Photo: Maurice Seymour, Chicago, photographer. / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Vance is my favorite kind of legend — the one who made the star next to her look better. As Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy she did the hardest job in comedy: feeding the timing without stealing the scene, and the 1953 Emmy proved the industry saw it. From small-town Kansas to a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a remarkable arc for a supporting player. She died in 1979, yet her name still surfaces whenever sitcom history is told. That kind of durability earns my deep respect; being remembered as the great second banana is its own immortality.
Overview
Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress best known for playing landlady Ethel Mertz on the sitcom I Love Lucy (1951–1957), for which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, among other accolades.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Vivian Vance
- Name (Japanese)
- ヴィヴィアン・ヴァンス
- Reading
- ゔぃゔぃあん・ゔぁんす
- Born
- July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Rooster
- Origin
- Cherryvale, Kansas, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / singer / stage actor / film actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Albuquerque High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1954 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Television actor — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.