Vivian Vance was born Vivian Roberta Jones on July 26, 1909 in Cherryvale, Kansas. The second born of 6 siblings; Viv was popular, outgoing and rebellious.From the time she was very young, she had a passion for acting. Her insatiable appetite for acting was constantly being thwarted by her mother who, because of strict religious beliefs, thought that the entertainment business was sinful.
Vivian, being the rebellious young girl she was, did not let a setback like that hold her back, in fact it caused her to to want to act more. So, at the tender age of 16, Viv went off to Tulsa, Oklahoma to try to find work as an actress. She appeared in a few shows, but money was tight and there were not many oppurtunities, so she reluctantly went back home to Kansas.
Not long after she returned to Kanasas her entire family decided to move to Albuquerque. While in Alburquerque, Vivian appeared in many plays with the "Ablburquerque Little Theater".She quickly became a rising star in the town. The town loved her so much that they provided money for her to go to New York to try to find work on Broadway.
Vivian was in many plays. First starting out as a chorus girl, but later moving into supporting and starring roles. She traveled with different theater companies and worked with the likes of Ethel Merman, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope and Ed Wynn just to name a few. She even traveled to war torn Europe during World War II to entertain troops.
Though Viv's career was blossiming, she endured physical ailments. These ailments were later discovered to be psychosomatic in nature, and thus she spent many years in thereapy trying to overcome them. Vivian suffered a nervous breakdown and after suffered from anxiety and depression. She spent many years in therapy working through the pieces of her life.
In 1951, Viv was approached by Desi Arnaz during a play in California. She was asked to play the part of Ethel Mertz in a new t.v show "I love Lucy". She originally declined but after intense persuation she agreed. She played Ethel Mertz for the series entire run. She won an emmy, and quickly she quickly became a houshold name. Though she hated being confused with the "Ethel" character, whose personality and demeanor was so different than her own, she eventually learned to accept the role and be thankful.
After "I Love Lucy", Viv appeared on the "Lucy Desi Comedy Hour", "The Lucy Show" and guest appearences on shows such as "Rhoda" and "Here's Lucy", among many others. She also continued work in theater.
In 1979 Viv died after a battle with bone cancer. |
