CBS Television Distribution

Vivian Vance said that success made her mean for a while

By: Catchy Comedy Staff Posted: October 22, 2024, 11:24AM

Once you become successful, you might think that most of your worries are behind you. However, the reality is that while some find life easier when you've achieved your dreams, some find themselves with a whole new set of problems.

Vivian Vance, best known as Ethel Mertz, got honest about the realities of her newfound celebrity status during an interview with the Santa Crus Sentinel.

"Success is hard to take," said Vance. "It took some time. It was quite an adjustment period I had to make peace with it (being Ethel)."

Such success was infinitely harder to handle considering that the cast and crew of I Love Lucy had no idea what an enduring success the program would become.

But while Vance loved what Ethel did to her professional life, the character left quite a dent in her personal life. "You can't imagine what it means to my life," she said. "Just to walk down the street, I'm never a stranger. It's made life so much simpler. The only problem is you have a loss of identity."

With the loss of identity, Vance found herself getting more upset with those who felt they were right to call her "Ethel" instead of "Vivian." While the two might seem inseparable from each other, Vance found the comparisons grating on her nerves.

"I found myself getting mean," she said. "When I realized it, I said to myself, 'Hey, wait a minute, that's not right' and I changed."