The Willow Glen Resident

Another Lucy? Or is it Cookie's mom?

Remember When

Lucy met her match in Mom

By Cookie Curci-Wright

Staring up at the peak of Yosemite's Indian Mountain, I sat with fellow vacationers in the basin of the national park, waiting for the evening's "Firefall" show to begin. From Glacier Point, a melodic voice sang out the "Indian Love Call," while down below a small choir of singers echoed back the chorus.

At the conclusion of the song, a roaring fire was sent cascading over the cliff. On a warm summer's night, the sight of this "waterfall" of fire was spectacular.

The year was 1953, and my family and I had just arrived that day at Yosemite's Camp Curry to begin our annual summer vacation. That night, cuddled in our sleeping bags around the campfires, we sang songs, swapped knock-knock jokes, told stories and roasted bags of tender marshmallows.

We loved Yosemite's early mornings, waking to the aroma of fresh-perked coffee and sizzling bacon cooked on an outdoor grill, and how the fragrant mountain pines and wildflowers filled our lungs with renewing mountain air.

During the day, we rode ponies along the park's endless trails, waded in streams from the Merced River and hiked high above effervescent waterfalls. California blue jays dotted the tall sequoias, and gray squirrels scurried all around us. At night, we counted the stars until we fell asleep.

But on that particular year, it would be stars of a different kind that made our trip so memorable. That summer, the camp grounds were abuzz with the rumor that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, America's premier married couple, were somewhere in the area filming their latest movie, Forever Darling. But no one knew exactly where the film crew had set up its location.

As much as we loved Lucy and Desi, we had little chance of finding them amidst Yosemite's 700-mile-long basin filled with meadows, trees and granite mountain peaks.

On our third day in camp, my family and I went hiking to Mirror Lake and stumbled across a collection of trailers, trucks and sound equipment, all parked by a stream. While taking a closer look, we heard two voices familiar to millions of television viewers. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the stars of I Love Lucy, were engaged in a heated debate. The spirited redhead and the hot-tempered band leader were at odds over the shooting of a scene.

Arnaz, the director of the film, looked as though he were receiving some unwelcome advice. He, his wife and their assistant director were embroiled in a fervent conversation when we approached.

A perfectionist, Arnaz insisted on shooting each scene many times over until he got it right. Lucy, however, was tired of sitting under bright film lights and the hot summer sun. Waving her hands above her head in a gesture of frustration, Lucy announced to the crew, "I've had it. I'm taking a break!" With that, she walked off the set to her bungalow.

My family and I were standing next to a trailer that we soon discovered was Lucy's mobile dressing room. Despite her weariness, the gracious star made it a point to chat with us and pose for some pictures.

Lucille Ball, we discovered, was every bit as pretty as her TV counterpart, Lucy Ricardo, but nowhere near as scatterbrained. The same could be said of Desi, who appeared to be a serious taskmaster in his role as director of the film.

James Mason also starred in the film. The veteran actor portrayed Lucy's guardian angel in the story, but Mason's disposition was anything but angelic that day. He refused to sign autographs when asked and declined to be photographed. The actor failed to make a good impression on the gathering onlookers. In Mason's defense, it may have been the long day of constantly reshooting scenes under a hot Sierra sun that put him in a grumpy mood.

That summer, coincidentally, Mom had dyed her hair a bright red, almost identical to Lucille Ball's titian hair. Lucy, noticing Mom's vibrant hair color, remarked to Desi how much she and Mom resembled one another. "It looks like I've met my match," Lucy said with a grin.

Mom experienced the thrill of a lifetime later that afternoon when Desi asked her to sit in for his famous wife, who had gone to her trailer to escape the heat. Desi needed someone to sit in for Lucy so he and the crew could focus his light meters and sound equipment for the upcoming and final scene of the day.

Desi spotted Mom standing nearby, and a moment later, he had her in his camera sights as she sat in Lucy's place on the film set.

The scene was being shot in a rubber raft on a pond. Mom had to sit in the wobbling raft while Desi and his crew studied the scene through the camera lens. Fake tree branches were waved in front of Mom's face to imitate forest shadows, and huge power fans were turned on to blow a steady stream of hot air through her hair to simulate the wind. Meanwhile, real-life pond bugs, gnats, flies and bees buzzed all around Mom as she sat under the hot summer sun.

After a while in that bobbing rubber raft, Mom could easily understand why Lucy's nerves were frayed. When Lucy emerged from her trailer and saw Mom sitting in her place, she quipped to Desi, "Well, I see it didn't take you long to find another Lucy!"

Desi, with bulging eyes, mimicking the character of Ricky Ricardo, comically shook his head vigorously from side to side while exclaiming, "No, no, no. Believe me, sweetheart, the world isn't ready for another Lucy!"

"You'd better darn know it, honey," Lucy said, wearing a smirk on her face as she climbed into the raft for the final scene. Her remark prompted a big laugh from the gathered onlookers, bringing their day of shooting, and Mom's day of fame, to an end.

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