(S2;E15 ~ January 12, 1953) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Davis, and Bob Carroll Jr. Filmed November 7, 1952 at General Service Studios. This was the 15th episode to be filmed. Rating: 66.6/88
This episode is based on Lucy’s radio show, “My Favorite Husband” episode #99, “Liz Becomes a Sculptress” broadcast October 7, 1950.
Synopsis ~ Believing that her new baby should be surrounded by culture, Lucy takes up sculpting.
The episode begins with Lucy and Ricky looking through family albums.
The snapshots shown (in insert shots) are actually Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as babies.
Two of the photos were mounted on the wall of their office at Desilu. They were labeled “Our President” (Desi) and “Vice President” (Lucille).
About one of Ricky’s photos, Lucy asks if they called him “fancy pants,” which was also the title of Lucy’s 1950 movie with Bob Hope.
A fifth photo of Lucy’s great-grandfather, who Lucy says was was a great artist, is not real, but actually a staged photo.
In reality Lucille Ball’s four great-grandfathers were unlikely to be artists. On his mother’s side William C. Orcutt was a Civil War vet and spent the rest of his life in poor hospitals, while Reuben Hunt was a working class hotelier. On her father’s side not much is known about George Durrell, but Clinton Ball descended from landed gentry in England. Lucy often said that there was some Ball blood in George Washington since his mother’s maiden name was Mary Ball. But Clinton Ball was also strict Protestant Fundamentalist and forbade any of his six children to dance – so an affinity for the visual arts is unlikely.
Some of the items seen in the art store scene are still available online! The unframed print on the easel is
Oops! At the end of the art store scene, after Lucy walks off leaving the two art store scammers, there is a noticeable jump cut and a sudden round of applause before the men unceremoniously dump Lucy’s ‘creation’ back in the clay bin.
While being Lucy’s model, Ethel tells Lucy a story about how their friend Jane Sebastian’s baby was very overdue, and when Jane finally went to the hospital to have the baby, she ended up having twins. In real life Jane Sebastian was the name of Vivian Vance’s good friend. In 1944, Vance became godmother to her son, John, who went on to head the band The Lovin’ Spoonful. Although never seen on screen, Jane was mentioned in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (S3;E3) and “The Fashion Show” (S4;E19).
Here Vivian Vance wears the ‘arrow’ collar dress Ethel has been seen in many times.
Lucy convinces Fred to model in a lot less than that! Fred is emulating The Discobolus of Myron (“discus thrower”), a Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical Period, figuring a youthful ancient Greek athlete throwing discus, circa 460–450 BC. The original Greek bronze is lost but the work is known through numerous copies.
Ricky incorrectly calls him “Hercules Mertz.” Lucy wonders if Michelangelo had these troubles.
This episode allows a very pregnant Lucy to show off her skill at facial expressions instead of extreme physical comedy.
Oops! Lucy Ricardo is said to be only three weeks away from her due date. In the previous pregnancy episode she was six months pregnant. Three months went by in between episodes!
The art store clerk is played by Russian-born Leon Belasco (right) who had done three movies with Lucille Ball between 1939 and 1944. He also appeared in three episodes of “The Lucy Show.” William Abbott, the shop owner, is played by
Shepard Menken (left), who was seen in three other episodes: “The Adagio” (S1;E12), “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (S3;E11), and “Paris at Last” (S5:18).
To impress the New York Times Art Critic, Lucy comes up with a plan to make a plaster cast of her head. When that fails, her head must stand-in! Getting stuck in a bucket of plaster of Paris is quite similar to when Lucy got her foot stuck in a bucket of cement in “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” (S5;E1).
ETHEL: She put a lot of herself into this statue.
Paul Harvey plays the art critic from the New York Times who visits the Ricardo apartment to assess Lucy’s talent. In this episode he gets to use his own surname. Harvey had previously appeared in seven films with Ball.
It is ironic that the half-hour series also ends with Lucy as a human sculpture when she poses as the Westport Minuteman in “The Ricardo’s Dedicate a Statue” (S6;E27).
Coincidentally, on the evening this episode was filmed (November 7, 1952), “Our Miss Brooks” (filmed by Desilu) aired an episode titled “Living Statues” which also starred Paul Harvey. Instead of clay, a sticky furniture finish caused people to get stuck – making them appear to be living statues. Lucy’s comic foil on radio Gale Gordon, appeared with Eve Arden and Richard Crenna, all of whom would make appearances on “I Love Lucy.”
In 1973, Lucy Carter takes up sculpting in “Lucy and Uncle Harry’s Pot” (HL S5;E21).
A statue of Lucy Ricardo in Jamestown, New York, (dubbed ‘Scary Lucy’) came under fire as bearing little resemblance to the star, and was replaced by a more suitable effigy. Another one, in Palm Springs, California, where the Arnaz family had a second home for many years, has escaped critique.
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