The Real Story Behind the ‘I Love Lucy’ Feud Between Fred and Ethel

William Frawley and Vivian Vance were not Lucille Ball‘s first choices for the characters of Fred and Ethel Mertz on the classic TV show I Love Lucy, but it goes without saying that after they got the roles, it didn’t take long for everybody involved with the show to understand what a tremendous comedic duo they had found.

However, while Frawley, Ball, and Ball’s husband Desi Arnaz (who played Ricky on the show) were all very tickled with the way that things were developing, there were a couple of things that really bothered Vance.