Lucy and Vivian Vance on Lucy's Nov. 1977 TV Special

Following on from Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday last week we have actor and comedian Taylor Negron’s personal memories of getting to know Lucy back in 1977. Lucy taught a comedy class over the course of eight weeks at the Sherwood Oaks Experimental Film School in Hollywood and Negron describes the slightly surreal experience.

Here’s a quote below but you’ll want to hop over for the complete article. (Thanks Emmapeel007!)

“A few months later, Lucy’s sold out class began, at $125.00 for eight weeks. I arrived at work that day and could barely contain my excitement. Gary was nonchalant when he asked me to go to the store and buy Lucille Ball stuff for the green room that we had arranged for her. Lucy had requested a pack of Pall Mall non-filtered cigarettes, a bag of Chocolate Pogen Cookies, and a bottle of Scotch…

Shirley Hemphill was one of the students. Shirley, a rotund girl with a sloppy afro, had yet to make a name for herself as the waitress on the sitcom What’s Happening. She was still working at a fast food restaurant on La Brea. She stood up. ‘I want to be on a TV show now! I am ready. Where do I go? I want to know where to go. You can get me on TV.’ Shirley’s voice was filled with impatience. Lucy pointed to her with her cigarette, then stabbed it out in the ashtray.

‘You’re not ready, and you will never make it with this attitude of yours. Terrible. Awful.’ Lucy rubbed more Vaseline on her teeth. You could hear a pin drop. ‘Hollywood does not stand for that.’ “