Inside Ethel Mertz Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vivian Jones

Vivian Vance's birth name was Vivian Roberta Jones. She was born on July 26, 1909 in Cherryvale, Kansas. She changed her last name to "Vance" in honor of a dramatics instructor who inspired her during her formative years.

Answer: Albuquerque, New Mexico

After moving to Albuquerque, Ms. Vance began acting in local theater, eventually working her way to New York City and a serious acting career. The "I Love Lucy" show honors Ms. Vance's past ties to Albuquerque when Ricky, Lucy, Ethel, and Fred stop there for a brief visit with Ethel's family while en route to California.

Answer: Emotional breakdown

Biographers have cited Vivian Vance's overbearing mother as one of the chief reasons for the emotional stress she suffered in the early years of her career. A stern, religious woman, Vivian's mother didn't want her daughter to be an actress and tried constantly to thwart her ambitions, on one occasion even going so far as to lock Vivian in her bedroom before a theater performance. Exhibiting an immense amount of pluck, Vivian crawled out the window and made it to her performance anyway.

Answer: Desi

Desi Arnaz first saw Ms. Vance in a Broadway show called "Voice Of The Turtle." He decided that she would be perfect to play Ethel Mertz on the new show he was planning to produce and co-star in with his famous red-haired wife.

Answer: The character was frumpy and unattractive

At the time she was offered the role, Vivian Vance was an attractive young actress and wasn't certain that she wanted to play a frumpy older woman who was clearly the second banana on the show. Lucille Ball shared her concerns, wondering openly to Desi and others if Vivian really was right for the role of the matronly Ethel.

Answer: His looks

Vivian Vance reportedly told fellow cast members that she couldn't imagine anyone believing that someone who looked like her would actually be married to someone who looked like William Frawley. For his part, Mr. Frawley was known to call Ms. Vance "Fatso" and other unflattering epithets on the set. Even long after the show had ended, neither one had anything positive to say about the other, Just prior to his death in 1966, Mr. Frawley told an interviewer that he hadn't been in touch with his forner co-star in years and that was the way he liked it. Upon being informed of Mr. Frawley's death, Vivian famously made a reference to her sudden desire for champagne.

Answer: True

After a string of nominations, Vivian Vance finally won the Best Supporting Actress Emmy for her portrayal of Ethel Mertz in 1953.

Answer: Remain twenty pounds overweight

To make Vivian look as frumpy and unattractive as Ethel Mertz was supposed to be, Lucille Ball insisted that her co-star hold on to twenty extra pounds throughout the show's run. According to one biographer, whenever Vivian lost a few pounds, Lucille Ball would remind her of the need to stay "plump."

Answer: Vivian

When Vivian Vance agreed to join the cast of Lucille Ball's new show in 1962, she requested that the name of her character be changed from Ethel to Vivian. She revamped her style as well, exchanging Ethel's unflattering house dresses for fashionable clothing that accentuated her newly slender figure and natural good looks.

Answer: Metastatic Breast cancer

At the time of her death, Vivian Vance was retired from show business and living in Connnecticut with her much younger husband, show business agent, John Dodds.