Lucy is a Chaperone

S1;E27 ~ April 8, 1963

Synopsis

Lucy
and Viv chaperone a Spring break trip for Chris and her friends.
Feeling they don’t fit in, they try to act like teenagers in order to
have fun with the girls and their friends.

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Candy Moore
(Chris Carmichael)

Jimmy
Garrett (Jerry Carmichael) and Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley) do not
appear in this episode, although Jerry is mentioned.

Guest
Cast

Hanley
Stafford (Kenneth
Westcott, Principal at Danfield High School) was born Alfred Austin
in 1899 and changed his name to Hanley Stafford to honor his
birthplace, Hanley, Staffordshire in England. He was a radio actor
famous for playing Baby Snooks’ father. This episode of “The Lucy
Show” is his final screen credit.

In
real life, Kenneth L. Westcott is the name of the show’s property
master. To remind him who she is, Lucy mentions that she baked a pineapple upside down cake for the last PTA bake sale.

Charlotte Lawrence (Elizabeth Westcott, below left) played one of Ethel Mertz’s bridge-playing pals in “No Children Allowed” (ILL S2;E22) and neighbor Marge in “The Homecoming” (S5;E6). This is her only appearance on “The Lucy Show” and her penultimate screen credit.

Patty Garrity (Debbie Westcott, above center) started movie acting at age 6 and appeared as Dixie Pollit, one of the “no-neck monsters” in 1958’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In a 1965 episode of “My Three Sons” she played a girl with a crush on Robbie Douglas, played by Don Grady, who plays Bill in this “Lucy Show” episode. Her final screen role was as Sheila in The Trouble With Angels (1966). She died in 1991 at age 42.

Don
Grady
(Bill, below left) famously played Fred MacMurray’s eldest son Robbie Douglas on “My
Three Sons” from 1960 to 1972. This episode of “The Lucy Show”
(his only series appearance) aired on CBS the same week that he
appeared on ABC as Robbie Douglas. At the time, he co-starred with
William Frawley as Uncle Bub. Frawley played Fred Mertz on “I Love
Lucy” who will make his final screen appearance on “The Lucy
Show” in 1965. Grady died in 2012 at the age of 68.

Eddie
Hodges (Georgie, above right)
was a child actor who created the role of lisping Winthrop Paroo in
The
Music Man
on Broadway in 1957. In the 1962 film version his role was taken by
Ron Howard, who worked on the Desilu lot filming “The Andy Griffith
Show.” Hodges returned to Broadway in the play Critic’s
Choice
(1960), which was made into a film starring Lucille Ball in 1963. His
role in that film was taken by Ricky Kelman, who was seen in a 1973
episode of “Here’s Lucy” coincidentally starring Andy Griffith. Hodges left acting in
1974 and eventually became a mental health counselor in his native
Mississippi.

In
the previous episode, Chris’s friend Georgie was played by Ronald
Keith.

Lucie
Arnaz (Cynthia)
is
the real-life 11 year-old daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
She was born in 1951 just before the premiere of “I Love Lucy.”
Lucille Ball was actually pregnant during the filming of the show’s
pilot. Despite rumors to the contrary, Lucie Arnaz never appeared on
“I Love Lucy.” She made an uncredited appearance on this series
in “Lucy
is a Referee” (S1;E3)
as
one of the spectators at the football game. This is the second of her
two appearances as Chris’s friend Cynthia, a character mentioned in
the premiere and in many subsequent episodes. Lucie Arnaz, however,
returned to the show in later seasons in other roles. She also
appeared with her mother and brother Desi Jr. on “Here’s Lucy.”

Karen
Balkin
(Vicki) made her screen debut as Mary Tilford in the long-awaited
film version of Lillian Hellman’s controversial Broadway play The
Children’s Hour.
Her final screen credit (of only four) was also set in a girl’s
boarding school, 1974’s Our
Time.

Jimmy
Carter (Guitarist, above left)
made only one more screen appearance after this episode of “The
Lucy Show.” The year before he had played Herman on “Leave It to
Beaver” for three episodes.

This
episode was aired opposite the 35th Annual Academy Awards telecast on ABC. Nominees What
Ever Happened to Baby Jane, That Touch of Mink, and
Two for the Seesaw
were all mentioned in “No More Double Dates” (S1;E21). In attendance were future “Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy” guest stars as Shelley Winters, Ann-Margret, Ed Begley, Victor Buono, Joan Crawford, Robert Goulet, Edward G. Robinson, and Robert Stack.

This week TV Guide celebrated the 10th anniversary of their first national edition. Just as Lucy was on the cover in 1953, she is on it again this week.

A
surf rock version of the show’s theme is played during the episode’s
opening credits (following the show’s regular animated opening).
Previously, this theme was adapted for a marching band in “Lucy is
a Referee” (S1;E3).

Although the state where the fictional beach town of Sandy Cove is located is never specified, Lucy notes that it was a long drive from Danfield. It could possibly be meant to be Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Like the Brewster street scenes in “Lucy Drives a Dump Truck” (S1;E24), the exterior locations were filmed on a sound stage.

Chris’s packing list of Sandy Cove:

6 pairs of Capri pants
4 sweaters
2 pairs of Bermuda shorts
3 sweatshirts
1 pair of jeans
1 jacket
4 pairs of sneakers
2 shifts
5 bathing suits
1 dress

Capri pants were introduced by fashion designer Sonja de Lennart in 1948. The name derives from the Italian isle of Capri, where they rose to popularity in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. Capris’ acceptance in the United States was influenced by the TV series “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961-66) where they were famously worn by Mary Tyler Moore (above).

VIV: “Lucy? Do I look like a new bride?”

LUCY: “You look more like an old bee-keeper.”

Lucy and Viv break out the mosquito netting as protection against bites – but end up needing protection against bats, instead!

When
trying on the blonde wig hat, one of the girls says she feels like
Jayne Mansfield. Jayne
Mansfield
(1933-1967) was
a major Hollywood sex
symbol
of
the 1950s
and
early
1960s.
The actress and model was known for her platinum blonde hair and her
provocative personal life which frequently made headlines.
Vicki and Debbie remark that their wigs are red and blonde, just like
Lucy and Viv.

While talking about boys, Chris compares one young man to Paul Newman (above). At the time of filming, quietly sexy actor Paul Newman (1925-2008) had been nominated for two Oscars; the first for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, which coincidentally featured Patty Garrity (Debbie Westcott) and of course, Elizabeth Taylor.

This marks the first appearance of Lucy’s transistor radio. It will be seen throughout the series, even when she relocates to California.

When
the girls are dancing, Viv mistakes the Mashed Potato for the
Jitterbug. When Lucy attempts the steps, Viv remarks that she’s got
“lumps in her gravy.” The
Mashed
Potato
was a popular dance
craze
of
1962 made famous by James
Brown.
It was performed in the John Waters film Hairspray set in 1962 Baltimore. A companion dance song was titled (appropriately) “Gravy”.

Lucy teaches Viv the current teenage slang:

Choice, Groovy, Tough = Good
Fink, Creepy, Scuzzy, Grumpy, Drippy, Raunchy, Flaky = Bad
Diddly Diddly Diddly = And So Forth
Split = Leave
Cracks You Up = Someone is Funny
Having a Blast = Enjoying Yourself

Some examples of slang from Lucy and Viv’s youth: “Greetings, gate. Let’s cut a rug. Hubba hubba hubba!”

The framed travel poster in the kitchen is by René Jacques from 1960. It depicts the aqueducts Pont de Garde, near Nimes, in Provence, France.

Lucy’s
wardrobe when she attempts to fit in with the kids has her wearing
the dark-haired fun wig and a shift dress with the face of a smiling girl
with free-flowing pigtails on the back.

Lucy and Viv perform “Big
Girls Don’t Cry,” a song written by Bob
Crewe and
Bob
Gaudio and
originally recorded by The
Four Seasons.
It hit number one on the
Billboard Hot
100 on
November 17, 1962, around the time this episode was being scripted.
It has been heard on many film and TV soundtracks and is currently
associated with the Broadway musical Jersey
Boys.

Lucy
suggests doing the “Surfer’s Stomp,” but the gang ends up doing
the “The Limbo” instead. “Surfer’s
Stomp” was
a 1962 hit for The Mar-Kets, reaching #31 on the Hot 100 List. In
“The
Limbo”
dancers must pass under a horizontal pole that is at first at chest
level, but then consistently lowered. It originated
on the island of Trinidad.
It was popularized by Julia
Edwards
(known
as the ‘First Lady of Limbo’) who appeared in several films,
particularly Fire
Down Below (1957).
Chubby Checker released “The Limbo Rock” in 1962 further
popularizing the dance.

Bill
refers to Lucy as an “overgrown Gidget.” Gidget
is
a fictional character created by author Frederick
Kohner (based
on his teenage daughter, Kathy)
in his 1957 novel, Gidget
the Little Girl with Big Ideas.
The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing
friends on the beach in Malibu.
The name Gidget is a contraction
of ‘girl’ and ‘midget’.
The character first appeared on screen in 1959 played by Sandra Dee
and two sequels in 1961 and 1963. A television adaption
starring Sally Field premiered in 1965. The name has become
synonymous with any female surfer or beach bum.

Callbacks!

This is the second episode in a row to have scenes at Danfield High School. This is also the second episode in a row that Lucy tries to recapture her youth and wears a black wig. The previous episode was “Lucy and Viv Take Up Chemistry” (S1;E26).

Lucille
Ball also wore (partial) scuba gear while Lucy Ricardo was shopping
for her Florida trip in “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” (ILL S6;E3). She does so again as a salesperson in the sporting goods department during “Lucy Bags a Bargain” (S4;E17, center).

Lucy
Ricardo was seen at a ‘sandy cove’ when stranded on a “Desert
Island” (ILL S6;E8) off Miami Beach.

Fast Forward!

In a 1967 episode of “The Lucy Show” a female dancer in a beatnik club is wearing the same (or same type of) shift dress worn by Lucy in the beach scene, with the face of a smiling girl with free-flowing pigtails on the back. Here the face is worn on the front. It is interesting to see it in color for the first time!

Goofs & Blunders!

Packing Predicament – The striped top hanging in the background is worn by Cynthia in subsequent scenes, so why is it in the Carmichael kitchen? Cynthia (Lucie Arnaz) and Chris (Candy Moore) are definitely not the same size so couldn’t possibly share clothes.

Papermoon Loves Lucy