S1;E29 ~ April 22, 1963
Synopsis
Helping
Jerry with his Cub Scout project, a rare butterfly escapes and Lucy
vows to hunt it down. On a dinner date with a lawyer, she leaps into
action when she thinks she spots the rogue insect, resulting in chaos
at dinner, the park, and eventually a courtroom.
Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Jimmy Garrett
(Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley), Candy Moore (Chris
Carmichael)
Guest
Cast
Mary
Wickes (Mrs.
Wickenhauser) was one of Lucille Ball’s closest friends and at one
time, a neighbor. She made a memorable appearances on “I Love
Lucy” as ballet mistress Madame Lamond in “The Ballet” (ILL
S1;E19). In her next three “Lucy Show” appearances her character name is Frances, but then makes four more as a variety of characters.
Wickes appeared in nine episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Their final
collaboration on screen was “Lucy Calls the President” in 1977.
Wickenhauser
is Mary Wickes’ birth name.
Philip
Carey
(Howard McClay) was
born Eugene Carey on July 15, 1925, in Hackensack, New Jersey.
He is probably best known as Asa Buchanan on the soap “One Life to
Live.” This marks his only appearance with Lucille Ball.
Howard
McClay
is the name of Desilu’s publicist. Here he is a lawyer, but Mr.
McClay was previously mentioned (but not seen) in “Lucy and Her Electric Mattress” (S1;E12) as working at the hardware store. In
“Lucy and the Little League” (S1;E28) Mr. Crescent (William Schallert)
also talks about working at the hardware store.
Carl
Benton Reid (Jack
Donohue) appeared with Lucy in the 1950 film The
Fuller Brush Girl.
He played Oscar Hubbard, Bette Davis’ brother in the 1941 film The
Little Foxes.
This is his only role on “The Lucy Show.”
Jack
Donohue
is the name of the director of this episode and 106 other episodes
of the series. He even made two on-camera appearances on the show.
He went on to direct 35 episodes of “Here’s Lucy,” appearing
on-camera in three of them. His last collaboration with Lucille Ball
was the TV special “Lucy Moves to NBC” in 1980.
Doris
Packer
(Pauline Donohue) was one of the latecomers
sharing the theater box with the Ricardos and the Mertzes at The Most
Happy Fella during “Lucy’s Night in Town” (ILL S6;E22). She later
who later returned to play Paul Douglas’ prim secretary in “Lucy
Wants a Career,”
a
1959 episode of The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.” She is probably best
remembered for her recurring roles on “Leave it to Beaver”
(1957-63) and "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” (1960-63).
Although
the end credits list Jack and Pauline Donohue, neither first name is mentioned in the episode.
Karen
Norris
(Ella, the maid) previously appeared as Della
Fox (aka Student #2 with a head cold) in “Lucy and Viv Take Up
Chemistry” (S1;E26). She will makes four more background
appearances on “The Lucy Show.” She also did one episode of
“Here’s Lucy” in 1968.
Ellen Corby (Woman in the Park) made a memorable appearance on “I Love Lucy” as Miss Hannah, Lucy Ricardo’s High School drama teacher in “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” (ILL S6;E3). She went on to fame as the kindly grandmother on the long-running series “The Waltons,” playing the role from 1971 till 1997, two years before her death.
Benny
Rubin
(Man in the Park) played the snarky Hollywood Bus Driver in “The
Tour” (ILL S4;E30). He will make one more “Lucy Show”
appearances when “Lucy and Viv Open a Restaurant” (S2;E20). The
recognizable character actor is probably best remembered for his
association with Jack Benny.
Jim
Boles
(Mr. Harris, prosecuting attorney) played the Delivery
Man for Barney’s Catering Service when “Lucy Builds a Rumpus
Room” (S1;E11). He was a character actor who began acting on
television in 1949.
Ernest
Sarracino
(Judge) makes his only series appearance, but will return for two
episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” His screen acting credits span from
1939 to 1994.
Hazel
Pierce (Juror, above left)
was
Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in throughout “I Love
Lucy.” She also made frequent appearances on the show, although
only once did she speak, when she won the television auctioned off by
Ladies Overseas Aid in “Ricky’s
European Booking” (ILL S5;E10) and
she shouted “I
won!”.
This just one of her 21 un-credited on-camera appearances on “The
Lucy Show.” In the opening of season two, “Lucy Plays Cleopatra”
(S2;E1), she received screen credit as Mary Lou. She was also an
un-credited extra in the film Forever
Darling (1956).
William
Meader
(Nut
Vendor) had
appeared as an airport extra in “The
Ricardos Go to Japan,”
a
1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” He made 15
appearances on “The Lucy Show,” mostly as a clerk in Mr. Mooney’s
bank.
Alberto Morin (Man in Park, uncredited) was born in Puerto Rico, and appeared in some of Hollywood’s most cherished films: Gone with the Wind (1939), Casablanca (1943), and Key Largo (1948). He was Carlos, one of Ricky’s “Cuban Pals” (ILL S1;E28) and the Robert DuBois in “The French Revue” (ILL S3;E7). His many background appearances on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy” were all uncredited.
Monty
O’Grady was
first seen with Lucille Ball in The
Long, Long Trailer (1953),
and played a passenger on the S.S. Constitution in “Second
Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14).
With William Meader he was at the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan” (1959).
With Hazel Pierce, he was also in “Chris’s New Year’s Eve
Party” (S1;E14). He made a dozen appearances on the series and a
half dozen on “Here’s Lucy.”
Hal
Taggart makes
the second of five appearances on “The Lucy Show” after having
been seen in the Lucille Ball film The
Facts of Life (1960).
This
episode was originally titled “Lucy and the Runaway Moth.” It was filmed on March 21, 1963.
There
was no actual butterfly on the set. The butterfly was optically
inserted later.
In most prints, however,
no
butterfly can be seen at all.
When
Howard McClay calls Lucy at 8am and her hair is up in curlers Lucy
says she’s glad it isn’t ‘phone-a-vision’! Lucy couldn’t have
known that in the 21st century Skype, Zoom, and Facetime would be a part of daily life.
Bell Labs developed the PicturePhone in the late 1950s, and by 1963 (the same year this episode was filmed and aired) it was available in the Chicago area. The units transmitted pictures and sound over existing phone lines but were expensive to operate – and people still feared the prying eyes of the person on the other end of the line. The product never took off.
Lucy
says she’s gone on three dates with Howard so far. No mention is
made of Harry, her former neighbor and sometimes boyfriend.
Viv
says that Howard’s law firm is named Donohue Pomerantz Lombardy &
(hopefully) McClay. In real life, Jack Donohue was the episode’s director, Charles
Pomerantz was Lucille Ball’s publicist, and Joe
Lombardi was a Desilu special effects man.
Jerry’s
nature project is for Cub Scouts. In “Lucy Visits the White House”
(S1;E25, above) it was established that Lucy was Den Mother of Jerry’s den.
When Lucy mistakenly thinks Jerry is collecting “buds” instead of
“bugs” he quips “I’m
a Cub Scout, not a Camp Fire Girl.”
As a den mother, it is odd that Lucy doesn’t know anything about his
project or the date of the next den meeting. The Camp
Fire Girls of America was the nation’s first non-sectarian,
multicultural organization for girls. Its programs emphasize camping
and other outdoor activities for youth. Today they are simply known
as Camp Fire.
Jerry’s
bug collection consists of:
- Cicindelidae
Limbada aka the Tiger Beetle - Stagmomantis
Carolina aka the Praying Mantis - Lepidoptera
Blancas aka the Royal White Butterfly (above)
The
man in the park (Benny Rubin) is reading The Danfield Tribune. Lucy
and Viv appeared on the front page in “Lucy Becomes an Astronaut”
(S1;E6, above). Lucy worked for the paper in “Lucy is a Reporter”
(S1;E17).
Viv
mentions Mr. Hoffstedder at the drug store. He was first mentioned as
Dr. Hoffstedder in “Lucy and Viv Become Tycoons” (S1;E20).
Callbacks!
This
isn’t the first time Lucille Ball has been before a judge. Lucy
Ricardo was seen in “The Courtroom” (ILL S2;E7)…
…and then again in
“Lucy Makes Room for Danny,” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi
Comedy Hour” where Gale Gordon (soon to be Mr. Mooney) was the
judge.
Fast Forward!
The series returns to the Danfield Court House in “Lucy is Her Own Lawyer” (S2;E23)
….and again in “Lucy the Meter Maid” (S3;E7).
Lucille Ball played a butterfly and actually flies (on wires) in “Danny Thomas’ Wonderful World of Burlesque” (1965).
Blooper Alert!
In
the courtroom, the judge addresses the witness as “Mrs.
Wickenhauser” but the first time the lawyer addresses her he calls
her “Mrs. Wickenhauer.” The second time he addresses her he gets
the name right.
Papermoon Loves Lucy 
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