Still loving Lucy, 60 years later

With "I Love Lucy's" 60th anniversary this month, loyal Lucy fans have plenty of places to celebrate, from Lucille Ball's birthplace 100 years ago in Jamestown, N.Y., to Los Angeles, where she became TV's Queen of Comedy.

"She's more than just an icon," says Bruce Bronn, president of Unforgettable Licensing in Chicago, which represents Ball's estate. "She's a symbol of America."

Upstate 'Desilu' center

Located about an eight-hour drive northwest of New York City, the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center opened here in 1996, seven years after Ball died at age 77. The museum and its nearby Desilu Playhouse are treasure troves of memorabilia, drawing up to 30,000 patrons annually. Visitors can view video clips, walk through replicas of "I Love Lucy" sets and see original costumes from the sitcom, which originally ran from Oct. 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957.

"People can do the 'Vitameatavegamin' commercial right there in the playhouse," says Susan Ewing, a staff writer at the center. "We've done grape stomping. One year we did a competition to see how many snails people could eat at one time."

Among her favorite displays: Ball's gold 1972 Mercedes, donated by Laurence Luckinbill, actor and husband of Lucie Arnaz, Ball's daughter. "It has her monogram, LBM, on the driver's side door," Ewing said. (Ball married comedian Gary Morton in 1961, after she and Arnaz divorced in 1960.)

Each August during Ball's birthday week, the museum holds Lucy Fest: The Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy. This year's attendees celebrated the star's centennial.

"We had a huge celebration," Ewing said. "We believe we have set a Guinness Book of World Records, having the most people dressed as Lucy Ricardo in one place -- 915. Men, women and children. And a dog."

Dual admission to the museum and playhouse is $15 (716-484-0800, lucy-desi.com).

Los Angeles and beyond

The Hollywood Museum has a major Lucy exhibit on display through Nov. 30 that includes scripts, costumes and memorabilia spanning Ball's entire film and TV career. Among the oddities: the autographed plaster cast Ball wore after breaking her leg in a 1972 ski accident ($15 adults, $12 younger than 12; 323-464-7776, thehollywoodmuseum.com).

"I Love Lucy: The Untold Story" is a play that will be staged Nov. 5 at a benefit in North Hollywood. Directed by Gregg Oppenheimer, whose father, Jess, was the series' creator-producer-writer, the play's cast includes "Lucy" actresses Janet Waldo (Peggy, the teenage neighbor), Shirley Mitchell (Lucy's friend Marion) and Doris Singleton (nearsighted Caroline Appleby). Tickets are $50 and include a three-course lunch (877-251-5771, sperdvac.org).

In Manhattan and Florida

The Paley Center for Media, located both in Los Angeles and Manhattan, is also celebrating Ball with "We Love Lucy" public screenings through Oct. 30. Most of the programs are also available year-round for personal viewing at the center's library ($10 adults, $5 younger than 14; paleycenter.org).

Even Florida has a Lucy stop: Universal Studios in Orlando has a long-running Lucy: A Tribute exhibit, which screens TV clips and displays costumes worn by Ball. Access is included with regular park admission $85 (universalorlando.com).