“The Amateur Hour”

(S1;E14 ~ January 14, 1952) Directed by Marc Daniels. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed December 7, 1951 at General Service Studio. It was the 14th episode filmed. 

Rating: 50.1/72

This story was partly based on “Baby Sitting” episode #62 of Lucy’s radio show "My Favorite Husband,” broadcast November 11, 1949.

Synopsis ~ Needing money to pay for a new dress, Lucy replies to a newspaper ad for a baby sitter. She ends up trying to control unruly twins and then performing with them in an amateur talent show!

Lucy’s expensive dress might seem like a bargain at $59.95, but today the same dress would cost nearly $600!  How will she convince Ricky to let her keep it?

Ethel makes a more practical purchase – but still needs to convince Fred to let her keep it!

This is the first time the Ricardos’ address of 623 East 68th Street is mentioned in the show. If the address really existed, it would be right in the middle of New York’s East River! In reality, East 68th Street terminates in the mid-500’s at FDR Drive. 

William Frawley (Fred Mertz) does not appear in this episode. This is one of four episodes in which Fred is absent – all in season one. Frawley had a clause in his contract that he would be excused from work if the New York Yankees were in the World Series, which they were during the filming of “The Quiz Show” (S1;E5). One or two lines sound as they they may have been re-assigned to Ethel, but written for Fred. For example:

LUCY: It’s just a little boy.
Now, what do you think I better have ready for him when he gets here? 
ETHEL: A little girl.

Also absent, but at least mentioned by name, is Jerry Hausner as Ricky’s agent, Jerry. Hausner was in the pilot and was considered a regular character for the first season. 

As Ricky leaves the kitchen, viewers get a good look at two items on Lucy’s kitchen wall: a match holder and a ceramic salt box.  Although both familiar items in early 20th century kitchens, they are rarely seen today. Oddly, the set designer has placed them near the sink, rather than the stove, where they were most commonly found.  Salt and matches needed to be kept dry and away from moisture. 

When the twins tie up Lucy playing cowboys and Indians, the scene is very reminiscent of a scene from the 1950 Lucille Ball film The Fuller Brush Girl. 

The rooster pattern on the salt box matches the front of the kitchen counter. In this episode we see more of the counter than in any other episode because it is used as a chalkboard by one of the twins!  Seeing so much of the counter is a bit disorienting for TV viewers – who might have thought the counter was against the “fourth wall”.  Practically speaking this counter could be moved out of the way for better camera angles of the kitchen set. 

While reading the The New York Times help wanted ads, Lucy reads Ricky a list of available jobs: Stenographer, Bookkeeper, Cook, Lady Wrestler. When Lucy and Ethel seek employment in “Job Switching” (S2;E1), they visit an employment agency where the clerk reads off a similar list of job openings: Stenographer, Bookkeeper, Cantometer Operator, Dental Technician, Insurance Adjuster, before offering them positions Kramer’s Kandy Kitchen. One of the series’ most iconic moments might never have occurred had Lucy and Ethel lied their way into being Cantometer Operators instead of candy makers!

This is one of the only times a real newspaper (as opposed to one created as a prop) was used in the series. The New York Times was founded in 1851 and still printed today. 

LUCY: This is terribly unfair. Apparently you can’t get a job in this town unless you can do something! 

An ad for babysitter at fifty cents an hour seems too good to be true, so Lucy calls about it and gets the job. Thinking she’s sitting for one boy – she’s actually minding two! 

Lucille Ball wore shin guards to protect her from the twins kicking her repeatedly, but she still ended up badly bruised.

Unlike the the Borden twins (Teensy and Weensy in “Tennessee Bound,” S4;E14), the rambunctious Hudson twins were not actually twins or even brothers, but two young actors costumed to look identical. 

David Stollery (Timmy Hudson) was 10 years old at the time this episode was filmed. His first screen appearance was in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949). He later played Marty on the “Spin and Marty” serials on “The Mickey Mouse Club.” When Disney created “The New Adventures of Spin and Marty” in 2000, he made a cameo appearance as Commissioner Stollery. He left show business to join the automobile industry and is credited with the design of the 1978 Toyota Celica.

Sammy Ogg (Jimmy Hudson) was a 12 year-old actor originally from Virginia. He made his screen debut at the age of 6. His most TV credits include 7 episodes of "Dragnet” between 1952 and 1959. From 1955 to 1957 he played Joe in several “Spin and Marty” films and television shows alongside his Lucy ‘twin’ David Stollery!

Gail Bonney (Mrs. Hudson) had appeared in two 1950 films with Lucille Ball: The Fuller Brush Girl and A Woman of Distinction. She re-teamed with Lucy in a 1965 episode of "The Lucy Show” and a 1968 episode of "Here’s Lucy.”

Coincidentally, Ricky is the host of the Blue Bird Club’s Amateur Contest that Mrs. Hudson and the twins are entered in. For the cash prize, Lucy agrees to take Mrs. Hudson’s place. 

The scene opens on stage with Ricky thanking “Little Willie Mae, who played the guitar with her feet,” an act I wish were shown in the episode!  It can’t be more ridiculous than the woman who sings like a chicken featured in “Lucy Tells the Truth” (S3;E6)!  In reality, Willie Mae (Barker) was name of the Arnazes’ maid and nanny. In Lucy’s final sitcom "Life with Lucy,” Lucille Ball’s character was named Lucy Barker in her honor.

The song "I’m Breaking My Back (Putting Up A Front For You)” was written by Ozzie Nelson and Al Jones in 1947. The original featured back-up vocals by Harriet Hilliard (Nelson). At the same time as “I Love Lucy” was airing on CBS, the married couple had a show on ABC called “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.”  

The name “Blue Bird Club” was doubtless inspired by the label that issued the song: Bluebird Records. It was known for its low-cost releases, primarily of blues and jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. It was founded in 1932 as a lower-priced RCA Victor subsidiary label. Bluebird concentrated on producing and selling music inexpensively. It created what came to be known as the “Bluebird sound”, which influenced rhythm and blues and early rock and roll.

“Ragtime Cowboy Joe” was sung in a 1940 film of the same name. It was written in 1912 by Lewis F. Muir, Grant Clarke, and Maurice Abrahams. It was recorded by bandleader Eddy Howard in 1947 and was later covered by Jo Stafford, as well as the Chipmunks.

Lucy would dress like a cowboy again in “Home Movies” (S3;E20). As stunt performer ‘Iron Man Carmichael’ Lucy does the same in 1965, in an image that would become part of “The Lucy Show” opening credits. 

The boys secretly have their frog Elmer in their pocket. A special close-up insert shot of the frog jumping down the back of Lucy’s shirt had to be done after the studio audience had departed. 

In 1967, Lucy Carmichael takes a babysitting job for triplets who turn out to be a trio of chimpanzees! 

Lucy Ricardo (1952): Listen, for $5 an hour I’d sit with a baby gorilla. 

Be careful what you wish for!  

In 2007, Hudson Twins David Stollery (age 66) and Sammy Ogg (age 68) sang “Ragtime Cowboy Joe” with Lucy-impersonator Diane Vincent during one of her “I Love Lucy” tribute shows. 

The morning that this episode was originally aired, NBC launched “The Today Show,” a program that is still on the air today. Dave Garroway was the show’s first host. 

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