Lucie & Desi Arnaz Jr. - how much did they inheirit from the Desilu empire ?

[quote] but what did Lucy really leave her kids ?

A lifetime of addictions and therapy.

Nothing.

For reasons known to both of them.

Lucie's known around town as a great mom - and she's also been a great stepmom to Larry's kids. Word is, their birth mother is a horror-show.

True . It's just that I saw a pic of Desi Jr.'s house in this Godforsaken Town called Boulder City, Nevada. It is a crummy street, and he owns 2 crummy ranch-style suburban houses, next door to each other . Zillow says 1 is worth $217,000 the other $148,000. Really ? From 2 TV pioneers , the biggest female comedy superstar in history, a TV empire, to this ?

Boulder City, Nevada - Population 15,023 Why does Desi live there ? Sounds dreary.

He's cute. Is it too late for him to ping?

They did not have royalties back then for actors. In fact I love Lucy was the first sit com with multiple room shots and other new ideas.

Some people are rich, some are just famous the latter is much harder to do.

Their Palm Springs house is quite modest compared to the McMansions celebrities have today.

I remember hearing Lucie, years ago, on a Howard Stern interview. He kept pushing her on how wealthy she, and Desi Jr., must be. She refuted that , and said her mother used the same little old man, in Beverly Hills, to manage her money, for 40 years. He was very conservative, re investments. Also mentioned selling her mother's home. It was at a time, in LA , where real estate was in a slump. Said they put the house up for $9 mil., dropped it to $6mil., but it eventually sold for $3.5. She also mentioned huge estate taxes paid, that her mother had sold Desilu to Paramount , in 1968 - forgoing all those Star Trek, Mission Impossible, etc. residuals , along with I Love Lucy' too, and the gold mine of $$$, everyone thought they got, was really just a small pot , believe it or not.

It's true, between estate taxes, lawyers and everybody else (there's an entire industry of the greedy bastards) who manages to get their fingers in, estates can go pretty fast.

I remember doing my mother's estate, got to the obituary. Oh, the estate pays for that. So, she has to pay for her own obituary? Yep. (So, in keeping with what she would have wanted, it was a minimalist as it could possibly be.)

I thought Lucille Ball set up trust funds for her children, so they would not run through the money. If so, they may not be rich by Hollywood or NYC standards, but comfortable nevertheless.

R6, that picture is many years old. He's not nearly as attractive now. And he and his wife live in that city because they run a community theater there.

R6, Desi pinged in the 1970s -- everyone did. It was the 70s.

Of course Desi Jr. pinged. He damned near married Liza!

[quote]They did not have royalties back then for actors.

They owned the effing production company.

If I recall correctly, Desi Sr. had a drinking and gambling problem. He also cheated with a lot of women, so may have been buying them expensive gifts. These issues lead to a lot of bad decisions that negatively impacted the value of the business.

The kids asked Lucy to leave them her fortune, and she initially agreed, but Gary Morton wisely talked her out of it. Instead it went to a "convent" in West Covina Gary used to visit on weekends to "help them nuns".

Do you have any idea how much Lucy spent on Vaseline for MAME? There's the profits for you!

Lucy left her money to the grandchildren. It was said she left nothing to Lucie and Desiree Jr. This was told by Lucie on a talk show.

Which is why they dug her up and shipped to Jamestown so they can make a profit from trinkets souvenirs the ILL tourist/fans purchase.

Didn't Lucy leave everything to Gary Morton, who, in turn, left everything to his next wife, who is now the owner of Lucy's fortune.

My understanding was Lucy's fortune was much diminshed by the time she died. Aside from the sale of her home and some bonds, the kids really inherited very little. They did receive a nice income in their younger years from a trust fund Lucy set-up, but that money was spent.

I think Morton's wife passed on too. So now, her grandchildren are probably living in luxury - all thanks to a hard working actress / comic, who they never met, who made faces, and acted like a 6 year old . It always fascinates me how money & fortunes, are eventually passed out, and to whom.

I remember Lucie discussing her mom's money on a talk show. The comments were essentially that Lucy was not the world's greatest mother, but her financial management skills were excellent.

If Lucy left her money to her grandchidren in her will, she took care of Lucie, Desi and Gary before dying--likely with trust funds.

As to her Beverly Hills house, it was on the market for years. She owned a large corner lot, so my guess is the land was far more valuable than the house...again Lucy may have left the property to her kids. But every detail was planned by Lucy.

Years ago, USA Today listed the largest Hispanic-owned companies. Desilu II, the holding company set up by Luci and Desi Jr., was valued at $60 million. Desilu II was considered a Hispanic-owned company since the Arnaz heirs were considered to be half-Cuban

I read somewhere that Desi Sr. died broke and that his children had to take care of Desi's mother. who was in her 90s at the time of his death.

I also read somewhere that Lucy left most of her estate of her children. As tough as she was reputed to be, I wouldn't be surprised that she established trust funds to keep her children liquid but not spendthrifts. Gary, I believe, was also taken care of via trusts,

Desi Jr. hasn't worked much in 30 years and he is pushing 60. Lucie is older than that and her husband, Lawrence Luckinbill, is approaching 80

I am kind of shocked. I would expect all the Lucy fans to know this stuff. How could she not be big time rich? She deserved to be.

But her children deserved to inherit it too. It seems they inherited the rights to her image and by the time Lucy died, that was probably known as a gold mine. I am ignorant of it all, but I know that they have done tasteful things about her, that were also personal and informative, and no doubt lucrative. Lucie Arnaz seems to be a lovely woman, realistic and honorable about her partents.

If Lucy really did leave her estate to Gary Morton that would be pretty shabby and nasty. He was not a young man and it would be crazy to do so. I don't think she was Joan Crawford or Marilyn Monroe, one who died with malice, the other not knowing how much she would be worth.

I want the real truth. Someone must know?

Lucy was not a good mother, but not a fake mother. Her whole life and enterprise was about "family." I would be shocked to learn that her children were not her first priority in death.

Where are all the Lucy aficionados when I need them? This is bugging me.

I did a search on a web site called Celebrity Net Worth. Desi Jr is worth $40 million and his sister Lucy is worth $20 million.

I understand that Gary got the homes in Palm Springs and in Beverly Hills. Lucie lives in New York and I doubt that she or her brother wanted the property.

R14 Actually Lucy and Desi sold all their rights in I Lovec Lucynto CBS for a lousy. Illinois dollars that they played back intonDesilunto try to keep,it afloat.

R3. "By Elaine Princi" lol that's very funny.

I am sure Gary always considered Desi and Lucie her kids and not his - maybe that's too extreme a statement - but I have never been a fan of Gary. Lucille and Gary were married for a very long time and lived in that same house in Beverly Hills. Their friends were other people like themselves - neighbors who hung out at the country club and played golf. Lucille was not Lucy or any version of Lucy, people always think of her as Lucy because they want her (Lucy) to be a real person.

Lucie is a really nice lady. Been married to LL for over 30 yrs and gave up what could have been a very successful broadway career to raise her 3 kids w LL as well as his 2 sons with Robin Strasser. They named their first son Simon because they were both performing in Neil Simon shows when they met. She's also still friends with her first husband as well as ex bf Bill Boggs which, I think, says a lot.

So many roles she coulda/shoulda played. Phyllis in Follies. Mame (oops). Would have been much better suited to The Goodbye Girl musical than Peters. Baker's Wife in ITW.

Yes, I Love Lucie.

R26 I think nailed it. I have heard that the children inherited 50 million dollars each. Lucy was worth around 200 million dollars. The children will never really tell the public the truth because the wealthy ,as a general rule, don't talk about the money they have,and if they do, they probably give BS answers. Also, I once knew this lady who came from a big money background. I was talking to her about Frank Sinatra because he just died at the time.I said to her, I'm confused because he was super wealthy and his children didn't inherit that much money. She said wait a minute, what mega wealthy people do when they are dying or getting at that age which they are older, they disperse their children's true inheritance to them before they die ,so the children don't have to pay the huge inheritance tax. What the children receive when their parents or parent dies is not their true inheritance. That way when they tax that sum of money they claim is their true inheritance, it is like a shield from the government,and it isn't a big deal.

I'm not a frau etc. and I grew up in a poor working class famliy.But it pisses me off that there is an estate tax. People already payed taxes on their money and their personal possessions when they were alive, and then when they leave everything to famliy, everything gets double taxed. Sorry but that is a form of thievery and should be outlawed. Also, not everyone is wealthy when they die ,and they still tax the inheritors, which is ridiculous.Again, that is a crime,and it should be outlawed.

None of some is a shame if her children have 20 or 40 or 100 million dollars.

It should be so much more, according to our time of Ray Romano, or Seinfeld or Cosby, but Lucy could never anticipate such crazy time existing. She worked hard and was paid well. The wonderful old school ambition of the Arnazes, that had a plan but no outcome, creating an unexpected empire. No one owns it now, but Lucy and Desi risked a lot and gained what they most wanted.

Fame and independence. Love. Validation for a family that did not exist in the way they were portrayed. It is fascinating. They created what they needed and wanted for their LIFE, using her fame and a pretty new medium. It was all kind of accidental, but took on a life they could not imagine.

I am not of the illusion that they were wonderful people, but they were not monsters. Lots of older people, divorced and far from the passions of youth, disapprove of their children and play board games and drink earlier in the day than they used too. Gary Morton was a loser, but Lucy was not a great person either.

It seems she could have done better, but there is also a comfort seeking time in life that most of us notice in our parents. Lucy had to do that with her crazy ass ambition and expectation to still be relevant and funny. She no longer was. A bit sad, but hardly a tragedy. They are more akin to many american lives than a Hollywood drama. I give her daughter credit for framing it that way. Hard working, down to earth, up to the highest heights, but never far from the unhappiness of home.

Getting rich was not what Lucy was about. She probably let things lapse in the afternoons and had a hard time being generous with her praise or her love. I doubt that she forgot her children in death. It doesn't make up for what she deprived them of in life.

...

Licensing and trademarks must be worth a fortune.

Someone must be rolling in dough from these.

I remember in an interview from several years ago, not very long after Lucille's death, Lucy said that when the money was rolling in at the height of her parents' success, that it was going out nearly as fast. She explained that her parents loved to entertain and did so frequently and lavishly, and they would often travel with the Arnaz's footing the bill for many people. Lucille especially loved cruising to Hawaii and did so many times paying the way for her friends.

Ask Gary Morton's 2nd wife, she got it all.

I am sure the money was running fast. Think of the medical bills, too. R34 is right, there were a bunch people on the payroll, right up until the end. Gary must have been a gambler, they all were - big stakes, I'll bet. Beverly Hills families in those days all traveled in big groups, Hawaii, Acapulco - always first class - several times a year. Every week they must have all dined out at their favorite restaurants and Lucille and Gary would pay for everything. That's how it was in those days.

r3 You're quite astute. And clever.

No way was Lucy's estate worth $200 million. More like $10 million and half of it went to the government and expenses.

Gary had the lifetime use of the Beverly Hills and Palm Springs homes, but they reverted to Lucie and Desi upon his death. They're definitely comfortably well-off, but not super rich.

RE 38 - what does that mean then ? It was Gary who sold the house in Beverly Hills, long before he died, obviously , when he wanted to move full time, to Palm Springs, to play golf everyday.So your saying when that house, on Roxbury, was sold , the kids got all he money from the sale, and Gary got nothing ? My understanding was everything was divided 3 ways - Gary, Lucie, Desi Jr.

In the two or three books written by gay men who became friends with Lucy after her TV shows ended, the surprise is how quiet and simple her life was in the last decade and a half. She had few friends, and her only passion was playing boardgames. Even meals at her home were frugal. She did have a stroke about a year before she died, but medical bills were minor compared to other elderly people.

The idea that Lucy spent money freely and without a care in the world goes against everything I have ever heard about her.

She was tight with money. Also, The Desilu production company was worth multimillions of dollars. I find it very hard for people on this thread to claim she was not worth very much when she died because again, I have heard just the opposite from many people. Also, between the copyrights of the years of I Love Lucy collectables that were produced, and the extremely successful and highly money making Desilu production company, it doesn't make sense that she would be worth so little.

I witness the items that Gary's widow auctioned off ,and they auctioned off many, many backgammon sets which Lucy loved. I remember in the auction there was a photograph of Lucy inscribed to Gary stating, just remember I'm watching you.

Certainly the Beverly Hills house was a savvy investment when Lucy & Desi bought it in the early 1950s. It has not been mentioned that in addition to Palm Springs, Lucy owned condos in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and New York City. Again, they were good investments because Steamboat Springs was just starting to take off when she bought the condos.

Joan Rivers devoted an entire show to a discussion on what caused Lucy to spent money so carefully. At the end, Robert Osborn and Carole Cook came on to talk about how well they were taken care of in her will, but the point had already been made by the previous guests.

[quote]Also, not everyone is wealthy when they die ,and they still tax the inheritors, which is ridiculous.Again, that is a crime,and it should be outlawed.

The first $5 million is exempt from Federal estate taxes.

I once read that Bob Hope and Lucy were buying up huge tracts of olive groves in what became known as the San Fernando Valley. Just selling off those plots would have netted her millions.

Found this on WIki:

"If Morton had thought working for Ball would be an easy ride, he was mistaken. By the accounts of all present, it was common for Ball to accuse Morton of "standing around," and admonish him to shut up or get out. Still, Morton enjoyed the luxurious lifestyle of an avid golfer and car collector."

Lucy didn't know the business side of Hollywood when Desi was running the show, but after he left her saddled with the studio, she learned how. Carol Burnett said she threw herself into learning how to run it, because she was determined NOT to get screwed and wind up broke.

The notion of Lucy being careless with her money is false. I remember in one of the Lucy books someone stated that she would invite people to the house and while Gary and her would eat steak, the guest would have hamburgers. There was also the matter of giving cast and crews clocks for every holiday. If one show went over budget, she trimmed the next few shows like crazy. She knew where every dime was going and for what.

Sometimes I post stories about the old days of Hollywood that my partner tells me. His dad was a doctor to the stars and they lived in Beverly Hills. They were friends with everybody. They knew "the Mortons" very well. Gary was one of his dad's best friends. He says Gary was wonderful, funny and friendly and still handsome as an old man. He dressed very well. Every year the country club would put on a show for new members. My partner's dad was a real ham and loved to sing. He was in the production every year. Gsry was in them, too. He remembered one production called "Kiss me Kats" (inspired by Kiss me Kate) that he and Gary were in and they had a skit together. Lucille had to come. She didn't like the country club and for some reason she did not want to be at the show. She sat there and wouldn't talk to anyone and looked like this was the last place she wanted to be. My partner remembers this because Lucille did talk to his parents and to him. His parents were formal and always called Lucille Mrs. Morton and Gary's wife, to him and his siblings. It's hard to believe but his parents really thought of Lucy as Mrs. Morton. He says everyone liked Gary, and Lucille was the one people disliked or had bad things to say about her. He says Lucy used to like to stay home a lot.

There was a lot of money and he is sure the kids did fine - we talked a lot about this but there wasn't anything new or interesting. He says Gary was a smart investor and managed their money well.

Gary did not like the house in Beverly Hills and sold it as fast as he could. Some agent told him he could get a fortune for the house because Lucille had lived there - that turned out not to be true.

His sister knew Lucie and Desi Jr. better than he did, she was 10 years older than him. He met Lucie and Luckenbill a few times, his dad treated Lucie. He said they were very nice.

As I have posted before, my partner was a kid when all of this was taking place. He played board games with Lucille a few times - those were his only one-on-one times with her. Gary and his dad used to play golf and cards all the time, he'd see Lucille a few times a month. She'd say hello to him and exchange a few pleasantries with him as Jack's son. Gary talked to him all the time.

Great post 46&47.

I have a house in BH and one day on a walk, I watched as they removed the facia of the Arnaz house on Rexford exposing the rooms from the street like a doll house.

The front, upstairs bedroom was all in floral wallpaper. The first floor living room (?) had curtains and wallpaper in floral that matched.

Festive.

Great stories, as usual, R46-47.

Lucie's first husband was an actor named Phil Vandervort. Nice looking guy.

The marriage lasted several years with no children.

I think he did at least one Lucy show, but not sure.

There is no such thing as an inheritance tax. Money you inherit is ALWAYS tax-free. The estate (if it's large enough) may have to pay ESTATE tax before the money is distributed, of course.

RE 48 - If you really 'have a house in Beverly Hills' , then you would know , as was mentioned in RE 39, that Lucy's house was on ROXBURY, not Rexford. Everyone knows where Lucy's house was / is. Me thinks you lie.

Mama said I'd only get one thing Daddy had and that was blue balls. I like blue, so I hope I get those.

RE 46 - Your partner's father must have been Dr. Rex Kennamer, the physician to Liz Taylor, Sinatra, Rock Hudson, Gary Cooper, David Janssen, Robert Stack, etc. - as well as mogul Lew Wasserman, and Hollywood Mafiosi, Sidney Korshak. And the country club would be Hillcrest, in Century City, since Morton, and all the other old time Jewish comics , were members there ( Benny, Burns, Bishop, Jessel, etc), as was Kennamer.

Kennamer knows all the medical secrets of old time Hollywood - must be fun hearing the endless stories . ( He was the one called to Liz Taylor's house , when Mike Todd's plane crashed, and he had to give her a shot, to calm her down, when she wouldn't stop screaming.....shades of "Suddenly Last Summer")

I think Kennamer was also the doc who was called to the Montgomery Clift car accident scene.

Lucille was banned from flying my airline after she struck a flight attendant across the face.

The name is Desiderio and he has always seemed a little dim to me. When he was young, he was cute and not only Liza but Patty Duke dated him. Now he looks like the pillsbury doughboy.

R52-agree

Anyone who lives in Beverly Hills would know that Lucy lived on Roxbury, in a two block area with many other celebrities lived there dating back to George Gershwin.

If you were unsure, the information is immediatele available on the Internet, which a resident would know.

Also, I do not remember seeing many people walking, but suppose it is possible (have not been there in nine years).

No he wasn't that guy Rex - I'm sure Dr. Jack knew him. It's funny that they had many of the same patients. Dr. Jack hung out with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and all the rat pack guys. Dr. Jack was the one Frank called to take care of Ava when she was beat up so bad. We have posted lots in here about Ava. You might remember my partner lived with her in London for a summer. Ava and his dad were super close. Dr. Jack and his wife Dottie knew everyone in Hollywood and I used to meet some of them when I was at the house. I have written about Mel Brooks and Annie Bancroft in here before.

After Lucy's house was sold on the corner of Roxbury, it was completely remodeled. It looks nothing like the old house. Same with Rosemary Cloooney's house down the street. When old stars die, they tear the house down and it's Hollywood history along with it.

Oh man! R46 and R47 you two are awesome! Can you two share more gossip? on old Hollywood? Pretty Please? please! please! Please!

You Lucy fans are slipping. In her intro to Lucy's autobiography, Lucie writes that "Gary Morton had been carefully and lovingly provided for, but the bulk of the estate was left to us." And goes on to say how a pair of ordinary old gloves in a long-forgotten box become priceless when you know they were used in "The Professor" sketch. Lucie even says she wishes they'd donated all the proceeds from the sale to AIDS research.

So by the time Lucy died, everyone was grown up, everyone knew what they had, and Desilu Too continues to thrive and carefully license the images.

Celebrity Net Worth estimated Lucy at $40M at the time of her death, and per Lucie again "the demand for [Lucy and Desi's] services today is almost as great as when they were alive" in terms of licensing. So don't worry about where any of the Ball/Arnaz/Mortons are going to get their next meal! They're fine.

Thank you, r62.

[quote] When he was young, he was cute and not only Liza but Patty Duke dated him.

Ahem.

[quote]inheirit

Most appropriate misspelling EVER.

Could be poster confused his or her house on Rexford but meant to type Roxbury for Lucy? It happens.

Jimmy Stewart's home was across the street from Lucille Ball's home on Roxbury, separated by a side street. After Stewart died, his home was sold and then completely obliterated by the new homeowner's re-model. What a shame. About the only thing left of Ball's home is the white (painted) high brick wall that surrounded the side and backyard. At Universal Studios Hollywood, there is a recreation of her kitchen table and window w/ a view to her backyard. I think there's a boardgame on the table.

Curious r67. I heard Jack Benny lived next door. Is that true? Jimmy Stewart, Lucy and Benny all in the same 'hood. Sounds like fun.

Benny, Ball and Stewart's homes were all on corners on Roxbury Drive. Benny and Ball lived directly across the street from each other, so the fronts of their houses faced each other. Ball and Stewart's homes were parallel to one another (side by side, sort of) separated by a side street. So they fronts of Ball and Stewart's homes faced the same plane on the east side of the street. Benny and Stewart's homes were kitty-corner from each other on. Benny's on the northwest side, Stewart's on the southeast side. Lucille's on the northeast side.

R 66 - Roxbury, at one time, was THE celebrity street in BH. Yes , Jack Benny lived next door, Peter Falk, next to him, Rosie Clooney, Agnes Mooehead, Ira Gershwin, Polly Bergin, all in the same block, and down the street , in the next blocks, Oscar Levant, Maureen O'Sullivan (Mia Farrow grew up here - and got polio here), Nelson Eddy, Gilbert Roland. More recently, Diane Keaton bought the house next to Clooney's, restored it, then sold it to Madonna, who lived there a while, then sold it in the mid 2000's.Keaton then bought another home, just south of Sunset, on Roxbury, stayed a while, then sold it recently to Mr. Gay producer, Ryan Murphy, for about $12 mil. Billy Bob Thornton just sold his Roxbury house ( bought when he was with Angelina).

R 70 forgot Ricky Schroder, who lived catty- corner to Lucy, in the mid 80's.

And in the famous 1955 "The Tour" episode of "ILL", you get a real quick shot of Lucy, and Ethel, crossing the real street, in front of Lucy's real house ( supposed to be trying to get a Richard Widmark grapefruit off his tree) as the tour bus pulls away. The wall they approach is an actual ( in studio) replica of Lucy's real wall , which amazingly, is still standing along Lexington Dr., the side street. ( Trivia - Lucy's house is separated by a small alley, to cuchi cuchi Charo's home).

Here is some more trivia I didn't know before which is very interesting.Two weeks ago, the Lifetime Network interviewed Cher and her mother for mother's day.Cher's mother said she hat a bit part on the I Lucy Show when Lucy and the gang traveled to Europe. She said she was the girl who was wearing the outrageous outfit that Lucy and Ethel admired as she walked past them sitting in an outdoor cafe.

My partner's dad knew that doctor. He was more of a public celebrity doctor than Dr. Jack. Dr. Jack put Sting back together after his accident and got a lot of press for that at the time. It's funny, I was talking about the cancellation of Enlightenment last night and my partner told me about Laura Dern being his patient, too. He was also Elizabeth's Taylor's doctor but would not do her hip replacement for obvious reasons. Most of the stories are about Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford, Paul Newman, Doris Day - all those guys of that period - I have posted about OJ already.

Jack Benny did live next door to Lucille Ball...just to clear up a little confusion.

Here's a lit of people who were his patients that my partner can remember - they socialized with a huge number of friends who weren't patients, like Garland. He was also a doctor to a bunch of sports teams he was really into sports.

Dan Blocker and Pernell Roberts (Bonanza) Shelley Winters Laura Dern Neil Diamond Frank Sinatra Ava Gardner Jerry Lewis Joey Bishop Dean Martin Bob Crane (Hogan's Heros) Werner Klemperer (Col. Klink) Ray Walston Sting Totie Fields Gene Barry George Peppard Mel Brooks Don Rickles Buddy Hackett Bob Newhart James Caan Raquel Welch Merv Griffin Lucy and Gary Morton Sammy Davis Jr. Steve Lawrence & Edie

My partner knew a lot of people on his own or through Ava too. Joan Collins, David Niven, etc. He went to BH high school.

OT but in all my years here, I've never seen a thread topic about Sammy Davis Jr. His life fascinates me. The stories he could have told. Only Angie remains and she seems to be tight lipped.

Love me some Sammy.

Lucy had millions in real estate holdings, but a lot of it was sold-off to pay the estate taxes due after she died. When you factor that in, it's likely the final amount paid to her beneficiaries was far less than people imagined.

I'm sure Lucie and Desi Jr. are set for life and they never really worked, so obviously the money was rolling in.

r78

Angie Dickinson? Shirley MacLaine knows far more about the Rat Pack than Angie does.

Lucy's house before restoration.

The findadeath site has several more pics of the house being renovated.

It is a great site for seeing where stars lived.

Rosemary Clooney's house which is now gone.

Rosie's house under the hammer.

Jimmy Stewart's house at 918 Roxbury.

Jack Benny's house and a whole bunch of other homes at the link.

r80

Shirley Maclaine claims to know more about the Rat Pack. She really sold out what little she knew in that Lucky Stars Book with a peculiar slant that lacked any real insight, and managed to make it all about her. That is Maclaine's specialty.

Angie Dickinsin knows much more intimate details and could spill all the tea on the Rat Pack. Angie was a little, uhm, closer to the guys, and their "friends," but she is never gonna tell. A Classy Broad in their parlance.

Please keep on posting Hollywood Old Timer r46, r47, r76. etc. I am a fan of you and your interesting life and many acquaintances.

I know that Lucy loved Garland, but did she really have an appreciation for talent? She always seemed kind of old fashioned and "out of it" to me. Even for her time I mean. What kind of guy was Gary Morton?

I told my partner about the pictures of the houses that were being posted and mentioned Jimmy Stewart's house he just told me this story....

Jimmy Stewart's house was originally second from the corner. He bought the house next door on the corner and tore it down, to make a double sized lot with a huge garden for Gloria, his wife.

One day, he was about 14 at the time, he was with his Mom (in her huge blue 1972 Cadillac) going to Nate n 'Als to pick up food she had ordered. She was looking for a parking place on Beverly Drive, not paying attention to in front of her, but at the parking spots, when he noticed a man jaywalking across Beverly Drive from the opposite side of the street. His mom was still moving forward, looking for a spot, and the man was going to walk in front of the car. Just as he was about to get run over, he shouted "Mom! Stop" she stopped just short of running the man over. He looked right at us, and he said. "Wow Mom, you almost ran over Jimmy Stewart!" She was embarrassed, because she and his Dad knew Jimmy and Gloria and, of course, their neighbors.

Regarding the steak dinner anecdote: I'm wracking my brain to try and remember who told the following, but she related that as they sat down to dinner with Lucy and Gary, a big lobster was put down in front of Gary, and the guests exclaimed, "Lobster! How wonderful!" to which Lucy replied, "The lobster's for him...we're having leftovers."

She swore it was true.

Desi's doing ok.

Barbra Streisand is worth many times more than Lucy was at the time of her death.

If She left $48 Million when she died. That would have been worth about $100 million in 1986 money. Maybe more.

That last two people in the world any one should ever worry about are those kids....and the Sinatra kids...

Now Frank...that was, and is, a pot o'gold...He owned every master recording, most of the publishing, sang till almost a year before his death to sold out crowds and bought everything he could snag from Palm Springs to La Cienega Blvd..

...all that and his monster dick...what a life..

Lucie & Desi have not capitalized on their late mother's image the way the estates of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis or Sinatra's have.

[quote]I'm wracking my brain to try and remember who told the following

Jane Connell: when Lucy fired Madeleine Kahn from MAME, she demanded the actress she saw play Gooch on stage replace her. Ball invited her over for a getting-to-know-you dinner. Connell quickly got to know how cheap and ill-bred her hostess was when Gary was served a lobster dinner while Connell shared leftovers from a previous meal with Lucy.

Not that Lucy cared, but Morton had REALLY BDF. From the size of his features, he must have been Berle (ugh) hung. Liked him in "Postcards" as the old time show biz uncle Morty.

Those movie star houses in Beverly Hills always surprise by their nearness to the ordinary sidewalks and accessibility to the gaping tour buses. There often doesn't even appear to be gates or fences keeping riff-raff out.

R96: Surprised that it has not been mentioned before. I remember seeing that part of Roxbury Drive for the first time in 1969. Anyone could walk up to Lucy front door and ring the door bell. I do not believe Jack Benny still lived next door by then. I used Lucy's driveway to turn the car around and drive in the other direction. By today's standards, those houses were (are) amazingly accessible to the public.

Did Lucy live in that house with Desi or was that bought after she married Morton?

I remember reading in a bio of Jack Benny, by his daughter, that Mary Livingston would hide away in her bedroom suite for days and days, not speaking to anyone. Looking at the pic of their house, I'm picturing Mary peeking through the curtains at the peasant taking the picture.

Are the Roxbury houses still ungated and accessible as in the old days? If so, are they worth a lot less in today's market because of that?

Hard to imagine any movie stars living so exposed in this day and age.

Desi and Lucy bought the Beverly Hills house around the time "I Love Lucy" began in 1951, so yes Desi lived there.

(Someone did break into Lucy's office in the house, while the Mortons were home. Lucy's only concern was getting her address book back, which had the phone numbers of all her friends. The address book was returned, after the man who stole it called Lucy directly.)

R99, a lot of the old houses are being torn down for larger rebuilds.

It's well documented that the Arnaz' bought the BH house in 1955, for a then expensive $85,000 - hard to believe now. And Re 99, yes , the neighborhood is still the same - no gates, or fences , open lawns. The way it used to be. More, and more, though, people are planting high hedges, and putting in driveway gates ( as at Jimmy Stewart's old property), and the neighborhood is losing that 'open' feel.

If anyone is interested, this is the listing for the old JS parcel. Like others have said, his double lot home has been long gone and replaced by this.

Here's the web site. Mucho deniro.

Btw, who the hell was this Beverly that she got so much out there named after her?

Did they share in the ownership of KrustyLu Studios?

RE 103 & 104. So much gaudy excess. Jimmy's house was a stately English Tudor, which fit so well on the lot. I remember when it was torn down , I thought , please don't let them build some giant Mediterranean mansion, in it's place - another monument to some nouveau riche A- hole. Sadly, that's exactly what happened.

Lucy cashed Desilu out and then took her show and made it "Here's Lucy." How many times have you seen that in reruns? That tells you about why she didn't get mega rich.

Back then even the top stars weren't wealthy by today's standards. Burns and Allen and Jack Benny were the top radio stars. Each earned $10,000 a week during the depression (Burn and Allen split their 10K).

Rita Hayworth the top female star made $750,000 a year and had a four picture deal over two years. Not much per picture by today's standard even adjusting for inflation.

None of these stars were ever hard up, they just lived very nicely but it wasn't till the mid 50s when the salaries took off.

R108, good points. Even what they used to define as mansions in Beverly Hills in the 20s 30s 40s and even 50s were not even remotely close to the compounds that they build to day. In fact, I love the old Beverly Hills mansions much more because they were very charming and not so massive. Another thing, almost all of the history of Beverly Hills is gone because these idiots now a days can't comprehend what the words, history and landmarks mean.

If you do a search for net worth Luci Anaz is worth 20 million, Desi is worth 40 million. Neither of them had a career that could have generated that much money. Lucy died with a net worth of 40 million....

Lucie and Larry selling gorgeous Connecticut home and moving to Palm Springs. Dumb!

That's a change from CT. But someone mentioned on another thread about Palm Springs, that all the legends, and kids of legends, seem to end up there. Loretta Young, Ginger Rogers, Jane Wyman, Alice Faye, Carol Channing, Elanor Parker, Sinatra, William Holden, on, and on. Judy's kid, Lorna Luft lives there, and now Lucie & Larry. You have to remember the LA proximity, is also a draw, just like Santa Barbara, up the coast. Less than 2 hours, by car.

I'm going to Palm Springs this weekend. I love going there but I wouldn't want to die there.

Isn't Luckinbill almost 80 years of age? He'll fit in well in Palm Springs/

Honestly what is it of anyone’s business what Lucile Ball and Desi Arnaz left their children? As far as the personalities of the two parents and the comments posted is my view are rude, To say anything about someone behind their back is a clear indication of their sallow character, especially since none of them actually knew Lucile Ball. I can only say if you really love someone you except the good and the bad, nobody is perfect. My personal feelings, I miss them both, they entertained me foe decades still to this day they put a smile on my face and fill the air with laughter, my heart is sadden to know they have past on. Last; what the two children inherited is a part of each parent’s soul and it’s wonderful to see it in the two children when you look into their eyes you see their parents. Inheritance and greed seem inseparable, a pathetic spectacle of family members and friends fighting over another family member who just died estate. The greed I see in society today is unbelievably all to common, so bad you can’t trust anyone anymore.

[quote]she would invite people to the house and while Gary and her would eat steak, the guest would have hamburgers

I would be embarrassed!

LOL! I can just picture Lucy, with lit cigarette dangling off her bottom lip, patting out the hamburger patties.

At a radio convention Lucie Arnaz was asked who were her friends during teenage years. Probably expecting the name of other stars children, she gave the name of her best friend. Since it wasn't familiar to the audience, she added that the girls father was a neighborhood plumber.

I love Lucie!! I worked with Lucie Arnaz, Robert Klein and Marvin Hamlisch (with whom I worked on many shows) on a concert version of "They're Playing Our Song" about 6-7 years ago.

All of them were great. But Lucie was fabulous. Great singer, musician and a wonderfully friendly, funny person. And damn, she looked sensational with a great body. She was the life of the show.

Here's a peak at Gary's crotch. It's very likely he was Lucy's well-hung stud and companion, with her holding the purse strings. She owned him.

[quote]Here's a peak at Gary's crotch.

I see no peak. Was he pitching a tent?

r71 I remember Ricky when he lived on Staten Island. Father quit the phone company to become his manager. Ricky said he would never allow his kids to be in show business.

Years ago, I had read about Lucy's Last will and Testament somewhere. I don't know her net worth, but the way I understood it, was: Lucie And Desi Jr. were left the home in Beverly Hills on Roxbury Drive, with Gary having rights to live there as long as he pleased. Gary inherited the Palm Springs Home. At some point after 1991 Gary moved out, and the house was sold. (It was in the hands of another owner and had been all remodeled when I was there in the later 90's). I assume Lucie & Desi JR. got the proceeds from the $3+ million the house sold for. Also the rights to the desilu name,and products w/ their Parents image, which are a huge market. Also Lucy left most of her money in trust funds for the 3 Grandchildren, from Lucie's marriage to Larry Luckinbill.... Gary Morton remarried, they resided in the house in Palm Springs. His wife Suzy inherited that house when he died in 1999. She also inherited a lot of personal stuff, such as Lucille Ball's awards, and personal letters. Lucie Arnaz sued for return of the awards, and rec'd them. Desi JR. and his wife Amy own a theater in Co., and Lucie Arnaz has worked in television, movies, broadway, music, continually since her Parents died. Lucie and Desi have both appeared, and entertained at Lucyfest's in Jamestown, I met them both there on what would be their Mother's 90th Birthday in 2001. They were both very nice and obliging for pic's and autographs.

I remember an interview with Lucie Arnaz, where she said Lucy left the INTEREST from their trust funds to her and Desi, Jr. The trusts themselves were left to Lucy's grandchildren outright at some point.

Lucie apparently deserved it. In an interview, she criticized her mother terribly. She also cursed her mother out horribly if she said ANYTHING out of the way to her own grandchildren. Desi spoke out against Lucie, and also said some of the stuff Lucie said could have been taken out of context.

This is another example of kids who think they can talk anyway they want to their parents. Most parents do the best they can with what they have and are not abusive. I give my own four children a pretty wide berth. I have included them in my will, all but one who will receive nothing.

R124, "all but one who will receive nothing" - I'm not a lawyer, but typically when people want to stiff their children (figuratively), they give them $1.00 - it undermines legal arguments post-mortem that for various reasons, the deceased person left a child nothing in error (forgetfulness, dementia, duress, etc.) - in fact (lawyers can argue), the child WAS left something - a single dollar (hundred dollars, 275.33 or whatever amount chosen), and this amount was chosen because 'dadadadada'.

You sound like a bitch, r124. And Lucie has been very protective of her parents' legacy.

Lucy left trusts that were set-up during her lifetime for the benefit of her two children. They are generation-skipping, meaning Lucie and Desi Jr. receive the income for life. When they die, the remaining principal is distributed to her surviving grandchildren.

I'm sure Lucy gave her kids other substantial gifts during her lifetime, so they were well taken care of.

Will they have enough to buy back Cuba?

I have a copy of Lucille Ball's will and she left everything poured her entire estate over into a trust. The trust is a private document, and doesn't have to be filed with the court. Her biography says that she died with an estate estimated at $30,000,000 in 1989. I'm not sure how much Gary Morton got, but I think it was mostly real estate (Palm Springs). She paid $85,000 for her house in 1955, and the kids sold it for $3.5 million in the mid 90s. I'd say they did pretty good. Not only that, but Desi left them a beach house, and a mansion in Mexico. They also license their parents name, which is big bucks.

They get residual money from I Love Lucy, but they split it with CBS, which makes it a lot less that it would have been.

Bottom line, they're rich.

In R120 photo, you can see how badly Lucy aged. She looks like a hausfrau you'd see at Ralph's. Even her clothes look like Penney's or Kohl's. As brilliant as she was on I Love Lucy, she seemed bitchy on talk shows, my grandma says. She mentioned a Dick Cavett when Lucy and Carol B. were both on and how loud and obnoxious Lucy was.

Suck in that gut, Desi Jr. My grandma says he was a porker until his late teens. His dad was fat and flabby too, except when he first became a star.

Grandma says it was very easy to approach any of the Roxbury Drive homes and that the Arnazes paid something like $10,000 for that house when they bought it. That fact is in several of the books about Lucy and I Love Lucy.

Lucie seems like a very nice woman with her head on straight. She is very talented too, and worked to develop her talent as she grew up. Desi Jr. was in the teen band and ran around Hollywood but doesn't seem to have done much. WHY does he live in that awful town?

It's interesting to read the good things about Lucie Arnaz, because in her appearance with her mom, brother and stepdad on Password when she was a teenager, she was a bossy smart-ass. Desi, Jr. was a sweetheart, Lucille and Gary were likable and mature… but that Lucie was insufferable. I guess she changed when she grew up.

The descriptions of Lucille mostly staying indoors and playing board games intrigues me. I don't usually blame other adults for an individual adult's personality traits, but I wonder how different she would have been had Desi remained true to his vows, and also not drank so much? Everyone says she was deeply in love with him, and she does seem happy during the I Love Lucy days. They say she just never got over Desi. So it seems she just gave up on happiness after they broke up and chose to live her life in a joyless going-through-the-motions manner.

Lucy's later years do sound pretty sad. Gary was off playing golf all the time, and Lucy would sit in her house playing Backgammon and chain-smoking. She didn't seem to go out much, although she did have people over to play Backgammon with her so she wasn't totally alone all day.

There was always a coldness to Lucille Ball, even when she was a young actress. Or at least a lack of warmth. She may have loved Desi, but maybe he didn't feel loved, thus the booze and other women.

Lucile gave the non-provit Salvation Army $400 K for juvenile immigrant aid and scholarship program.

Lucy cared deeply for her children and the under privleged. It is not unusual to play board games and to enjoy reflective solitude as one ages.

Lucie and her husband moved back to Palm Springs full time not long ago.

Rumor had it that they were trying to move (as in, launch their new theater enterprise) into the space where Palm Springs had a Follies every year, which they stopped a year or two ago.

Does anyone remember Dino, Desi & Billy and their only top 10 record?

She died poor. A reflection of her talent.

Obviouly you didn't know her. She was an absolutely brillant comedian who managed to bring her children to the set so they could spend time with thier loving Mother and Father many decades prior to studies that now show just how beneficial this is to children. She loved her children dearly

R32--

"Also, not everyone is wealthy when they die ,and they still tax the inheritors..."

You do understand that the estate tax is only applied to estates over $5 million (for single people) and $10 million (for married people). If they were not wealthy, the tax does not apply.

Which child inherited Lucy's Mame Oscar?

I not only remember them, r138, I saw them perform live in 1966 when they were on tour with one of those Dick Clark caravan of stars group tours that made the rounds in the 60's.

R140, everyone at your workplace wants you to stop bringing your brats to work.

when desi passed it had been close to 30 years since he sold his half of desilu to lucy in 1962 (if my memory is correct he sold his half to her for $3 million dollars) but what need to remember is that desi was the person who had the foresite to found desilu and own the lucy show he was also responsible for the her 2nd show...the lucy show...a man that is that astute at business does not die broke even with a drinking n gambling problem....thereafter, desi was pretty much out of tv with the xception of exec producing the mother in law which only lasted for 2 seasons. Lucy on the other hand worked in 2 long and successful tv shows that she owned and a movie studio.....as owner and president of a movie company lucy was one of the only n most powerful women in hollywood.....lucy also learned alot from desi when they owned desilu together.....

R14 There was the infamous story that the reporter, Jim Bacon, was hanging out with Desi Sr. in Palm Springs, and Desi got so drunk he hired hookers to dance nude around him while he was laying on the floor naked singing "Babaloo." And of course, Desi Sr. and Cesar Romero were know to be an item.

Would you guys get the fucking estate tax right. When she died only the first million were not taxed.

Bump

indeed, both Lucille and her daughter could seem mean bitches on chat shows, lucy was unreal.....bossy!