Before she died in 1989, Jamestown, N.Y., officials approached Lucille Ball with the idea for a museum. But she told them: “Don’t just celebrate me — don't just put my stuff in glass cases,” said Journey Gunderson, executive director of The National Comedy Center, “make my hometown a destination for the celebration of all comedy and its artists.”
So that's what they did.
There’s certainly a lot that celebrates Lucy in Jamestown: In addition to the National Comedy Center,there’s the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum that displays costumes, memorabilia and replicas of the original I Love Lucy set and Ricky Ricardo’s Tropicana club.
Visitors can take a "Lucytown" bus tour to see the homes where she was born and raised, her gravesite, and one of the buildings where she performed as a teen.
But Jamestown does far more than celebrate just Lucy. The National Comedy Center, a few blocks away from the Lucy and Desi museum, showcases everything from black-and-white cinema slapstick to the bluest standup comedy. There are dozens of interactive exhibits, like a stand-up lounge where visitors can get on stage, take the mic and see what it’s like to try to make an audience laugh.
During the annual festival, which takes place around Ball’s August birthday, you can see a number of attendees dressed in her trademark polka dot dress.
This year’s headliners were Nate Bargatze, who’s been called “The nicest guy in stand-up” and Nicole Byer, the comedian/actor who’s currently hosting Netflix’s reality baking show Nailed It! The festival also brought in a number of rising stars who performed standup at the Tropicana.
Jamie Bogert came to the festival from Philadelphia with her mother. She said all of the different activities showed them how Ball helped “pave the way in so many ways for comedy.”
“I think having the Lucy museum part of Jamestown and then having this new comedy center is just such a perfect combination,” said Bogert. “We were saying, it was so great to see comedians last night and like, maybe it's their start and they're trying to get their name out or whatever else.”
Respect for comedy
Even when the festival is not in town, the center is more than a collection of artifacts. The tour begins with visitors creating their personal comedy profiles by selecting their favorite comedians, TV shows and movies. Once created, your wristband allows you to tailor some of the exhibits to your personal preferences.
There are interactive exhibits, like comedy karaoke, and a green screen where you can try to perform the iconic chocolate candy conveyor belt scene from I Love Lucy or Abbott and Costello’s famous "Who’s on First" bit.
Extensive exhibits are dedicated to comedy idols like Johnny Carson, Carl Reiner and George Carlin.
Byer said she’d heard about the museum, but “didn’t realize the depth of it.”
One of her favorite comedians is Rodney Dangerfield, known for starring in Back to School and Caddyshack and for his “I don’t get no respect” standup routine.
Byer loved seeing the duffle bag that he took from gig to gig, his handwritten jokes and his trademark suit and red tie.
“I didn't know he was so trim,” she laughed.
It’s fitting that Dangerfield joked about getting no respect, because comedians often don’t, said the National Comedy Center’s Gunderson. Too many people don’t understand that comedy is its own art form.
That’s why one of the goals of the museum is to show visitors “the intensity and the rigor of the process,” Gunderson said. Something Lucille Ball knew well.
The audio version of this story was edited by Jennifer Vanasco; the digital story was edited by Vanasco and Beth Novey.
Transcript
(SOUNDBITE OF ELIOT DANIEL'S "I LOVE LUCY")
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The star of "I Love Lucy" was born on this day in 1911.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "I LOVE LUCY")
LUCILLE BALL: (As Lucy) Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Good morning.
MARTÍNEZ: For more than 30 years, Lucille Ball's hometown of Jamestown, N.Y., has celebrated with a comedy festival with slapstick, stand-up, all kinds of funny. So say good morning to NPR's Elizabeth Blair.
ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: Jamestown's population is about 28,000, but during the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, it adds about 14,000 people. Events include a stage show, where impersonators recreate an episode of "I Love Lucy."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED IMPERSONATOR #1: (As Lucy) Hello, Ethel. It's me, Lucy. What are you doing this weekend?
UNIDENTIFIED IMPERSONATOR #2: (As Ethel) Well, I'm not wrapping chocolates or bottling salad dressing. Why?
BLAIR: There's a Lucytown bus tour.
UNIDENTIFIED TOUR GUIDE: We're on our way to Jamestown High School, where Lucy and Desi flew in back in 1956 for the premiere of "Forever, Darling."
BLAIR: Some fans, like Alex Cash from Michigan, come to the festival dressed like Lucy, in her polka-dot dress and headscarf. Cash says it was her grandmother who first got her hooked on "I Love Lucy," when she was little.
ALEX CASH: From that time, I just absolutely adored her. I love her as a strong female figure, and just - her comedy never gets old.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "I LOVE LUCY")
BALL: (As Lucy) Uncle Oscar?
VIVIAN VANCE: (As Ethel) My uncle Oscar is a butcher, and he's got a big cold chest.
BALL: (As Lucy) Why don't you knit him a sweater?
(LAUGHTER)
BLAIR: Lucille Ball remained loyal to Jamestown long after she became famous and moved to California. Before she died in 1989, city officials told her they'd like to build a museum about her, says Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center.
JOURNEY GUNDERSON: And she said, don't just celebrate me. Don't just put my stuff in glass cases. Make my hometown a destination for the celebration of all comedy and its artists.
BLAIR: First came the festival, then the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, but what turned Jamestown into a destination for comedy was the opening of the National Comedy Center - a sprawling museum that honors people like Johnny Carson, Joan Rivers and George Carlin. Comedian Nicole Byer, one of the headliners at this year's festival, is a huge Rodney Dangerfield fan.
NICOLE BYER: "Back To School" is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BACK TO SCHOOL")
RODNEY DANGERFIELD: (As Thornton Melon) Good teacher. He really seems to care. About what, I have no idea.
BLAIR: The Dangerfield exhibit includes handwritten notes for his sets.
BYER: So I was excited to see the way he, like, writes out jokes. It's, like, stuff that you think is, like, off the cuff is not. It's scripted, and he just makes it look like it's off the cuff, which is, you know, the mark of any great stand-up. And I got to see one of his suits, and I was like, didn't know he was so trim.
BLAIR: Dozens of the exhibits are interactive. There's a small club where people can try stand-up and made-you-laugh battles. When you start the tour, you make your profile at digital kiosks. You select your favorite TV shows, movies and comedians.
DONNA BOGERT: Tina Fey for sure. Jay Leno.
JAMIE: Ali Wong, Ali Wong.
BOGERT: Ali Wong.
BLAIR: Donna Bogert, from New Jersey, and her daughter Jamie, from Philadelphia, are huge Lucille Ball fans. They say the Comedy Center and all of the stand-up performances at the festival show just how influential she was.
JAMIE: It was so great to see comedians last night, and, like, maybe it's their start, and they're trying to, like, get their name out and whatever else, and we wouldn't know about them.
BOGERT: Maybe five years from now, we could say, hey, guess what? Remember we saw them at the festival?
BLAIR: The National Comedy Center's Journey Gunderson believes that's exactly the kind of reaction Lucille Ball would have wanted.
Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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