GLORIA BLONDELL

August 16, 1910

Was born to theatrical parents in New York City in 1910.

She once said, “[S]ome member of my family has been in the theater ever since the time of Richard the Lionhearted.”  She is the younger sister of Joan Blondell, also an actress. First appearing on Broadway in the 1935 Three Men on a Horse. On radio, she did 26 episodes of seven different series. 

Coincidentally, she made her silver screen debut with The Daredevil Drivers (1938), playing a character named Lucy!  Even more coincidental, Dick Purcell played a character named Bill Foster, which was later the name of her character’s husband on “I Love Lucy”!

The only time she appeared together with her older sister Joan was in The Model Wife (1941), although Gloria was uncredited. 

Gloria saw most of her work in the 1940s as the voice of Disney’s ‘Daisy Duck’ for Disney. Blondell did six short films as Donald’s girlfriend. 

In October 1949, she joined future “Lucy” actors Florence Bates, Jerry Hausner, Hans Conried, Benny Rubin, and Mary Shipp in the second TV episode of “Obler Comedy Theatre”.  

Blondell’s only collaboration with Lucille Ball was in “The Anniversary Present” (ILL S2;E3) in 1952. Blondell plays neighbor Grace Foster, who, with her husband Bill, also lives at 623 East 68th Street. Grace works for Josef Jeweler and agrees to help Ricky get a discount on pearls for Lucy’s anniversary present. Lucy mis-interprets their communications and believes them to be having an affair!  

Grace Foster was first mentioned in “The Gossip” (ILL S1;E24) where her jealous husband Bill makes an appearance (played by Richard Reeves), but Grace is only mentioned – as a ravishing blonde! In  “The Anniversary Present”,  Bill is out-of-town and Grace has become a brunette. Here the Fosters are live in apartment 3B, which is the original number of the apartment the Ricardos get from switching with the Bensons at the end of season two. In “The Anniversary Present”, the Fosters live in apartment 2A!

Also in this episode is ubiquitous TV character actor Herb Vigran as Jule, Ricky’s music union agent. Coincidentally, Vigran was also in the cast of “The Life of Riley,” playing Riley’s co-worker, Muley. Vigran and Gloria Blondell shared five episodes, but (just as on this episode of “I Love Lucy”) never had any scenes together!  Blondell did 54 episodes of the NBC sitcom starring William Bendix between 1953 and 1958. 

In addition to Blondell and Vigran, “The Life of Riley” also featured “Lucy” actors Mary Jane Croft, Richard Deacon, Vivi Janis, George O’Hanlon, Nancy Kulp, Dayton Lummis, James Burke, Florence Lake, Mary Ellen Kay, Benny Rubin, Ray Kellogg, Howard McNear, Norman Leavitt, Pierre Watkin, and Bobby Jellison.

Also in 1952, Blondell had an uncredited role in Don’t Bother To Knock starring Marilyn Monroe and Richard Widmark. Other “Lucy” actors in the cast include Verna Felton, and Lurene Tuttle.  

In 1953, Blondell joined Hans Conried (one of Lucille Ball’s favorite actors) and Bob Jellison in the sci-fi comedy The Twonky. 

In 1957, Blondell had an uncredited role in the Walter Brennan film God Is My Partner. The cast included “Lucy” veterans Ellen Corby, Charles Lane, Joe Mell, Nancy Kulp, and Norman Leavitt. 

In 1965, as after Vivian Vance left “The Lucy Show,” Lucille Ball tried out Gloria’s sister Joan as a regular character. It lasted two episodes: “Lucy and Joan” and “Lucy the Stuntman”. Ball and Blondell did not get along off stage, resulting in heated arguments. After the final shot, with the studio audience still present, Lucy made a ‘flushing’ motion in Blondell’s direction. Blondell shouted, “Fuck you, Lucille Ball.” The two never reconciled.  

Gloria married film producer Albert Broccoli (of James Bond fame) on July 26, 1940; they divorced August 7, 1945. On September 14, 1946, she married Victor Hunter in Monterey, California. They remained married until his death in 1980.

Gloria and Victor had one premature daughter, who died at birth. Gloria also nearly died from blood loss, and her life was only saved by an emergency hysterectomy.

She died at age 70 in 1986 from cancer. Despite erroneous reports, she was not interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery but cremated.