‘According to my mom, from Day 1 I’ve been watching Lucy’

Like millions of others, San Diego resident Ron Hernandez loves “Lucy.” But what separates the 38-year-old nurse from other fans was his devotion to the “I Love Lucy” star over the years. Hernandez once collected more than 1,100 signatures on a birthday card for Lucille Ball. He is also a consultant for television station KTTY for the annual “I Love Lucy” marathon and throws an annual party, now in its eighth year, in her honor. His devotion for Ball developed into a special friendship and correspondence for several years until her death. Hernandez was interviewed by Times staff writer Terry Rather in his home and was photographed by Barbara Martin Pinhero

I’m actually very shy, reserved and conservative--except for where Lucy comes in. I’ve always loved Lucy. According to my mom, from Day 1 I’ve been watching Lucy.

My father had a love for “I Love Lucy.” Monday night was his night to stay home, and that was my father’s favorite thing. I’d be in his lap, in his arms watching Lucy. As a kid, I was always trying to be home in time for Lucy. I had to have my homework done so I could watch Lucy. When I was a teen-ager and had part-time jobs, I had to be off in time to watch Lucy.

The first time I met her I was about 13 years old and was living in New York City. “The Ed Sullivan Show” was live from New York, so you could meet absolutely anyone you wanted. A couple of times when she was on, I’d run down on a Saturday afternoon to the dress rehearsal to meet her. She signed my autograph book, and once she signed my arm. I remember the argument I had with my mom because I wasn’t going to wash my arm ever.

Every year, I tried to do something for her birthday, like send her a card and stuff like that. About eight years ago, I got together with a bunch of friends of mine, and we did a “I Love Lucy” episode and sent it to her for her birthday. We redid episode 150, Lucy’s Italian movie, where she stomps on the grapes in Italy. We converted my house into a train, into a hotel room and used a friend’s back yard to build the wine vat scene and about 10 cases of grapes.

She called me about 10 days after I sent the video. That was the start of it all. She said that, out of 35 years of people sending her gifts, presents and things like that, never had she had anyone send her a redone episode. She said she sat back and laughed. She also said something else I’ll always treasure: “I have millions of fans, but I’m glad there’s only one like you.”

I was invited up to meet her and see her in concert at Claremont College. Every year she would call or send a letter or send photos during my parties. I think it was “I Love Lucy” party number three or four when she called and talked to absolutely everyone in my house that day.

My “I Love Lucy” party has grown from a party of 30 people to, well, at the last party I stopped counting at 127 people. I try to show different episodes each year that have funny highlights. Then I try to recreate it here in the house, so that the party isn’t one of a bunch of people sitting down and watching television. It’s people getting involved. I serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at my parties, and they coincide with whatever the Ricardos or the Mertzes are eating. This year the lunch episode happened to be Lucy and Bob Hope, and she’s at Yankee stadium and she pretends to be a hot dog vendor. So, when she’s passing out the hot dogs, “red hots,” “red hots,” I come in dressed in the same outfit, giving out hot dogs.

The past two years I have missed the contact, I have missed the telephone calls. The weekend that she passed away I had about 300 people over. I remembered calling up the family to see what I could do. They told me services would be closed. I felt I had to do something, just for the fans who needed to share their loss with someone. I had “I Love Lucy” on at 5 p.m. Friday, and it went to about 3 p.m. Monday, every episode without commercials, back to back.

Someone as big and well known as Lucy, she took time out of her busy life to really show her appreciation to her fans. From the very first phone call that I got to the letters and to the eight years following, that’s one thing I will never forget.