This late “I Love Lucy” star isn’t begging Ricky’s permission to be in his show — she is the show, honey!
Lucille Ball, the dearly departed doyenne of American sitcom television, who died in 1989 at age 77, is bouncing onto the audio streaming scene with a new SiriusXM comedy show, “Let’s Talk to Lucy.”
The limited three-week series is set to debut Thursday and will air on SXM Channel 104, as well as on Pandora and Stitcher.
Named after Ball’s short-lived 1960s CBS Radio show, “Let’s Talk to Lucy” will feature newly resurrected recordings of interviews between the revered redhead and old Hollywood legends like Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and Bob Hope.
“It’s a treasure trove of personal information from some of the greatest talents of American entertainment,” said Lucie Arnaz, 70, Ball’s daughter with her late television and real-life husband, Desi Arnaz — who died in 1986 of lung cancer at 69.
The over-50-year-old recordings, which originally aired on the CBS radio network between 1964 and 1965, have remained archived in Arnaz’s private collection for decades.
“My family and I can’t wait to share them with the rest of the planet,” she added.
Using her own portable recording device, Ball would chronicle meaningful conversations with the legends during the cracks of her own full schedule — which included starring in a multitude of TV shows and movies, raising her two children (Lucie and her brother, Desi Arnaz Jr., 68) and serving as the chief executive of independent television company Desilu Productions.
“Although I have been care-taking these ancient tapes for over 30 years, I had never really listened to them all,” the five-time Emmy winner’s daughter explained. “I had no idea how many remarkable people Mom had talked to on these radio shows.”
Ball’s SiriusXM series will also feature special tributes to the celebrated comedian from famous fans, such as Ron Howard, 67, Amy Poehler, 49, and Tiffany Haddish, 41.
The laudable A-listers will even answer some of the original questions asked by Ball during her radio hostess run.
“Let’s Talk to Lucy” is the latest modern nod to the Vitameatavegamin-guzzling jokester of the 1950s.
Poehler is directing a documentary centered around Ball and Arnaz’s “complicated and loving” relationship for Howard’s Imagine Entertainment production company.
And a forthcoming biographical film, “Being the Ricardos”— starring Nicole Kidman, 54, and Javier Bardem, 52 — is also poised to give “I Love Lucy” fans a behind-the-scenes look into the soured love of TV’s favorite sweethearts.
Both films are being made with the cooperation of Ball’s estate.
