Fifty-five years ago, a sitcom called I Love Lucy transformed the television landscape and made its leading lady, Lucille Ball, a superstar. No one could have known that Ball, formerly a showgirl, B-movie queen, and radio actress, would become one of the world's most beloved performers, and take her place in a rare pantheon reserved for the likes of Elvis, Marilyn, and Chaplin. This book, by acclaimed Lucy author Michael Karol-Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia, The Lucille Ball Quiz Book, Lucy in Print-examines Ball's impact and dissects what it was, and is, that makes Lucy not only an icon of laughter, but a powerful tonic in a troubled world.
Michael Karol graduated from BU's College of Communications with a Masters in Communications, and it seemed only prudent to communicate, so he did, becoming a magazine writer and editor in New York City. After a quarter-century in publishing, he landed his dream job: as Copy Chief at
Soap Opera Weekly he is mandated to watch TV…every day!
Karol has lately specialized in writing about showbiz topics, and has interviewed many celebrities, an eclectic group including Susan Lucci, Denise Nickerson, Doris Singleton, Phyllis Hyman, Jane Connell, David Hedison, and Johnny "Guitar" Watson, plus behind-the-scenes movers and shakers like Wonderfalls creator Bryan Fuller, House, M.D.’s creator and executive producer, David Shore, and Lucille Ball’s personal secretary, Wanda Clark.
In 2001, Karol wrote his first book, focusing on the TV star who left a major impression on him via that little box in the living room: Lucille Ball. The widespread acclaim for Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia, convinced him there were lots of other Boomers who wanted to read about television, movies, and the celebrities they watched growing up.
At Computer Shopper, in 1996, Karol began working with talented Dark Shadows author Craig Hamrick, also a fine photographer, and the result is the book series (and website) TV Tidbits. Go to TVTidbits.com for more information.
Karol's other books include Kiss Me, Kill Me, featuring Hamrick’s atmospheric photos; Lucy in Print, published in September 2003; Funny Ladies: Sitcom Queens, in March 2004, and, later that year, The Lucille Ball Quiz Book. The ABC Movie of the Week Companion was Karol's third in the TV Tidbits line of books. The Comic DNA of Lucille Ball is the fourth, and the first in the new TV Tidbits Icon Series.
To read more about Lucille Ball, Karol's books, and other pop culture ramblings, visit his Web site at Sitcomboy.com.
