May 29, 2009  |  By: Joey DiGuglielmo  | COMMENTS     

Washington Blade: I have questions jotted down here from all over the place. I was nosing around online today. So you were in this? (I hand her the soundtrack of "Wildcat," the 1960 Broadway musical starring Lucille Ball.)

Valerie Harper: Yeah. Oh yes. I was a chorus dancer and a singer.

Blade: OK. Tell me your memory of that.

VH: Oh God, she was fabulous. Oh she was so wonderful.

Blade: Was that one of your first professional experiences?

VH: Oh no, no. I had done several shows for this wonderful Michael Kidd. He produced and he choreographed. Where does it say? (reads from CD jacket) Entire production directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd. Yeah, I had done "Li’l Abner" that was my first job. My first job on Broadway. My first job.

Blade: Was that with Julie Newmar?

VH: Yes. Stupefyin’ Jones. And I was a dancer/singer in that. And then the next show I did was, oh let's see how did that go. “Lil Abner,” then “Take Me Along,” which was “Ah, Wilderness” with Jackie Gleason, then the next show was this. Lucille Ball. “Wildcat.”

Blade: Did you have much interaction with her?

VH: Oh sure, yes. I remember her coming down to the basement of the St. James and saying, “Oh, this is horrible, let's get this painted.” But then there were all kinds of union rules. She said, “To hell with the union. We'll come in we'll get a bunch of buckets. We'll come in on a Sunday.” It was just very dear. She went through a lot of red tape and she said, “It's terrible, it's dreary. You guys shouldn't be down like this.”

Blade: Oh good.

VH: Oh yeah, she's sweet and dear. And uh ...

Blade: Do you remember her being tough?

VH: No, I don't.

Blade: OK

VH: I remember her being wonderful and so much fun and hard worker and wanting to rehearse. When we were around she was very respectful of Michael. And, uh, she was very good in the show. And that it got to be an awful lot.

Blade: Well, she had some health problems around that time, didn't she?

VH: Yeah, I don't know what they were exactly. Exhaustion. And it was eight shows a day.

Blade: Oh, you mean a week?

VH: Yeah. See, see the mind is going. I did five shows a day at my first job at Radio City. Dancing. But she was very, um, I just had nothing but good memories. I remember she couldn't come to a shower for one of the girls. One of the dancers. And she sent a gorgeous blender. She was very attentive to all of us. And sweet and funny and always said hello. Jackie was wonderful to work with and he was professional and even when he was drinking he could get through a show. But, uh, he didn't have the same closeness. He was kind, he was hello, but Lucy was really involved with the dancers and doing sweet things. I don't remember, I remember, I think women are called tough as, uh, Marlo Thomas said, women are called ruthless if they put you on hold. It's a double standard.  Less now. Less now, but can you imagine having a straight talking first lady. I mean Hillary caught hell for it. But Michelle Obama? She takes no prisoners. She's just there and she's herself and it's marvelous. But it was always that Miss America. As Gloria Steinem said. You don't have young men up there in bathing suits acting pleasing. It was to be pleasing, to agree, that was the inheritance of American women. And so I think Lucy probably knew what she was doing for American women. Tremendously. And demanded it. People who worked with her maybe have written something to the contrary but I never ...

Blade: I never have heard, never have read a lot about that but I just think of her as being exacting. She knew she wanted the lights this way or that way.

VH: Um I didn't see any tantrums and I've seen those with other people but not with her.

Blade: And then later you worked with Vivian Vance.

VH: Oh yeah.

Blade: For an episode of “Rhoda,” yeah, much later.

VH: Much later. I think Lucy, when did Lucy die, oh ...

Blade: ’86, I think.

VH: No.

Blade: Oh wait, ’89, and Viv was ’79.

VH: That's right. In the ’70s.

Blade: And so Viv must have been not too long before she died then.

VH: About five years maybe.

Blade: And what's your memory of her?

VH: Oh my God ...

Blade: ...