FRESH YARN presents

(I'm a biiiig April Winchell fan)
Clash of the Titans... by April Winchell:

Not everyone loved Lucy.
My mother, for example, couldn't stand her. And Lucy returned the favor.
In fact, they had a showdown on the set of The Lucy Show that remains the most artful display of bitchery I ever witnessed.
It all started when I was about six years old. I remember my dad getting off the phone and yelling for my mother. He had just been given a recurring role as Lucy's Grandfather, and he was as excited as I had ever seen him.
It was a demanding part. He had to dance quite a bit, and even learn to play the violin. And since he was only about 45 at the time, he had to do it all wearing heavy old age make-up and a full wig. He spent hours under the hot lights, sometimes getting lightheaded in his three-piece tweed suit. All things considered, it was probably one of the hardest jobs my father ever had.
And he loved every minute of it.
My dad, Paul Winchell, was a ventriloquist, and by this time, he was already a very successful man. He had been a radio star for years, segued into his own variety show on ABC in New York, and was currently the star of his own syndicated kids show.
What a lot of people don't know is that he absolutely hated his damned puppets. His success was bittersweet, because it was clear he would never get away from them. For an actor who worked on the stage with Peter Lorre and Angela Lansbury, being forever chained to a couple of fiberglass mascots was incredibly depressing....