“Lucy’s Show-Biz Swan Song”

(S2;E12 ~ December 22, 1952) directed by William Asher, written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Filmed on October 17, 1952. This was the 47th episode of the series. Rating: 64.9/90

Synopsis ~ Ricky is producing a Gay ‘90s revue at the club, and Lucy wants to get into the act – even though she is several months pregnant!

To hide her pregnancy, Lucy decides to sing “Roll Out The Barrel” – until she is reminded that it is not a gay 90s song. [It was written in 1927.]

As for this being Lucy’s show business swan song, in “The Indian Show” (S2;E24), just a few months later, Ricky once again reminds Lucy that her primary job now is now to take care of the baby, and cites her performance in this episode as her farewell to the stage.

“Presenting those incomparable exponents of mellifluous melody, heartwarming harmony, and appropriate terpsichore – the Merry Mertzes!”

Fred and Ethel do an impromptu audition for Ricky with “Carolina in the Morning,” which they first sang in the ‘Flapper Follies of 1927’ scene in “Ricky Loses His Voice” (S2;E9). They hastily remind Ricky of the appearance and that he thought they were pretty good. The song was was written in 1922 by Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson and introduced to the world by none other than William Frawley (Fred Mertz) in his vaudeville act. 

Frawley sang the song on screen in The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) and again on a 1963 episode of "My Three Sons.”

Lucy grabs a parasol and does an impromptu chorus of “While Strolling Through the Park One Day,” which is actually titled “The Fountain in the Park” and was written by Ed Haley around 1880. It was sung by Judy Garland in the 1940 film Strike Up the Band.  Fred sang a bit of the song earlier in the year in “Pioneer Women” (S1;E25). 

In 1971′s “Lucy’s Lucky Day” (HL S4;E15), Lucie Arnaz and Gale Gordon perform the song again.

Next day at the Tropicana, Jerry (Jerry Hausner) tells Ricky that an act called McGillicuddy and Mertz are there to audition.  Just over his shoulder, pianist Marco Rizo eagerly anticipates Jerry handing him the sheet music. 

Lucy and Ethel sing "By the Light of the Silvery Moon” which was written in 1909 by Gus Edwards and Edward Madden. A few months after this episode first aired, Doris Day appeared in a film of the same name, which also starred Lucy’s good friend Mary Wickes. 

Oops!  If you look closely during Lucy and Ethel’s performance of the song in this episode, you can see Lucy discreetly pull a string on her skirt, which made the pantaloons fall down. 

"Goodnight, Ladies” is a mid-19th century folk song attributed to Edwin Pearce Christy that was originally intended to be sung in a minstrel show.  Meredith Willson wove the song into the score of his 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man, in which it was sung by a barbershop quartet. The 1962 film version also starred Mary Wickes.

“Sweet Adeline” was first published in 1903 with lyrics by Richard H. Gerard to music by Harry Armstrong, from a tune he had written in 1896. It is now considered a barbershop standard, even lending its name to a worldwide association of female barbershop singers. Rumor has it that William Frawley was really not happy having Lucy sing this song off-key. Even though her terrible singing voice was part of Lucy’s character, Frawley hated to hear a cherished classic butchered. He later equated Lucy’s off-key singing to "shit on baked Alaska.” Of course, Lucille Ball was very capable of carrying a tune, and had to consciously try to sound bad.

In a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show,” Lucy and Vivian Vance again sing in a barbershop quartet, this one comprised of volunteer female firefighters called The Four Alarms. Once again, Lucy is not originally involved in the quartet but wangles her way in when someone drops out. Once again they get to sing “By the Light of the Silvery Moon.”

For some reason this episode ran short, so Desi’s friend and fishing buddy Pepito the Clown (aka Pepito Pérez) was asked to come and do his act, which was edited in to the episode afterwards. Pepito had appeared in the pilot and he was supposed to reprise his scene for "The Audition” (S1;E6), but he wasn’t available at that time so Buffo the Clown was used instead. 

Most of Pepito’s act in the pilot is repeated here, minus the lion trainer bit, which wasn’t in the pilot. Ricky calls it his “imitation of Clyde Beatty,” a name that is evoked when Lucy steals the baby elephant in “The Kleptomaniac” (S1;E27). Even the instrumental music that plays while Pepito reveals his over-sized wristwatch is exactly the same as in the pilot. Pepito does his imitation of a baby cry, which is ironic since when Little Ricky is born, he will provide the off-screen crying during season two. 

The entire costume Pepito wears in this episode is now in the Lucy-Desi Museum and Center for Comedy in Jamestown, New York. This extra scene was filmed November 7, the night “Lucy Becomes a Sculptress” (S2;E15) was produced.

To further fill the show, the Santa Claus / Christmas tag that aired after 1951’s “Drafted” (S1;E11) was added onto the end. The 4-minute Christmas greeting for viewers depicted the Ricardos and Mertzes are all dressed as Santa Claus singing “Jingle Bells” around a Christmas tree. Suddenly there are five Santas – Lucy, Ricky, Fred, Ethel – and the real thing. “Merry Christmas, everybody!” 

This scene was not filmed in front of a live audience and was later cut for syndication and reruns. In season six (Christmas 1956), this premise would be fleshed out to a full special episode that would be considered ‘lost’ until 1989. In that special, parts of the barbershop quartet finale in this episode were used as flashbacks.

Coincidentally, the barbershop quartet ended up being one of the flashbacks in the 1956 “I Love Lucy Christmas Show.”

When this episode originally aired, Alfred Lyons, head of Philip Morris, appeared in a commercial that basically inferred that “I Love Lucy” could be canceled if viewers didn’t buy more of their cigarettes. I guess he didn’t see the GIANT cigarette that Pepito was smoking in his act!

In the 2005 movie, Monster in Law, when Jennifer Lopez is flipping through the channels on her television, she stops at the barber shop number in this episode.