Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991 TAG: 9102090535
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JERRY BUCK ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I've wanted to play the role for a long time," says the red-haired actress, who stars with Maurice Benard in Sunday's CBS movie "Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter" (at 9 p.m. on WDBJ-Channel 7 in the Roanoke viewing area).
The movie tells of the lives of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz leading up to the first episode of "I Love Lucy" in 1951. It is a somewhat melodramatic treatment of their courtship and early marriage which, according to the movie, was troubled by Arnaz's frequent straying.
Ball, the queen of television comedy, died in 1989. Arnaz died in 1986.
"I was lucky enough to be the first person interviewed for the role," Fisher says. "What happened was in 1982 I'd had some pictures made and the photographer told me I looked like a young Lucille Ball. It was the first time I realized there was a similarity.
"Over the years, when one of her old movies came on TV, I'd watch it. I'd read whatever I could find about her. I got it into my head I'd like to play her one day. I was fascinated by this woman.
"So last spring when CBS said they were doing the movie I went back to the same photographer and was made up to look like Lucy in the 1940s and '50s. I was the first one called because of my enthusiasm."
Fisher never met Ball, but says she was tempted occasionally to seek her out and introduce herself. "I wanted to tell her I wanted to play her story, but that would have been presumptuous," she says.
Fisher does look uncannily like Lucille Ball, even without special makeup. She has long, bright red hair and a pretty face that can quickly take on a mischievous smile.
She was interviewed about her role at Musso-Franks, a noisy show business restaurant in the heart of Hollywood where Lucy and Desi dined frequently.
Was Fisher worried about playing someone the audience is so familiar with?
"My only concern were the portions of the movie where I play Lucy Ricardo," she says. "That's the Lucille Ball that people know. That's how they remember her. I knew if I didn't catch the essence of that the public would shoot me down.
"As for the rest, I approached it as I would any role. I tried to perceive what she was like and what she was all about. We're storytellers, we're not doing a documentary. All we're doing is interpreting a story. Nobody but Lucille Ball knew what really went on. We approached it with respect and admiration. We all loved Lucille Ball."
To get a more authentic look, scenes re-creating the early Lucy shows on television were filmed in black and white. Fisher and Benard also perform a vaudeville routine that Lucy and Desi did as a prelude to the "I Love Lucy" pilot. It was later done in an episode of the series.
Ball's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, who is in the CBS series "Sons and Daughters," said last year that while she was not actively opposing the movie she did not want "to be involved with telling that story on film right now." Her husband, actor Laurence Luckinbill, is writing a stage musical about her father called "Desi."
Fisher is currently working on a theatrical film called "Cover Up," a sequel to an earlier movie called "Frame Up."
She's been in two soap operas, "The Edge of Night" and "The Guiding Light," which she calls her "boot camp," but has never been in a series. She's been in such movies as "Tough Guys Don't Dance," "Patty Hearst," "Pink Cadillac," "Lucky Ducks" and the upcoming "L.A. Story."
Fisher was born in England and grew up in France, Turkey, Brazil, Colombia, Canada and Italy as her father followed construction jobs around the world. They finally settled in Orange, Texas, where she went to high school.
"Dad liked to travel and see the world," she says. "My Mom was curious, too. Dad still lives in Texas. Mom died when I was 15.
"It was an interesting way to grow up. I got a great education. I had to adapt to a lot of situations very quickly. Acting is also the life of a gypsy."
by CNB