“Lucy Does a TV Commercial”

(S1;E30 ~ May 5,1952) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed March 28, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 61.1/88

Synopsis ~ Lucy gets hired to do a TV commercial on Ricky’s new show, not realizing the health tonic she has to consume is full of alcohol!

This is perhaps one of the most recognizable moments in TV history and a clear fan favorite. In 2009, TV Guide ranked it #4 on their list of “TV’s Top 100 Episodes of All Time,” down two spots from their poll in 1997. The initial episode was watched by 68% of the television viewing audience. This episode was so popular in its initial airing that they got many requests to repeat the episode, which they did later in the series. This was also the first episode in which Desi Arnaz received a producer’s credit.

This episode is consistently considered one of the top three favorite “I Love Lucy” episodes from the 179 episode catalog. The other two are “Job Switching” (aka the Candy Factory) and “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (aka Grape Stomping).

Although Lucy’s blue and white checked dress is now forever associated with this episode, it was first worn by Lucy in “The Freezer” when shopping for meat.

The 1945 film Ziegfeld Follies, includes a sketch called “Guzzler’s Gin,” in which a (future) television spokesman gets increasingly sloshed on his product. Lucille Ball also appeared in this film and this sketch was an obvious influence on her Vitameatavegamin routine. Could Lucille Ball have decided to “borrow” Skelton’s routine after he beat her out as both Best Comedian / Comedienne and Best Show at the 1952 Emmy Awards? The episode was filmed a month after the ceremony, so it is possible. If so, Lucy and Skelton were on good enough terms to appear together in “Lucy Goes to Alaska” in 1959.

In early scripts Vitameatavegamin was originally 11% alcohol, but was increased to 23% on the show to try to account for how quickly Lucy had to become intoxicated.

For all its popularity, Vivian Vance is not in this episode, one of just five episodes where Ethel is absent. Fred says that she went to see her mother. Since we never meet her mother in “Ethel’s Hometown” (S4;E15) and she is never mentioned in the Albuquerque-set episode, we can only speculate that in the Lucyverse, Ethel’s parents may be divorced and her mother living in another city, probably close to New York.

But Where’s Ethel?

Fred’s participation in Lucy’s scheme of ‘being on television’ feels very much like it was originally written for Ethel, her ‘partner in crime’ – not Fred. Without Vivian Vance, the scene was likely re-written for William Frawley. The four previous episodes in which Ethel is absent were based upon scripts previously created for “My Favorite Husband,” Lucy’s radio show. Vivian Vance was then married to Phil Ober, who was abusive. Could this have been a personal day based on marital problems? Of course, it could be a simple ‘sick day’ but had Vance known that this would become one of the series most memorable episodes, she probably would have been there!

RICKY: You’ve never even been on a television show!
LUCY: Maybe not, but I’ve watched them a lot.

To facilitate Lucy’s business with the television set, the furniture has been rearranged for this episode. The TV set is now against the upstage left wall instead of downstage left. The sofa is under the kitchen shutters and the desk has moved from down right to the right back corner.

LUCY: When Ricky comes home tonight you’re going to turn on that television set, and you know who’s going to be on it?
FRED: Well, I can only hope it’s Faye Emerson.

Faye Emerson was a very glamorous stage and screen actress turned TV hostess who had her own variety show. She wore low-cut gowns bedecked with jewelry and had bleach blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun. It seems only natural that Fred would be a big fan of hers.

LUCY: Philip Morris, America’s most enjoyable cigarette, presents the ‘Lucy Ricardo Show.’ Da-da ta-da-da-da!

In later reruns, when Lucy is in the hollowed-out TV set, direct references to sponsor Philip Morris were edited out. However, Lucy is still seen holding their product and dressed as their ‘living mascot’ Johnny the Bellboy (aka Johnny Roventini). The scenes were restored for DVD.

When Lucy accidentally drops the pack of Philip Morris cigarettes and reaches outside the set to pick it up, Ricky remarks “Well, what do you know! Third dimensional television!” In “Lucy Tells The Truth” she tells a casting director she has appeared in 3D, until she is forced to admit that this is the number on their apartment.

When this episode was filmed, 3D movies were very popular. Although there had been experiments with 3D TV as early as 1928, it never caught on, and, despite a brief recent resurgence, has mostly been abandoned.

When Ricky asks what happened to the insides of the TV, Lucy admits she didn’t know that the chassis came out all in one piece so she took it apart “one piece at a time”! A close-up of the TV parts shows that the screen was not glass but something made up by the props department. It is likely that the glass screen would have reflected the lights.

When Lucy refuses to get up and make Ricky’s breakfast, he mutters his dissatisfaction in Spanish. A direct (but awkward) translation is:

“Oh, what a barbarity. I don’t know what’s happened to this woman. Each time, each week, the head gets worse and worse. I’m going to leave. She is completely wrong about everything. I do not know what’s happened to her.”

A plan is hatched when Lucy overhears Ricky giving Fred instructions for the girl cast to do the commercial!

Settling in to wait for the phone to ring, Fred picks up a copy of Radio and Television Mirror from April 1949 with Arthur Godfrey on the cover. This issue was already three years old at the time of filming. Coincidentally, the issue also had an article about Red Skelton, Lucille Ball’s possible inspiration for her Vitameatavegamin routine. Godfrey was one of Ball’s favorite performers. After he fell out of favor with the public, she invited him to appear on a 1965 episode of “The Lucy Show.”

For More About the Magazines Seen on “I Love Lucy” Click Here!

Lucy introduces herself to the director as Lucille McGillicuddy. Ross Elliott uses his own name and Jerry Hausner plays Joe, his stage manager. Elliott would appear on two future episodes as Ricky’s Publicity Agent. He would play a director once again on a 1965 episode of ”The Lucy Show.“ Of Hausner’s ten appearances on the series, this is the only time he doesn’t play Jerry the Agent, a role he created in the pilot but which was minimized in the series itself. Oddly, in the first scene Ricky has a phone conversation with Jerry!

Maury Thompson, the actual “I Love Lucy” script supervisor, plays himself, although we only see him from the back. Lucy planted him directly in front of her so that he could mouth the words if she should forget the lines. Naturally, she didn’t. A muffled voice from the control room belonged to Jess Oppenheimer, the series’ writer / producer, likely speaking from the actual Desilu Playhouse booth.

Just in case you aren’t a superfan, here’s the full script of the commercial:

“Hello, friends. I’m your Vitameatavegamin girl. Are you tired, run down, listless? Do you poop out at parties? Are you unpopular? The answer to all your problems is in this little bottle: Vitameatavegamin. Vitameatavegamin contains vitamins, meat, vegetables and minerals. Yes, with Vitameatavegamin you can spoon your way to health. All you do is take a tablespoonful after every meal. (She does) It’s so tasty, too. It’s just like candy. So why don’t you join the thousands of happy, peppy people and get a great big bottle of Vitameatavegamin tomorrow? That’s Vita-meata-vegamin!”

Desi Arnaz clearly has trouble keeping a straight face when listening to Lucy. Probably he remembered her antics from rehearsals and anticipated what was to come. You can also hear his very distinct laugh as he watched off-camera. Ross Elliott later said that he had to bite the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing while watching Lucy.

The cast and crew looked high and low to find the perfect substance to put in the bottle as Vitameatavegamin. They wanted it to be something Lucy could drink a lot of and visually had a thick, viscous quality. They finally settled on apple pectin, something found in a health food store. Lucy later said it was sickening to drink so much of it.

It took Lucille Ball just one take to do the memorable scene.

The name of the show Ricky is hosting is “Your Saturday Night Variety”.

In Spanish, Ricky sings “El Relicario” (“The Reliquary”) a pasodoble composed by José Padilla in 1914, with lyrics by Armando Oliveros and José María Castellví. The song deals with a bullfighter, which is indicated in some of Desi Arnaz’s gestures while singing. In 1952, the year this episode first aired, Eisenhower proclaimed his candidacy for President while a band played this song and it became the musical theme of his campaign.

Oops! During Ricky’s song, Lucille Ball can be seen waiting in the wings for her entrance and in the darkness behind her you can see the Ricardo apartment fireplace and mantel. Also, the TV camera’s markings have been painted over and “TVC” (TV Camera) stenciled on. “I Love Lucy” was on film, and used different cameras. This was probably a real camera borrowed from another TV studio.

Before singing, Ricky looks past the camera and says “Mr. Hatch, if you please.” Wilbur Hatch was the conductor of the Desi Arnaz Orchestra.

The original script had a tag scene where Lucy has a bad hangover and Ethel innocently returns from the store with a bottle of Vitameatavegamin to help Lucy ‘spoon her way back to health’! This scene was either cut for time or the indisposition of Vivian Vance.

FAST FORWARD!

In a 1973 episode of “Here’s Lucy,” Lucy Carter became a TV spokesperson for Polly Parker’s Perky Pickles. Her alliterative pickle pitch was reminiscent of Vitameatavegamin.

Lucy Carter: “Thank goodness I remembered to bring Polly Parker’s Perky Pickles. Mmmm, they’re delicious! Yes, Polly Parker’s Perky Pickles make any picnic perfect. Polly’s Pickles will tickle your pallet. So next time you’re planning a picnic, pick up a pint of Polly Parker’s Perky Pickles.”

During Lucille Ball’s introduction during a 1986 taping of the game show “Body Language,” someone in the audience holds up a sign saying “Lucy Doesn’t Need Vitameatavegamin!”

For Christmas 2015, CBS presented a colorized version of this episode, teamed with their annual showing of the colorized “Christmas Show.”

In 2011, more than 900 Lucille Ball lookalikes gathered under a Vitameatavegamin sign to honor Ball’s 100th birthday.

Randy Rainbow’s November 2019 Trump impeachment video starts with him referring to witness Vindman as “Lieutenant Colonel Vitameatavegamin” (although the phonetic closed captions spell it wrong)! To watch the video, click here.