TO LUCY, WITH LOVE

May 22, 1971

On May 23, 1971, Lucille Ball was proclaimed “Comedienne of the Century” at the Music Center of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles at a gala by the Diabetes Association of Southern California. In attendance were Jack Benny, Bob Hope, George Burns, Phyllis Diller, and Andy Williams, among others. 

The event was held on a ‘dark’ night for the Pavilion’s current presentation, the final tour stop of Katharine Hepburn in the musical COCO, the story of designer Coco Chanel that originated on Broadway (also starring Hepburn) in 1968. In the above photo, members of the Diabetes Association hold the sign in front of the poster for COCO, which was choreographed by Michael Bennett and directed by Michael Menthall. 

Ball and Hepburn had appeared together in the 1937 film STAGE DOOR and in 1945′s WITHOUT LOVE.

At the time, Ball had just finished season three of “Here’s Lucy,” which finished #3 in the ratings, the last time the show would be in the top ten. 

The event was not broadcast.