London: Late actress Lucille Ball’s heirs are fighting over a planned auction of her belongings, which her daughter says will “prostitute” the star’s memory.
The sale includes love letters from Ball to her second husband Gary Morton, along with her personal address book, the couple’s 1984 Silver Spur Rolls-Royce, and some of her awards.
Morton’s third wife Susie Morton, who was formerly Susie McAllister, a former professional golfer on the LPGA tour, is offering the items for sale.
But now she is facing a fight with Ball’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, from her first husband Desi Arnaz.
Luckinbill wants to stop the auction, which is due to take place in Beverly Hills this weekend, and claims that the items were her mother’s personal effects and should have been distributed to her.
McAllister responded by going to court to seek a judge’s ruling that the items are rightfully hers and the auction can proceed as planned.
Luckinbill, 58, wants the return of seven love letters, her mother’s address book, some portraits and several lifetime achievement awards, and says she will also go to court in a last-ditch attempt to stop the auction.
“It is clear these are personal effects earned by a lifetime of work by someone of great stature in the entertainment community,” the Telegraph quoted her lawyer, Ronald Palmieri, as saying in a statement.
“To demean their true nature, and prostitute their value in monetary terms, is insulting to Ms Ball’s memory and contravenes her express desire that these items were to belong to her daughter after her death,” he said.
The items on sale are described by the auctioneers as a “trove of Lucy-related material” and an insight into the life of a woman who “treasured discretion above all else”.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.