“Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright”

(S6;E4 ~ October 22, 1956) Directed by James V. Kern. Written by

Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed June 21, 1956 at Ren-Mar Studios. Rating: N/A

Synopsis ~ Preparing for his first music school recital, Little Ricky gets nervous. How will Lucy deal with his son’s stage fright?

At the start of season six, “I Love Lucy” welcomed a new cast member, Keith Thibodeaux (aka Richard Keith) as Little Ricky. After filming two star-centered episodes featuring Bob Hope and Orson Welles, the writers devoted some time to developing the character of Ricky Ricardo, Jr. The young actor was the 8th to play the role, but the first to have dialogue. He was hired for his remarkable resemblance to Desi Arnaz and his talent at playing the drums. 

This episode was inspired by Keith Thibodeaux, who also suffered from stage fright. At one point a hypnotist was brought in to help with the problem, something Lucy and Ricky do not resort to with Little Ricky. 

This episode was a follow-up to “Little Ricky Learns To Play the Drums” (S6;E2), although (oddly) it was filmed before it. This means that Little Ricky has his first drum concert before he even learns how to play the drums!

Probably the schedules of the two celebrities necessitated that the filming and broadcast orders to be juggled.

The night this episode premiered, “Father Knows Best” aired an episode titled “Be A Pal To Your Son” which also focused on the father / son dynamic. 

Fred is fixing a loose railing on the Ricardo back porch in this episode. It’s said that this railing has needed fixing for five years. Could this be the same railing that broke when the washing machine fell off the back porch in “Never Do Business with Friends” (S2;E31)? 

Just like in “Lucy Goes To The Hospital” (S2;E16), everyone is in charge of one item of Little Ricky’s drum set as they nervously depart for the recital – the only thing they forget is Little Ricky himself!

Mr. Crawford, Little Ricky’s music teacher, is played by Howard McNear. McNear went on to play Floyd the barber on “The Andy Griffith Show” from 1961 to 1967, a CBS series filmed on the Desilu backlot. He was also seen in Lucy and Desi’s 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer.

Like all the children in the episode, little Diana Van Fossen uses her own name, playing a squeaky, out-of-tune rendition of “Swanee River” on the violin. The song was previously heard in a counterpoint with “Humouresques” in “The Bullfight Dance” (S4;E22). Van Fossen was still acting as of 1994, when she was in the film Imaginary Crimes starring Harvey Keitel.

Earl Robie, the 10 year-old ukulele player, was the most experienced of the child performers on the show, having appeared in eight films and TV shows such as “Lassie” and “The Loretta Young Show.” Ironically, despite his credits, his character gets the measles and doesn’t get to perform with the Dixieland Band in the final scene at the Club Babalu. Naturally, Lucy steps in. Or – more accurately – kneels in!

Other members of the band include Laurie Blaine (flute), Buddy Noble (bass), Robert Norman (trumpet), Larry Gleason (accordian), and Jeffrey Woodruff (trombone).

Marjorie Bennett (Mrs. Van Fossen, Diana’s mother) was an Australian-born actress who started appearing in silent films in 1916. A former bathing beauty, she was seen as Charlie Chaplin’s landlady in Limelight (1952). She was also heard in the Disney classics One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and was an extra in Mary Poppins (1964).

When Ricky goes into his son’s room to talk about his stage fright, the boy is playing with his Keystone Tot Railroad, a wooden train set made by the Keystone Manufacturing Company.  The box can be seen tucked under the bed. 

The wind-up drummer bear toy was made in Japan and sold in both brown and white fur. Fred says he bought it for .49 cents!  In 2016, a similar bear sold on Ebay for $19.99.

The set for Little Ricky’s bedroom and the set for the Club Babalu dressing room are actually the same space, re-dressed. The double doors of the bedroom closet are removed and the furniture changed, but the layout is the same.  

“Has Anybody Seen My Gal?” is the tune performed in the finale. The 1920s hit was also heard as part of the Flapper Follies four years earlier in “Ricky Loses His Voice” (S2;E9). In that episode Lucy also played the song on the ukulele (inset photo), so it was Earl Robie’s fate to be replaced by Lucy, who already knew both the instrument and the tune!

Author Geoffrey Mark Fidelman, eloquently critiques this episode in The Lucy Book: 

“The scene between Ricky and his son in the bedroom is more reminiscent of ‘Father Knows Best’ than this series. Although it is well written and performed, it doesn’t really fit the format.”

Ironically, the week this episode was filmed, “Father Knows Best” was on the cover of TV Guide. 

FAST FORWARD – Ukulele Talk!

In “Don Juan is Shelved” (S4;E21), Lucy sadly reprised her ukulele solo of “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?” moping about Ricky’s unemployment. 

In a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show”, Lucy Carmichael played “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?” on the ukulele at her college reunion. 

Lucille Ball finally learned a new tune on the ukulele for a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy.”  Lucy Carter sang “Ukulele Talk” with her daughter Kim aboard a cruise to Hawaii.