Lucille Ball interview with Joan Rivers on "The Tonight Show", November 1985

which is on November 5th she is the queen of comedy somebody told me that she is she holds the record for being the let me she holds a record for having been on television more times more hours than any other performer in its entire history of the industry she is just wonderful and terrific and I'm so glad to have her to visit us again miss Lucille Ball [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] isn't that what does you go make when that happens yes that's very gratifying oh I didn't realize you on more time power than anybody I didn't either till I heard you say yeah I'll take your word for it do you ever want to go back again do you ever miss the the regimentation honey I'm in assuming every day of my life but I can't go back yeah you can't top what we've done 25 years or more and you can't go back not go back but go forward do you ever say gee I'd like to let's get another show together sue another sitcom no I wouldn't try to top what we did we had it too good and we were in early real early and kind of made up our own rules as we went along you know and no I wouldn't try to top it I like to work I miss not working and I miss there very much and Bill and the whole show the whole arena I miss but you don't go back so what do you do give us a typical Lucille Ball day oh my god yeah I do a lot of things but I couldn't give you a typical day I'm traveling a lot now and I'm pushing stone pillow at the moment so I'm really going [Music] why did you wait so long to do a dramatic role I don't know you know because I didn't get a script that I like just scripts are kind of scroungy you know and I I had a you know an image of sorts that I personally liked and I certainly don't want to just go out and do anything with four-letter words and things that I don't dig I took this trip because I wanted to work with a great director and I found one George Schaefer and mr. Schaefer came up with this subject and I thought well this is sticking my neck out and I don't know what my fans will think but I have to grow up sometime and I have to and at least this doesn't have anything that I object to and it's not a cause celeb but it's it's something close to my heart I have compassion for ya but it's I didn't start it out as a you know big did you did you get a chance like some actresses you know the method they go and they study the bag women and they become a bag woman I mean did you did you do anything like that did you know I found it very easy to be a bag Joan if you ever want to go around New York incognito that's it just take off your bag woman nobody looks at you nobody recognized you were your costume we were out 33 days on the streets of New York not one person stopped in front said you're Lucy aren't you not one person unbelievable when I sat in one spot for 15-20 minutes an hour and a half not one person they they have a way of not seeing bag women next door the men you know the winos the weirdos or the bag men you can go any place you want except in to eat or a restaurant did you ever tried it yes I forgot one day yeah I forgot how I looked and I said oh let's go that place I've heard about that I went they would let me in and as you say finally Lucille Ball no I want I left I wasn't gonna try to prove it with the makeup I had I couldn't prove it well I you don't think I did it without makeup you're always so glamorous and your hair is always yeah you think of Lucille boy or you read it first do people call you Lucille or Lucy Lucy Lucy oh yeah no what was your real name Lucille so you didn't inclusio the steel ball you don't think I'd take that name I wouldn't pick it no I wouldn't either I want the one I picked was Dian Belmont oh okay I had when I was a model and there are people today say why did you change your name to Lucille Ball and I'd have to tell them that that you know I never was Dian Belmont on seventh Avenue when I was a model and to help you by the name Dian Belmont didn't help me a bit but did you act differently my kid gave you some fans well I gave myself a fantasy and I said I was from Montana and I sent to Montana and I got brochures and I knew more about Montana anaconda and buttes and people that live there really we'll be right back best images so please thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] November 5th stone pillow right November 5th stonefellow and you'll or 9 o'clock up out here 23 pounds doing it yeah isn't that wonderful oh well up to a point I mean I didn't have to lose lose that much but it was terribly hot and we were supposed to be shooting in the middle of the winter see and I was dressed for grizzly February and it was 98 99 a hundred hundred and two hundred and five hundred and seven in one place it was 122 oh yeah in a boiler room that we worked in and with all the clothes and the wig and everything I lost 23 pounds do you have to watch your weight Wow well no coming or going okay good tall and you've got great legs you know do you thank you do you watch do you ever I've never had to before but I don't mind losing most of that weight except that it made me ill and you know I have to put back some but I don't want to put back the whole 23 you think you should go to hospital yes I did and you know I hate hospitals I was just going to ask you to wait now you're the steel ball always got your hand up here with ivy and they're taking blood over here yeah but when you come into a hospital do they just let you be sick or all the nor the hello I know I don't even remember being there let you be sick what do you mean I mean I had a miscarriage and I never got to rest you were in your right mind the door would open and they say just it's just one of the sneak and say yeah hello I love you yeah that's happened to me before when I've had things but I was so sick this time I don't even remember when Gary came to see me I didn't even remember in hello in the hospital five days I think that's too long oh I guess so let me ask you yeah that's you're a good mother um we know both kids have turned out ok thank God good god mother what was the one thing they should annoy about your kids one thing that annoyed Nia well first of all the fact that they had to grow up at all and in the 60s that was tough that was I was tough but I can't remember anything that annoyed me was so happy to have them I had them very late my first child was I was 39 and I was so happy to have them that I was afraid that I would spoil the hell out of them but I didn't because my mother was around and she said hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey that's no way to do it no oh if you love them you don't let them do those things so with the help of my mother I think I got a good start with them yeah I you spoil your grandkids now no I'm they're too far away to spoil and besides they're cocky they're cocky little yeah they're there they're four and a half two and a half and one that's eight months and she's a living doll of course a two and a half one he's adorable and the poor and a half is getting too smart for me to handle and he's but they're so beautiful and Lucy is such a great mother I can't tell you I mean she has done more things both of them have for that matter but Lucy has done more things than I ever could imagine that she would be good at she's a wonderful mother she's a great entertainer she dances she sings she never took lessons I don't know where or how but you don't know where no I'm surprised I can't dance you can't sing I dance sing and dance I've done a lot of it but that's I've had you know weeks of training but she just goes out there and zips around with Tommy tune and and having you let me ask you one final question because I know you have to leave for sure packing to go and packing I'm doing seminars in Florida now this is a very stupid question and I'm starting at Claremont all right if there was a time capsule I'm sure you've been asked as a mini form or heaven and they asked you to put one Lucy Show in hmm what would the show be I it has already happened and they put it in the time capsule and then they tore down the whole block it was the baby show wonderful babies wonderful Jack Benny had a show and George Burns and Gracie had a show and some other people and it was in the corner of vine and sunset and they tore down the whole block and just forgot all about the capsule then it's still down there no no that's dredged out Fairlawn that's all they care about our capsule better than if they did it again it would be the baby show I still the baby show Thank You Brad oh thank you for coming have a good time she's a dog I just love her so much it's what you call a major stars I would say so and I lovely first a lovely person and a good mother and looking great that's yeah yeah nice make the ever [Applause]

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Length: 11min 15sec (675 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 12 2020