Lucy and the Sleeping Beauty

S4;E9
~ November 15, 1965

Synopsis

Lucy
meets a handsome construction worker and finds out that he is easily
startled if suddenly awoken.

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney), Mary Jane
Croft (Mary Jane Lewis)

Guest
Cast

Clint
Walker (Frank Winslow) is probably best remembered as the title
character in “Cheyenne” (1955-62), TV’s first hour-long
western. In real life, he had a twin sister named Lucille. Walker
will make one more appearance on “The Lucy Show” at the end of
season four. He died in May 2018 at age 90.

Mary
Wickes (Aunt
Gussie) 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 initial “Lucy Show” appearances her characters name was
Frances, but she then made 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.

Leopold
Kress
(Harry) makes his only appearance on the series. According to IMDB,
Kress has only one other TV credit.

Sid
Gould
(Sam) 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.”

This
episode was written by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson. Marshall
later said that he was inspired by the fact that his mother dated a
Marine that would go on the defensive if suddenly awoken.

Frank
explains that is he was a commando in the war who learned karate so
if anyone wakes him up suddenly he starts swinging.

Mr.
Mooney’s bank is financing the 39-story high rise that Frank’s
company is building.

This
episode aired 10 days before Thanksgiving 1965. Although the holiday is
never mentioned specifically, Mary Jane is cooking a turkey in Lucy’s
oven for visiting relatives.

Lucy
tells Mary Jane that Frank looks like the Washington Monument with a
sun tan. Mary Jane replies that her boyfriend is
built like the Liberty Bell – and a little cracked.

When
Lucy puts on the hard hat, Mr. Mooney says she looks like Sergeant
York. Sergeant York was a 1941 film about World War I
starring Gary Cooper in the title role. Mr. Mooney is equating the
doughboy’s helmet with a hard hat.

When
Frank says his foreman got a job in a cigarette commercial, Lucy asks
if he will have “a black eye or indigestion from eating his
hat.” Tareyton cigarettes ad campaign featured the slogan “I’d
rather fight than switch” along with a model with a black eye.
Lucky Strike filter cigarettes used the slogan “Show me a filter
that won’t take away the taste and I’ll eat my hat” and featured
models with bites taken out of their hats.

Frank
gives Lucy a pink hard hat with her name on it. “Lucy” is
written in the same script font as the title sequence of the series which was based on Lucille Ball’s real-life signature.

Lucy
says she always gets the hiccups when she’s hungry. In “Lucy’s Last
Birthday” (ILL S2;E25) Lucy Ricardo says she gets hiccups from
crying. In “Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana” (set in 1940), Lucy
says she doesn’t often get hiccups.

Callbacks!

Lucy
Ricardo found herself on the girders of a high rise building under
construction in “Milton Berle Hides out at the Ricardos”, a 1959
episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”

Blooper
Alerts!

Gussie & The Gap! Mary
Jane and her Aunt Gussie enter Lucy’s kitchen through the back door,
which opens to a second floor patio. It was established that Mary
Jane, who lives next door, could gain access through an opening in
the fence, but it is hard to imagine Aunt Gussie squeezing through a
gap in the fence.

Back Story Amnesia! After
Frank karate chops the pillar, Lucy asks “Is
that karate?”
Lucy and Viv took Judo and karate lessons in Danfield, so she should
recognize the moves.