Glen Loves Lucy: Lucille Ball Collector Shares His Favorite Items
“I could have been 6 or 7 years old when I started watching Lucille Ball,” Glen Charlow tells us from his home in Baltimore. But Glen wouldn’t officially start calling himself a Lucy collector until about 1983, when a casual stroll through Greenwich Village led him to thumb through a milk crate of glossy photos, where he purchased and framed his first Lucy collectible.
From that day on, not only did he grow his collection, but he would also hobnob with Lucie Arnaz (Lucy’s daughter), meet countless other fans, attend the annual Jamestown festivals (that celebrated Lucy’s birthday and hometown), develop a cherished friendship with the Borden twins (Roz and Marilyn, who played Teensy and Weensy in the famous I Love Lucy “Tennessee Bound” episode), and share his adoration of the icon through his incredibly personal, one-man show Loving Lucy, a tribute to Ball, Desi Arnaz and I Love Lucy.
“I’ve met everyone in the Lucy world except for Lucille Ball herself,” Charlow tells us. Here he shares a few of his favorites from his collection.
Lucy’s Aqua Chiffon Dress
The custom-made long white gown with spaghetti straps has an aqua chiffon overcoat with ostrich trim at the sleeves and a rhinestone trim around the collar and front edges, along with a matching chiffon scarf.
Value: $6,600
How It Was Collected: “I was at the first Lucy convention in 1996, where they had an auction from her estate. I registered for the auction not knowing I couldn’t afford any of that stuff. I kept sticking up my paddle, and when it got to a certain amount the bidding stopped and someone said, ‘Glen, you won.’ … I was sharing a room at the Burbank Hilton with someone I really hadn’t met before, just another big Lucy fan, and he couldn’t believe he spent the night in the room with Lucy’s gown.”
Lucy Day at the World’s Fair Scrapbook
This scrapbook consisted of original photos, news articles, press releases, Lucy and Gary Morton’s airline tickets, event tickets, and the program, all centered around the Lucy Day at the New York World’s Fair on Aug. 31, 1964.
Value: Can’t put a price tag on it!
Collecting the 1950s
Aug. 2022
For fans of the Nifty Fifties enjoy this treasure trove of ’50s memorabilia.
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