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Lucille Ball’s ‘Scary Lucy’ Statue Finally Replaced By Something Much Less Frightening

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 05:13 PST, Aug 8, 2016

Lucille Ball’s beautiful statue was unveiled in the actress’ hometown of Celoron, New York this week, according to Entertainment Weekly. The statue, which presents a less frightening image of the I Love Lucy star, will replace the existing statue which was nicknamed “Scary Lucy.”

The new statue of Lucille Ball was presented on August 6, the comedic actress’ birthday and serves as the replacement for the life-size statue known as “Ugly Lucy” or “Scary Lucy.”

The new 6-foot tall statue of Lucille Ball was created by Carolyn Palmer, who was chosen to replace the statue in Celoron in a national competition among more than 65 sculptors. It took the sculptor almost a year to study the comedian’s photographs, watch the I Love Lucy series, and craft the statue.

In her statement after she was finished with the statue, Palmer admitted she wanted to portray not only the playful, animated, and spontaneous Lucille Ball, but also show that she was a gorgeous and glamorous actress in the ’50s.

“I just hope that all the Lucy fans are pleased and that Lucille Ball herself would have enjoyed this image of her.”

The “Scary Lucy” statue was made by David Poulin in 2009, and ever since then, the sculptor has been criticized for the lack of Lucille Ball’s likeness, toothy smile, and a scary stare. And last year, after the news of the “Scary Lucy” statue went viral, Celoron authorities started looking for a new sculptor to replace the ugly likeness of the comedic actress.

Poulin didn’t mind that his statue could be replaced by another, more accurate Lucille Ball’s sculpture, describing his own work has his “most unsettling sculpture.” Poulin also offered to modify the statue at his own expense, but authorities didn’t take the risk.

Lucille Ball was a Hollywood icon during the last century, but contemporary I Love Lucy fans don’t know enough about the comedic actress, who died on April 26, 1989, according to the Orlando Sentinel. And TCM decided to put an end to this injustice and devoted 24 hours of its air time to tell the story of Lucille Ball’s life.

The list of films that will be shown during the 24-hour tribute airtime includes 1942’s The Big Street, in which Lucille Ball plays the role of a mean showgirl, and 1968’s Yours, Mine and Ours, in which the TV legend plays the role of a widow who falls in love with Henry Fonda.

In 1954’s comedy titled, The Long, Long Trailer, Lucille Ball plays alongside her I Love Lucy co-star and former husband, Desi Arnaz. But the TV legend received worldwide recognition thanks to her role of Lucy Ricardo on I Love Lucy, which debuted in 1951.

TCM’s 24-hour long Lucille Ball tribute will conclude with 1974’s musical Mame, which marked the comedic actress’ last big-screen film feature and was a huge box-office flop. Movie critics explained the film’s disastrous box-office run by the fact that Ball was never a singer.

I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball debuted on October 15, 1951, and immediately became a huge hit on TV. The sitcom, in which Ball co-starred alongside William Frawley and Vivian Vance, is considered to be the forerunner of all family-related sitcoms that have been released in the past 60-plus years.

I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball, which was centered around issues in family life, as well as suburban living, was the number one show in the United States during its six-year run. During its third season, the sitcom captured a then-record-breaking 67.3 audience share. The black-and-white TV show ended on May 6, 1957, on CBS.

[Photo by Mel Evans / AP Images]

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