Happy Birthday to the best side-kick ever – Miss Vivian Vance! 

She was born on July 26, 1909, in Cherryvale, Kansas, although just like her TV counterpart Ethel Mertz, she soon moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she was encouraged by her teachers to become a performer. The role of Ethel Mertz was originally intended for Lucy’s radio co-star Bea Benaderet, but Desi Arnaz saw Vivian performing onstage in “The Voice of the Turtle” and cast her in the role just a couple of months before filming began in fall 1951. The rest is television history!