A real experience made Vivian Vance an advocate for mental health
Vivian Vance had a big role to play as Lucille Ball's sidekick. She worked with Ball for over nine years on two different Desilu-produced series.
Vance spent six of those years in the role of Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy and three as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy Show. There was a lot of pressure on Vance to be Ball's right-hand woman both onscreen and off.
From the outside, Vance seemed to be always happy. When her character wasn't getting in trouble with Lucy, she'd be doing some silly dance or saying a funny one-liner. But in real life, Vance's personal life was much darker.
According to a 1963 interview with The Charlotte News, Vance said she had a mental breakdown not too long before her two comedy series with Ball.
While on the road for The Voice of the Turtle (1945), she said she began feeling panicked and started developing symptoms of anxiety.
"Let's face it; I cracked up," Vance said. "You think you're going crazy. You're not able to face and recognize your problems. Most of all, you can't adjust to life as an adult."
The Voice of the Turtle started Vance's journey into therapy, and she credited mental health professionals for helping her gain control of her life again.
She used therapy to help her understand, she used comedy to help her heal and she used her career to reach other mental health patients who desperately needed to see someone like Vance in their shoes.
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According to the interview, Vance would visit patients in mental hospitals all across the country. From her home in Connecticut to her work in Hollywood and every other state; she was committed to helping those who needed it.
"I don't give them advice. I'm no doctor," Vance said. "I just give them encouragement. The patients thank me, but I thank them because I feel more fulfilled as a person for what I am doing."
"I need the kind of therapy I get from these patients," Vance continued. "With some people a job is enough. They don't need any outside activities and that's fine. But all people are not alike. I need something else. My job is simply not enough for me."
Her passion for mental health was personal. It was a lifelong push started by a pull in the wrong direction. According to the interview, Vance was a major player at many hospitals, and was one of the original advocates for mental health.
"They want me to run for the Legislature," Vance said. "They all know me in the hospital, and I know I come as a friend. I talked to 5,000 patients in one weekend alone."
After meeting patients all across the country, Vance said her biggest takeaway was that mental health resources, such as therapy, should be affordable and available for everyone.
According to the interview, Vance said being able to understand, talk about, and identify symptoms of anxiety, depression and other related issues were just as crucial.
Luckily, Vance was able to recognize her own struggles and change it around. She added: "They filled me full of Vitamin B-1."
"I got well," Vance said. "But fortunately I could afford an analyst. A lot of people can't. I hope the day will come when more can afford to have them."
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