For this installment of “I Love Lucy in the Movies,” I’m covering Ladies in Retirement (1941) which I watched last night. This is a very good gothic film noir starring Ida Lupino. Also starring in this film was Elsa Lanchester as one of Lupino’s mentally ill sisters. Aside from this film, another thing Lupino and Lanchester have in common is that they both appeared in I Love Lucy. Lupino, to be accurate, actually played herself in an episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. I’m counting it because The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour is more or less a one-hour episode of I Love Lucy.
In 1956, after six years and 180 30-minute episodes, Desilu president and I Love Lucy star, Desi Arnaz, was eager to leave the hectic pace of producing a new episode every week. He had tried to end the series a year prior with “Return Home From Europe” being the final episode, but CBS threw money at him and Lucy to convince them to stay on another year. The ending dialogue in “Return Home From Europe” sounds like it was written to be a series finale. To convince CBS to allow him to pull the plug on I Love Lucy, Desi convinced them to allow him to air I Love Lucy as a 60-minute special sporadically throughout the year. CBS agreed and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was born.
The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, while more or less an hour long episode of I Love Lucy, it did have the minor difference in that each episode featured a celebrity who has an unfortunate encounter with Lucy. Logically, it makes sense, as Ricky Ricardo’s celebrity and ownership of Club Babalu makes it logical that he’d either hire these celebrities at his club, or he’d met them previously because of his time in Hollywood.
Ida Lupino and Elsa Lanchester appeared together in 1941’s Ladies in Retirement. In this film, Lupino plays Ellen, the spinster sister of her two mentally ill sisters, Emily and Louisa. Lanchester played Emily. In the film, Ellen receives a letter from the boarding house in London where her sisters are living. The letter informs her that Emily and Louisa are being evicted from the home due to their behavior. Not wanting her sisters to be institutionalized, Ellen brings them to the home on the English moors where she works and lives. Ellen’s employer, Miss Fiske, graciously allows the two sisters to stay in her home, but quickly grows tired of their behavior. Eventually Miss Fiske gives Ellen the ultimatum that the sisters need to leave. Ellen tries to defend her sisters, but insults Miss Fiske in the process, and is fired. Later, taking matters into her own hands, Ellen strangles Miss Fiske to death. She makes it look as if Miss Fiske decided to take an extended trip. Ellen tells her sister that she purchased the home for them. Eventually Miss Fiske’s absence and Ellen’s behavior arouses the suspicions of her nephew and the maid, Lucy.
Ida Lupino (center) and Elsa Lanchester (right) in “Ladies in Retirement”
The film never makes it clear what mental illness is that that the two sisters have, nor is there any indication that an event may have triggered or caused their mental illness. It is also unclear whether Emily and Louisa are actually mentally ill, or whether they are just eccentric. Elsa Lanchester excelled at playing these slightly off-kilter personalities.
Lanchester made her appearance on I Love Lucy first, playing “Mrs. Grundy” in a season 5 episode, “Off to Florida.” In the episode, Ricky is playing with his band at the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami, Florida. Ricky, Fred, and Little Ricky go ahead to get some fishing in before Ricky has to work. Lucy and Ethel plan to take the train and meet the men down there. However, Lucy has lost the train tickets. To save face, she decides that she and Ethel will answer a “Share a Ride” classified ad to split the travel costs with another traveler who is also headed from New York City to Miami. Mrs. Grundy answers the ad.
Vivian Vance, Lucille Ball, and Elsa Lanchester in “I Love Lucy.”
Lucy and Ethel find Mrs. Grundy’s behavior odd. She only lives to travel at night or early in the morning. She won’t stop for meals, preferring to subsist on watercress sandwiches instead. Later, Mrs. Grundy gets a flat tire and expects Lucy and Ethel to change it while she naps. While looking for tools, Lucy and Ethel find a hatchet in the trunk. Thanks to a convenient radio bulletin about gray-haired escaped hatchet murderess, Evelyn Holmby, Lucy and Ethel jump to the conclusion that this must be Mrs. Grundy. Her weird eccentricities all make sense for a woman on the lam. Later, Lucy and Ethel are asleep while Mrs. Grundy is at the wheel. She also hears a radio bulletin about Evelyn Holmby, except this bulletin has more information. Mrs. Holmby, despite being gray haired, is thought to have dyed her hair red, and is also thought to be traveling with a blond companion. Comedy ensues with Lucy and Ethel suspecting Mrs. Grundy and Mrs. Grundy suspecting them.
This is the funniest episode of the Florida trilogy, with much of the humor coming from Elsa Lanchester. Her sing-songy line delivery, and her delightful eccentricity makes the episode.
Flash forward 3 years to the 10th installment of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, “Lucy’s Summer Vacation.” There would be 13 total. Celebrity couple Ida Lupino and Howard Duff are the guest stars, playing themselves. In the episode, a mutual friend of Ricky’s and the celebrities, double books his cabin on the lake. Both couples go to the cabin expecting a romantic week with their partner. However, when they all meet, Ricky and Howard hit it off over their mutual love of fishing and see it has an opportunity to fish, since their wives can talk to each other. The men end up spending the entire week fishing, with the women getting stuck cleaning the fish. Towards the end of the week, the women are desperate for some romantic time with their husbands and decide to sabotage the fishing expedition. The joke is on them however, when the husbands decide to throw their wives a bone and plan a romantic evening on the lake. Too bad Lucy and Ida have already sabotaged the boat.
From left to right: Ida Lupino, Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, and Howard Duff (hunched over) in “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”
This episode has some funny moments. Lucy and Ida trying to discreetly plug the holes in the boat (that they put there earlier) with gum and their bodies while also trying to be romantic is pretty funny. There are some good lines. However, on a whole this isn’t one of the better hour long episodes, though it’s not the worst one (I’d give that one to the Milton Berle episode). Often in these hour long episodes, the Mertzes are kept on the sidelines during the celebrity scenes. If there’s a female celebrity, she’s often given the role that we would expect for Ethel. In this episode, Ida is definitely in the Ethel Mertz part. In the Betty Grable episode, Lucy even calls her “an Ethel Mertz with money.” The Mertzes are barely in “Lucy’s Summer Vacation.” I believe they only appear at the beginning to pick up Little Ricky to explain why he’s not in the rest of the episode.
By this point in the series, Lucy and Desi’s marriage was so strained, that they were barely speaking. The tension and stress in their marriage comes through in the last episodes of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, and it makes these episodes less enjoyable to watch. Each episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour is worth watching, but they are not the same as I Love Lucy. Lucy and Desi would divorce only a year after “Lucy’s Summer Vacation” aired. For what it’s worth, Ida Lupino and Howard Duff would divorce in 1984 after 33 years of marriage.
Today, October 15, 2026 marks the 75th anniversary my favorite show of all time–I Love Lucy. Aside from being my favorite show, and I’m sure a lot of people’s favorite show, I Love Lucy is also iconic and groundbreaking, establishing many of the sitcom production techniques still in use today. On Monday, October 15, 1951, the episode “The Girls Go into Business” aired at 9pm and introduced the nation to the exploits of the Ricardos and Mertzes. The episode, “Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her” was filmed first, but was the fourth episode to air.
For the first episode, the I Love Lucy crew was still working out how they were going to film this show. While there were shows on television at the time of I Love Lucy’s debut in 1951, they were shot on kinescope. Kinescope was essentially the equivalent of someone filming something playing on their television and posting the video on You Tube. Suffice it to say the quality was terrible. CBS was also insistent that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz relocate the production to New York City, for the kinescope–simply because more of the country’s population lived on that side of the country. CBS wanted most people to receive the live feed and then the populations living in other regions of the country would receive the kinescope recording.
Lucy and Desi did not want to move to New York, nor did they want their show looking like garbage to part of the population. Desi insisted that the show would be produced in Los Angeles and recorded on 35mm film–just like movies. CBS balked at the higher cost. As a compromise, Desi offered that he and Lucy would take a $1,000/week pay cut to make up the production difference. CBS agreed, thinking that this entire project was just a lark for Lucy and Desi. At the very least, Lucy and Desi figured that if the show failed, they’d have some fun recordings for their kids. Little did they know that 75 years later, their show would still be airing and still being talked about.
I discovered I Love Lucy in 1994 when I was 10. I came across it when flipping channels and I came across Nick at Nite. I was immediately hooked and I Love Lucy and the rest of the Nick at Nite lineup became must-see TV. I also credit I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball with getting me interested in classic film. While I’d seen some classic movies like The Wizard of Oz, thanks to the annual television screenings, I hadn’t see very many old films at all until I discovered I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball. My family used to go to the library about once a month and I was fortunate that my library had a large number of books about I Love Lucy and Lucy. I read every single one. From these books, I learned about Lucy’s film career. My library also just happened to have a large number of volumes from the Lucille Ball Signature Collection on VHS. I borrowed every single one.
From Lucy’s films, I discovered more favorite classic films and stars, such as Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn (Stage Door), Ann Miller (Too Many Girls), and Henry Fonda (The Big Street). At the same time, TCM had just debuted, and we had the channel as part of our cable package. I used to scour the tv guide (not the periodical) that came in the Sunday paper, and look for any of Lucy’s films airing on TCM. I’d then set them up on the VCR to record. I’ve seen almost all her films. There are only a few I haven’t seen yet.
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Iwould like to segue into my new feature I’m going to introduce on my blog–I Love Lucy in the Movies. Lucille Ball loved to surround herself with people she knew and liked from working with them during her film career. As a result, I Love Lucy features not only some big guest stars, but also a lot of great performances by character actors. In my blog feature, I’d like to spotlight the actor I recognized from a classic film and discuss their appearance in an I Love Lucy episode.
For my first installment of I Love Lucy in the Movies, I’m discussing Sheldon Leonard’s appearance in Another Thin Man (1939) which I recently watched on TCM for Myrna Loy’s star of the month.
Sheldon Leonard
In Another Thin Man, Leonard plays Phil Church, an employee of a man named McFay, who is hosting Nick and Nora Charles at his estate. However, McFay has been receiving death threats from Church who has been in prison for 10 years after being used by McFay as the fall guy to take blame for some illegal business activities. Nick visits Church in jail to ask about the death threats. Church tells him about dreams he has about McFay’s murder. He’s had the same dream three times and warns Nick that typically his dream comes true after the third time. Sure enough, McFay turns up dead.
In I Love Lucy, Sheldon Leonard appears in the episode “Sales Resistance” as a door-to-door salesman for the Handy Dandy company. He uses various sales tactics to pressure Lucy into making a purchase, though she tries to resist. He appeals to her ego by telling her fake anecdotes about previous customers who were foolish enough to pass up the great products and deals he was offering. Eventually he convinces Lucy to purchase a new vacuum cleaner, a “deal” that results in her having to buy every component (e.g., vacuum, cord, case, hose, etc.) separately. For $1.50, Leonard’s character throws in “the Kitchen Helper,” the first device he tries selling Lucy. It’s supposed to help the busy housewife with chopping.
In both Another Thin Man and I Love Lucy, Leonard plays a sleazy character. His distinctive New York accent and appearance lent themselves well to the world of unsavory characters. He would later go on to become a prolific producer at Desilu, home of I Love Lucy. Three of Leonard’s biggest shows were The Danny Thomas Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Last, but not least, here is my I Love Lucy collection!
Some of my I Love Lucy dolls, from left to right: “Lucy’s Italian Movie,” “LA at Last!,” “Lucy Does a TV Commercial,” “The Audition,” “Lucy Gets in Pictures,” “The Diet,” and “Lucy is Enciente.”
My dolls live on top of my physical media collection.More dolls, left to right: “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress,” “Job Switching,” “The Operetta,” “Lucy Tells the Truth,” and “The Ballet.”The Lucille Ball tribute doll and my newest doll, “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown.”My Lucy books, including the hard to find copy of Desi Arnaz’ memoir, “A Book.”More of my Lucy books!I Love Lucy Cookbook!Lucille Ball on LIFE magazineMy I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball movie collection! My all-time favorite movie on blu ray!!My complete set of the Hallmark I Love Lucy ornamentsMy I Love Lucy boxesLucy and Ethel blanketI Love Lucy platesI Love Lucy metal signA drawing my sister made for me, a poster from the I Love Lucy Colorized Celebration Theater event in 2019 and another metal sign.A candid photo of Desi and Lucy that hangs in my kitchenThis year’s calendar from the Lucy-Desi MuseumLucy coffee mugsI Love Lucy trading cards and magnets
NOT PICTURED (due to needing to find it):
Desilu sweatshirt Lucy and Desi cartoon figurine tank top I Love Lucy Board Game I Love Lucy Trivia Game Lucille Ball sheet of commemorative stamps issued by USPS
I’m here again with my second of three total posts about my all-time favorite television show–I Love Lucy! Everyone knows about the most famous moments of I Love Lucy–even people who have never seen an episode (they’re probably out there, hard to believe, I know), are probably aware of Vitameatavegamin. They’ve probably seen Lucy and Ethel struggling to wrap chocolates on the conveyor belt at Kramer’s Kandy Kitchen, or watched Lucy almost drown in the wine vat while stomping grapes with her large pizza-sized feet.
In this post, I wanted to highlight five underrated episodes which are just as funny as the more famous, iconic moments in the series. In this context, I’m considering “underrated” episodes to be ones that haven’t received a colorization and aren’t typically mentioned in any “Best of I Love Lucy” articles or other publications.
1. Home Movies. This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. It made me laugh the first time I saw it and it made me laugh the hundredth time I saw it. The episode opens with Fred and Ethel getting ready to go over to Lucy and Ricky’s for an evening of home movies–courtesy of the new film projector that Ricky has recently purchased. Fred is dreading the evening as he’s tired of watching the same home movies of Little Ricky. Fred and Ethel come up with a scheme to try and keep the conversation from lagging so that Ricky doesn’t have a chance to suggest his home movies. Unfortunately for them, they start eating Lucy’s caramels and are unable to speak. Ricky, having just purchased a new screen for his projector wants to try out the screen and once again plays the same home movies.
However, the evening ends up in shambles when Lucy falls asleep, while Fred and Ethel sneak out. Ricky is upset. He’s so upset in fact, that he informs Lucy, Fred and Ethel that he’s planning to make a television pilot film and he was going to use them as actors; but has since changed his mind. Discouraged and also never missing a chance to get into show business, Lucy decides that she will also make a television pilot film, starring herself, Fred and Ethel. She will then splice her film into Ricky’s so that he will unknowingly screen both films for the television producer.
Lucy, Fred and Ethel decide to make a western-themed show. Lucy paints a hilarious backdrop of a saloon (frankly, Lucy should look into being a backdrop artist. She’s a great painter). She and Ethel play cowboys, Tex and Nevada, respectively. They play out a typical Western scenario of two cowboys singing “I’m an Old Cowhand,” then playing cards and smoking. Nevada accuses Tex of cheatin’ which leads to a duel. Fred plays the sheriff who bursts into the saloon and wants to arrest Tex and Nevada.
Then we see Lucy at work running a film splicer and cutting the films together. However, we don’t see the end product until Ricky screens it for the producer. This film is hilarious. It starts with Ricky singing “Vaya Con Dios,” then goes into Lucy’s video, then back to Ricky, then Little Ricky, back to Lucy, then all of a sudden, it really goes haywire. The sound is mixed up with Lucy’s sound playing on top of Ricky’s video. There are random shots of Little Ricky. Then the film and sound start playing backwards, with the hilarious shot of Lucy’s cigarette smoke going back into her mouth. Then the film is sped up, then abruptly ends with Ricky’s “This is a Ricky Ricardo Production!” and Fred’s “I Got Wind of It!”
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2. Mr. and Mrs. TV Show. This episode begins with Lucy secretly having lunch at 21 (offscreen) with an executive who is acquainted with Carolyn Appleby. The executive, Harvey Cromwell, wants to do a show with Ricky. Lucy tells Ricky and is incensed when he wants to do the show, but without her. Eventually however, the executives come up with a concept for their show, a Mr. and Mrs. morning show, featuring Ricky and Lucy. Ricky is reluctant, but Cromwell insists, saying it is a “Mr. and Mrs. Show or else!” He has to convince Lucy to be a part of the show without telling her the truth. He feigns enthusiasm at her singing and makes her think that he’s going to demand that Lucy be added to the show.
Next, we see a common plot device on I Love Lucy, with Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel running through the entire show as written with no mistakes. Next up is the dress rehearsal before filming–or so they think. Cromwell tells Ricky (and only Ricky), that the “dress rehearsal” will be the actual show. They don’t want Lucy, Fred and Ethel to know they’re being filmed. It is right before the “dress rehearsal” when Lucy discovers that Ricky didn’t want her on the show after all. To get back at him, she decides to perform a different version of the show–with hilarious results. Lucy’s new performance brings my favorite line, “I woke up this morning feeling real blah. Felt like a real slob.”
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3. Bullfight Dance. This episode takes place during the Hollywood season. In this episode, Lucy is approached by Ricky’s agent to write an article called “What It’s Like to Be Married to Ricky Ricardo.” Lucy sees this as a golden opportunity. Lucy’s article is meant to promote the Heart Fund benefit that Ricky will be headlining. Lucy of course wants to be involved. Ricky of course says no. Lucy decides to blackmail Ricky by writing two versions of her article–one flattering to Ricky and the other not.
Not wanting bad publicity, Ricky concedes to Lucy’s demands. At first he asks her if she wants to do a musical number with him. He suggests a number where she sings “Humoresque” and he’ll sing “Swanee River.” Anyone familiar with these two songs will know that they both have the same medley, just different lyrics. The idea with this number is that the two performers will be singing their respective songs and then they’ll have moments of harmonization. However, Lucy keeps getting mixed up and starts singing Ricky’s song. Eventually, Ricky suggests a different number–a matador themed number. He’ll be the matador and Lucy will be the bull. Annoyed about her perceived demotion, Lucy decides to feminize the ferocious bull and steal Ricky’s thunder. She makes hilarious changes to the bull, including adding big eyelashes, lips, and a hat with flowers on it.
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4. Ricky Thinks He’s Getting Bald. In this episode, Ricky starts becoming self-conscious that his hairline is receding. Lucy thinks he’s nuts; but he can’t be convinced. He’s driving her crazy, insisting on wearing hats inside to hide his perceived baldness. To try and cure him, she decides that she’s going to purchase the most disgusting, most painful hair restoration treatment she can find.
While at the hair restoration store, she meets Mr. Thurlough, the hair restorer man. Mr. Thurlough thinks that Lucy’s talking about herself when she explains that she needs to find a treatment for someone who thinks they’re going bald. After explaining to him that it really is for her husband and not her, he tells her an anecdote about another woman and her alleged balding husband. Apparently, to convince this man that he actually had a lot of hair, the wife invited a bunch of actually bald men so he could compare. Lucy decides to do the same thing and has Mr. Thurlough hook her up with some of his bald clients. This plan fails.
At her wit’s end, Lucy decides to follow through on her original plan, to make Ricky go through the grossest, smelliest, most painful hair restoration treatment. She sits him down and starts going to work. She essentially makes a salad dressing on top of his head with oil, vinegar, and eggs. Then, she makes a mustard plaster and has Ricky put a nylon over his head. This leads to the funniest scene in the episode when Ricky pulls the nylon all the way over his face–scaring Lucy. Eventually, he covers his head in the mustard plaster and puts a heat cap on top of it, so he can bake.
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5. Lucy Raises Tulips. The penultimate episode features Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel living in the country in Connecticut. Lucy and Ricky own a large home with Fred and Ethel living in the good-sized guest home on the property. Lucy has entered the annual tulip competition, a competition which has been won by her neighbor Betty Ramsey, every year. Lucy is determined to win. The judges will be visiting her home in the next day or two and she wants Ricky to mow the lawn so that it looks nice. However, Ricky is procrastinating.
Lucy ends up trying to mow the lawn herself and runs amuck on the machine. After getting home from driving on the Boston Post Road against traffic, Lucy accidentally mows through Betty’s tulip garden. She comes up the idea to replace Betty’s yellow tulips with lifelike wax ones from the nearby store. Since Lucy was only able to mow half the lawn, Ricky opts to finish the job, however he does it in the dark, so dark it was darker than the inside of his sombrero. Unfortunately for Lucy, Ricky has accidentally mowed right through her tulip bed. To cover up his indiscretion, he decides to replace the flowers with lifelike pink wax tulips, resembling Lucy’s. Both Lucy and Betty are now competing with wax flowers.
When I learned that “The Classic Movie Muse” was holding an I Love Lucy blogathon, I knew I had to participate. I knew I had to participate enough that apparently, I felt compelled to submit three, count ’em THREE articles. Fortunately, if there’s one thing I know, it’s I Love Lucy, so it’s not requiring a lot of research or time on my part. I thought I’d start with the answers to The Classic Movie Muse’s I Love Lucy tag, as it’d be relatively easy to do.
Q:When did you first start watching I Love Lucy? A: I started watching “I Love Lucy” at around age 10-ish, so 1994, when I discovered it one evening on Nick at Nite. The first episode I saw was “L.A. at Last!” with guest star William Holden. I thought the episode and Lucy in particular, was HILARIOUS. From then on, I was a Nick at Nite devotee, I watched ‘Lucy’ every night, and then the “Whole Lotta Lucy” Saturdays, with two episodes of ‘Lucy’ and an episode of the “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” I also loved Nick at Nite’s Block Party Summer, because ‘Lucy’ was always featured, meaning that there were 3 hour blocks of ‘Lucy’ every week, AND “Whole Lotta Lucy Saturday.”
Q: What are your favorite I Love Lucy episodes? A: My favorite I Love Lucy episodes are:
L.A. at Last! (the burning nose episode with William Holden)
Ethel’s Birthday (the infamous hostess pants episode)
Lucy Wants a Paris Gown (Lucy and Ethel get faux Jacques Marcell Parisian dresses made of burlap)
The Black Wig (Lucy tries out the “New Italian Haircut”)
The Million Dollar Idea (Lucy and Ethel try to sell Aunt Martha’s Old Fashioned Salad Dressing)
Fred and Ethel Fight (Lucy and Ricky try to get the feuding Mertzes back together and end up in a fight themselves)
Tennessee Ernie Visits & Tennessee Ernie Hangs On (I love Ernie Ford, he’s hilarious)
Home Movies (Lucy and the Mertzes make their own Western-themed television pilot)
The Star Upstairs (CORNEL WILDE IS IN THE PENTHOUSE)
In Palm Springs (Would you like a piece of Rock, Mr. Candy?)
Q: What’s your favorite Lucy disguise or costume? A: I love all of the ridiculous rubber masks she wears in the “Harpo Marx” episode when Carolyn Appleby visits Hollywood (enroute to Hawaii) and wants to meet all the stars that Lucy has been hobnobbing with, per the postcards she’s written to friends back home. After getting Carolyn’s glasses away from her, Lucy disappears. While she’s gone, big stars like Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, and Jimmy Durante stop over (obviously all Lucy in a rubber mask). The entire thing is absurd, but is the showcase for my favorite Lucy impression–her Clark Gable impression. “Gotta little laryngitis, baby!” This also leads into Lucy’s fabulous Harpo Marx costume (and actual costume, not a mask), where she ends up reenacting the famous mirror bit from “Duck Soup” with Harpo himself. Harpo just happens to be at the hotel performing in a benefit.
Q: If you could own one prop from the show, what would it be? A: I want to own that bizarre device from “The Marriage License” that Lucy finds while she’s cleaning out her desk. Neither she nor Ethel know what it is; but Lucy can’t throw it away “because it might be something I need!”
Q: Which secondary character do you enjoy the most? A: I love Tennessee Ernie. He is hilarious. “Normally I toss and turn, but not in that thing!”
Q: You’re planning a get together with Lucy, Ricky, Fred & Ethel. What is the order of the day? A: This is assuming that I am alive in the 1950s and lived in the I Love Lucy-universe, obviously. I would plan this party while the gang is still in Hollywood. This is an all-day extravaganza. First we’d go down to the pool, to see who’s hanging out, since all the stars seem to be poolside at the Beverly Palms. Then we’d go to the Brown Derby so that I could be a “Johnny Jump Up” with Lucy and Ethel. I want to try the famous Derby Cobb Salad. I would also be like Lucy and look at all the caricatures on the wall. I would hob with every nob that was worth hobbing with. Then, we’d all go down to Grauman’s Chinese Theater, so that I could sit on Bill Holden and maybe see a movie. After that, we’d go back to the hotel and hope that we run into Bobby the bellboy. Then, because I always wanted to go to one of those big Hollywood clubs, we’d all go to the Mocambo, using Ricky’s clout of course to get in. I’d play “Mother, May I?” when choosing between Fred or Ricky to dance with, obviously, after I was done saying “My mother told me to pick YOUUUU!” I’d dance with Ricky. Hopefully, Ricky will be summoned to the stage to sing a couple numbers, preferably “Babalu.” By then, it’ll be time to return to the hotel and call it a day.
Q: Which I Love Lucy catchphrase do you find yourself using the most? A: I don’t know if it’s a catchphrase per se, but I find myself using the “are you having trouble with your liver?” line from “Lucy Writes a Play” a lot. I also use Lucy’s “Mertz?!” line from “In Palm Springs” a lot. Finally, I enjoy the entire exchange in “Home Movies,” with “Smile when you say that,” “no man can say that to me,” and “Are you accusin’ me of cheatin’?”
Q: What’s your favorite musical moment from the show? A: I love the “I’m an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande” song from “Home Movies” as well as Lucy’s lip-syncing to Carmen Miranda’s “Mamãe Eu Quero” from “Be a Pal.”
Q: If I Love Lucy had a “lost episode” that you could watch, what kind of plot would you want? A: I would love to see an episode featuring Albert and his wife from apartment 4B. “Albert! Albert! Are you coming?” “I told you I’d be there in a minute!” OH FOR HEAVEN’S SAKES ALBERT, GO EAT YOUR LUNCH!
Q: What’s something you’ve learned from I Love Lucy about comedy, relationships or life? A: That good friends are worth keeping and investing in the relationship. To this day, I have never been friendless. I have friends.
Q: Why do you think I Love Lucy has remained popular for so many generations? A: I think it has remained popular because Lucy’s humor is timeless. Even as crazy as Lucy Ricardo can be, all of her schemes start from a plausible premise and go awry–something that could conceivably happen to anyone. Take “Million Dollar Idea” as an example. Lucy makes good salad dressing. She and the Mertzes think that there’s money to be made. Lucy and Ethel figure out that they can use their connections with Carolyn Appleby and her husband to get on TV to market the dressing. Only they underestimate the cost of overhead and production and don’t markup their product enough. They also underestimate their demand. They try to “unsell” it, only to get MORE orders.
Also, save for the occasional reference to a 1950s figure like Kinsey, or Harry S. Truman, or Mamie and Dwight Eisenhower, I Love Lucy isn’t topical. There aren’t episodes talking about the Red Scare, or the Korean War or anything like that. That’s why shows such as All in the Family from the 1970s that very much dealt which issues at the time can feel outdated and younger generations can’t even connect with it. I Love Lucy doesn’t have that issue. Lucille Ball and I Love Lucy are like the famous silent film comedians (Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd) who have all endured, even 100 years later. Funny is funny, no matter the time period.
Finally, I think that Lucy and Desi’s decision to film the show versus using kinescope is one of the biggest reasons that the show endures. Look at The Honeymooners, a show considered to be groundbreaking and a major sitcom of the 1950s. However, it was filmed on kinescope, so the quality is really really poor. While The Honeymooners is known and episodes can probably be seen here and there, nobody is clamoring to rewatch old episodes of a 70-year old show on kinescope.
Picture it: Salem, Oregon, 1995. A beautiful peasant girl turns on her parents’ 15″ black and white tube TV. She comes across a show on something called Nick at Nite. She is instantly transfixed by the action on the screen. A redhead (we’ll have to take the characters’ word for it, it’s black and white after all), her Cuban bandleader husband, and their two friends were involved in some wacky scheme. The next day, the girl tuned into Nick-at-Nite again and watched another episode of this hilarious show about a woman whose only dream in life, it seems, is to be in show business, much to her husband’s chagrin. The show was I Love Lucy, and the beautiful peasant girl, was me, minus the peasant part–just tapping into my inner Sophia Petrillo.
I Love Lucy is rightfully considered one of the best, if not the best (which “best” is obviously subjective) television show in history. The show was groundbreaking, almost literally, and created the blueprint for all situational comedies to come. Every show, from The Dick Van Dyke Show, to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, to Cheers to Friends are indebted to I Love Lucy for inventing the situation comedy and engineering the way in which to perform in front of a live audience.
In 1950, CBS approached Lucille Ball with an offer to move her popular radio show, My Favorite Husband, to the new burgeoning medium of television. CBS wanted Ball, her co-star Richard Denning and the other cast members to make the move with her. However, Ball had other ideas. At this time, Ball had been married to her husband, bandleader Desi Arnaz for ten years. The couple’s marriage was faltering. Much of the strain on their marriage was caused by their differing schedules. Ball was in Hollywood filming her radio show and Arnaz was on the road, touring with his band. Ball, seeing an opportunity to work with her husband and keep him home, told CBS that she was interested in the offer, but only if Arnaz could star as her husband. CBS balked, thinking that the American public would not accept that their star, Lucille Ball, was married to a Cuban. Of course, CBS was completely wrong, but to prove it, Ball and Arnaz concocted a vaudeville routine and took their act on the road. People across the country loved them and soon CBS had to relent and give Ball and Arnaz the go-ahead.
In March of 1951, Ball and Arnaz filmed their pilot. It was filmed in kineoscope. Kineoscope was a method of filming a live performance. A camera lens would be focused on a video screen, which would record the performance as it was being recorded. This footage would later be re-broadcast to other markets. Typically shows were filmed in New York, as this is where a majority of the population lived in the late 1940s-early 1950s. If you have ever seen a YouTube video where someone has made a video of a movie, show, concert, etc. playing on their TV, you know that the sound is muffled and tinny and the picture is blurry. This is exactly what it was like to watch a kineoscope show if you didn’t live near New York.
To see a couple examples of Kineoscope, go to You Tube and search for: “I Love Lucy Pilot,” and “Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on The Ed Wynn Show.”
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on the “I Love Lucy” Pilot
Above is a screenshot from the I Love Lucy pilot episode. Ball wears a housecoat and big baggy pants for much of the episode because she was pregnant with Lucie Arnaz. The Ricardos live in a completely different apartment and the Mertzes haven’t been created yet. I Love Lucy episode #6, “The Audition” is essentially a re-do of the pilot. In the pilot episode, Ricky schemes with his agent, Jerry. In the I Love Lucy episode, Jerry’s lines are given to Fred Mertz. The pilot episode was a success and Ball and Arnaz were given the green light to start their series.
To produce their series, Ball and Arnaz formed Desilu Productions. Arnaz was president and Ball was vice-president. They hired the writers from Ball’s radio show, My Favorite Husband. Many of the crew members they hired were acquaintances from Ball’s radio program and from Ball and Arnaz’ movie and music careers, respectively. For the Mertzes, they originally wanted Bea Benederet (Betty Rubble in The Flintstones and Kate Bradley in Petticoat Junction) and Gale Gordon (Mr. Mooney in The Lucy Show and Harry Carter in Here’s Lucy). However, Benederet was under contract to The Burns and Allen Show and Gordon was on Our Miss Brooks.
William Frawley and Vivian Vance as Fred and Ethel Mertz
One day, William Frawley, an old acquaintance of Ball’s from her movie days, called Ball and asked if there was room for him on her show. Leery of his reputation as a hard-drinker, Arnaz and Ball met with him and decided he was perfect. Ball later said: “William Frawley was ‘Fred Mertz,’ period.” Frawley was cast on the condition that he always show up to work sober. He would be fired on the spot if he ever showed up to work intoxicated. During all six seasons of I Love Lucy and the three seasons of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, Frawley kept his promise.
Casting Ethel Mertz turned out to be more of a chore. Ball originally wanted to throw the job to her old friend, Barbara Pepper (Mrs. Ziffel on Green Acres), but CBS said no. Much like Frawley, Pepper had a drinking problem too, but hers was much more severe. Then I Love Lucy director Marc Daniels (who directed the first season) suggested an actress he worked with in New York, Vivian Vance. Vance had a successful Broadway career and had spent twenty years on stage acting in various plays until re-locating to Hollywood in the late-1940s. She appeared in a couple films, but by 1951, she was still relatively unknown outside of the Broadway circle. She just happened to be appearing in a revival of Voice of a Turtle in La Jolla, California. Arnaz and head writer, Jess Oppenheimer, drove down to see Vance and hired her on the spot. Vance was reluctant to give up her stage career for the unknown medium of television, but friend Daniels convinced her it’d be her big break–and it was.
With all the pieces put in place, it was time to start producing I Love Lucy. Desilu purchased two soundstages and tore down the dividing wall to create one large room that could hold four separate stages. The Ricardos’ living room was the larger, permanent stage. The Ricardos’ bedroom was typically in the smaller stage to the left and the kitchen was the small stage to the right. The other stage would often be the Tropicana. The walls of the small stages had wheels that allowed them to move around. Oftentimes, when a scene with a large amount of action was filmed, the walls of the set would be rolled in front of the Ricardos’ living room set. Case in point, there is a blooper in the famous Vitameatavegamin episode (#30 “Lucy Does a TV Commercial”). When Lucy comes staggering out of her dressing room (plastered on Vitameatavegamin, alcohol 23%) and the stage hands are searching for Ricky, you can see the Ricardos’ living room between the Vitameatavegamin set and Ricky’s set where he performs.
CBS wanted Arnaz and Ball to use the cheaper kineoscope and to film their show in New York. Arnaz and Ball informed CBS that not only did they plan on remaining in Los Angeles, but they also wanted to film their program on 35mm film, the same film used by the motion picture studios. They wanted the whole country to see their program clearly, not just the East Coast and they wanted to have copies of their program–figuring that if it bombed, at least they’d come away with some “home movies” for their children. CBS complained initially about the increased cost of the film, but Arnaz, the shrewd negotiator he was, offered to deduct $1000/week from his and Lucy’s salaries in exchange for the right to use film and the rights to their show. CBS, figuring that this whole thing will never work, agreed.
The “I Love Lucy” set. This is an early season 1-2 episode based on the floral love seat in the living room.
Arnaz knew that Ball performed best in front of a live audience. To accommodate a live audience, Arnaz had to equip his soundstage with bleachers. He was also required by the fire marshall to bring the building up to code by adding bathrooms and other modifications required of a facility that is going to hold large groups of people. In order to ensure that the cameras didn’t block the audience’s view of the action, Arnaz, along with Academy Award winning cinematographer, Karl Freund, devised the three camera technique. This camera, nicknamed “the three-headed monster,” would film the action from three angles. Then after production, the editors would splice together the footage to create the final show. This technique is still in use today.
The very first episode of I Love Lucy, that aired, was actually the second episode filmed. Episode #2, “The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub” is the first of many “versus” episodes. In this case, it’s the men versus the women. Lucy and Ethel want to go to a nightclub for the Mertzes’ anniversary and Fred and Ricky want to go to the fights. Lucy and Ethel declare that they will find their own dates who will take them to the club. Ricky informs Lucy that he and Fred will do the same. Enlisting the help of an old friend, Lucy gets herself and Ethel set up as Ricky and Fred’s blind dates. Except, the girls aren’t just coming as themselves, they show up dressed as hillbillies. This is the first of many episodes where Lucy tries to pull a fast one on Ricky. Arnaz made it clear to the writers from day one that while Lucy can play tricks on Ricky, he didn’t want Ricky to look like an idiot. Ricky either needed to be in on the joke from the beginning or figure it out before Lucy succeeded. In the case of this episode, Lucy blows her cover by offering to go grab cigarettes for everyone, stating that she knew where they were. Ricky tells Lucy he knows it’s her and Ethel, they make up and all is well–except that the men end up at the fights with the ladies dressed to the nines. Let’s just hope that a compromise was reached and maybe they went to the fights and the nightclub that evening.
“Lucy Goes to the Hospital”
I Love Lucy was a success and was at the top of the ratings 4/6 years it was on television. In 1953, Ball found out she was pregnant (with Desi Arnaz Jr.) and she, along with Arnaz, thought it was the end of the program. However, it was decided that Lucy Ricardo would be pregnant too. Desilu hired a priest, rabbi and minister to read the scripts and highlight any objectionable content. All three religious leaders could not find any issues. CBS allowed Ball and Arnaz to go ahead with their plan and Lucy Ricardo was set to have a baby. The only stipulation being that the word “pregnant” could not be used on the show. They had to opt for the funnier ‘spectin coming from Ricky. Words and phrases like “infanticipating” and “having a baby” were used instead. The episode where Lucy gives birth to Little Ricky was the highest rated episode of any television show (at that point) and even got a higher rating than Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration that took place the following day after Little Ricky was born. During this time, Arnaz invented the re-run by re-airing old episodes of I Love Lucy. He wanted to give Lucy time to recover. To make the episodes “fresh,” he and Frawley and Vance filmed new flashback scenes to introduce the episodes. When these repeats garnered the same or higher ratings than the original airing, it was decided to forgo the new flashback footage and just re-air the episodes as-is.
I Love Lucy enjoyed huge success during its original six year run, winning multiple Emmy Awards and achieving high ratings. It ended its run #1 in the ratings. However, I Love Lucy has achieved even greater success in the decades since. It is estimated that I Love Lucy has never been off the air since its debut in 1951. Ball’s face is one of the most widely recognized faces in the world. There are new generations of fans discovering I Love Lucy each and every day. It is truly an indelible part of pop culture and television history.
My Top 5 Favorite Episodes of I Love Lucy:
1) Episode #114, “L.A. at Last!”
The Ricardos and Mertzes finally make it to Hollywood. After checking into their hotel at the Beverly Palms Hotel, Lucy and the Mertzes are on the prowl for movie stars. They decide to go to “the watering hole,” aka The Brown Derby for lunch and celebrity spotting. Ethel manages to embarrass herself in front of Eve Arden and Lucy ends up embarrassing herself in front of William Holden. The true gem of this episode is later, when Ricky, newly employed at MGM, meets Holden. Holden offers to give him a ride to his hotel. Ricky, unknowing about what transpired at the Brown Derby earlier that day, asks Holden if he’d mind coming in to meet Lucy. Lucy, understandably freaked out, but forced into meeting Holden, tries to disguise herself with a scarf, glasses and fake putty nose. The funniest part of the entire episode is the look on William Holden and Desi Arnaz’ faces when Lucy turns around after having re-shaped her nose.
2) Episode #147, “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown”
In Paris, Lucy makes it known to Ricky that she wants a Jacques Marcell dress. Ricky, not wanting to pay the huge price tag, says no. Lucy, not willing to give up, stages a convincing hunger strike in protest of Ricky’s decision. Ricky, feeling bad for Lucy, buys her the dress, but then discovers that Ethel has been sneaking food to her. The dress is returned and Lucy is fuming. To appease Lucy and “cure” her of her desire for high-end French fashion (which Ricky and Fred think is ridiculous), they find some potato sacks, a horse’s feedbag and a champagne bucket and have two Parisian original gowns designed and created: one for Lucy and one for Ethel. The funniest part of this episode is when Lucy and Ethel realize that they’ve been duped and attempt to hide under a tablecloth, that they apparently steal from the restaurant as they run away.
3) Episode #81, “The Charm School”
After an upsetting party where Lucy and Ethel feel ignored by their husbands, especially when the date of another guest attracts all their attention, Lucy and Ethel decide that their husbands are bored with them. Lucy finds out that the woman who came to her party the night prior had just finished a course at “Phoebe Emerson’s Charm School.” Lucy and Ethel sign up and are put through a charm regiment that involves learning to walk, speak and dress like a charming lady. The time comes for the big reveal and Ricky and Fred are speechless. The funniest part of this episode is when Lucy opens the door to let glammed-up Ethel in. As she opens the door, there’s Ethel leaning against the door frame, dressed in a one-strapped, skintight, leopard print dress with a cool snake-like thing around her arm.
4) Episode #23, “Fred and Ethel Fight”
The Mertzes are fighting (because Ethel said that Fred’s mother “looked like a weasel,” to which I say: “Fred’s mother is still alive?”) and Lucy decides to invite each one over for dinner without the other one knowing. She lets Ricky in on the plan. Ricky works with Lucy trying to get Fred and Ethel back together, but during course of conversation, he and Lucy end up getting in a fight. Now it’s Ethel and Fred’s turn to try and get Ricky and Lucy back together! The climax of the episode is when Ricky stages a fake fire in the apartment, so that he can “save” Lucy and be a hero. The funniest part of this episode is when Lucy wants to pretend like she was hit by a bus and has Ethel help her put on casts and a metal arm brace thing and then Ricky stages the fake fire which Lucy doesn’t know is fake. Lucy freaks out trying to grab things, casually tossing them out her 4th story window. She grabs some dresses and her huge jug of henna rinse. Then she makes a rope with a bedsheet and ties it around herself, but neglects to tie the other end to anything.
5) Episode #122 “The Star Upstairs”
Lucy discovers that she has met 99 movie stars and wants to meet one more so she can have an even hundred. She reads a blind item in the paper that a big star is staying in the penthouse of a local hotel for some rest and relaxation. Lucy instantly jumps to the conclusion that the star is in her hotel, and after pressing the bellboy for details, her assumption is confirmed–Cornel Wilde is staying in the penthouse right above the Ricardos’ hotel room! Lucy blackmails the bellboy into letting her borrow his outfit so she can deliver the paper. That scheme fails wholeheartedly. In the next attempt, Lucy hides under the bellboy’s cart. Through the course of events, Wilde ends up thinking that Bobby is a really talented ventriloquist who can throw his voice across the room. The scheme comes off well, but Lucy ends up being left behind in Wilde’s room. Desperate to get out, she attempts to climb down the balcony using a makeshift rope that she crafts out of a beach towel. The funniest part of the entire episode is Ethel trying to distract Ricky from seeing Lucy’s legs dangling from the balcony.
I Love Lucy, Ep. 79 “The Million Dollar Idea” January 11, 1954
This weekend, “A Shroud of Thoughts” is hosting a blogathon. The theme is “Favorite TV Show Episode.” I knew that I would have to write about an episode from my favorite television show of all time–“I Love Lucy.” But which episode?! They’re all so great. It was difficult to narrow it down. I didn’t want to write about “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (aka “The Vitameatavegamin Episode”) or “Job Switching” (Lucy & Ethel work in the chocolate factory) or “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (Lucy stomps grapes) because I feel like those are the episodes that are always trotted out when someone discusses the best “I Love Lucy” episodes. While I adore these episodes, there are many other great episodes that deserve recognition. I settled on “The Million Dollar Idea.” A hilarious episode that features one of my favorite quotes. On paper, it’s not really that funny, but Lucy’s delivery of the line makes it.
“The Million Dollar Idea” opens with the Ricardos and Mertzes having dinner in the living room.
Ethel (Vivian Vance) and Fred (William Frawley) rave about Lucy’s (Lucille Ball) homemade salad dressing. Lucy admits that it is her Aunt Martha’s recipe. Fred tells Lucy that she should consider bottling and selling it. Ricky (Desi Arnaz) on the other hand, takes this opportunity to remind Lucy that her bank account is overdrawn…again. They have an off-screen battle over the household accounts.
The next morning, Lucy decides that she’s going to take Fred’s idea and bottle and sell her Aunt Martha’s Salad Dressing. She enlists Ethel’s help and the ladies are in business. They come up with a product name: Aunt Martha’s Old Fashioned Salad Dressing. To market their product, Lucy decides to take advantage of her friendship with “frenemy” Carolyn Appleby (not seen in the episode) since she remembered that Carolyn’s husband Charlie works at a television station. “[We’ll] cut her in, to the tune of, say, three cents a bottle,” Lucy tells Ethel. “Yeah. She likes that kind of music,” Ethel agrees. They decide to go on The Dickie Davis Show.
On the show, Ethel appears as “Mary Margaret McMertz,” a parody of popular radio show host Mary Margaret McBride who dispensed household advice to women for over 40 years. Ethel touts the salad dressing and asks an “average housewife, picked at random, from [the] audience” to come up on stage. Of course, this wasn’t a random selection at all. It is Lucy, disguised as average housewife Isabella Klump. Ms. Klump raves about the salad dressing, to the point where she’s literally drinking it from the jar! Ethel asks her viewers to write (623 E. 68th Street) or call (CIrcle 7-2099) to place their orders. Of course, Ethel holds the cards backwards and then upside down, but that doesn’t hurt orders. By the end of the show, Lucy and Ethel have 23 orders–at the bargain price of 40 cents a quart!
Back at home, Lucy and Ethel get to salad dressing production. As far as I can tell, the ingredients in the salad dressing are: oil, salt and onions. One has to assume there must be some vinegar in there? But the dressing isn’t a vinaigrette–it looks more like mayonnaise. Perhaps the dressing has eggs in it and when emulsified, it becomes more of mayonnaise type dressing? Then there are the onions. Big pieces of onion only cut into quarters. Maybe it goes into the blender next? Not sure. Regardless, Lucy and Ethel have horribly under-priced their product. Ricky, who obviously has more business acumen than Lucy (he does manage the Tropicana Club, after all), decides to calculate Lucy and Ethel’s profit. After calculating the cost of the ingredients, the cost of the jars and the cost of the labels and dividing it by their 23 orders, Ricky determines that they’ll churn out a 3 cent per jar profit–the same profit that was promised to Carolyn Appleby. He tells Lucy that that figure doesn’t even include shipping, mailing, insurance, taxes or overhead. “Oh. Well. If you’re going to figure all that stuff,” Lucy tells him. Ricky urges Lucy and Ethel to get out of the salad dressing business. Fred then enters the kitchen carrying an enormous bag of mail, one of three bags that were delivered. “We must be terrific television salesmen!” Ethel declares.
Dismayed at the thought of having to produce so many jars of non-profit salad dressing, Lucy and Ethel decide to return to The Dickie Davis Show. They figure if they’re so good at selling the dressing, that they’ll be good at “un-selling it.” The next day, Mary Margaret McMertz is back. She once again advertises Aunt Martha’s Old Fashioned Salad Dressing and invites “an average housewife, picked at random, from [the] audience.” Of course, Lucy comes up on stage, this time as country bumpkin, “Lucille McGillicuddy.” Mrs. McGillicuddy smells the dressing and is immediately disgusted. “Smell it” she tells McMertz. McMertz smells it and is taken with the same bad smell. “How about that? Looks like Aunt Martha had too many old-fashioneds” Mrs. McGillicuddy says. McMertz asks Mrs. McGillicuddy to taste the dressing. After getting over her initial repulsion and the promise of a new jar, Mrs. McGillicuddy takes a swig. She’s overcome with disgust and looks for a place to spit it out. “What’s Aunt Martha trying to do? Poison me?” she asks.
Under great duress, Mary Margaret McMertz says, “Friends, I can no longer endorse this product. If you have ordered it, send in your cancellations.”
Which brings me to my favorite part of the episode. Falling to the floor after drinking the vile salad dressing, Mrs. McGillicuddy pops up and says:
“CANCEL! CANCEL!”
McMertz once again shares the cancellation phone number and address.
Mrs. McGillicuddy reappears. “AND DO IT NOW!” she pleads.
After the show, the girls are sure that they’ve succeeded in getting out of making all the salad dressing. Fred brings in more sacks of mail. Lucy and Ethel excitedly start reading the postcards. “Cancellations!” they think. Except they’re not. They’re more orders! 1133 more orders to be exact. Lucy and Ethel decide to purchase salad dressing from the store, remove the labels and attach their own labels. It’s not entirely honest and costs 50 cents a quart (10 cents more than their product), but they can get their scheme over and done with in the shortest amount of time. Lucy and Ethel, decked out in matching outfits, some sort of apron vest like thing (looks like something that a newspaper delivery boy would wear), roller skates and shopping carts (that they got from somewhere. I doubt that people with minimal storage, like in an apartment, would have shopping carts lying around) get ready to deliver their wares. “You take the east side, I’ll take the west side and I’ll be in Jersey a-fore ya!” Lucy tells Ethel.
100 years ago today, one of television’s great pioneers was born–Desi Arnaz. Desi was born in Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city in Cuba, behind Havana. Desi’s family was well off and he enjoyed a happy, carefree and idyllic childhood. Desi’s father was the mayor of Santiago. In 1933, when Desi was 16, his entire world came crashing down when the Batista Revolution came crashing into town. Desi’s father was imprisoned. All three of the Arnaz family’s homes were destroyed during the Revolution. Six months later, the Arnazes fled to Florida, now penniless.
Now living in Miami, Desi finished his last year of high school. His best friend was Al Capone, Jr. Desi and his father, the former mayor of Santiago, lived in an unheated warehouse where they ate beans from a can for dinner. They regularly took turns chasing rats out of of their living space. Desi found work cleaning canary cages. Desi’s father ended up starting a small business building mosaic art pieces (fireplace mantels, for example) after capitalizing on broken tile that came from a nearby business. Barely speaking English, Desi also attended English language courses in Tampa.
At the age of 19, Desi found work performing in a small musical group–The Siboney Septet (even though there were only five members, maybe they hoped for more?). Desi was now earning $50/week. Not a lot of money, but was more than he had been earning for quite some time. The Siboney Septet regularly performed at a hotel in Miami. It was at one of these performances where famous bandleader Xavier Cugat (whom you’ll remember as a rival of Ricky Ricardo’s in I Love Lucy) spotted Desi and offered him a job with his orchestra. Desi actually had to take a $15/week pay cut, but was willing to gamble, because Xaxier Cugat’s band had the “name” and prestige that could open doors. This is one of the first glimpses of Arnaz’ innate business acumen that would serve him well in about fifteen years.
Desi Arnaz leading the conga line. Who is that I spy in the white dinner jacket? Is that Errol Flynn?
After about a year with Cugat’s band, Desi decided to take another gamble–he was going to form his own orchestra. The Desi Arnaz Orchestra started playing in small clubs and developed a following. Eventually the Orchestra ended up in New York City. Desi is also credited with starting the Conga craze in the United States. In 1939, while performing with his orchestra, Desi was spotted by Broadway director George Abbot. Abbot was casting his new play, Too Many Girls and was looking for a someone for the role of Manuelito, the Argentinian football player. Desi won the role and was soon performing on the stage. In 1940, RKO purchased the rights to the story and soon a film version was in the works. Many of the Broadway cast members, including Desi, were brought to Hollywood to appear in the film. Too Many Girls (1940), a B-movie musical at best, may be largely forgotten today and in all honestly, isn’t all that great of a film, may perhaps be one of the most important films ever made–not because of anything that happened on screen, but for what happened off screen. Without this film, television could be very different today.
When casting the ingenue role in Too Many Girls, RKO bosses settled on 28-year old Lucille ‘Lucy’ Ball. Lucy who started as an extra and bit player in 1933 at RKO, had steadily moved up the ladder, getting bigger and better parts with each passing year. She managed to score some supporting roles in A-list films, like 1937’s Stage Door with Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers, but she was nowhere in the same league as either star. In 1938, Lucy finally scored a leading role in The Affairs of Annabel, but this was a ‘B’ film. The film was a modest success and Lucy had proven that she could carry a film. By 1940, after starring in numerous ‘B’ films, Lucy was known as “Queen of the Bs” at RKO. Too Many Girls was just another ‘B’ to her.
Lucille Ball pictured here in “Dance Girl Dance” in roughly the getup she had on when first meeting Desi Arnaz.
During a pre-film meeting, in June(ish) of 1940, the future of the world was changed when Lucy met 23-year old Desi Arnaz. Fresh off the soundstage after filming a cat fight scene with Maureen O’Hara in Dance, Girl Dance, Lucy looked worse for the wear. Dressed in a torn gold lamé gown, while sporting tousled hair and a big, fake black eye, Lucy looked a fright and Desi was not impressed. Lucy, on the other hand, took one look at the young, very attractive Cuban singer, and said in her autobiography, “It wasn’t love at first sight, it took five minutes.” Later that evening, at a cast party, Lucy returned, all cleaned up and Desi was smitten. After a whirlwind six months of filming their movie, traveling back and forth across country for their respective film and music commitments, and of course, dating when they were able, Lucy and Desi married on November 30, 1940.
Their marriage is famously tempestuous. Both Lucy and Desi had their respective careers–two very demanding careers that kept them apart much of the time. Desi tried a film career, but in 1940s America, his thick Cuban accent prevented him from getting many film roles. His best film is arguably 1944’s Bataan, where he plays Felix Ramirez, a Mexican soldier during World War II. In this film, (spoiler alert!) he plays an excellent death scene. By the end of the 1940s, Lucy’s film career was really not going anywhere, even after two studio changes (MGM and later Columbia). In 1948, she was appearing on radio in CBS’ My Favorite Husband, playing Liz Cugat (later renamed to Liz Cooper), a character very similar to Lucy Ricardo on I Love Lucy. In 1950, CBS wanted to move My Favorite Husband to the burgeoning new entertainment medium, television.
Lucy was very eager to take on this new opportunity, but with one provision, she wanted husband Desi to appear with her on the new show. Lucy and Desi were tiring of their routine and were looking for a project that could keep them together. They also wanted children and after a series of miscarriages, that dream looked to be finally coming true by the end of 1950, Lucy was pregnant with daughter Lucie Arnaz. CBS balked at the idea of a Latin being married to an American girl like Lucy and were hesitant to take on the project. Lucy and Desi, in an effort to prove CBS wrong, formed a vaudeville act and took their show on the road. For anyone who is a big fan of I Love Lucy (like me), their act consisted of “The Professor” bit from Ep #6, “The Audition,” and the “Sally Sweet/Cuban Pete” bit from Ep #4 “The Diet.” Their road show was a massive success and CBS was successfully won over.
Cuban Pete and Sally Sweet, part of Lucy & Desi’s vaudeville roadshow
By early 1951, Lucy and Desi had formed their own production company, Desilu Productions. Desi was President and Lucy held the Vice President position. After successfully selling their pilot (basically their Vaudeville show), they went to work on their weekly series. They assembled their crew using the writing staff from My Favorite Husband, an Academy Award-winning cinematographer, Karl Freund, (who was interested in the novelty of television) and a variety of other professionals. They also hired their supporting actors, Vivian Vance and William ‘Bill’ Frawley, who would forever be linked together for eternity (I’m sure much to both Vance and Frawley’s chagrin). With all the players in place, I Love Lucy was born.
Early on, before the first episode was filmed, Desi made one of the shrewdest business deals in television history–CBS was hesitant to pay all the extra costs accrued by the film, live audience, etc., so Desi offered to have Desilu pay all the extra fees in exchange for the rights to all the episodes. CBS, obviously not knowing what they were doing, laughed and said (and I paraphrase): “Sure. You can own the episodes.” Desi, Lucy and Desilu made millions from the residuals of I Love Lucy.
Desi Arnaz ended up being one of the most powerful television producers of the 1950s. He is credited, along with Freund, with inventing the three-camera filming technique that became standard practice for all scripted comedy shows. This invention became a necessity when CBS wanted I Love Lucy to be filmed in New York, live. Desi and Lucy balked, stating that they lived in Los Angeles and intended to stay in Los Angeles. Desi also did not want to film I Love Lucy live, as it used kinescope film which was of very poor quality. While the East Coast feed looked decent, the West Coast would be treated to a blurry and fuzzy picture. Desi decided he wanted to film the show on 35mm film same way that films were produced. The three camera filming technique is just one of the innovations that emerged during Desi’s fifteen year tenure as one of the top producers in America.
The “I Love Lucy” stage from the audience’s point of view
In addition to filming the series, Lucy and Desi also wanted to film the series in front of a live audience. Desi argued that Lucy needed a live audience to do her best work. He retrofitted a soundstage with bleachers that could accommodate an audience. He arranged the lighting and other necessary production equipment in a way that would not obstruct the audience’s view. Finally, of course, he had to install or modify parts of the soundstage to up to various fire and city building codes.
In addition to the filming technique and the live audience-equipped soundstage, Desi is also credited with inventing the rerun while simultaneously challenging the social mores of the day. During the show’s second season, Lucy found out she was pregnant. Pregnancy depicted on screen was taboo. Lucy and Desi were worried that their show was done. Desi decided that Lucy Ricardo should be pregnant too. CBS was horrified. Desi made a deal with CBS: They will let three members of the clergy (priest, rabbi and minister) review each of the “baby” episodes to determine whether any of the content was objectionable. Obviously, they didn’t find anything “bad,” in fact, they told CBS (and I paraphrase), “What’s wrong with a married couple having a baby?” The only concession the I Love Lucy crew made was that the word “pregnant” would not be used in an episode.
To accommodate Lucy’s condition, the cast and crew produced as many episodes as they could before Lucy was unable to work any further. While Lucy was on maternity leave, Desi decided to re-air previous episodes. CBS again, playing the negative nelly role, said “who is going to want to watch something they’ve already seen?” (oh how little they know, I’ve probably seen every episode of I Love Lucy 100+ times). To appease them, Desi, Vivian and Bill filmed new flashback segments that will set up the rerun. After the rerun episodes aired, CBS discovered that the rerun episode got a higher rating the second time around than it did the first time. After this, the flashback segments were dumped and CBS aired reruns of I Love Lucy during the show’s hiatus in the summer. As a result, the cast and crew were also able to shorten their seasons (30 episodes/season vs. 35).
Lucy and Ricky Ricardo are having a baby! Scene from episode #45, “Lucy is Enciente”
I Love Lucy ran from 1951-1960 (The last three seasons were a series of weekly specials, titled The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. The official last episode of I Love Lucy, #179 “The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue,” aired in 1957). In that time, it was one of the most popular shows on television. In 1953, it was the most popular show, garnering staggering ratings. Episode #51, “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” got higher ratings than President Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration. Almost 72% of the television sets in America were tuned to I Love Lucy, when Lucy Ricardo gave birth to Ricky Ricardo, Jr. Lucille Ball had also given birth to real-life son, Desi Arnaz IV on the same day the episode aired. Since I Love Lucy’s debut in 1951, the show has never been off the air. It regularly airs all over the world, every single day. The show won numerous Emmy Awards including accolades for both Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance. William Frawley received multiple nominations, but never won. Desi on the other hand, was never nominated.
By the mid to late 1950s, Desilu Productions was a thriving enterprise producing multiple television shows, including The Untouchables, Make Room For Daddy and Our Miss Brooks. In the 1960s, Desilu went on to produce The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Star Trek. Desi retired from Desilu in the early 1960s. He dabbled in television here and there and even taught a college course on television production in San Diego in the 1970s. In 1976, Desi published his autobiography, A Book (Excellent book by the way, if you can find a copy, it’s out of print). In 1982, Desi appeared in his last film, The Escape Artist. In early 1986, Desi was diagnosed with lung cancer. By the end of 1986, Desi was nearing the end. On November 30, on what would have been their 46th wedding anniversary, Lucy called Desi. While he was too ill and weak to speak on the phone, daughter Lucie (who was caring for him) held the phone up to his ear. Lucy told him “I Love You” over and over again. That was the last time they spoke. Desi passed away a couple days later, on December 2. He was 69.
Desi Arnaz was a television pioneer. While he lacked any sort of formal business training, he was one of the most powerful television producers in the country. What he lacked in education, he made up for in intuition, willingness to take risks, negotiating skills and simply an unwillingness to take “no” for an answer. He didn’t receive the appreciation or accolades in his lifetime (simply, I Love Lucy would not exist were it not for him. Even Lucy herself would attest to this) and was often just thought of as “the Cuban bandleader,” “Lucy’s husband,” or even “Ricky Ricardo.” But he was much more. Finally, some thirty years after his passing and sixty-plus years since I Love Lucy, he is finally being recognized for his contributions to television. In 1990, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences inducted Desi into their Television Hall of Fame. In 2009, a statue of Desi was added to the plaza in front of the Television Arts and Sciences Headquarters in Hollywood. His statue joins the Lucy statue that was installed in the early 1990s.
Statues of Desi and Lucy in the plaza at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Hollywood
In his autobiography, Desi says: “If we hadn’t done anything else but bring that half hour of fun, pleasure, and relaxation to most of the world, a world in such dire need of even that short a time-out from its problems and sorrows, we should be content.”
For my blogathon entry, I am covering Carole Lombard’s friendship with Lucille Ball.
January 16, 2017 is the 75th anniversary of the death of comedienne Carole Lombard. In 1942, Lombard, along with her mother, husband Clark Gable’s press agent, and fifteen army servicemen were killed when their plane crashed into the mountains in Nevada. Lombard, et. al. were on their way back from a war bond rally in Lombard’s home state of Indiana. It has been said that the group was supposed to travel back to Los Angeles via train, but Lombard was anxious to return home and wanted to fly. Her mother and Gable’s press agent did not want to fly, but agreed to flip a coin with Lombard. Lombard “won.” After her death, Clark Gable was inconsolable and was seen racing around his San Fernando neighborhood on his motorcycle. Friends were concerned that he was suicidal. Two such friends were Lucille Ball and husband Desi Arnaz.
Ball and Lombard were friends from RKO Studios. They were neighbors in the San Fernando Valley. When Ball and Arnaz married in November of 1940, Lombard and Gable (who married the year prior) threw them a party at the Chasen’s nightclub in Hollywood. Many of Ball and Arnaz’ friends predicted instant doom for their union, but not Lombard and Gable. Lombard and Gable frequently invited Ball and Arnaz to spend the day with them at their ranch. After Lombard’s death, Gable (after tearing around on his motorcycle) would stop at Ball and Arnaz’ doorstep just to talk about his beloved wife Carole. He would also occasionally bring over one of her films for the three of them to watch. In her book, Love Lucy, Ball notes that she was never sure whether Gable was trying to torture himself by watching his late wife’s films, or whether seeing and hearing her brought him a sense of comfort (Ball, p. 123). However, Ball and Arnaz were there for Clark and consoled him and entertained him when he needed it.
By 1951, Ball’s career in the movies was waning and Arnaz’ never really started (because of his accent, studios claimed he was difficult to cast). They had an opportunity to star in their own series in the fledgling industry of television. Ball was currently appearing on CBS’ radio show, My Favorite Husband, and the network wanted to move the program to the small screen. At the time, “movie people” frowned on television as it seemed like a novelty and beneath them somehow. It took some time to lure big screen stars to the small screen. Ball and Arnaz (who at this time was a successful bandleader with The Desi Arnaz Orchestra that toured the country frequently) had to make a decision. One night, Ball had a dream where friend Carole Lombard appeared and she said (to Lucy) “take a chance honey, give it a whirl.” This was all the confidence Lucy needed and I Love Lucy was born and television history was made.
TRIVIA: Lucy had a superstition about the combination of the letters AR–a combo which is present in both Lombard’s first and last name. Lucy believed she hadn’t hit it big until she married Desi ARnaz. When I Love Lucy filmed their pilot, Lucy and Desi’s characters were Lucy and Larry Lopez. Aside from the fact that those names sound corny, Lucy wanted the characters renamed to incorporate “AR.” Lucy and Larry Lopez became Lucy and Ricky RicARdo. Later in her subsequent sitcoms, Lucy appeared as: Lucy CARmichael (The Lucy Show); Lucy CARter (Here’s Lucy) and Lucy BARker (Life With Lucy).
I wanted to incorporate one of my other loves into this website–classic television. My love of classic television was born after I discovered Nick-at-Nite one evening, circa 1995 when I was in the sixth grade. The first show I watched on Nick-at-Nite was I Love Lucy. This ignited my love of Lucille Ball and I Love Lucy. From then on, I had to see every episode of ‘Lucy.’ Later, my love of Lucille Ball led me to TCM to see her films. From watching films with Ball, I ended up discovering a variety of other favorite actors including (but not limited to): Gene Kelly, Katharine Hepburn, Ann Miller and Maureen O’Hara, just to name a few. I Love Lucy also featured a lot of great classic movie stars whom I loved on the show and discovered their films later on TCM. One of the all-time best I Love Lucy guest stars was William Holden. Holden guest starred in my favorite episode– “L.A. at Last!”
After spending two weeks driving across country and making stops at a run-down cafe/hotel near Cincinnati, OH, a brief detour/jail stint in Bent Fork, TN, and a visit with Ethel’s father in Albuquerque, NM, the Ricardos and Mertzes finally make it to Los Angeles, CA. After scoping out their hotel suite in the heart of Hollywood (courtesy of MGM), Ricky makes plans to have lunch alone (i.e. without Lucy) at the studio commissary. To soothe Lucy and the Mertzes’ disappointment, he gives them full use of their car and some money for lunch.
Since they set foot in Hollywood, Lucy and Ethel have been on the hunt for movie stars. Lucy wonders out loud if there’s any place where [the stars] gather in a big herd. Fred jokingly says, “maybe they all gather at the same watering hole.” This gives Lucy an idea and soon they’re off to “the watering hole,” aka The Brown Derby. While in the restaurant, Lucy and Ethel immediately begin gawking and rubbernecking at every celebrity in sight. We hear the restaurant page various unseen celebrities that they have a telephone call: Cary Grant, Walter Pidgeon and Gregory Peck. Fred reminds Ethel that “they’re (the stars) just people like you and me.” “Telephone for Ava Gardner!” says the overhead page at the restaurant. Fred jumps up and Ethel reminds him: “Remember? She’s (Ava Gardner) just people like you and me.” “She may be people, but she’s not like you and me!” Fred hilariously replies.
“Look [Gregory Peck] is smiling…awwwwww!” After an embarrassing interaction with Eve Arden where Ethel asks her if she’s Judy Holliday or Shelley Winters, William Holden is seated into the next booth on the other side of Lucy. Ethel gets Lucy’s attention and soon Lucy is gawking at Holden and making him uncomfortable. He decides to turn the tables on Lucy and stare back. Lucy is very uncomfortable and after a hilarious scene where Ethel cuts Lucy’s spaghetti with her manicuring scissors, Lucy and the Mertzes make a hasty exit–but not before Lucy trips the waiter and the pie on his tray falls on Holden.
Ethel comes to Lucy’s rescue
Later, we see Ricky trying on costumes, a knight costume, for his new Don Juan picture. He just so happens to meet Holden at the studio and Holden offers to give him a ride home. Knowing Lucy’s love of movie stars and Holden in particular, Ricky asks Holden if he’d be willing to come in and meet Lucy. Holden is only too happy to oblige. Lucy, fearful of being exposed as the one who threw a pie at Holden, tries to disguise her appearance.
I wish I could find a better shot of William Holden and Desi Arnaz’ faces during this scene, they are really what makes it.
The funniest scene of the entire episode is the scene between Lucy with her fake putty nose, Holden and Ricky. Lucy’s nose constantly needs re-shaped and she ends up lighting it on fire. The looks on the men’s faces when Lucy is monkeying around with her nose is the absolute funniest part of the episode. After the jig is up, Holden doesn’t let Ricky know about the shenanigans at the restaurant and tells him that he wanted to ask the waiter “who the beautiful redhead was,” but Lucy ran out before he had a chance. Overwhelmed at Holden’s kind gesture, Lucy plants a kiss on him. “I kissed Bill Holden!” she exclaims.
What I love about this episode, besides the episode itself is how it sets up William Holden for being a big blabbermouth. In multiple episodes, other celebrities mention having heard from Bill Holden about Lucy. I like the idea that Holden is going around town telling everyone about Lucy and how ridiculous she is.
