“The Publicity Agent”

(S1;E31 ~ May 12, 1952) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 4, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 64.7/89

 

Synopsis ~ To get Ricky’s name in the papers, Lucy poses as Shaherizadi, the Maharincess of Franistan, Ricky Ricardo’s #1 fan! 

When the episode opens, Lucy and Ricky are spending a dull evening at home.  Ricky is playing solitaire. Lucy jokingly mentions Tiddlywinks.

LUCY: “Play your black tiddly on your red wink.”

Tiddlywinks is a game played on a felt mat with small discs called “winks”, a pot (the target) and a collection of “squidgers”, which are also discs. Players use a squidger to propel a wink into the air. The objective of the game is to score points by getting your winks into the pot.

At first Lucy thinks a jewel theft might get him in the headlines, but after a quick inventory her jewels are only worth $43. 

LUCY: “You know how those Hollywood stars get their name in the paper when their jewels are stolen.” 

This actually happened to Lucille Ball when on tour with Desi in 1950. Their Chicago hotel room was robbed and nearly all Lucy’s jewelry was stolen. Real or imagined jewelry thefts were part of the plot in “The Great Train Robbery” (S5;E5), “The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special” (1959) and “A Date for Lucy” (HL S1;E19). 

After ruling out having Ricky win Miss America, Lucy reads that the Shah of Persia has a standing order for all of Benny Goodman’s records, an idea is born. In 1952, Goodman’s latest record was “Easy Does It” on Capitol. 

While thinking up what to call their phony royal, Ethel pipes up that her aunt was “Queen for a Day” once. “Queen for a Day” was one of the most popular television shows of the ‘50s and ‘60s, airing five days a week. The premise had women competing for prizes by disclosing their hardships for an audience vote. It began as a radio program in 1945 and moved to television in 1947. Its final queen was crowned in 1964. 

But the real Queen of that day was Juliana of the Netherlands, who was making her first official visit to the US on April 4, 1952 – the very same day this episode was filmed.

Lucy and Ethel finally land on calling their faux royal The Maharincess of Franistan. 

LUCY: “I’m not a Maharincess! I’m a Henna-Rinsess!” 

Oops!  Technically, the daughter of a Maharaja is a Maharaj Kumari, not a Maharincess, as Lucy and Ethel assume.

Ricky thinks that Franistan is “tucked right in between Switzerland and Persia." 

To add veracity to their already far-fetched scheme, Lucy and Ethel book a room at the swanky Waldorf-Astoria located at 301 Park Avenue, an appropriate place for a rich, foreign dignitary to stay. From its opening in 1931, the Waldorf- Astoria was famous for lavish dinner parties and galas featuring the rich and famous. After World War II it played a significant role in world politics and the Cold War, culminating in the World Peace Conference of March 1949. The hotel is still in business today.

Lucy’s interview with the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (S1;E25) is supposed to take place at the Waldorf.  Two years later, Lucy’s well-to-do school chum Cynthia Harcourt (Mary Jane Croft, above) took digs at the Waldorf while canvassing for donations in 1954′s “Lucy is Envious” (S3;E23).

The Waldorf hotel room is decorated with a print of 
“The Blue Boy” (1779), a full-length portrait in oil by Thomas Gainsborough.

Kenny Morgan, the “Publicity Agent” of the title, is not a character in the script but did appear in “Men Are Messy” (S1;E8, above). Morgan used his own name on camera and was actually the Arnaz Publicity Agent in real life. In addition, he was Lucy and Desi’s cousin-in-law, having married Lucy’s cousin Cleo. 

With Ethel as her lady in waiting, the Maharincess ‘holds court’ at the Tropicana, listening to Ricky sing “Babalu” and “I Get Ideas.” “Babalu” was Ricky Ricardo’s (and Desi Arnaz’s) signature song. In season one it was first heard in full in “The Audition” (S1;E6), and then briefly sung for laughs when Ricky plays old in “The Young Fans” (S1;E20). In season two it is crooned by Percy Livermore in “Lucy Hires a English Tutor” (S2;E13), and then as the fade-out of “Ricky’s Life Story” (S3;E1), where Ricky uses Lucy’s bottom as a conga drum! It was perhaps most memorably performed by Ricky and Little Ricky in “The Ricardos Visit Cuba” (S6;E9). 

“I Get Ideas” was later sung by Lucy (solo) in “Lucy and the Dummy” (S5;E3). 

The Maharincess also grants a brief interview with a reporter, played by Peter Leeds. Leeds was born in Bayonne, NJ, and starred with Lucy in the films The Long, Long Trailer (1953) and The Facts of Life (1960) with Bob Hope. Coincidentally, he also later appeared in “Lucy and Bob Hope” (S6;E1) as well as an episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1971. Bennett Green, Desi’s stand-in and frequent bit player, was his photographer.

In the last act, Ricky gets wise to Lucy’s masquerade and plots a little revenge of his own, recruiting Fred, his friend Joe, and Bill Foster to teach Lucy and Ethel a lesson. When Ricky enters the Waldorf suite as Tiger (“Hail, Tiger!”) he is wearing special platform shoes that elevate him more than six inches. Fred disguises himself with a full black beard that would rival a cough drop box!

Richard J. Reeves (Bill Foster / Assassin) makes his third of eight appearances on “I Love Lucy,” having also appeared as Bill Foster in “The Gossip” (S1;E24). His last association with Lucy was in a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show” playing a policeman. Gil Herman (Joe / Assassin) was an actor who eventually became a CBS executive. Herman also served as a Major General in the Air Force Reserve. He appeared on Broadway in Winged Victor (1943), as well as the film version the following year.

ASSASSIN: “You have red and black hair of Franistan royalty. What is secret?”
LUCY: “Alright, I’ll give you the secret. Every two weeks a cup of henna to a gallon of water.”

Hail, Tiger!

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Lucy Carter played a fake Middle Eastern Maharani that bore more than a passing resemblance to the Maharincess of Franistan in “Lucy’s Impossible Mission” (HL S1;E6). Even the voice is similar!