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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 442455" data-attributes="member: 5079">It all came back to Lucille.&nbsp; Lucy had expected an older, frumpy character actress to be cast as Ethel. Her choices had been Bea Benedarat, Mary Wickes or Barbara Pepper, each of whom declined or was declined for the role.&nbsp; Vivian was cast by Desi and Jess Oppenheimer without Lucille&#039;s involvement.&nbsp; When Lucille first met Viv, she complained that Viv was too young and pretty for the part.&nbsp; Viv was only about 2 years older than Lucille and, at the time, fairly svelte; in the earliest episodes Viv is notably thinner than Lucy who hadn&#039;t yet lost the pregnancy weight.So considerable effort was put into making Lucy look 10 years younger and Viv 10 years older.&nbsp; In the 70s, Viv claimed she was contractually obligated to be 20 lbs. overweight to make Lucille look better, but that seemed to be a gag as no such contract existed.&nbsp; Viv&#039;s unhappiness with being thought of as dowdy Ethel and as Frawley&#039;s wife led to her gaining weight.By the later seasons, I think Lucille just didn&#039;t care anymore and Viv was allowed to dress more favorably.&nbsp; IMO this started to undercut her performance.&nbsp; By the last season -- and certainly in the hour long shows -- Viv hardly seemed to be playing Ethel anymore but an early draft of Vivian Bagley from THE LUCY SHOW.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 442455, member: 5079"] It all came back to Lucille. Lucy had expected an older, frumpy character actress to be cast as Ethel. Her choices had been Bea Benedarat, Mary Wickes or Barbara Pepper, each of whom declined or was declined for the role. Vivian was cast by Desi and Jess Oppenheimer without Lucille's involvement. When Lucille first met Viv, she complained that Viv was too young and pretty for the part. Viv was only about 2 years older than Lucille and, at the time, fairly svelte; in the earliest episodes Viv is notably thinner than Lucy who hadn't yet lost the pregnancy weight. So considerable effort was put into making Lucy look 10 years younger and Viv 10 years older. In the 70s, Viv claimed she was contractually obligated to be 20 lbs. overweight to make Lucille look better, but that seemed to be a gag as no such contract existed. Viv's unhappiness with being thought of as dowdy Ethel and as Frawley's wife led to her gaining weight. By the later seasons, I think Lucille just didn't care anymore and Viv was allowed to dress more favorably. IMO this started to undercut her performance. By the last season -- and certainly in the hour long shows -- Viv hardly seemed to be playing Ethel anymore but an early draft of Vivian Bagley from THE LUCY SHOW. [/QUOTE]

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Who played JR Ewing?