The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 107

E. BUSH Or SON MUST YOU HAVE AN Cinderella (Continued from 1 if "W- MX Civ her a watch lint a atece a iewelry a week! Why wait tW Christ-mat i I i 1 i iV page 8) might be Interested Iri testing for a regular part on television. "I recognized Mr. Skelton, of course," she explains, "but it was one of those blue days when nothing good could happen I thought They gave me a telephone number and asked me to call for an appointment. I agreed, but frankly didn't think anything would come of it.

I was so sure, as a matter of fact, that I misplaced the number and didn't even call!" Fortunately, Skelton had more confidence in her than did the Tennessee actress herself, for Red's office called her. She made the test and was quickly signed to a long-term contract. 1' V'y INCUS RING ring ativ with blue-white diamond CISS RING aliva with IS whita diamonds Mk whita gold beautifully set, 295 00 1 LWy tliln watch 19 iewatt with famous Elgin Dura Power Main Hand.Carvid spring. Mk white gold case sat with 4 diamonds. Numeral and VEDDIL'G RINGS dial.

Nylon cord. 22.10 Mk allow White Cold PAY VA kM. A ar A LITTLE 29.50 MK Tallow ar Whit CoM EACH PAYDAY Prices I act Fee'. Tax ft" fa for Christmas now! v- ...4 LUCY had never i worked with a comedian, nor did she have much knowledge of the comedy field. She says now that this i I xx Lucy with Red Skelton in a scene on his show i 1 1 mi lT)W Lucy realizes that what she first thought was failure on her part to keep Budget Terms lack of experience has turned into a blessing, because Red Skelton has such an unique approach to programming that she doubtless would have had to 'unlearn' any previous comedy training.

The most difficult thing for her, at first, was to grasp the trick of waiting for laughs. "If I had a line to say, I'd say it, regardless of what was going on. Half the time, my words would be drowned out by audience laughter and -I'd have to repeat the line several times before it could be heard." This is sudden death for an actress, Lucille admits, but Red kidded her about it and turned her lack of timing into a joke. Quickly, with Skel-ton's help, she caught on to the complexities of comedy timing a know-how that usually demands years of training and practice. Unlike most television performers, Lucile Knoch rarely works from a script.

As a comedy routine is worked out, Red "feeds" her the lines which he and his writers create as they go along. "And they're rarely the same through any two rehearsals," Lucy reports. times I've gone before the cameras at show time and delivered the lines I'd memorized from the final run-through only to find, to my horror, that they'd been cut out, or that Red had ad libbed around them to the point where my cue meant absolutely nothing." Is there a revenge for this? says not. "No one In show business can top Red Skelton at ad liBblng, and it's a challenge I have no Intention of throwing his way. I just hang onto my lines, say them when and if I have a chance, and let Red 'carry' the routine.

He hasn't missed yet!" During the first several shows it disturbed Lucy that she was being put into the limelight as a typical dumb blonde. She would read a line that Red had decided to cut at the last moment, and there she'd stand with egg on her face and a completely meaningless remark on the sound-track. "I wanted to explain to everyone that I'm not dumb that I didn't know the line had been changed." When she told Red this, the veteran comic would counter with: "Well, they laughed, didn't they?" up with the rest of the cast has actually been successfully creating a character for herself. "Marie Wilson hasn't done badly with her reputation as a dumb blonde," is her psychology, "so why should I worry?" People ask her If the scenes during which she breaks up at Skelton's antics are planned and rehearsed. She insists they are not.

"The man, absolutely convulses me," she says. "When he suddenly pulls a gag or ad libs a bit of business that I haven't seen before, I'm just as good an audience as the one out front." The most anxious moment of her career took place just a few weeks ago. Nearing the close of the program, Red was featured in a particularly strenuous comedy routine which required a frenzy of energy. When It came time to say good night and to sign off, he simply didn't have the breath for it. He.

suddenly turned to Lucy and yelled, "You take it." Lucille remembers, "that red-eyed camera stared at me for fully five minutes before I could think of anything to say. Of course, it was only five seconds but was easily the longest five seconds in my life. I guess I did all right, though," she grins. "Red was very kind and complimentary afterwards." Lucille. Knoch is married to Hollywood night club operator Nick Cancellari, and the film city is definitely her home town now.

Her sisters, Dorothy and Louise both formerly in show business have now retired, but there's a young -niece, Carolyn Carter, who Is training to1 follow in her Aunt Lucy's footsteps. Lucy takes all this success in typical Cinderella-like fashion. She enjoys the limelight tremendously, of course and her regular appearances on the Red Skelton show are adding much to her stature as a comedienne. But her busy rehearsal-and-show schedule leave her unhappy for just one major reason. Her eyes widen, the nose turns up a bit more, and a slight pout comes to her lips: "There's never any time to get back to Nashville for a visit," she says seriously.

"Not even by pumpkin-coach!" Wonderful New I So big. so beautiful, and so far ahead with I I push button tomorrow of jl: ji FOURTIIN THE' NASHVILLE TENNESSEAN MACAIINI, OCT. 4, 1955.