© 2024 Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Kaua‘i Listeners: A power outage has taken HPR-1 (KIPL) off the air. Mahalo for your patience as work is being done to restore power.

SiriusXM Revives Lucille Ball Radio Tapes For Podcast: 'Let's Talk To Lucy'

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

There's about to be a new voice in podcasting.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GARY MORTON: Welcome to "Let's Talk To Lucy," starring Lucille Ball.

INSKEEP: Yes, that Lucille Ball. Lucille Ball during her lifetime was the queen of all media. She was big in TV. She was a Hollywood producer. And she even hosted a series of short radio interviews for CBS. Most haven't been heard publicly in decades. But tomorrow, those old recordings find new life as a pop-up channel on satellite radio and later as a podcast.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LUCILLE BALL: Believe it or not, my guest today is Mr. Frank Sinatra.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Lucille Ball booked a lot of the friends she made in Hollywood. And she used that insider access to pry a little humanity out of her guests.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BALL: All of the years that I have known Frank Sinatra, I think the one thing that stands out in my mind is how you head for someone who needs you.

FRANK SINATRA: I think the nicety of giving to someone is to be there when they least expect you to be there. And that's the thing that I've tried to do throughout my life.

BALL: And you certainly have done it.

MARTÍNEZ: Great to hear those voices - other guests include Bob Hope, Carol Burnett, Bing Crosby and Barbra Streisand.

INSKEEP: Now, Lucille Ball died in 1989. And her daughter, Lucie Arnaz, has taken care of those tapes ever since.

LUCIE ARNAZ: They've been in storage within my purview for 30-plus years.

MARTÍNEZ: Until recently, when Arnaz thought there might be a market for them.

ARNAZ: This is a treasure trove of information on the entertainment industry that really doesn't exist in too many other places. It's crazy good stuff and a whole side of Lucy that most people don't really know.

INSKEEP: Everybody else has a podcast. So why not? All 240 episodes of "Let's Talk To Lucy" will start airing on Sirius XM tomorrow with that podcast to follow later.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I LOVE LUCY THEME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

More from Hawai‘i Public Radio