BY ANDY TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle
CHERRYVALE — The youngest sister of television actress Vivian Vance, the Cherryvale-born star who is best known in her role as Ethel Mertz on the “I Love Lucy” series, will make a visit to Cherryvale on the weekend of Sept. 13-14.
The Cherryvale Chamber of Commerce learned about the arrival of Lou Ann Graham, Vance’s youngest sister, at a meeting last Friday morning. Details of Graham’s appearance in Cherryvale are still being developed, however the chamber agreed to host a dinner reception in her honor at the Cherryvale Middle-High School Commons Area on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Also coming with Graham to Cherryvale will be Wanda Clark, a Tulsa, Okla., resident who served as the private secretary to TV actress Lucille Ball. At the Sept. 13 event in Cherryvale, Graham and Clark will share their recollections of Vance and her professional and personal friendship with Lucille Ball.
Lou Ann Graham, who lives in Albuquerque, N.M., was not born in Cherryvale like her more famous older sister was in 1909. However, Graham has maintained a close tie to the entertainment business just like her older sister.
Graham has dabbled in acting over the years, even having a role in an 1976 episode of “The Streets of San Francisco” and a 1993 made-for-TV movie “Voices in the Garden.” Today, she is widely regarded for her instruction in improvisational comedy.
In August 2007, Graham was a guest of honor in Jamestown, N.Y., the birthplace of Lucille Ball, for the unveiling of the “We Remember Viv: A Tribute to Vivian Vance” exhibit during the annual Lucille Ball Birthday Celebration. Jamestown also is home to The Lucy-Desi Museum.
Vivian Vance spent her earliest childhood years in Cherryvale before the Jones family moved to Independence when Vivian was age 6. Vivian later attended Independence High School, where she studied dramatic studies under the tutelage of Anna Ingleman. Vivian also was a schoolmate of eventual Academy Award winning playwright William Inge.
Honored for her work in 1953, Vance became the first actress to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress through her role of Ethel Mertz on “I Love Lucy.” Vance maintained her role as Ball’s friend and sidekick through the subsequent spin-offs of the “I Love Lucy” series, including “Here’s Lucy” and “The Lucille Ball Show.”
Vivian spent many years in theatre, broadway, and television. She died on Aug. 17, 1979 of breast cancer.
More details of the Graham/Clark visit to Cherryvale will be printed in next week’s edition of the Montgomery County Chronicle.
For information, call Tina Cunningham at 620-891-0072.
