“Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio”

“Not watch television!?!? What else is there to do?”

(S1;E32 ~ May 19, 1952) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed April 11, 1952 at General Service Studios. Rating: 57.9/85

Synopsis ~ When
their TV breaks down, the gang tunes in to a radio quiz show.
Surprisingly, Ricky correctly guesses the answers to all of the
questions, so the next day Lucy signs them up to be on the show.
Little did she know that the quiz was a delayed broadcast and that
Ricky overheard the answers while at the studio!  

This episode is
based on Lucy’s radio show, “My Favorite Husband” #15, “Quiz
Show,” which aired October 23, 1948. In the radio version, the
show was called “His and Hers,” but here is re-titled “Mr. and
Mrs. Quiz.”  

The day this episode was filmed (April 11, 1952) CBS debuted “Faye Emerson’s Wonderful Town”, a multi-camera musical variety half-hour hosted by a woman who was (at the time) known as “the first lady of television.”  Faye Emerson was mentioned by Fred Mertz in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (S1;E30) just two weeks earlier in what was probably a subliminal plug for her upcoming series.  

Before turning on the TV, Ricky enjoys reading about himself in the new Look Magazine! Lucille Ball is on the cover with the caption “Why Desi’s Dizzy for Lucy”. 

The article is titled “This Is Lucy” by Desi Arnaz. In return for the publicity provided by magazines, the issues were often used on screen.   

FOR MORE ABOUT THE MAGAZINES SEEN ON THE SERIES, CLICK HERE!

Instead of watching TV, Lucy suggests conversation instead.

LUCY: “What about those elections?” 
RICKY: (enthusiastic) “What about ‘em?”
LUCY: (at a loss) “Well, they had ‘em alright.”

The 1952 Presidential election was still six months away. The past tense indicates elections that had already occurred. Who was on the ballot is left deliberately ambiguous. The show was never overtly political. 

Despite this, however, the day this episode first aired Time Magazine featured Georgia Senator Richard Russell Jr. on its cover. Russell competed in the 1952 Democratic presidential primary, but was shut out of serious consideration by northern Democratic leaders who saw his support for segregation as untenable.

Newsweek also published a story about the upcoming election in its May 19, 1952 edition: “Will [Adlai] Stevenson Stop [Estes] Kefauver?”  In addition they asked the question: “Where is TV Headed?” with Arthur Godfrey on the cover.  Godfrey was one of Lucille Ball’s favorite performers and she convinced him to do a guest spot on “The Lucy Show” in 1965, when he had fallen out of favor with the public.  

Oops! A microphone and stand can be seen on the right of the frame in this shot.  The show actually used boom microphones to record the sound. This is a stranded prop from the “Mr. and Mrs. Quiz” radio show scene.  

After their disastrous attempt at conversation, Lucy gives up and switches on the set. Before
the TV breaks down, the foursome are watching a movie.

LUCY:
“That little girl is Margaret O’Brien, isn’t it?”
RICKY:
“Look again – it’s Shirley Temple.”
FRED: “Look again –
it’s Mary Pickford!”

All
three women were famous child stars of their time: Mary Pickford (right) in the
1920s, Shirley Temple (center) in the 1930s, and Margaret O’Brien (left) in the 1940s. Lucille Ball
had appeared with O’Brien in the film Thousands Cheer in 1943.

After Lucy and Ricky both lose a tug of war with the dial (these people have terrible luck with televisions!), they listen to the radio, tuning in to “Mrs. and Mrs. Quiz” with Mr. and Mrs. Eric Finley as that night’s contestants. The surname Finley was used again by the same writers 25 years later when Ruth Kobart guest-starred on “Life With Lucy” as Mrs. Finley. Prior to that, a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show” (same writers) mentioned Tommy Finley, the home-run king of Danfield High. Four years later  the name turned up again as the name of the flower shop where Eddie the boxer (Don Rickles) worked during the day. Clearly the name Finley was important to one of Lucy’s writers! 

Whoever provides the voice of Mr. Finley (”Er…was it Arizona?”) uses a southern drawl. The voice of Nancy, Freddy Fillmore’s secretary (”Yes, Mr. Fillmore?”) sounds like someone is pinching her nose to disguise her voice, so it well may be Vivian Vance, the only other fabulous female in the episode. 

This
is the second of three times Frank
Nelson
plays quiz master Freddy Fillmore. His first appearance was as host
of radio’s "Females are Fabulous” in “The Quiz Show”
(S1;E5).  In 1956, when cast as Ralph Ramsey, Nelson will become the only actor to appear in two recurring characters on the series. 

Fillmore’s office displays a plaque noting that he was given the Showmanship Award for Best Quiz Master.  The rest of the inscription is deliberately garbled. They had no idea modern audiences would have DVD and HD TV!  Curiously, when Lucy and Fillmore meet in his office, there is no “remember me?” conversation about her appearance on “Females Are Fabulous”. 

FIllmore has also decorated his wall with an 1888 poster with artwork by Jules Cheret. Cadet Roussel was a comic and mime known for his trademark props: a red umbrella and a bi-corn hat. The poster advertises a performance at the Paris Hippodrome. 

Fillmore’s third appearance took him to television with “Be a Good Neighbor,” a quiz
show seen in “Ricky’s
Hawaiian Vacation” (S3;E22, above). In 1952, many radio programs were transitioning to television, and some were often on both radio and TV simultaneously. “I Love Lucy” (briefly) and “My Favorite Husband” are two good examples. 

Everyone on the series loved Roy Rowan’s announcing for "Mr. and Mrs. Quiz” so much that he then became the announcer for “I Love Lucy.”

In the scene where Lucy goes to his office to try and
steal the answers, Fillmore shows Lucy a Philip Morris poster
excited about how his show has gotten the attention of a major
sponsor based on Ricky’s appearance. This scene was edited out for
syndication. For the DVD release, the original scene was restored
intact. The sponsor’s name is never spoken aloud. 

Young Robert
Ellis plays
Tommy, Freddy Fillmore’s Office Boy. He had appeared with Lucille Ball in
the 1949 film Easy Living.  He went on to play Dexter Franklin
the TV series “Meet Corliss Archer” (1954-55) and Ralph
Grainger on “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” from 1956
to 1958. He died at the age of 40 in 1973.  

Of
the three quiz questions that Ricky answers correctly sitting in his
living room, only one has been affected by history: “Who
was the youngest man to be inaugurated President of the United
States?”
In 1960, 43 year-old John F. Kennedy become the youngest person ever
to ever be INAUGURATED President. Ricky’s answer of Theodore
Roosevelt was correct at the time. Fillmore is careful to use the
word INAUGURATED rather than ELECTED, since Roosevelt assumed the
office at the age of 42 after McKinley was assassinated in 1901.
Had Fillmore said ELECTED, the correct answer in 1952 would have been
Ulysses S. Grant (age 46).

The
most obvious case of the answers being affected by post-1952 history
is when Lucy forgets if Alaska and Hawaii are part of the 48 states
(she thinks there are 46). In 1952, both states were US territories
working toward statehood, but it did not actually happen until 1959.
The correct answer today to the question “What was the last state
to be admitted to the union?” is Alaska (August 21, 1959).  At
the time of filming,
however, Arizona was indeed the last state admitted to the union
(Valentine’s Day 1912). Ironically, the Ricardos and Mertzes will travel to Alaska to celebrate its statehood in “Lucy Goes to Alaska,” a 1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” 

Behind Fillmore, Tommy keeps track of the Ricardo’s score on a chalk tally board. 

Although
Lucy thinks she has stolen and memorized the correct answers for the
broadcast, on this occasion Freddy Fillmore has opted to pick the
questions from a fishbowl instead, just to keep things honest.  The
questions for Lucy and Ricky’s appearance, are:

#1
ORIGINAL QUESTION: To
whom do you make your federal tax check out on March 15?

#1
FISHBOWL QUESTION: What is the name of the animal that fastens itself
to you and drains you of your blood?

LUCY’S ANSWER:
The collector of Internal Revenue.

REAL ANSWER:
A vampire bat.

TRIVIA:
Tax
Day was first set on March 1st in 1913. It was moved to March 15th in 1918 before being finally set as  April 15th in 1955, where it remains today.

#2
ORIGINAL QUESTION:  How
do subfreezing temperatures in the arctic affect the growth of trees?

#2
FISHBOWL QUESTION: What is a senator’s term of office?

LUCY’S ANSWER:
The sap runs every two years.

REAL ANSWER:
A senator’s term is six years.

#3
ORIGINAL QUESTION: Why
was the steamship Ile de France put in dry dock recently? 

#3
FISHBOWL QUESTION: Why did the French people put Marie Antoinette
under the sharp blade of the guillotine?

LUCY’S ANSWER:
To scrape the barnacles off her hull.

REAL ANSWER:
Not given on the show, but after the French monarchy was abolished in
1792, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason and executed by
having her head cut off in a public square.

TRIVIA:
The Ile de France was put in dry dock in 1949 to return the ship
from Wartime service back to use as a passenger vessel, increasing
her tonnage and reducing the number of stacks from three to a more
fashionable two.  

BONUS
QUESTION: What did George Washington say when crossing the
Delaware? 

RICKY: (truly queasy at how poorly he’s doing on the
show) Please let me sit down. This is making me sick!

The painting Fillmore refers to is by Emanuel Leutze (1851).