Lucy is Her Own Lawyer

S2;E23 ~ March 9, 1964

Synopsis

Lucy
complains when Mr. Mooney’s barking sheepdog Nelson keeps her up all
night. He tells her to sue him, and she does. After making a mockery
of the court proceedings by acting as her own attorney, she finally
wins her case by cross-examining Nelson.

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy
Garrett (Jerry Carmichael)

Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael) and Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley) do not
appear in this episode.

Guest
Cast

John
McGiver
(Judge) is a recognizable character actor who appeared in such hit
films as Breakfast
at Tiffany’s (1961),
The
Manchurian Candidate (1962),
and Midnight
Cowboy (1969).
He did one previous episode of “The Lucy Show” playing a lawyer
in “Lucy is a Kangaroo for a Day” (S1;E7). He appeared opposite
Lucille Ball as Mr. Babcock in the movie musical Mame
(1974).

Joe
Mell
(Joe, the Bailiff) played the Butcher in “Together for Christmas”
(S1;E13) and will make
three more appearances as a background player on “The Lucy Show.”
He also appeared in a 1969 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” In 1964 he
appeared in the TV special “Mr. and Mrs.” (aka “The Lucille
Ball Comedy Hour”), which featured many of the Desilu regulars and
was directed by Jack Donohue, who also directed this episode. In
1971, he was a Taxi Driver on “Lucy and the Lecher,” a cross-over
episode of Danny Thomas’s “Make Room for Granddaddy” in which
Lucille Ball played Lucy Carter, her character from “Here’s
Lucy.”

James
Westerfield
(Mr. Weitzman, Mr. Mooney’s Lawyer) was seen in such films as On
the Waterfront (1954),
True
Grit (1969)
and Hang
‘Em High
(1968).
Between 1944 and 1960 he appeared in half a dozen Broadway plays.
This is his only appearance opposite Lucille Ball.

in real life, Bernard
Weitzman was the name of a Desilu Production Executive.

Pinto
Colvig (Dog
Voices) was the original voice of Disney’s Pluto and Goofy, until his
death in 1967. In
1993, the Walt Disney Company honored him as a ‘Disney Legend.’ On May 28, 2004, he was inducted into the International Clown Hall of
Fame in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Robert
E. Blair
(Court Official / Dog Trainer) was the dog trainer responsible for
Nelson on the set. Blair worked extensively with Frank Inn training
animals for TV and film. A decade later, Blair and his sons would
form the Blair Bunch, specializing in dog and cat training for
commercials.

Lord Nelson (Nelson) makes his first appearance as Mr. Mooney’s dog. He will also appear in “Lucy’s Contact Lenses” (S3;E10) and would go on to appear on “Here’s Lucy” as Bogie in “Lucy and the Bogie Affair” (HL S2;E13). From 1965 to 1967, he played Ladadog (aka Lad) on “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” and reprised the role of Nelson on “The Doris Day Show” from 1968 to 1971.

The
court spectators are played by:

Sam
Harris was born in Australia in 1877
and did a dozen films with Lucille Ball before appearing in the
audience of Over the Teacups in
“Ethel’s
Birthday” (ILL S4;E8) and
playing a subway passenger in “Lucy
and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12).
In between he was a wedding guest in Lucy and Desi’s film Forever
Darling (1956). He was in the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan” in
1959.
Hazel
Pierce was Lucille Ball’s camera
and lighting stand-in throughout “I Love Lucy.” She also made
frequent appearances on the show. In the opening of season two, “Lucy
Plays Cleopatra” (S2;E1), she received screen credit as Mary Lou,
the only one of her many appearances on “The
Lucy Show” where she had a character name. She was also an
un-credited extra in the film Forever
Darling (1956).
Bert
Stevens
made
many appearances as background players on the series. He was the
brother of actress Barbara Stanwyck, whose given name was Ruby
Stevens. He was seen in the Tropicana audience for the Flapper
Follies when “Ricky
Loses His Voice” (ILL S2;E9)
but
probably appeared on other episodes as well.
He often appeared with his wife, Caryl Lincoln, one of Lucille Ball’s
friends from her Goldwyn Girl days.

A
half dozen uncredited background actors play the other court spectators.

Writer Howard
Ostroff joins Madelyn Martin and Bob Carroll Jr. for this and
two future episodes.

The
title refers to the quote by Abraham Lincoln
about acting as your own lawyer: “He
who represents himself has a fool for a client.”

In
“Lucy and the Bank Scandal” (S2;E7, above) we learned that Mr. Mooney
had a dog because there were bones buried in the back yard, although
the dog was featured on screen and the wasn’t named in the episode.
Jerry calls Nelson “Mr. Mooney’s new dog” so it may not have been
the same pet.

In Danfield, Lucy
and Viv live at 132 Post Road. The
Mooneys live at 429 Elm Street.

When
Lucy asks Viv why she didn’t follow the dog when he ran away, she
calls Lucy Simon Legree and sarcastically says she
“lost the scent when he crossed the river.”
This is a direct reference to the plot of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
(1852) in which a runaway slave is chased by dogs and escapes by
crossing a river. In future episodes, both Mr. Mooney and Harry Carter will often be compared to Simon Legree, a ruthless owner of slaves.

Nelson’s
bark triggers the other dogs in the neighborhood to join in the
chorus:

Howard
McAdams’ Pomeranian
Audrey
Simmons’ Beagle – Audrey Simmons is usually played by Mary Jane
Croft.
Grandma
Sutton’s Airedale – Grandma Sutton has been mentioned in several
previous episodes, but never seen. She is, however, usually associated with cats.
The
Hamilton’s Police Dog

Lucy
says she picked up a lot of legal tips from Perry Mason. This
is reference to the fictional layer made famous in books by Erle
Stanley Gardner and the CBS TV series “Perry
Mason” (1957-66)
starring
Raymond Burr.
In the opening of the courtroom scene, the theme music from “Perry
Mason” is suggested in the underscoring. James Westerfield (Mr. Mooney’s Lawyer) did two episodes of the courtroom drama. Joseph Mell (the Bailiff) did three episodes. Background actors Bert Stevens and Sam Miller played courtroom spectators in many “Perry Mason” episodes, and also do the same on this installment of “The Lucy Show”. Raymond Burr played Perry Mason on “The Jack Benny Show” in 1961, and Hazel Pierce showed up on the jury! It seems that outside of Lucy, Viv, and the dog, only John McGiver (Judge) was had no relation to Perry Mason!

Lucille Ball and Raymond Burr (Perry Mason) had appeared together on screen in the 1951 film The Magic Carpet.

A few of the many other actors on “Perry Mason” who were also seen on “Lucy” shows include:

Mike Connors, Barbara Eden, Roy Roberts, Barbara Pepper, Herb Vigran, Paul Winchell, Claude Akins, Shirley Mitchell, Parley Baer, Joseph Kearns, Harvey Korman, Richard Reeves, Eleanor Audley, Jay Novello, Vito Scotti, Norma Varden, Elvia Allman, Ellen Corby, Paula Stewart, John Banner, Elliott Reid, Benny Rubin, Max Showalter, Fifi D’Orsay, Phil Ober, Lou Krugman, Alan Hale Jr., Jonathan Hole, Norman Leavitt, Barbara Perry, Jackie Coogan, Ray Kellogg, Stafford Repp, Bruce Gordon, William Schallert, Paul Picerni, Bill Quinn, Juney Ellis, Phil Arnold, Jerome Cowan, Tyler McVey, Joey Faye, Byron Foulger, Jessyln Fax, Hal Smith, Gail Bonney, Lawrence Dobkin, Rhodes Reason, Vivi Janiss, Barbara Morrison, William Lanteau, Paul Debov, Janos Prohaska, Stanley Farrar, Amzie Strickland, Stanley Adams, Doris Packer, Flower Parry, Bess Flowers, Leoda Richards, Jerry Rush, and many uncredited background actors!

Viv
says that due to the barking she overslept and missed a sale at
Dede’s Dress Shop. Alligator bags were half price! In real life, Dede
was Lucille Ball’s mother’s first name, an affectionate contraction
of “Desiree Evelyn”. This is the first mention of Dede’s Dress
Shop.

Lucy
does the old vaudeville gag of cross-examining herself by jumping in
and out of the witness box. When the lawyer, she often grasps her
jacket lapels to complete the picture. [Note: The above image was created for amusement and does not reflect what was seen on screen. For Lucy to actually meet Lucy on one screen, viewers must wait until the final season of “Here’s Lucy.”]

As unlikely as cross-examining yourself may be, Lucy also cross-examines Nelson the dog proving anything is possible in Lucyland!

Callbacks!

This is the second time an episode is set inside a Danfield Courtroom. The first was “Lucy and the Runaway Butterfly” (S1;E29).

Fred the dog’s barking woke the tenants of 623 East 68th Street on “I Love Lucy”. In this episode, the barking was also provided by an off-screen voice – June Foray.

Lucille
Ball and Vivian Vance were seen in the witness box in “The
Courtroom” (S2;E7) and “Lucy Makes Room for Danny” a 1958
episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” that featured Gale Gordon
as the Judge.

Although the dogs of the neighborhood are only heard in this episode, they actually all turned up in the flesh (or fur) during the finale of “Lucy and Viv Learn Judo” (S1;E22).

Blooper Alerts!

What For? Lucy sues Mr. Mooney in court, but it is never stated what she is seeing from her lawsuit. No monetary or other compensation is ever mentioned. Could she be suing just to prove she’s right?

Fast Forward!

Two years later, Lucy Carmichael landed the role of a juror on a TV soap opera, but couldn’t sit back and let the lawyers do the talking. Here she quotes one of the most famous female lawyers in fiction, Portia from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.

Lucy (Carter) is her own lawyer, defending herself against charges of running an illegal raffle in a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy.”

Lucy (Barker) is her own lawyer when she sues to regain custody of her grandson’s teddy bear in “Lucy, Legal Eagle” (LWL S1;E8) in 1986. She is still tucking her thumbs under her lapels to complete the image!