“It was completely intimidating”, said Carolyn Palmer, whose new Lucy is to be unveiled today at Lucille Ball Memorial Park in the icon’s western NY hometown of Celoron.
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A misshapen and much-maligned statue of Lucille Ball is finally being replaced on Saturday in the late comedian’s hometown of Celoron, N.Y., and People magazine snagged a sneak peek at its replacement.
There was so much discontent and backlash about this statue that fans even started a Facebook campaign past year that was dubbed: “We Love Lucy!” Poulin’s statue – dubbed the “Ugly Lucy Statue” – received worldwide notoriety in the spring of 2015 after a Facebook page entitled “We Love Lucy, Get Rid of the Statue” went viral.
Everyone’s favorite redhead was honored in style with a life-size bronze replica at the Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron, New York.
Palmer was commissioned in 2015 to create a new statue following a fundraising effort by the village of Celoron to replace the village’s original Lucy statue created by sculptor David Poulin.
“They don’t see the woman that they all love from their hometown”, Palmer said, adding she’s glad the statue will remain in the park.
Despair no more, fans of Lucille Ball.
The town selection committee took their time in picking another sculptor for the new bronze statue and $250,000 in private donations were slated to absorb the cost of the project.
The new statue is being shown as part of this year’s “Lucille Ball Comedy Festival”, which started Friday in nearby Jamestown.
Palmer started her new creation nine months ago, a period during which she watched and re-watched episodes of I Love Lucy, the groundbreaking sitcom that made Ball a TV star in the 1950s. “I just hope that all the Lucy fans are pleased and that Lucille Ball herself would have enjoyed this image of her”. “I find that the world was a little harsh on him”. But the plan for now is to relocate it to another spot in the park.
Following the introduction of the “Scary Lucy” statue, a campaign raised funds to commission its replacement.
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But, he said, “It’s been an icon in itself”.
