“Lucy and John Wayne”

(S5;E2 ~ October 10, 1955) 

Directed by James V. Kern. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller, and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed September 15, 1955 at Ren-Mar Studios.  Rating:

41.1/61

Synopsis ~ Lucy
and Ethel are in trouble with the police after stealing John Wayne’s
footprints from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre the night before. Since the
slab is in a million pieces, they need to convince John Wayne to make
a new one. 

This is a rare two-part season-opener. The writers
skillfully insert the backstory into the opening dialogue for the
benefit of those who didn’t see the previous episode “Lucy Visits
Grauman’s” (S5;E1, above). They also have Wayne provide a ‘callback’ to
Lucy’s encounter with William Holden in the previous season’s “Hollywood at Last!” (S4;E16).  

John Wayne was born Marion Morrison in 1907. He made his film debut in 1926 and rose to become an iconic presence in the Western film genre. He was nominated for three Oscars, winning in 1969 for True Grit. He epitomized rugged masculinity and was famous for his distinctive voice and walk. His nickname ‘Duke’ came from his own pet Airedale. Wayne returned to work with Lucy in a 1966 episode of “The Lucy Show,” also titled “Lucy and John Wayne.” He died in 1979 at the age of 72.

As the episode opens, Lucy is reading about herself on the front page of the newspaper and calls Ethel to give her the news! 

When Lucy tries to dispose of the paper by dropping it over the balcony, it comes flying up a few moments later.  Lucy says the paper belongs to the Millers downstairs. Ricky is puzzled: “The Millers?”  Joe Miller was a saxophone player with the Desi Arnaz / Ricky Ricardo orchestra, so this might be a reference to him.  Mr. Miller’s voice (”I saw it come from your balcony”) is not credited or identified. 

Oops! When Ricky slams the newspaper down on the coffee table, the force causes a cigarette or cigarillo to jump out of the ashtray and roll across the coffee table! Luckily, it appears to have been extinguished. 

When Lucy forgets her hairdressing appointment, she she gets a phone call from someone named Irma and rushes off. Irma Kusely was Lucy’s real-life hairdresser. Despite the pressure to replace the footprints in time for the premiere, Lucy and Ethel are not happy that the newspaper called them a “dishwater blond and a frowzy redhead.”

With a wink at Ricky, Wayne pretends to be in pain from the iron grip of “bone-crusher Mertz.” Fred apologizes and adds “I used to box a bit when I was younger.” In previous episodes it was established that Fred was a Golden Gloves boxer. It is nice to hear this subtle callback to Fred’s backstory. 

While Lucy is mistakenly troweling over John Wayne’s signature (thinking it is Ricky’s forgery) a fly lands on the frame of the slab and makes its way all the way down to the corner! 

Director James V. Kern had a tough time coaxing little Michael Mayer to play in the cement for the scene where Little Ricky ruins the newly-made footprints. It took 90 minutes of overtime shooting to get the brief insert shots. It seems the boy was afraid to get his red shoes dirty so Lucy had to promise to buy him a pair of new pair to make him happy.

Regular ‘extra’ Louis Nicoletti plays the man who holds the poster for Wayne’s approval and is likely the voice calling Wayne to the set.  

John
Wayne only received $280 for this appearance, but did the show
primarily to promote his new movie Blood Alley, which was
released just ten days prior to the episode’s initial airing. During
the scene set in his trailer on the set, a huge poster from the film
is brought in for his approval. Wayne requests that it also be shown
to Mr. Wellman, referring to the film’s director, William
Wellman.  Earlier, Lucy also mentions The High and the Mighty (1954), a film also directed by Wellman starring Wayne. Wellman had
won an Oscar for writing A Star is Born (1937) and was
nominated again for directing The High and the Mighty.

Wayne’s trainer, Ralph
Volkie,
appears here as George the masseur. In addition to keeping Wayne
in good physical shape, Volkie shared the screen with him in 16
films.

The episode utilizes the Desilu soundstage at Ren-Mar Studios to stand in for the studio where Wayne is shooting his latest picture. The new film is never named, but it has a scene in which Wayne must wear swim trunks. 

Oops! In the last scene, when Ethel arrives with her new ‘pal’ – the Duke, Lucy elbows Ricky out of the way to get to him. Desi is standing right up against the arm of the chair and the seat lifts into the air as he falls back on it, trying not to fall. While this bit of business was probably planned, it didn’t go quite as well as expected. Luckily Desi stayed on his feet and the scene continued. 

One of the six bellhops carrying Wayne’s final slabs into the Ricardo suite is played by Russian-born Jack Chefe (extreme left). He would later play the Waiter in “Lucy Meets Charles Boyer” (S5;E19) and also appeared in five films with Lucy, including Forever, Darling. Next to Chefe is Edwin Rochelle in his only series appearance. He may, however, have been inadvertently seen on the show when a clip from the film Guys and Dolls was inserted into the MGM Executive Show in “Lucy and the Dummy” (S5;E3). Rochelle played one of the gamblers. On the extreme right is Bennett Green, Desi’s camera and lighting stand-in, in one of his many ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-him’ appearances. The other two actors remain unidentified. All six are uncredited. 

One of the prop slabs (made of Styrofoam and fiberglass) was put up for auction. It was originally meant as a gift for Wayne at the wrap party, but he left early and it was given to someone else instead. Funny enough, the signature on the prop slabs is NOT John Wayne’s!  

If you are wondering why Bobby the bellboy (Bob Jellison) is not one of the bellboys in this scene, consider that these actors had no lines and were walk-on extras. Jellison was a featured performer and would have to have been paid more money.  

FAST FORWARD

On May 20, 2016 CBS re-broadcast this episode colorized and in primetime along with “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” (S5;E1) under the title “The I Love Lucy Superstar Special.”  

In a 1966 episode of “The Lucy Show” Lucy Carmichael also meets John Wayne, in an episode with an identical title to this one.  

In 1966′s “Lucy Dates Dean Martin” (TLS S4;E21) John Wayne’s saddle was an auction item for the Westland Bank Charity Ball.

In 1968′s “Lucy and Lawrence Welk” (HL S2;E18), visiting bestie Vivian Jones (Vivian Vance) returns from a tour of Universal Studios and brags that she saw John Wayne’s saddle. 

In 1968′s “Lucy, the Matchmaker” (HL S1;E12), visiting bestie Vivian Jones (Vivian Vance) lies and tells Lucy Carter that she is in town to do a movie with John Wayne.

At the end of 1968′s “Lucy and Eva Gabor” (HL S1;E7), Lucy is dictating a script to Eva, invoking the names of Cary Grant and John Vane (Wayne).  

In 1969′s “Lucy the Fixer” (HL S1;E14), Lucy Carter’s son Craig is on the football team – he is a substitute offensive guard on the third team.Lucy reminds him that John Wayne started out as an extra. Wayne’s first twenty films from 1926 to 1930 were as an uncredited background performer.

In 1971′s “Someone’s On the Ski Life with Dinah” (HL S4;E7) Uncle Harry says that Lucy is “about as delicate as John Wayne.”

In 1971′s “Lucy and the Celebrities” (HL S4;E10) all the celebrities are played by master mimic Rich Little – including John Wayne. 

“Everything You Wanted to Know About Jack Benny But Were Afraid to Ask” 

was a themed 1971 Jack Benny special with Lucille Ball, George Burns, Dionne Warwick, Phil Harris, John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Dr. David Reuben, who wrote the book being satirized in the title.

Also in 1971,“Swing Out, Sweet Land” was a star-studded patriotic special featuring John Wayne. Lucille Ball voiced the Statue of Liberty.

In 1976 “CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years” included a tribute from John Wayne. He emerges from a back lot saloon and jokingly says that of all his on-screen opponents, the most formidable one was Lucy.

Two years later, Wayne hosted “General Electric All-Star Anniversary”  marking the one-hundredth anniversary of the General Electric Company. Lucille sang, danced, and chatted with the host.

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SELLING JOHN WAYNE!

The ‘I Love Lucy” Monopoly made a token in the style of John Wayne’s footprints.  Instead it says “Hollywood” and gives the date of the episode’s first airing.