Activism
From about 2002 to 2007, Arnaz was the President of the Board of Directors of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, New York. She resigned over a dispute with the Executive Director over the future direction of the Center.
In October 2008, Arnaz and long-time family friend, Hollywood columnist and Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne participated in a tribute to Arnaz's mother, Lucille Ball, at The Paley Center For Media in New York City. The program, Lucie and Lucy: Lucie Arnaz Shares Treasures From The Family Video Collection, included a discussion between Osborne and Arnaz about Ball, and also focused on Ball's last long-running series, Here's Lucy (which was celebrating its 40th anniversary) as well as several of Ball's television specials and guest appearances during 1970s, which Arnaz had recently donated to The Paley Center for Media.
In the summer of 2010, Arnaz performed in (along with Raul Esparza and Valarie Pettiford) and directed "Babalu: A Celebration of the Music of Desi Arnaz and his Orchestra". There was a Miami, Florida performance in July 2010.
On July 17, 2010, Heritage Auction Galleries planned to auction off some items that belonged to Lucille Ball. Arnaz has gone to court to block the auction of love letters from Ball to her second husband, Gary Morton, as well as photos and awards, which Arnaz claims are hers. Morton's third wife, Susan McAllister Morton, has sued Arnaz for the right to conduct the auction.
A judge agreed with Arnaz, but charged too high a bond, so the auction went on but the auction house agreed to return lifetime achievement awards to Arnaz.
She appeared live on stage in Jamestown NY at the Reg Lenna Palace Civic Center on Friday August 3, 2012 to promote the Lucille Ball Festival of New Comedy in which new comedians are invited to perform. She gave tribute to both her parents, and expressed a desire to further expand the Festival of New Comedy and expand the Jamestown NY Lucy Fest. She gave the history behind the Lucy-Desi Museum and Lucy-Desi Playhouse, and the 2011 one hundred year birthday bash for Lucille Ball (which was recorded in the Guinness Book of World records for the highest number of people dressed like Lucille Ball in one place at one time), and announced intent to start utilizing the recently renovated Jamestown train station to further the mission and vision of the Lucille Ball Festival of New Comedy. http://www.lucycomedyfest.com/ Lucie Arnaz praised and appeared on stage with the new executive director of The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Center and applauded her work and dedication to the Lucille Ball Festival of New Comedy. Comedians that performed at the 2012 Lucille Ball Festival of New Comedy include Billy Gardell, Paula Poundstone, and Tammy Pescatelli.
Read more about this topic: Lucie Arnaz