“Fan Magazine Interview”

“Trust is the basis of every happy marriage. You may quote me.”

(S3;E17 ~ February 8, 1954) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed on January 7, 1954 at Ren-Mar Studios.  It was the 83rd episode filmed. Rating: 62.4/83

Synopsis ~ Magazine journalist Eleanor Harris doing a feature story on the Ricardo’s marriage, at the same time that Ricky’s agent concocts a publicity scheme inviting women on the Tropicana mailing list to a phony date.

The day after this episode first aired, Mabel Paige died of a heart attack at age 73. Paige had played Mrs. Hansen, owner of the dress shop Lucy and Ethel buys in “The Girls Go Into Business” (S3;E2). Paige had also starred with Lucy in the movie Her Husband’s Affairs (1947).

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The episode opens on an unusually messy apartment and an unkempt looking couple waking up. Breakfast conversation is about the household budget, as usual.

Oops! As Lucy tells him it’s time to get up, Ricky is asleep in the bed on the left of the screen. In most episodes, Ricky’s bed was always the one on the right, closest to the door, presumably because Ricky always came home in the middle of the night, after Lucy was already asleep. Perhaps the couple were having marital relations?   

Oops!  Although the apartment is in complete disarray, the props that Lucy and Desi need are close at hand: the orange squeezer, coffee percolator (with coffee already inside), Ricky’s newspaper – all right where they need to be for the scene to go forward.

The next morning, when Eleanor Harris arrives, the apartment is spotless and Lucy and Ricky put on an air of forced formality that is very reminiscent of the affected style they present for “Breakfast With Ricky and Lucy,” the department store-sponsored morning show in “Mr. and Mrs. TV Show” (S4;E24). The previous morning’s minimal breakfast option of bacon OR egg has now grown into a choice of waffles with sausages, omelets with ham, and eggs Benedict. Waffles are a favorite breakfast food of the Ricardos. For dinner, Lucy busts the budget and serves shrimp cocktail, steak, and Crepe Suzette, made by Ethel. In “The Adagio” (S1;E12) Ethel insultingly called Jean Valjean Ramon a “crepe Suzette.”

Eleanor Harris was the name of a real magazine writer who wrote about Lucy and Desi as early as 1940. She also authored a book titled The Real Story of Lucille Ball published about the same time this episode was first aired. It was not unusual for Lucy and Desi to try and thank writers and magazines for their support in this way. The character is played by Joan Banks, making her one and only appearance on the series. She was simultaneously playing the recurring role of Sylvia Platt on Desilu’s “Private Secretary.”

The camera Banks uses in the episode is a Kodak Pony 135 with a special side flash attachment. It should be noted that in real life it would be unusual for a writer to act as her own photographer.  

When magazine writer Eleanor Harris is taking photographs of Ricky and Lucy, she prepares her camera in a way that may surprise modern viewers – she moistens the metal end of each flashbulb by putting it in her mouth. This was done to coat the metal contact on the bulb with saliva, and ensure the electrical conductivity between the camera and the bulb.

When Fred arrives to fix the leaky faucet in a derby and bow tie, Lucy calls him the “Beau Brummell of plumbers.”  Beau Brummell (1778-1840) was an iconic figure in Regency England, the arbiter of men’s fashion and friend of King George IV. He is credited with introducing the modern men’s suit worn with a necktie. He claimed he took five hours a day to dress and recommended that boots be polished with champagne. Brummell’s name famously turns up in the musicals Annie (1977) and Cats (1981).

Oops! When Ethel opens the door to the Ricardo’s kitchen during the second morning, you can see William Frawley waiting for his cue!  

This is another episode were someone refers to Ricky’s “shoe-button eyes” and Ricky mispronounces ‘psychiatrist’ as ‘fee-suh-key-uh-tryst,’ something he began doing in season one.

RICKY: “I awoke refreshed and with a song on my lips.”

To prove his point, Ricky quickly launches into “Vesti La Giubba” from the opera Pagliacci, but is silenced by Lucy’s kiss. 

LUCY: “After all, there’s no business like show business. You may quote me.”

Lucy is actually quoting Irving Berlin, who wrote the song “There’s No Business Like Show Business” for the musical Annie Get Your Gun in 1946.

The postcard that Jerry sends out to 3,000 women on the Tropicana mailing list reads: 

Dearest ______, how about a date Saturday night? Will you meet me at the Tropicana Club? ~ Ricky Ricardo 

Jerry mistakenly makes out two cards for Minnie Finch, whose address is given as 1433 Tudor Street, Bronx, New York, NY. This is a fictitious address, although there is a Tudor Place in the Bronx.

Oops! When Lucy tells Ethel of her suspicions about Ricky she grabs Minnie Finch’s card out of Ethel’s hand, and just as Lucy stands up the camera tilts upward, and we can briefly see part of the top of the set.

LUCY: “If some woman was trying to take Fred away from you, you’d sing another tune.”
ETHEL: “Yeah, ‘Happy Days Are Here Again’.”

"Happy Days Are Here Again” is a 1929 song by Jack Ager and Milton Yellen. It is probably best remembered as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 presidential campaign song. It is also closely associated with Barbra Streisand, who first recorded it in 1962.

This episode marks the first appearance of Kathryn Card as Minnie Finch, although she would be best remembered for playing Lucy’s mother, Mrs. McGillicuddy, in nine episodes from 1955 to 1959.

The episode is probably best remembered for a near scandalous reference to Dr. Alfred Kinsey, who published groundbreaking reports on sex a few years before this episode was filmed.

Minnie has a jealous husband, Joe (an unseen character), who punches Ricky and gives him a black eye. Ricky previously got a shiner in “The Black Eye” (S2;E20) and will get one again in “Lucy Goes To Sun Valley,” a 1958 episode of "The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.”

Elvia Allman (Minnie’s Neighbor with glasses and hat) is probably best remembered as the strident forewoman of Kramer’s Candy Kitchen in “Job Switching” (S2;E1) and would return to play journalist Nancy Graham in “The Homecoming” (S5;E6). On “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” she was Milton Berle’s secretary and Ida Thompson, the PTA director enamored of Tallulah Bankhead. She would also be seen on two episodes of “The Lucy Show.”

Hazel "Sunny” Boyne (Minnie’s Neighbor) had played Maggie, the Tropicana cleaning lady, in “Men Are Messy” (S1;E8) and would return as a passenger on the City of Los Angeles during “The Great Train Robbery” (S5;E5).

During filming, Jerry Hausner (Jerry the Agent) and Desi Arnaz got into an argument on the set. The basis for the argument was that he was not able to hear his cues during a telephone scene. Hausner quit the show and never appeared on the series again. His character had been an integral part of the pilot, but was diminished when the show was re-fashioned to include the Mertzes. Despite his heated departure, he did turn up on a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show” and a decade later on "Here’s Lucy.”