Lucy and the Countess

S3;E19~
February 1, 1965

Synopsis

Lucy’s
old school chum Rosie is back in town and she’s now a countess. Rosie boards with Lucy and is immediately invited to a wine tasting by Mr.
Mooney where they she and Lucy drink each other under the table –
literally!

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy
Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley), Candy Moore
(Chris Carmichael)

Vivian
Vance (Vivian Bagley) does not appear in this episode, but she is
mentioned.

Guest
Cast

Ann
Sothern (Rosita ‘Rosie’ Harrigan, the Countess Framboise)
makes the first of her seven appearances as a countess down on her
luck.

Sothern had appeared in the
first “Lucy-Desi
Comedy Hour”
“Lucy
Takes a Cruise to Havana”
(1957) as Susie MacNamara, the same character she played on her show
“Private Secretary” from 1953 to 1957. In return Lucille Ball
played Lucy Ricardo on her new show in 1959. Sothern appeared with Ball
in five films between 1933 and 1943. She was nominated for an Oscar
for her final screen appearance in The
Whales of August
in 1987. She is buried near her home in Sun Valley, Idaho, a place
also dear to Lucy and Desi.

Carole
Cook
(Mrs. Valance, Society Editor) was
seen as Thelma Green in four episodes and now is cast as a variety of
characters. She was a protégé of Lucille Ball’s during the Desilu
Playhouse years. Although she was born as Mildred Cook, Ball
suggested she take the name Carole, in honor of Lucy’s great
friend, Carole Lombard. Cook also went on to appear in five episodes
of “Here’s Lucy.”

Sid
Gould (Sam,
Delivery Man) made
more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all as background
characters. He also did 40 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Gould
(born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to
Gary Morton. Gould was married to Vanda Barra, who also appeared on
“The Lucy Show” starting in 1967, as well as on “Here’s
Lucy.”

Monty
O’Grady (Waiter)
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).
He was at the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan”
(1959).
He made a dozen appearances on the series and a half dozen more on
“Here’s Lucy.”

The members of the Danfield Wine Tasting Society are played by:

Leon
Alton appeared
with Lucille Ball in The
Facts of Life
(1960) and Critics
Choice (1963).
This is the first of his two appearances on “The Lucy Show.” He
also was seen in three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Paul
Bradley makes
the fourth of his six appearances on “The Lucy Show” in various
roles. He will also be seen in two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Steve
Carruthers was
one of the passengers on the S.S. Constitution in “Second
Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14).
He was seen in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film The
Facts of Life. This
is second of his two appearances on “The Lucy Show.”
George
DeNormand had
appeared in three films with Lucille Ball from 1937 to 1963. This is
the third of his many appearances on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s
Lucy.”
James
Gonzales
was
a popular Hollywood extra who first acted with Lucille Ball in the
1953 film The
Long, Long Trailer.
He was previously seen on the series as Stan Williams in “Lucy
Digs Up a Date” (S1;E2).
He was seen in more than 20 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 3
episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Bert
Stevens and
Caryl Lincoln were
a real-life husband and wife who made many appearances as background
players on the series. Lincoln was one of Lucy’s friends from her
Goldwyn Girl days. Stevens 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
along with Lincoln, probably appeared on other episodes as well.
Ervin
Richardson makes
the third of four uncredited appearances on “The Lucy Show.” He
also did two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Jean
Vachon makes
the last of her six appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all but one
uncredited.

Five uncredited actors play the delivery men who bring on the luggage.

This
episode was filmed on November 19, 1964.

Lucy
says Viv’s been out of town for a week and will be gone for two more.
As Vivian Vance started to phase out her involvement on “The Lucy
Show” in order to spend more time with her husband on the East
Coast, Lucille Ball was looking to introduce a new character to fill
the ‘second banana’ role. The Countess will appear in seven episodes
through November 1965, the start of season 4.

For episodes featuring Ann Sothern, Vivian Vance’s opening title sequence credit is eliminated. Instead of the freeze frame of Viv as the flapper in the silent movie sketch (and the screen title “co-starring Vivian Vance”), the freeze frame is on Lucy as Charlie Chaplin.

Rosie
Harrigan and Lucy Carmichael were school chums and on the basketball
team together. Rosie met her late husband the Count when she went to
Paris. She invited Lucy to go along, but Lucy went to Poughkeepsie instead.

As
soon as the audience hears Ann Sothern’s voice, she receives a warm
round of entrance applause from the studio audience, even before she
appears from behind the piles of luggage.

Rosie’s
deceased husband was named The Count Henry Gaston Armand Jean-Louis
Philippe Framboise Le Cul de Sac (aka Saxy).

Mr.
Mooney has just been elected president of the Danfield Wine Tasting
Society. They are hosting an event at the Gourmet Room of the
Danfield Hotel. We previously visited a suite in the hotel in “Lucy
Becomes a Reporter” (S1;E17).

Mrs.
Valance (Carole Cook) is said to be the Society Editor. She is the
fourth person to hold that position since the show began. In
“Lucy
Becomes a Reporter” (S1;E17),
Lucy
temporarily fills in for (unseen) society column editor Betty Gillis.
In “Lucy and Viv Open a Restaurant” (S2;E20) the editor’s name
was Mr. Dutton (Alan Hewitt).

A
drunken Lucy and Rosie sing “Jeanie
with the Light Brown Hair,” is
a song
by
Stephen
Foster
(1826–1864)
first published in 1854. Foster wrote the song with his estranged
wife Jane in mind.
They later burst into an inebriated chorus of “I
Love Paris”
written by Cole Porter in 1953 for the Broadway musical Can-Can.
In the 1960 film version of Can-Can
it was sung by Frank Sinatra and Maurice Chevalier. Between 1960 and
1961 it was covered by Andy Williams, Etta Jones, Al Hirt, and Jack
Jones.

Under
the influence of nine different wines, Lucy says that 1939 was one of
the worst years of her life because she got the mumps and couldn’t go
to the seashore. In real life, 1939 was the year 28 year-old
Lucille Ball lost out on the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With
the Wind. She did, however, make five other films that year.

Lucy
and Rosie’s posh hats and candid talk are vaguely reminiscent of Mame
Dennis and Vera Charles in the movie musical Mame (1974).

Callbacks!

Lucille
Ball and Ann Sothern use the same drunk bit they had done on both the
first “Lucy-Desi
Comedy Hour” “Lucy
Takes a Cruise to Havana”
(1957) and on “The
Ann Sothern Show”
(1959), above.

Lucy
and Viv previously got intoxicated in “Lucy’s Sister Pays a Visit”
(S1;E15) on spiked punch.

Lucy
Ricardo was famously drunk on Vitameatavegamin (which had an alcohol
content of 23 percent) in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL
S2;E1).

Lucy
Ricardo often had to contend with Ricky reading the morning newspaper
during breakfast.

Blooper
Alerts!

Repeating Myself! While
the masses of luggage are being brought through the front door, Lucy
and Sid Gould ad lib, but repeatedly use the phrase “Stay out of
the way” to their kids – ten times!