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Lucie Back in "Town"
LOS ANGELES -- Southern California theatre audiences were lucky enough to welcome Lucie Arnaz back to "Town" in 1999, as she reprised her rollicking 1998 star turn in Wonderful Town, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

Lucie Arnaz stars in
Wonderful Town

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By popular demand, both the show and Lucie came back to Southern California in October, with stops at the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium and the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale. Wonderful Town details the adventures of two sisters, Ruth and Eileen, who make a bold move from Columbus, Ohio, to New York City in 1935, seeking artistic careers -- Ruth as a writer and Eileen as an actress. One of the show's highlights has Ruth (Arnaz) leading a shipload of sailors in a Conga line. (Hmm, let's see...Arnaz and Conga...Why does that combination sound so familiar?).
     Wonderful Town was hailed by critics as "smart, joyful and intelligent," and Lucie's performance received rave reviews in the press. The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Lucie Arnaz romps through the role of the tall, sardonic writer, Ruth, as if it were written for her," while The Long Beach Press Telegram summed things up more succinctly: "Lucie is luminous."
     Ms. Arnaz, who got her start in show business with a recurring role on The Lucy Show, has a long and distinguished career on the stage, including an unforgettable star-turn in the Neil Simon/Marvin Hamlisch musical comedy They're Playing Our Song. Past awards for her work include the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award, the Theatre World Award, an Outer Critic's Circle Award, and Chicago's famed Sarah Siddons Award.
     Based on the play My Sister Eileen, by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov, Wonderful Town first appeared on Broadway in 1953, winning both the New York Critic's Circle and Tony Awards for best musical.

Mary Jane Croft
by Dave Woodman

In Memoriam
Farewell to Mary Jane Croft
     CENTURY CITY, CALIFORNIA - Lucille Ball's longtime on-air sidekick, Mary Jane Croft, died at home of natural causes on August 24, 1999, according to her friend Madelyn Pugh Davis. She was 83.
     Born in Muncie, Indiana, Croft started her career as a teenager on the stage of the Muncie Civic Theatre. She quickly joined the Guild Theatre Company in Cincinnati, then gained a full-time position at Cincinnati radio station WLW before moving to Los Angeles in 1939. In Hollywood she appeared on the major radio dramas, including Lux Radio Theater, Silver Screen, Screen Guild Theatre, One Man's Family, and I Love a Mystery. She also took on comedy roles on such radio sitcoms as Our Miss Brooks and Lucille Ball's My Favorite Husband.
     Croft, who became a series regular on I Love Lucy after two guest appearances on the show, turned in a particularly memorable performance in her second appearance, as the new mother in the plane seat next to Lucy in the 1956 episode entitled "Return Home From Europe." When the Ricardos moved to Connecticut the following season, Croft returned as Lucy's Connecticut neighbor and friend, Betty Ramsey.
     She also supplied the voice of Cleo, the basset hound, on Jackie Cooper's TV series, The People's Choice. After I Love Lucy, Lewis become familiar to TV audiences on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, in which she played Clara Randolph, Ozzie and Harriet's neighbor and friend (and wife of Joe Randolph, played by actor Lyle Talbot) .
    Cast in the role of Lucy's best friend on both The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, Croft appeared under her own name, Mary Jane Lewis. (Croft was the widow of The Lucy Show producer, mystery novelist and actor Eliott Lewis.)
     In star-studded ceremonies held at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1998, Croft became the first recipient of the "Loving Lucy" Convention's "Lifetime of Excellence" Award.
     "What a bright bubble of joy she was," said Lucie Arnaz, who was a regular with Croft on Here's Lucy. "Funny, she was the farthest thing from a ditsy blonde in real life, but was just as joyous as she appeared."

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