“Country Club Dance”

(S6;E25 ~ April 22, 1957) Directed by William Asher. Written by

Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller, and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed on March 21, 1957 at Ren-Mar Studios.

Synopsis ~ The male population of Westport is all agog when sexy Diana Jordan visits. Lucy, Ethel and Betty Ramsey decide that getting glamorous is the best revenge!

Diana was played by a 25 year-old Barbara Eden who (as anyone with a TV probably knows) went on to don a pink harem costume as Jeannie the genii in “I Dream of Jeannie” in 1965. Contrary to popular belief, "I Love Lucy” was not Eden’s first screen appearance. She had been seen in a November 1956 episode of “West Point.” She had also made the film Back from Eternity, a remake of a Lucille Ball film called Five Came Back, which would not be released until later in 1957. Coincidentally, her co-star in that film was Tristram Coffin, who also played Diana’s cousin and Lucy’s Westport neighbor Harry Munson in this episode of “I Love Lucy.”

Even more coincidentally,

Hayden Rorke, another actor who found fame on “I Dream of Jeannie”, made his TV debut on “I Love Lucy” in 1952 (above, with K.T. Stevens). Rorke played Dr. Alfred Bellows opposite Eden for five seasons.  

The storyline bears some similarity to "The Charm School” (S3;E15, inset), where Lucy and Ethel also fear their husbands are losing interest in them and get all dolled up. In both episodes, Lucy’s idea of glamour is wearing a dress too tight to even sit down in. 

Ethel does her hair in a Grace Kelly style (inset), although Fred thinks it makes her look like at “wet Pekingese.” Betty applies loads of a exotic perfume, practically suffocating Ralph with the fumes.

Ethel is compared to Grace Kelly and Fred compares himself (not for the first time) to Yul Brynner. In 1957, both stars were in Oscar-nominated musical films: Kelly in High Society and Brynner in The King and I. 

After his attempt at conversation with 20 year-old Diana, Ralph asks Ricky and Fred “Who’s Pat Boone?” In 1957 Pat Boone had three number one hits on the Billboard charts. According to a 1957 opinion poll of high school students, the pop singer was nearly the two-to-one favorite over Elvis Presley among boys and preferred almost three-to-one by girls. Elvis got his first and only mention on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Misses the Mertzes” (S6;E17).

When Lucy is standing and eating, the music the band is playing is the same as was on the car radio before Lucy and Ethel hear the news bulletin that leads them to think Mrs. Grundy (Elsa Lanchester) is the hatchet murderess in “Off to Florida” (S6;E6). 

Usually when the Ricardos and the Mertzes have plans, Little Ricky stays overnight with a neighbor. In this case, both the Munsons and the Ramseys are attending the dance at the country club, so Little Ricky is sent to New York City to stay with the Applebys for the weekend. During a telephone conversation with Lucy, he says that they went to a Dodgers game at Ebbets field. The Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field on September 24, 1957, just five months after this episode aired. The stadium was demolished in 1960.

This marks the second appearance of extra Leoda Richards. She had appeared three weeks earlier in “Lucy’s Night in Town” (S6;E22). In 1934 she had appeared on Broadway in Anything Goes, which also starred a young Vivian Vance. Lucy employed Richards again on four episodes of "The Lucy Show” and the film Yours, Mine and Ours (1968). 

Her main claim to fame is her appearance at the party given by Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, standing next to Christopher Plummer during the song “So Long, Farewell.”

Betty and Ralph Ramsey are played by Mary Jane Croft and Frank Nelson. Croft played Betty Ramsey for five episodes, this being the second to last. She was also seen as Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy is Envious” (S3;E23) and Evelyn Bigsby in “Return Home from Europe” (S5;E26). She became one of Lucille Ball’s good friends and returned as a recurring character on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy” – both times using her own first name. 

Frank Nelson is the only actor to play two recurring roles on “I Love Lucy”: Freddie Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey. He also appeared as six other characters. Although this is his last appearance on the half-hour series, he appeared in the first of the "The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hours” as well as a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show.”

Grace and Harry Munson are played by Ruth Brady and Tristram Coffin. Diana is Grace’s 20-year-old cousin. Although Grace Munson had appeared on the series in “The Club Election” (S2;E19) she was then played by Lucy’s camera and lighting stand-in Hazel Pierce. Coincidentally, Pierce is also in attendance at the Country Club dance, so both Grace Munsons are in the same room at the same time!  Bennett Green, Desi’s stand-in is also there. Ruth Brady was featured as Laura in Lucy and Desi’s film Forever, Darling (1956). Tristram Coffin had also played Harry Munson in “Lucy Misses the Mertzes” (S6;E17), picking up Little Ricky for an overnight with his son, Billy. The Munsons were first to move to Westport, inspiring the Ricardos with their reports of bucolic country life.

Other party guests include: 

• Abduallah Abbas, who is also an extra in “Lucy Goes to Mexico,” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” 
• Mike Lally appeared in nine films with Lucille Ball between 1934 and 1963. He would return to play a spectator in the crowd when “The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue” (S6;E27) just two weeks later. He appeared on “The Lucy Show” in 1965. 
• Murray Pollock played an airport extra in a 1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” as well as three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” In between, he did three episodes of “The Lucy Show” and the film Critic’s Choice with Lucille Ball. 
• Fred Rappaport had first appeared on the series as one of the theatregoers at “Over the Teacups” in “Ethel’s Birthday” (S4;E8).

William Asher, the director of this episode, would later direct Barbara Eden in the short-lived sitcom "Harper Valley PTA” (1981-1982) and "I Dream of Jeannie… Fifteen Years Later,” a reunion special aired in 1985.

After filming was completed, Desilu gave some of its guest stars small gifts.  This 10K gold-filled Zippo lighter was supposedly a gift to Eden. Depending on your interpretation of “BOUNTIFUL” it could also have belonged to Barbara Pepper. 

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Barbara Eden later said in interviews that Lucy was a generous performer and caring person, contrasting to another (unnamed) female star she had worked with. Lucille Ball thought that Eden’s costume was not attractive enough, so Lucy and Irma Kusely (Lucy’s hairstylist) spent rehearsal time ‘bedazzling’ the dress. Ball offered to put Eden under contract at her Desilu Workshop, but Eden found out later that day that 20th Century Fox had picked up her option, so Eden graciously declined Lucy’s offer.  

In May 2005, Barbara Eden came to Lucy-Desi Festival in Jamestown to share her recollections of Lucy in a one-person show.  

"It was the third job I had in Los Angeles and she was so good to me. I can’t tell you how sweet she was. I had a dress on that she didn’t think was outstanding enough. She asked me to take it off and the next thing I knew, she was sitting there putting sparkling things all over it, just to make it look better.” ~ Barbara Eden, October 2017

Eden recalled that Lucy said to her “You know, you’re good!” and praised her ability to do comedy and project. 

Eden and Ball later met again and did several award shows and specials together: 

• Bob Hope’s “Women I Love: Beautiful But Funny” (1982)

• “An All-Star Party for Lucille Ball” (1984)
• “The 38th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards” (1986)
• “An All-Star Party for Clint Eastwood” (1986)
• “Happy 100th Birthday Hollywood” (1987)
• “The Princess Grace Foundation Special Gala Tribute to Cary Grant” (1988)

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