cee Tallulah Bankhead also played Judith in Dark Victory..who Bette played on film.
Apparently Bankhead resented Davis for always getting to play the parts she excelled/made famous on Broadway.
@@leroymccoy9008 Tallulah also never forgave Davis for her shameless Bankhead impersonation in All About Eve, right down to the hairstyle. While the movie set box office records, Tallulah went on the radio and constantly quipped 'Dahling, have you seen that delightful little film, All About ME!?'
Arnaz and Ball were afraid that Bankhead would blow up during the filming of this episode , such at her state of drunkeness or being doped up . Also she did not like to rehearse , unlike Ball. They were surprised that she did this program spot on during the actual filming . Bankhead could apparently glance at a script and have everything down pat . She probably had been doing that for 30 years before this show . Arnaz should realized this since he was a " quick study " also.
This is my first time seeing Tallulah Bankhead and omg she is fantastic
Tallulah at her very best. No one else in the cast can compete with her.
Lucy was just as good for this episode. Tullulah brought out the best in her. They were terrific together.
The amazing thing is that Miss Bankhead was so lousy in rehearsals all week. She showed up drunk, missed her cues, flubbed her lines and Lucy and Desi were worried that they had made a mistake getting Tallulah Bankhead (An aside: they had originally tried to get Bette Davis; Tallulah was a last minute choice; Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead were rivals and despised each other). Then, on the night of filming this episode, Tallulah was nothing short of brilliant!
@@huascar66 Yes, I read about that and I also read that Tallullah when drunk flashed her twat to Lucy and Ricky and the crew : O I forgot where I read this but I do remember it.
@@huascar66 Are you sure they despised each other? I think Davis watched her playing the Little Foxes on Broadway to take ideas for the film and she said Bankhead was brilliant.
Lucy was a genius. You don't know talent
Once in a lifetime folks just once in a lifetime. Bankhead was always stunning no matter what she did. Just being herself was a joy to watch
Even in Batman she was memorable.
Tallulah is great in this episode. Shows how versatile most actresses were back then.
Lucy's black dress and accessories are so gorgeous paint and all I'd wear it now.
If you had that dress, paint and all, you wouldn't wear it. You'd sell it for $100,000 or more.
Her outfit could have easily been a haute couture creation during the John Galliano Dior days, especially with that paint on the back, or even Christian LaCroix haute couture during his career.
I'll wear everything that they had at those times, so much class and classic
And another thing, you do a revooooooolting imitation of me! 😂😂😂😂😂
So do you! 😂😂😂
SO DO YOU!
@ 4:23
I read once that *Tallulah Bankhead* once said to a
former lover she hadn't seen in years... she said::
_"I thought I told you to wait in the car!"_ LOL! Class! 🚗
This was top notch.My Goodness. What greatness those days were. Exquisite Talent everywhere.Amazing. Love watching and listening to anything from the past.
All you can do is.Hahhahah Dahling
Holy crap. Lucy and Tallulah together is nothing short of comedic perfection.
Vivian practically stole the show...
Randy Sills Sometimes understated is best.
Ethel let Lucy have it at the dinner table. There are several episodes in which the Ethel character let Lucy have it.
This is the best of those one hour shows.Tallulah was drinking during rehearsals and Lucy was on edge the entire time. So everyone was on their toes and that helped the pacing and delivery was great.
The entire episode is HILARIOUS....CLASSIC!🔥🔥🔥🔥
Tallulah Bankhead was a comedy genius! This is such a great episode
I was 9 yrs. old when she played "Black Widow, Strikes Again"(1967), on Batman. She's buried on the Eastern Shore, here in Maryland, near Chesapeake Bay. A very scenic area. I adored(& still adore)her. R.I.P. darling! 💘
Classic entertainment! Still holds up in 2020! Amazing!
Hello Kathleen, How are you doing?
Perfect mix Lucille Ball & Tallulah Bankhead Awwwwwwwwwwesome Chemistry Together ! ❤️☺️😊😆😅😂👍🏻🙏🏻💫✨
Brooke Goslin Tallulah Bankhead Hated Lucille Ball. In her autobiography she talks about doing this episode and how much she despised it.
@@SyonisMacias Really? You would think they would hit it off, They are both strong and opionated. woman .Also Ms. Bankhead met her match, Lucy was sassy as she was.
@@SyonisMaciasHate is a pretty strong word and you say Tallulah Bankhead despised it but certainly did the full episode . Who cares about what you say in my opinion they really were awesome together .
Thanks so much for posting this. It's one of the rare moments to see the later-day Tallulah Bankhead performing at her comedic best. Story has it that she was a royal pain during rehearsals, but when it came time for the taping, she was perfect. Just reading the quotes below makes me laugh; but I have to add another of my favorites: "What are these? Leftovers from 'The king and I'?"
The outfit Lucy is wearing with the paint, is gorgeous!!! I would wear that now.
.....and you whould look like a moron
@@chancebronson9375 you wouldn't look like anything because you'd be hiding, troll
The outfits there and on I L L always took me for a loop! I couldn't imagine going to the park with either of my children in the carriage or stroller dressed to the tee.
Thank God for sneakers, jeans and tee shirts WOW!
And the episode the loving cup when Ethel says I have never rode the subway in my blue jeans and am not about to start now
I wonder what Ethel and Lucy would think about women wearing designer ripped jeans. Fred having a heart attack as a par is sometimes as high as $100!
Phew!
Love the subtle shade they threw at each other!
Lucy always had good scripts to showcase her celebrity guests.
Loved Lucy 😍 as a child so scatty & beautiful.
Absolutely amazing characters with superb comedy timing. Quality is timeless.
Thats. What hollywood actor looks like when they come on tv! Its supposed to feel grand and surreal! Funny clip
Tallulah belonged to The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan's Actors Guild along with Rex Harrison, Joan Fontaine, Basil Rathbone and Charlton Huston. An actor in the late 1800s was rejected for burial in other churchyards. His fellow actor, when Tr said yes, exclaimed, "God bless the Little Church Around the Corner." The charming church is still there for prayer and worship. She helped several families escape during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
1:11 - OH YES. HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!
That was hilarious, dahling. 😅😂🤣
That was utterly brilliant!
The first time I ever watched The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, this was the episode, of course I had seen I Love Lucy 100 times or more, and all of those episodes were always funny and entertaining, but this episode took the cake for me, I literally was in tears with laughter, and it still makes me crack up HARD every time I see it again. It's probably my favorite episode out of all of the different Lucy tv shows. Both Lucille Ball and Tallulah Bankhead we're both very strong ,independent highly intelligent, beautiful and funny women, especially for the time of their eras, they were both brilliant and determined and they knew where they wanted to go and what they needed to do to get there. After watching this episode the first time, it got me curious & fascinated with who this lady was, I was intrigued with her boldness, bluntness, her southern drawl, & her signature "Daaahling", so later I asked my mamaw about who she was & after the interesting Info she gave me, I did my own research and was pleasantly surprised & even amazed at this woman's real life and personal stories and antics, her career and her blatant IDGAF attitude. She didn't care to tell it like it was and she didn't appear to keep her personal life too personal or private at all, when asked (or when not asked) she told what ppl were shocked to hear about herself, especially for way back when with her "immorality" and especially when it came down to the subject of sex and obscenities! She would be totally serious about something and be shockingly crude while telling the truth in a jokingly & sarcastic manner . Disney's Cruella Deville cartoon was modeled after her, so there ya go lol I think I like Tallulah Bankhead most for her person and rowdiness and bold attitude, basically for being a badass woman in old country H'Wood, more than for her celebrity status and acting bc it's like Hell Yeah, you go girl, at the time while living in a man's world she definitely held her own, and could even cause some of those men to blush!😳 Some of Bankhead's quotes are absolutely legendary, it shows her true self and personality as a person & not as just an actress, I love that she was a woman that didn't feel suppressed by society in those times to be or say anything other than what she was or felt, I guess that's what I was trying to say the whole time! Lol🤣👍
1:20 *BUT!!!* --- life is short...
Tallulah seducing her next victim.
I had a feeling he wasn't from Alabama!
Oh that Tallulah ! No one ever knew what she's was gonna say next...well in the case I guess the writers knew.
Jubal Calif - it kind of sounds like something she would say in real life, she was super funny and witty.
@@p.t.d.505 She was indeed ! A true "force of nature" ! :-)
Jubal Calif - absolutely.
@@p.t.d.505 Right on, Paul !! :-)
Fun Fact: Cruella De Vil on the animation was based off Tallulah Bankhead. In the new Cruella movie she even makes a cameo on the television!
Tallulah was priceless. Truly a one of a kind.
She's burried about 3 miles from me outside chestertown md.
This was one of the really early ones in the comedy hour. It was so funny I never forgot it and remembered many of the lines as I watched it here. Classic.
LEGENDARY EPISODE!! I WOULD LOVE TO WATCH IT AGAIN! :D
Its great to see these two divas go at it.
"I love Lucy" was the best comedy show then and today.
Agree! Often imitated, never equaled, and certainly never surpassed!
Such a neat, neat lady...and such a good sport. Would loved to have known her.
me too
Alabama native here she’s such a good comedic actress and deadpan… PT what? Such an attitude
I always Love to see these old movies 🎬 from the time Before I was born. I don't like to miss anything, just because I wasn't born Yet and I couldn't see these Wonderful and Funny 😆 movies. I also like to see how Beautiful 😍 the Actresses were in the Good Old days. Thank You for this video. Efrat. Israel 🇮🇱
Lucy: Ricky’s from Cuba. Tallulah: yes, I had a feeling he wasn’t from Alabama. 😂😂. Greatest line.
This was a Treat! I've never seen This before.
The Light Of The Body Is Pineal Watch the whole episode of you can...it’s called The Celebrity Next Door
Tallulah referred to herself as a " just a Barefoot hillbilly from Alabama"
Tallulah's voice just curls my toes. I'd give anything to spend a day with her.
I wish I had a picture or Lucy’s dress at the ending. I want to recreate because it’s stunning 😍
Ashley Says So brought me here.
Me too!!!
Tallulah Bankhead eclipses everyone in all that she does. She’s just that spectacular
Of the Lucy/Desi Comedy Hours, this episode is my absolute favorite. It doesn't let up for one moment. I love t when Lucy calls Ethel her nanny. Actually, I shouldn't single that moment out - because I love EVERYTHING. And this wonderful cut doesn't even show us the play that they do in the end. (Watch out: Tallulah is allergic to strawberries!)
when was it aired? Im doing a project haha
@@mazerook This particular episode of the *Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour* entitled "The Celebrity Next Door" originally aired on Tuesday, 3 December 1957.
www.imdb.com/title/tt0637539/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_16