They Love Lucy

Paul Brownfield’s article about the 50th anniversary of “I Love Lucy” provided added insight about Lucille Ball and her incomparable talents (“First and Still Funniest,” Sept. 2). But why the headline refers to Ball as “arguably the greatest female sitcom superstar” is a mystery.

There have been other brilliant comedic actresses over the years, among them Jean Stapleton, Mary Tyler Moore and the oft-overlooked Elizabeth Montgomery. But Lucy is in a class of her own. There’s no argument to be had.

GEORGE GALLUCCI

Los Angeles

You might say that the writers on “I Love Lucy,” working under the strictest TV censorship, wrote their scripts with one arm tied behind their backs, yet they flourished. They flourished so well that 50 years later, we still can’t get enough of Lucy.

Today’s TV writers are free to write almost anything they want using both hands, both feet and everything in between, and still can’t come close to the magic, creativity and genius of “Lucy’s” writers. Take away the sexual content, controversial subject matter and vulgarity, and today’s “writers” would be forced to actually earn their livings by writing material that’s more creative and possibly even funnier then they could ever imagine. I pose a challenge.

ARMANDO CEPEDA

Moreno Valley

I find it hard to believe that the truly grotesque “portrait” of one of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood is the best you could do for your Sept. 2 cover!

MAGGIE EVANS

Hermosa Beach

Kudos for giving your readers a “Mona Lisa” of one of our nation’s most treasured comediennes. At first, it was a bit jarring to see Ball depicted this way. But why not a deserved painting in tribute rather than a staid “glamour” shot that we’ve seen time and time again?

BONNIE FREEMAN

Los Angeles

John Copeland did a commendable job capturing Ball’s unforgettable features, but what happened to those famous baby blue eyes?

EVA MUCHNICK

Rancho Palos Verdes

Ball’s legacy will continue to endure. But what of Joan Davis? Lucy has been dubbed the first lady of comedy. Joan Davis was considered comedy’s queen. With her untimely death in 1961, how so many forget that the assets Ball worked on and honed on “I Love Lucy” were already long-established facets of Davis’ genius.

RICHARD SCHERZO

Reseda

You forgot an important link in the Lucy chain: Kirstie Alley in the “Cheers” years was by far the funniest woman on television at the time.

DAVID WAGHALTER

Los Angeles

Carla Hall’s consideration of “Will & Grace” as the “I Love Lucy” of the 21st century belies the major premise of “I Love Lucy”: the struggle to make a marriage work (“At Play in Lucy Territory,” Sept. 2).

Beyond Lucy’s gift for physical comedy or on-screen efforts to break into show biz (the themes highlighted in both articles about her), “I Love Lucy” worked because in spite of all their conflicts, the love between Lucy and Desi was palpable. We believed in their commitment to each other, a bond that the two struggled to maintain in real life.

“I Love Lucy” itself was conceived by the leads as an effort to save their troubled marriage. Though working together provided no ultimate solution for them (the couple divorced after the series ended), their affection and respect for each other anchored the show and made it a classic.

“Will & Grace”--the exploits of gay men and the women who love them--will be forgotten tomorrow. The commitment and struggle to make a marriage work rings truer today than ever, rendering “I Love Lucy” peerless in any century.

ANDREW COMISKEY

Yorba Linda