Artist Carolyn Palmer working on the new statue.
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A new statue honouring the I Love Lucy star was to be unveiled on Saturday in Celoron, N.Y., on what would have been Ball’s 105th birthday, after residents of her hometown made it clear they did not “love” an unflattering previous version.
Fans of Lucille Ball demanded a new statue and the destruction of ‘Scary Lucy’.
Palmer has sculpted a number of other famous figures – her marble statue of Pope Francis stands at the papal residence in New York City, where the pope blessed it during his visit past year. “Get Rid of this Statue!” It is not so much a “goodbye” to an interesting, but rather scary statue, supposed to depict Lucille Ball after she has tasted the disgusting concoction, Vitametavegamin, as it is a hello to a newer, lovelier, smiling statue of the legendary comedienne, wearing a polka dot dress. The older statue will still remain at the Lucille Ball Memorial Park, but it will be in a different location.
Palmer said she watched hours of “I Love Lucy” and printed out multiple photos to recreate her likeness. As such, it is a remarkable and a successful sculpture, just not one that shows Lucille Ball when she looked her loveliest. “But overall, I just really, really hope that I please the town of Celoron, please Lucy’s family and all her fans”. Private donors are covering the estimated $250,000 cost. The sculptor said the statue is a total of 7 feet tall in its entirety. “I had to do a little bit of exaggerating in certain areas to bring that out”.
This story has been corrected to show Jamestown is nearby the actress’ hometown of Celoron.
Village officials said Poulin’s original tribute to the amusing lady will also remain because it has become such a tourist attraction – but be moved to another part of the park.
According to the town’s Mayor, Scott Schrecengost, ‘Scary Lucy’ did appeal to some fans of the famous redhead, and became in its own negative way, “an icon in itself”.
“I take full responsibility for ‘Scary Lucy, ‘ though by no means was that my intent or did I wish to disparage in any way the memories of the iconic Lucy image”, Poulin wrote in the letter. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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