William Frawley

[Roz1013]

I have a question, I've heard rumors that Vivian Vance and William Frawley didn't get along in real life and that he was a bit of an alcoholic, I was just wondering if this was true, I can't remember where I ever heard it in the first place....anyone know?

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"Happy Birthday Mrs. Mertz, and I hope you live another 75 years!"

[DarleneIllyria]

I have heard Vivian and William didn't get along. I don't know about the alcoholic part for sure, but it does seem like I read that he had a bit of an alcohol problem.

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[tdr]

There are many references that say much about this situation. 2 of them that come to mind quickly are A BOOK, by Desi Arnaz, and more recently, MEET THE MERTZES (author's name I can't remember). Arnaz had to get Frawley's promise that he would not drink on the job; and if he did, Arnaz would cover for him twice, but the third time he would be gone. But he proved reliable and did not even miss a rehearsal. Later on, in MY THREE SONS, he was not so restricted and always went to a certain tavern to "drink his lunch," often taking the boys from the cast along and buying drinks for his underaged buddies.

It took a lot of persuading to get Vance to try for the role of Ethel in the first place, and she did not like it that she was expected to put on weight and look like a wornout frustrated wife, especially knowing Lucille Ball really wanted Bea Benedaret for the role. I'm not sure what had to be done to keep her in the cast when she met Frawley and they detested each other right away. But all sources emphasize that neither of them let their mutual hate interfere with their roles in television's most popular show. Vance always did hate being recognized by strangers as 'Ethel, Fred's wife,' which is why she later insisted in the new LUCY SHOW that her character be named 'Vivian,' to expunge the 'Ethel' identification.

Somewhere recently I read a quote from some guy who was involved in ILL, who confirmed the antagonism WF and VV had for each other, but he added that he thought if one of them were in real trouble, the other would come from across the country to help. This may be a little added PR, or it may be true... who knows?

[dawsongirl]

Ever notice that WF puts his hands in his pockets a lot on ILL? That was because his hands had gotten shaky from all the drinking and that was a way to cover it up, so yeah, he had a drinking problem.

He seemed to have it more under control than Desi though.

[Roz1013]

Is that why his hands are always so shaky?! I always just thought it was because he was getting older or something. How old was he during ILL anyhow?

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"Happy Birthday Mrs. Mertz, and I hope you live another 75 years!"

[dawsongirl]

He was 64 when ILL started in 1951.

Born in 1887, February 26.