Editing Vivian Vance

{{Short description|American actress (1909–1979)}}

{{Infobox person
| name               = Vivian Vance
| image              = Vivian Vance 1964.JPG
| caption            = Vance in 1963
| birth_name         = Vivian Roberta Jones
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1909|7|26}} <!--death certificate is NOT legal proof of birth date. See discussion on talk page.-->
| birth_place        = [[Cherryvale, Kansas]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1979|8|17|1909|7|26}}<!--death certificate is NOT legal proof of birth date. See discussion on talk page.-->
| death_place        = [[Belvedere, California]], U.S.
| education          =
| occupation         = Actress
| years_active       = 1925–1978
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Joseph Shearer Danneck, Jr.|1928|1931|end=div}}
* {{Marriage|George Koch|1934|1940|end=div}}
* {{Marriage|[[Philip Ober]]|1941|1959|end=div}}
* {{Marriage|John Dodds|1961<!--Omission per Template:Marriage instructions-->}}
}}
}}

'''Vivian Vance''' (born '''Vivian Roberta Jones'''; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979)<!--death certificate is NOT legal proof of birth date. See discussion on talk page.--><ref name="CBS" /> 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 in a Comedy Series|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress]], among other accolades. She also starred alongside [[Lucille Ball]] in ''[[The Lucy Show]]'' from 1962 until she left the series at the end of its third season in 1965. In 1991, she posthumously received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. She is most commonly identified as Lucille Ball’s longtime comedic foil from 1951 until her death in 1979.

==Early life==
Vance was born in [[Cherryvale, Kansas]], the second of six children of Robert Andrew Jones, Sr., and Euphemia Mae (Ragan) Jones.<ref name="CBS">{{cite web |first=Elisabeth |last=Edwards |title="I Love Lucy" Cast Biographies: Vivian Vance |website=CBS |year=2008 |url=http://www.cbs.com/specials/i_love_lucy/viv_bio.shtml |access-date=2008-04-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223212818/http://www.cbs.com/specials/i_love_lucy/viv_bio.shtml |archive-date=February 23, 2008 }}</ref> When she was six, her family moved to [[Independence, Kansas]], where she eventually began her dramatic studies at [[Independence High School (Kansas)|Independence High School]] with instructor Anna Ingleman. Her love of acting clashed with her mother's strict religious beliefs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abqjournal.com/458139/sister-remembers-actor-vivian-vance.html|title=Vivian Vance's sister shares her memories of the 'I Love Lucy' star|date=September 7, 2014|accessdate=6 April 2023|author=Roberts, Kathleen|work=Albuquerque Journal}}</ref> "Viv" soon rebelled, often sneaking out of her bedroom and staying out after [[curfew]]. She changed her [[surname]] to Vance and moved to [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], to find acting work, performing in the first show upon its opening at the [[Albuquerque Little Theatre]] in 1930.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://albuquerquelittletheatre.org/about-us/history/ |title=History |date=2016-08-01 |website=Albuquerque Little Theatre |language=en-US |access-date=2016-10-11}}</ref> She appeared there in many other plays, including ''This Thing Called Love'' and ''The Cradle Song''. The local theatre community helped pay her way to New York City to study under [[Eva Le Gallienne]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keller |first=James M. |date=2015-01-02 |title=We love Ethel: Vivian Vance in Albuquerque |url=https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/art/museum_shows/we-love-ethel-vivian-vance-in-albuquerque/article_c77ccaf6-8020-5bc0-b839-f94500fa7779.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=Santa Fe New Mexican |language=en}}</ref>

==Career==
===Broadway===
Starting in 1932, Vance was in a number of shows on Broadway, usually as a member of the chorus. Eventually, she graduated to [[Supporting role|supporting parts]] after understudying [[Ethel Merman]] as Reno Sweeney in ''[[Anything Goes]]''.<ref>[https://playbill.com/article/stagestruck-by-peter-filichia-before-she-was-ethel-mertz-com-76371 "Before she was Ethel Mertz"], Playbill.com. Accessed June 7, 2024.</ref> (She and Merman would appear together in an episode of ''[[The  Lucy Show]]'' many decades later.)

Vance succeeded [[Kay Thompson]] in the musical ''[[Hooray for What!]]'' (1937). Her most successful stage role was that of Nancy Collister in the [[Cole Porter]] musical ''[[Let's Face It!]]'' (1941), alongside [[Danny Kaye]], [[Edith Meiser]], and [[Eve Arden]] for 547 performances.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Playbill |title=Playbill Vault's Today in Theatre History: October 29 |url=https://playbill.com/article/playbill-vaults-today-in-theatre-history-october-29-com-109210 |website=Playbill}}</ref>

===Film===
Following her appearance in a revival of ''[[The Cradle Will Rock]]'' in 1947, Vance decided to move to California to pursue other theatre projects and opportunities in film. During her stay in Los Angeles, Vance appeared in two films: as [[wikt:Special:Search/streetwise|streetwise]] [[maid|chambermaid]] Leah in ''[[The Secret Fury]]'' (1950), and as Alicia in ''[[The Blue Veil (1951 film)|The Blue Veil]]'' (1951). She received several positive notices for her performances, but the films did little else to further her screen career. Following her departure from ''The Lucy Show'' at the end of the third season, Vance signed on to appear in a [[Blake Edwards]] film, ''[[The Great Race]]'' (1965); she saw this as an opportunity to restart a movie career, which never really took off. The amusing film was a moderate success, receiving several Academy Award nominations.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Variety Staff |date=1964-12-31 |title=The Great Race |url=https://variety.com/1964/film/reviews/the-great-race-1200420760/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Variety}}</ref>

===Television===
'''1951–1958: ''I Love Lucy'' and success'''[[File:I Love Lucy Cast.JPG|thumb|Cast of ''[[I Love Lucy]]'': [[William Frawley]], [[Desi Arnaz]]; Vivian Vance, [[Lucille Ball]] ]]
When [[Desi Arnaz]] and [[Lucille Ball]] were casting their new television sitcom ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' in 1951, [[television director|director]] [[Marc Daniels]], who had previously worked with Vance in a theater production, suggested her for the role of [[landlady]] [[Ethel Mertz]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-79169463.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610060655/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-79169463.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=June 10, 2014| title=Still Loving Lucy TV Classic Debuted 50 Years Ago Today| agency=[[Associated Press]]| date=October 15, 2001| access-date=July 15, 2013| author=Thomas, Bob| newspaper=[[The Cincinnati Post]]| via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}</ref> Lucille Ball had wanted either [[Bea Benaderet]] or [[Barbara Pepper]], both close friends, to play the role. [[CBS]] refused Pepper on the grounds she had a serious drinking problem,<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KoABABSnX7oC&q=barbara+pepper+drinking+problem&pg=PA56|title=Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia| last=Karol| first=Michael| date=2004-01-04| publisher=iUniverse| isbn=978-0-5957-5213-3| page=56| language=en}}</ref> and Benaderet was already playing Blanche Morton on ''[[The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web| first=Ken| last=Severson| title=Biography for Bea Benaderet| url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070153/bio| website=[[IMDb]]| access-date=2008-04-04}}</ref>

Ultimately, the 42-year-old Vance won the role on the new [[television program]], which debuted October 15, 1951, on CBS. Vance's Ethel Mertz character was the landlady of a New York City apartment that she and her husband Fred owned on East 68th Street. The role of Fred Mertz was played by [[William Frawley]], who was actually 22 years her senior. Despite their exceptional chemistry, comedic timing, and musical prowess together onscreen, Vance and Frawley did not get along offscreen. According to some reports, things first went sour when Frawley overheard Vance complaining about his age, stating that he should be playing her father instead of her husband. She used to skim through the script before she memorized her lines to see how many scenes she had with "that stubborn-headed little Irishman."<ref>{{cite web| first=Michael| last=Karol| title=I Love Lucy| url=http://www.sitcomboy.com/series.html| website=Lucy A to Z| year=2006| access-date=2008-04-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Mikkelson, Barbara and David |title= Was 'I Love Lucy' Co-star Vivian Vance Contractually Obligated to Remain Overweight?|url=http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/vance.htm |website=Snopes |date=September 22, 2022|access-date=2024-09-10}}</ref>

[[File:Vance, Arnaz, Ball (1954 emmys).jpg|thumb|left|Vance with Arnaz and Ball at the [[6th Primetime Emmy Awards]] after winning the first Emmy for Supporting Actress]]
Honored for her work in 1953, Vance became the first actress to win an [[Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Supporting Actress]]; she accepted her award at the Emmy ceremony in February 1954. She was nominated an additional three times (for 1954, 1956, and 1957) before the series ended.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vivian Vance |url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/vivian-vance |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=Television Academy |language=en}}</ref>

In 1957, after the highly successful half-hour ''I Love Lucy'' [[I Love Lucy episodes|episodes]] ended, Vance continued playing Ethel Mertz on a series of hour-long [[Television special|specials]] titled ''[[The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour|The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show]]'' (later retitled ''The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour''). When ''I Love Lucy'' was reformatted into the hour-long ''Lucy-Desi'' shows in 1957, Desi Arnaz offered Vance and Frawley the opportunity to star in their own "Fred and Ethel" [[List of television spin-offs|spin-off show]]. Although Frawley was very interested, Vance declined, mainly because she did not want to work on a one-on-one basis with Frawley, as they already had an acrimonious relationship. Also, she felt the Mertz characters would be unsuccessful in a show without the Ricardos. Vance's choice to decline the would-be show intensified the animosity between her and Frawley.<ref>{{cite web |first=Libby |last=Pelham |title=I Really Love Lucy |website=Families.com |date=25 March 2006 |url=https://www.families.com/i-really-love-lucy |access-date=2022-07-22}}</ref> Instead, Vance was interested in doing a series based on the life of Babs Hooten, a New York socialite who moves to New Mexico to run a hotel and ranch. Desi Arnaz financed a pilot starring Vance as Hooten titled ''[[Guestward, Ho!]]'', which was shot in 1958 by [[Desilu Productions|Desilu]]; however, the show was rejected by CBS and Vance continued playing Ethel Mertz. Arnaz later retooled the show with model and actress [[Joanne Dru]] taking the lead role, selling the series to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], where it was subsequently cancelled after one season.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-14 |title=Mark Miller, 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies' Star and 'Walk in the Clouds' Screenwriter, Dies at 97 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/mark-miller-dead-please-dont-eat-daisies-1235220657/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>

'''1962–1977: ''The Lucy Show'' and later works'''[[File:Lucille Ball Vivian Vance The Lucy Show 1962.JPG|thumb|209x209px|Season-one cast of ''[[The Lucy Show]]'': Candy Moore (in back); front, L-R: Jimmy Garrett, [[Lucille Ball]], Vance, and Ralph Hart (1962)|left]]

In 1962, Lucille Ball was planning to return to television in a new series, ''[[The Lucy Show]]''. The series starred Ball as Lucy Carmichael, a widow with two children living in [[Danfield, New York]]. Vance reluctantly agreed to be her co-star on the condition she be allowed to appear in more glamorous clothes and have her character be named "Vivian". By this time in her life, Vance had grown tired of the public addressing her as "Ethel".

[[File:Vivian_Vance_Allen_Case_The_Deputy_1959.JPG|thumb|Vance with [[Allen Case]] on TV's ''[[The Deputy (TV series)|The Deputy]]'' (1959)]]
After her departure from ''The Lucy Show'', Vance appeared occasionally alongside Ball on reunion shows and made several guest appearances on Ball's third sitcom, ''[[Here's Lucy]]'' (1968–1974). In 1973, she was diagnosed with [[breast cancer]]. During this period, Vance's agent got her an endorsement deal with [[Maxwell House]] coffee. Over the next several years, she appeared in numerous commercials for Maxwell House. Vance made a number of TV guest appearances in the 1970s, including a 1975 episode of ''[[Rhoda]],'' as well as appearing in a number of made-for-TV movies, including ''The Front Page'' (1970), ''Getting Away From it All'' (1972), and ''[[The Great Houdini (film)|The Great Houdini]]'' (1976). Ball and Vance appeared together one last time in the 1977 CBS special ''Lucy Calls the President.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vivian Vance and William Frawley: Hall of Fame Tribute |url=https://www.emmys.com/news/hall-fame/vivian-vance-and-william-frawley-hall-fame-tribute |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=Television Academy |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Vance was married four times; her first three marriages ended in divorce. She was married to her third husband, actor Philip Ober, for 18 years. Ober was rumored to have physically abused Vance because he was envious of her successful career.<ref>{{cite web| title=4 Troubled Marriages Of 'I Love Lucy' Star Vivian Vance, And The Man Who Stayed Until Her Final Days| url=https://fabiosa.com/ctclb-rsmkb-auobs-pbmts-phpvg-4-troubled-marriages-of-i-love-lucy-star-vivian-vance-and-the-man-who-stayed-until-her-final-days/| access-date=2020-09-22| website=Fabiosa| first=Oliver| last=Birrell}}</ref> On January 16, 1961, Vance married [[literary agent]], editor, and publisher John Dodds. They lived in [[Stamford, Connecticut]], then moved to California in 1974, remaining together until Vance's death.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1979-08-18 |title=Vivian Vance, Actress, Dies at 66; Co-Star of 'I Love Lucy' TV Show |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/18/archives/vivian-vance-actress-dies-at-66-costar-of-i-love-lucy-tv-show.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==
[[File:Vivian Vance (2).jpg|thumb|Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard.]]

Vance died at age 70 on August 17, 1979, of metastatic [[breast cancer]]. After her death, [[Desi Arnaz]] said, "It’s bad enough to lose one of the great artists we had the honor and the pleasure to work with, but it’s even harder to reconcile the loss of one of your best friends."<ref name=AP-obit>{{cite news| title=Actress Vivian Vance Dies| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106199603/the-journal-news/ |newspaper=[[The Journal News]]| location=White Plains, NY| date=August 18, 1979| agency=Associated Press| access-date=July 24, 2022}}</ref>

Family members donated Vance's [[Emmy Award]] to the [[Albuquerque Little Theatre]] after her death. In a 1986 interview, Lucille Ball talked about watching ''I Love Lucy'' [[rerun]]s and her feelings about Vance's performance:
<blockquote>
"I find that now I usually spend my time looking at Viv. Viv was sensational. And back then, there were things I had to do—I was in the projection room for some reason—and I just couldn't concentrate on it. But now I can. And I enjoy every move that Viv made. She was something."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shales |first1=Tom |title=Lucy, coming to life |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1986/09/19/lucy-coming-to-life/8d90281a-da72-4650-9cbf-1ffc13f2e2a6/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=March 23, 2020 |date=September 19, 1986}}</ref>
</blockquote>

For her achievements in the field of television, Vance was [[Posthumous recognition|posthumously]] awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] February 14, 1991, at 7030 [[Hollywood Boulevard]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Vivian Vance - Awards |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0888573/awards/ |website=www.imdb.com |access-date=17 April 2024 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Vivian Vance |url=https://walkoffame.com/vivian-vance/ |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |date=25 October 2019 |access-date=March 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317185433/https://walkoffame.com/vivian-vance/ |archive-date=March 17, 2022}}</ref>

Vance is memorialized in the [[Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Center]] in [[Jamestown, New York]]. On January 20, 2010, the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' reported a local antique dealer had inherited many of Vance's photos and scrapbooks and a manuscript of her unpublished autobiography when John Dodds died in 1986.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/collectivemind/detail?blogid=145&entry_id=55214 |title=Vivian Vance papers and photos found |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=19 January 2010 |access-date=19 September 2014}}</ref> Vance and Frawley were both inducted into the [[Television Academy Hall of Fame]] in March 2012.<ref name=HOF>{{cite press release| title=TV Academy Announces 21st Annual Hall of Fame Inductees| url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/news/tv-academy-announces-21st-annual-hall-of-fame-inductees#:~:text=The%20Academy%20of%20Television%20Arts%20%26%20Sciences%27%20Hall,inductees%20into%20the%20Television%20Academy%E2%80%99s%20Hall%20of%20Fame.| website=Television Academy| date=November 28, 2011| access-date=July 24, 2022}}</ref>

The story of how Vance was hired to play Ethel Mertz is told in ''I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom'', a stage comedy which premiered in Los Angeles on July 12, 2018. Written by Gregg Oppenheimer (son of ''I Love Lucy'' creator-producer-head writer [[Jess Oppenheimer]]), it was recorded before a live audience for a nationwide public radio broadcast, and later, online distribution.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/regional/I-Love-LucyA-Funny-Thing-Happened-on-the-Way-to-the-Sitcom-255669 |title=I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom at UCLA James Bridges Theater |website=Broadway World |access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref>

Vance was played by [[Robin Pearson Rose]] in the 1991 [[Television film|television movie]], ''[[Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter]]''. Thirty years later, she was portrayed by [[66th Tony Awards#Nominees and winners|Tony-winning]] actress [[Nina Arianda]] in the [[Film stock|motion picture film]], ''[[Being the Ricardos]]'' (2021).

==Filmography==
[[File:Vivian vance 1948.JPG|thumb|275x275px|Vance in 1948, in costume for the play ''[[Springtime for Henry]]'']]

=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1926 || ''[[The Patent Leather Pug]]'' || ||
|-
| 1933 || ''[[Take a Chance (1933 film)|Take a Chance]]'' || Dancehall Girl || Uncredited
|-
| 1945 || ''[[Eadie Was a Lady]]'' || Lady On The Stairs || Uncredited
|-
| 1950 || ''[[The Secret Fury]]'' || Leah ||
|-
| 1951 || ''[[The Blue Veil (1951 film)|The Blue Veil]]'' || Alicia Torgersen ||
|-
| 1953 || ''[[I Love Lucy: The Movie]]'' || [[Ethel Mertz]] || Unreleased
|-
| 1965 || ''[[The Great Race]]'' || Hester Goodbody ||
|}

=== Television ===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1951–1957 || ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' || [[Ethel Mertz]] || 179 episodes
|-
| 1954 || ''[[Texaco Star Theater]]'' || Ethel Mertz || Episode - "Episode #6.23"
|-
| 1955 || ''[[Shower of Stars]]'' || Mrs. Mullins || Episode - "High Pitch"
|-
| 1957–1960 || ''[[The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour]]'' || Ethel Mertz || 13 episodes
|-
| 1959 || ''[[The Deputy (TV series)|The Deputy]]'' || Emma Gant || Episode - "Land Greed"
|-
| 1960 || ''[[Guestward, Ho!]]'' || Babs || Episode - "The Hootens Buy a Ranch"
|-
| 1960–1964 || ''[[The Red Skelton Show]]'' || Clara Appleby || 5 episodes
|-
| 1962–1968 || ''[[The Lucy Show]]'' || Vivian Bagley || 81 episodes
|-
| 1967 || ''[[Off to See the Wizard]]'' || Sarah's Mother || Episode - "Rhino"
|-
| 1968–1972 || ''[[Here's Lucy]]'' || Vivian Jones || 6 episodes
|-
| 1969 || ''[[Love, American Style]]'' || Madame Zimia Zygmundt || Segment: "Love and the Medium"
|-
| 1970 || ''The Front Page'' || Mrs. Grant || TV movie
|-
| 1972 || ''[[Getting Away from It All]]'' || Mary Brodey || TV movie
|-
| 1972 || ''[[The Lorax (TV special)|The Lorax]]'' || Singer || TV special, Voice
|-
| 1975 || ''[[The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast]] Season 1'' || Herself || Episode - "Dean Martin and friends roast Lucille Ball"
|-
| 1975 || ''[[Rhoda]]'' || Maggie Cummings || Episode - "Friends and Mothers"
|-
| 1976 || ''[[The Great Houdini (film)|The Great Houdini]]'' || Minnie (Nurse) || TV movie
|-
| 1977 || ''Lucy Calls the President'' || Viv || TV special
|-
| 1978 || ''[[Sam (1978 TV series)|Sam]]'' || || Episode - "Episode #1.6", (final appearance)
|}

=== Theatre ===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[Music in the Air]]'' (1932)
* ''[[Anything Goes]]'' (1934)
* ''[[Red, Hot and Blue]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Hooray for What!]]'' (1937)
* ''Kiss the Boys Goodbye'' (1939)
* ''Skylark'' (1939)
* ''Out From Under'' (1940)
* ''[[Let's Face It!]]'' (1941)
* ''[[The Voice of the Turtle (play)|The Voice of the Turtle]]'' (1945)
* ''It Takes Two'' (1947)
* ''[[The Cradle Will Rock]]'' (1947)
* ''[[Springtime for Henry]]'' (1948)
* ''Here Today'' (1960)
* ''[[Over 21 (play)|Over 21]]'' (1965)
* ''[[Don't Drink the Water (play)|Don't Drink the Water]]'' (1966) (replaced during previews by [[Kay Medford]])
* ''[[The Time of the Cuckoo]]'' (1966)
* ''Everybody's Girl'' (1967)
* ''[[Barefoot in the Park]]'' (1968)
* ''My Daughter, Your Son'' (1969)
* ''[[The Marriage-Go-Round]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Butterflies Are Free (play)|Butterflies Are Free]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Arsenic and Old Lace (play)|Arsenic and Old Lace]]'' (1973)
* ''Light Up the Sky'' (1973)
* ''Everybody Loves Opal'' (1974)
* ''[[Harvey (play)|Harvey]]'' (1977)
{{Div col end}}

== Awards and nominations ==

=== Major associations ===

==== [[Primetime Emmy Awards]] ====
* [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Supporting Actress]] — ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' (Won; 1954)
* Outstanding Supporting Actress — ''I Love Lucy'' (Nominated; 1955)
* Outstanding Supporting Actress — ''I Love Lucy'' (Nominated; 1957)
* Outstanding Supporting Actress — ''I Love Lucy'' (Nominated; 1958)

==== [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] ====
* Star ([[Posthumous recognition|Posthumously]] honored; 1991)<ref name=":0" />

=== Other awards ===

==== [[TV Land Award]]s ====
* Favorite Cantankerous Couple — ''I Love Lucy'' (Nominated, shared with [[William Frawley]]; 2004)
* Favorite Second Banana — ''I Love Lucy'' (Nominated; 2004)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Castelluccio, Frank and Walker, Alvin. ''The Other Side of Ethel Mertz: The Life Story of Vivian Vance.'' New York: [[Berkley Books]], 2000. {{ISBN|0-425-17609-6}}
* Edelman, Rob and Kupferberg, Audrey. ''Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of I Love Lucy's Other Couple.'' Los Angeles, Calif.: Renaissance Books, 1999. {{ISBN|1-58063-095-2}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{playbill person}}
* {{IMDb name|0888573}}

{{Navboxes
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{{EmmyAward ComedySupportingActress 1950-1975}}
{{2012 Television Hall of Fame}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, Vivian}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American musical theatre actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Actresses from Kansas]]
[[Category:People from Independence, Kansas]]
[[Category:Deaths from breast cancer in California]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:Singers from Kansas]]
[[Category:People from Belvedere, California]]
[[Category:People from Cherryvale, Kansas]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:Albuquerque High School alumni]]