TVSquad

So, did you hear that they did a poll they did to determine which presidential candidate people would like to hang out with at a barbecue? Obama won 52 to 45 percent over McCain, which may not mean very much in the long run, but the day before July 4th it made news.

The thought of barbecues and July 4th parties got me thinking about which TV characters with whom I'd like to spend Independence Day. I wouldn't want them here at my place, though, I want to go to their places. I have high expectations, too, and a vivid imagination.

Here's the six TV characters who could expect me to join them to watch the rockets red glare -- if only they were real live folks and not just my fictional faves.

I think it's a safe bet that's a headline I never thought I'd write and will never write again.

Two Tampa Bay Devil Rays fans are angry at the team for a contest held at the baseball stadium on June 23. The contest was to dress as '50s icons, and Bob Phibbs and Christine Sullivan went all out and dressed like Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, even down to the detailed costumes from an episode and bongo drums. They didn't win, however. The judges gave the prize to a woman and a kid who dressed in standard period wear. And this is why the couple is angry. They say the winners didn't follow the rules of dressing like an icon, and that they should either be disqualified or, at the very least, Phibbs and Sullivan should be given first prize too (they came in third - the first prize is a trip to NYC and tickets to a Yankees game and a Broadway show).

Looking for that special last minute Mother's Day gift? Nothing says Mother's Day like the death certificates of your favorite TV star!

Someone is selling the death certificates and wills of Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley on ebay. These aren't just one page descriptions of the date and manner of death, they are the actual detailed wills that they wrote before they died. Lucy didn't want to be embalmed and wanted to make sure her brother Fred and his wife didn't get anything. Desi made sure his mom was cared for. Vance left most of her estate to her much younger husband, and Frawley's will has a lot of bills and notes from creditors attached. It's probably interesting reading, but creepy.

For more background on the stars, here are the Wikipedia pages for Ball, Arnaz, Vance, and Frawley. Vance and Frawley hated each other.

[via TMZ.com]

Bob Carroll Jr. and writing partner Madelyn Pugh Davis (that's them in the pic, with Jess Oppenheimer in the middle) were writing for Steve Allen's radio in the 1940s when they decided to take a week off. Not for a vacation, but to write a script for Lucille Ball, who was looking for writers for her radio show My Favorite Husband. They got the job, and went on to write on all of Ball's TV shows, including I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, Here's Lucy, and Life With Lucy, Ball's last TV show in 1986. Caroll also wrote for The Mothers-In-Law, The Paul Lynde Show, Dorothy, and Alice, which he also co-produced. He wrote the 1968 movie Yours, Mine and Ours (yup, Lucy again), which was remade a couple of years ago with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo.

Carroll died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Saturday. (Pugh Davis lives in California. She released a book with Carroll in 2005 titled Laughing With Lucy.)