Vivian Vance was born Vivian Roberta Jones on July 26, 1909 in Cherryville, Kansas to Robert and Euphemia Mae Jones. The second of five children, she moved with her family to Independence, Kansas where she studied dramatic arts under the tutilage of Anna Ingleman and William Inge, much to the dissapproval of her mother! The Jones' (along with Vivian's new husband Joe Danneck II)  then moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico (and if you are a real fan of I Love Lucy you would know that that is the home town of Ethel Mae Potter Mertz) where she was able to take part in the Albuquerque Little Theatre where she was able to display her acting genius, her love of acting and her famous professionalism and also earn money which was later to help her move her acting career to new hights. With her name established as the staple of the Little Theatre, she was able to pursue her acting career in New York City.  (without Joe, for she was divorced from him in 1931) With the money she saved from the plays she did and with the help of the town, Vivian arrived in NYC in 1932. Things didn't go exactly as planned and without work, she feared that she was dissappointing Albuquerque, but things started to look up later. She married a musician named George Kotch and landed a role in Music In The Air which lasted for two years! She then was Ethel Merman's understudy in Anything Goes, and she then replaced Kay Thompson in Hooray For What?! She was very soon popular in New York. She became fast friends with Eve Arden, Ed Wynn, Danny Kaye and Arlene Francis. In 1940, her marriage to George Kotch fell apart and she found comfort and eventually married an actor named Phil Ober. But in 1945 her happiness was shattered. When she was acting in Voice Of The Turtle she suffered a nervous breakdown, starting a series of mental problems that would plague her for the rest of her life. She later resumed her tour of Turtle and at the La Jolla Playhouse, she was discovered by Desi Arnaz and Jess Oppenheimer for a new show they were putting together called I Love Lucy (!) . Desi thought that she was perfect for the role of Ethel Mertz and she signed on to play the landlady. She starred with Lucille Ball, Desi, and William Frawley in the new program. Although Vivian Vance was enjoying her time on the set, and she even won the very first Emmy for Best Supporting Actress, but she detested the fact that William Frawley who played her husband was old enough to be her father. But the feeling was mutual and nobody could truthfully say that they were fond of each other. Her most famous role of Ethel Mertz ended in 1960 as did her marriage to Phil Ober. She took this time to relax. In 1961 she married John Dodds (a noted homosexual) and the marriage was suprisingly a long and happy one. Although reluctant, Vivian signed, in 1962, to play Vivian Bagley on The Lucy Show . Her new character was again Lucille Ball's side kick as well as television's first divorcee, which was in no way like Ethel Mertz. She stayed on until 1964 and then she retired to Connecticut. In 1974, she and Dodds moved Belvedere, California. It was there that on August 17, 1979 the word's most famous and BEST second banana died of breast cancer