S4;E20
~ February 7, 1966
Synopsis
Lucy
is movie mad! When her plans to go to a Hollywood premiere with Mary
Jane fall through, she disguises herself as one of the theatre’s
ushers to work the red carpet and get autographs from the
celebrities. The episode includes cameos from some genuine Hollywood
stars.
Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael aka ‘Smith’), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney)
Mary
Jane Croft (Mary Jane Lewis) does not appear in this episode, but
Lucy does have a phone conversation with her.
Guest
Cast
Reta
Shaw (Mrs.
Foley) started
her career on the stage in such hits as Picnic
(1953)
and The
Pajama Game (1954),
for which she also did the film versions. She is best known for
playing maids, such as in Disney’s Mary
Poppins (1964)
and TV’s “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” (1968-1970). This is the
last of her three appearances on “The Lucy Show” and she will
make three more on “Here’s Lucy.”
Mrs.
Foley (mother of Tom) is a neighbor of Lucy’s about to move back to
Iowa and give up her lucrative stand selling maps to the star’s
homes, a job she’s had for 15 years.
Ken
Delo
(Tom Foley) was a singer best known for his association with Lawrence
Welk. This is his only series appearance.
Tom
is about to be inducted into the Army. The word ‘Foley’
(in Hollywood parlance) is the reproduction of sounds lost or absent
during filming restored to enhance the narrative. Foley Artists are
used for nearly all film and television projects.
Flip
Mark
(Kid Map Seller) was
born Philip Mark Goldberg in New York City. In 1965 he played a young
Steve Olson on “Days of Our Lives.” This is the second of his two
appearances on “The Lucy Show.”
Mark left show business to become a 911 operator.
Coincidentally, Mark’s first appearance on the series was about stamp collecting, a hobby also mentioned here.
Eva
Pearson
(Old Lady Biker) had only five TV appearances to her credit from 1951
to 1966.
Pearson does not actually drive the motorcycle. A stunt driver drives across the frame out of sight and Pearson emerges in an identical costume.
Robert
Foulk
(Officer Collins, Beverly Hills Police) played the Brooklyn policeman on the subway
platform in “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12). He will go
on to play six characters on “Here’s Lucy,” two of them
policemen.
Bert
Freed
(Miller) was the first
actor to play the role of Lt. Columbo, in a 1960 episode of “The
Chevy Mystery Show,” eight years before Peter
Falk
became
famous in the part.
From 1942 to 1945 he was seen in four Broadway plays. He was in the
1953 Lucy / Desi film The
Long Long Trailer.
The
character is in charge of the doormen (ushers) at the Taj Mahal Theatre, acting as
sort of a drill sergeant. He claims he went to West Point. He is never referred to by name. It appears in the credits only.
Sid
Gould
(Dimitri Orloff) 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.”
Orloff
is the (fictional) composer of “I Left My Kidney with Dr. Sidney,”
the theme song from the (equally fictional) film Doctors
and Nurses A-Go-Go.
Morgan
Justin
(Road Block) was born Claude
Olin Wurman
in 1926. He has only a half a dozen screen credits to his name.
LUCY (to Road Block): “Every night before I go to sleep, I hope I dream about you.”
Road
Block is a (fictional) Hollywood heartthrob who Johnny Grant compares
to Tab
Hunter and
Rip
Torn,
who co-starred with Lucille Ball in Critic’s
Choice
(1963). Coincidentally, Miss Beverly Hills (Mimi Van Tysen) acted
alongside Torn in the film. The character of Road Block has no
dialogue. His date goes uncredited.
Beverly
Powers aka Miss Beverly Hills (Mimi
Van Tysen, below) was born Beverly Jean Montgomery, but took the stage name Miss Beverly Hills after making her screen debut as Miss Beverly Hills in
a 1961 TV modernization of the Jack the Ripper story. She was seen
on Rip Torn’s arm in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film Critic’s
Choice
in 1963.
The character name Mimi Van Tysen is likely an homage to another statuesque Hollywood blonde, Mamie Van Doren. To
comically contrast with her blonde bombshell appearance, Powers speaks with a funny nasal voice.
George
Barrows
(Coconuts Mulligan, above right) played
a gorilla in his very first screen credit, Tarzan
and His Mate (1934).
He donned the gorilla suit 18 more times from 1954 to 1978. His final
simian character was on “The Incredible Hulk.” This is his third
time as a gorilla on “The Lucy Show,” but he also played two human
characters on the series.
Despite being played by a male actor, Coconuts is identified as a ‘she’. Mimi and Coconuts are stars of the (fictional) movie
Love in the Jungle.
Bennett
Green (Mr.
Albertini) was
Desi Arnaz’s camera and lighting stand-in during “I Love Lucy.” He does occasional
background work on “The Lucy Show.”
Mr.
Albertini is a banker who brings Mr. Mooney to the premiere.
Hazel
Pierce
(Celebrity
in White Fur Coat, uncredited) was Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in
throughout “I Love Lucy.” She also made frequent appearances on
the show. She was also an uncredited extra in the film Forever
Darling (1956).
As
Pierce walks the red carpet (without an introduction), Lucy ironically asks “Are
you anybody?”
Jerry
Rush
(Crowd Member, uncredited) makes
the third of his nine (mostly uncredited) appearances on the series.
He also did two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Bernard
Sell
(Crowd Member, uncredited) is
an English-born background player making his third and final
appearance on the series. He was also an extra with Lucille Ball and
Bob Hope in their films The
Facts of Life (1960)
and Critic’s
Choice (1963).
He later turns up on a 1971 two-part episode of “Here’s Lucy.”
Louise Lane (Crowd Member, uncredited) makes the last of her four background appearances on “The Lucy Show.”
George Bruggeman (Crowd Member, uncredited) was a passenger on the S.S. Constitution when Lucy and Ricky Ricardo has their “Second Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14) in 1956. He was also an extra in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film The Facts of Life (1960).
George Ford (Photographer, uncredited) joined episode cast members Sid Gould, Bernard Sell, and Beverly Powers as an extra in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film Critic’s Choice (1963).
Celebrity Cameos
Johnny
Grant (1923-2008)
was
a
local Los Angeles area TV personality and the honorary Mayor of
Hollywood. He officiated over the unveiling of stars on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame from the 1960s until his death in 2008.
In 1980 he was granted his own star on the Walk of Fame. He was
affectionately known as “Mr. Hollywood.”
Kirk
Douglas
(1916-2020) was nominated for three Oscars and received an
honorary award in 1996. He was the father of actor Michael Douglas.
Despite a debilitating stroke in the 1990s, he lived to the age of 103!
Douglas
arrives unescorted, introduced by Johnny Grant as “The
star of two great films: ‘The Heroes of Telemark’ and ‘Cast a Giant
Shadow.’” The Heroes of Telemark was
released in the UK in November 1965, but would not premiere in the US
for a month after this episode first aired. One month later (March
30, 1966), Cast
a Giant Shadow
premiered.
Jimmy
Durante
(1893-1980) was a multi-talented performer who was distinguished by
his bulbous nose. In “Lucy Meets Harpo Marx” (ILL S4;E28) Lucy Ricardo dons a novelty store mask and trench coat to impersonate Durante for a nearsighted Carolyn Appleby.
Lucille Ball has an uncredited role in his 1935 film Carnival. In this episode, Durante is accompanied by his wife, Margie Little.
In “Hollywood at Last!” (ILL S4;E16), Durante’s caricature on the wall at the Brown Derby restaurant takes up two frames – one for his nose.
Johnny
Grant introduces Durante as “The Shnozzola.”
Vincent Edwards (1928-96) was probably best known as the title character on ABC TV’s “Ben Casey” (1961-66) which was filmed on the Desilu lot. A new episode of “Ben Casey” aired on ABC at 10pm on the night this episode of “The Lucy Show” premiered. It was directed by Marc Daniels, one of the directors of “I Love Lucy” and Jesse Wayne was the stunt coordinator, as he was for “The Lucy Show.”
LUCY (to Edwards): “Oh, doctor! Oh, doctor!”
Vincent Edwards has no dialogue.
Edward
G. Robinson
(1893-1973) was an actor best known for playing underworld
characters. Lucille Ball has an uncredited role in his 1935 film The
Whole Town’s Talking. Just
before this episode was filmed, Robinson starred in The
Cincinnati Kid
with Steve McQueen and Joan Blondell (a former Lucy co-star). “Lucy
Show” stunt coordinator Jesse Wayne was also in the film. Robinson
appears here with his wife, Jane
Adler Robinson.
As
he is introduced on the red carpet, Robinson uses his cigar as a mini
machine gun. The Robinsons have no dialogue.
As part of its Famous People stamp series, the Republic of Guinee in Africa commemorated the 100th anniversary of Lucille Ball’s birth with a stamp.The packaging also depicted Edward G. Robinson!
Other
background performers play premiere guests and fans. In addition to
Lucy (incognito as Smith) the other doormen at the Taj Mahal Theatre state
their names: Evans, O’Sullivan, Drexler, Grabowski, and Sheffield. The actors may be using their own surnames.
Coincidentally, this episode wasa first aired eleven years ago to the day that the Ricardos and Mertzes arrived in Tinseltown in “Hollywood at Last” (ILL S4;E16) in 1955.
In an early draft of the script, the rather lengthy title of this episode was “Lucy Goes To A Hollywood Premiere at the Taj Mahal Theatre” – with a parenthetical proviso that it could be adapted to any variation that could legally be cleared.
At 10pm on CBS, an hour after this episode was originally broadcast, the variety / talent show “Hollywood Talent Scouts” aired. The program, hosted by Art Linkletter, featured established stars presenting new talent. That evening, one of the established stars was Victor Buono. The rotund actor would guest star on “Here’s Lucy” in 1969. Art Linkletter had just played himself on “The Lucy Show” a month earlier, and would do so again in 1970 on “Here’s Lucy”.
As of this episode, Lucy Carmichael and Lucy Ricardo both share a love for movies and film stars. In this episode, Mrs. Carmichael proves just as starstruck as Mrs. Ricardo.
As a movie star herself, Lucille Ball attended many Hollywood premieres, including for the 1954 film A Star is Born, where Lucy and Desi were interviewed live on television as they walked the red carpet.
Perhaps the most memorable (but un-telecast) premiere in Lucille Ball’s career took place in her hometown of Jamestown in early 1956. The film was Forever Darling.
In
April 2017 Ebay listed a 16mm print of this episode which sold for
$19.99.
MR. MOONEY: “Forget Hollywood!”
LUCY: “How can I ‘forget Hollywood’ when I live here?!”
It
cost $144 to ship Lucy’s movie magazine and poster collection air
express from Danfield to Hollywood.
Lucy tells Mr. Mooney that it is hobby, like collecting stamps. Mr.
Mooney was an avid stamp collector in “Lucy and the Missing Stamp”
(S3;E14), spending $3,000 for a rare stamp – but he still fails to be
sympathetic to the cost of Lucy’s hobby.
Lucy’s
movie poster collection includes: Radio
City Revels (1938),
which was filmed at RKO, the studio that became Desilu; The
Overland Express (1938);
and Suspicion (1941), another
RKO picture.
Memorabilia
crazy Lucy says she bought a pink chiffon nightgown from Lillian Goodman’s
Goodies for $75 that was worn by Doris Day in Pillow
Talk.
In reality, Lillian
Goodman
was a prominent Hollywood vocal coach. Doris Day
was
previously mentioned in “No
More Double Dates” (S1;E21)
and
“Lucy is a Soda Jerk” (S1;E23). The nightgown, however, is not seen in this episode.
Mr.
Mooney says he wouldn’t buy a second hand nightie if it had been worn
by Jack Lemmon in Some
Like It Hot.
Some
Like It Hot (1959) was
filmed at San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado, the same location that the
Ricardos and the Mertzes stayed at in “Lucy Goes to Mexico,” also
filmed in 1958.
As
a result of her purchases and the shipping costs, Lucy’s bank account
has dwindled to $1.03.
The
premiere is being held at the Taj
Mahal Theatre.
Although that is a fictional venue, it is undoubtedly inspired by Sid
Grauman’s international-themed movie palaces of the early 20th century.
In 1922, he opened The Egyptian Theatre, which was decorated in an
Egyptian motif inside and out. In 1927, he opened The Chinese
Theatre, with an exterior resembling a pagoda. The forecourt of the
theatre became the sight of slabs of celebrity footprints set in
concrete. The location was recreated at Desilu Studios for “Lucy
Visits Grauman’s” (ILL S5;E1). In this episode, Mimi Von Tysen and
her screen partner Coconuts Mulligan are due to put their footprints (and paw prints) in cement, reinforcing the comparison to Grauman’s Chinese.
Ironically, to this day, Lucille Ball is one of the few celebrities
who have never had their footprints in the forecourt.
One
of Lucy’s rare movie magazines has a (fictional) article titled “Marriage is Not
for Me” (supposedly) written by Elizabeth Taylor when she was 12
years old. Elizabeth Taylor did her first Hollywood film at age 10.
At the time this episode was filmed she had married her fifth
husband, actor Richard Burton. Elizabeth
Taylor
was mentioned in “Hollywood Anniversary” (ILL S4;E23) and more
recently in “Lucy Bags a Bargain” (S4;E17). She and Burton will
guest star as themselves in a 1970 episode of “Here’s Lucy.”
Lucy
says that as a child she had a pet canary named Rin Tin Tin. In Hollywood, Rin
Tin Tin was
a German Shepard police dog who appeared in movies, on radio, and in his own TV
series.
Mrs.
Foley says she watched Rock Hudson change a tire in front of her
Beverly Hills map stand. Rock
Hudson played
himself in “In Palm Springs” (ILL S4;E26).
Lucy
shows Mrs. Foley a February 1935 copy of Screen Play Magazine with
Carole
Lombard
on the cover. Lucy says “Wasn’t
she beautiful? I was just crazy about her.”
Lucy is talking as a fan, but Lucille Ball was talking as a friend.
Ball
was devastated by her tragic death in 1942.
Lucy
thinks ‘Will Power’ (aka willpower) is a star discovered washing dishes at The
Beachcomber. Don the
Beacomber
was a landmark Hollywood restaurant specializing in Chinese and
Polynesian fare as well as exotic drinks. It opened in 1933 and
closed in 1985. In “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” (ILL S5;E1, above), one of
Lucy Ricardo’s prized souvenirs of Hollywood are chopsticks from The
Beachcomber.
Everyone
mistakes Lucy’s impression of Edward G. Robinson (left) for Jimmy Cagney (right).
Jimmy
Cagney
was known in Hollywood for playing gangsters, but won a 1943 Oscar
for playing song and dance man George M. Cohan in Yankee
Doodle Dandy.
When
Mrs. Foley is to return to Iowa, Lucy takes over her spot selling
maps to the stars homes. Ironically, Lucille Ball’s Roxbury Drive
home was usually on those maps. People would often ring the doorbell
and ask for Lucy. Sometimes Ball herself would answer it.
Lucy
calls her competitor, the Kid, a shrewd businessman. He replies that
he got it from his uncle – Jack Benny. Jack
Benny’s
comic persona was that of a miser. He guest starred in “Lucy and
the Plumber” (S3;E2). Coincidentally, Benny’s home is next door to
Lucille Ball’s on Roxbury Drive and was also a destination on the
maps to the stars’ homes.
An
old lady on a motorcycle asks Lucy where Elvis Presley lives. Lucy
asks if she wouldn’t rather know where Lawrence Welk lived. It is
fair to say that Presley and Welk occupied the opposite spectrum of
musical styles and tastes in the mid 1960s. Elvis
Presley,
the rock and roll superstar, was mentioned by Ethel as “that Elvis
What’s-His-Name” in “Lucy Misses the Mertzes” (ILL S6;E17).
Presley and his hit song “Hound Dog” were mentioned in both “Lucy
the Music Lover” (S1;E8) and “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet”
(S1;E18). Lawrence
Welk
was a hugely popular bandleader who would appear as himself on a 1970
episode of “Here’s Lucy.” Actor Ken Delo (Tom Foley) appeared
many times on Welk’s TV show.
As
the old lady races off on her motorcycle, Lucy shouts “Say
hello to Steve McQueen!”
Two of Steve McQueen’s favorite things were racing and motorcycles.
He famously rode a motorcycle in 1963’s The Great Escape. He would receive an Oscar nomination for The
Sand Pebbles
later in 1966.
When Mr. Mooney is hauled off by a policeman for not having a peddler’s license, he tells Lucy that he’ll probably end up on Devil’s Island. This is a reference to an infamous penal colony in French Guiana. A frequent punchline on the show despite being closed since 1953, it was first mentioned in “Paris at Last” (ILL S5;E18) and will be mentioned in several times on “Here’s Lucy.”
MILLER: “About face!
(The men turn. Lucy remains facing front.)
MILLER: “Smith! Didn’t you hear ‘about face?”
LUCY / SMITH: “No. What about it?”
The uniforms of the Taj Mahal Theatre ushering squad are reminiscent of those of the French Foreign Legion during the mid 19th century and as seen in Hollywood films like Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The white cotton flap on the back of the hat was to protect from desert sun and sand. In the heyday of Hollywood, Roxy ushers were known for their meticulous uniforms and military precision.
When
Lucy hears Tom Foley must report for duty immediately and miss the
premiere, Lucy says he should ask the Army if he can go tomorrow instead.
Foley says “I
don’t think Lyndon would like it.” Lyndon
Baines Johnson
was the 36th President of the United States (1963 to 1969). In “Lucy the
Stockholder” (S3;E25) Lucy says she is going to send Lyndon a thank
you note for her tax refund. LBJ’s portrait is proudly on display at Mr. Mooney’s bank.
At the time of filming the Vietnam war was being waged. Coincidentally, on the same day this episode first aired, with its talk of Foley going into the Army, the headlines of the day featured news of President Johnson’s trip to Hawaii to discuss the subject with US General Westmoreland and a South Vietnamese delegation. The news must have dampened some of the comedy for viewers of the original telecast.
After all of that, we
never even learn the name of the film that is premiering!
Callbacks!
Lucy
Ricardo thought she was going to her first Hollywood premiere in “Don
Juan and the Starlets” (ILL S4;E17), but Ricky only had enough
tickets for the starlets, not Lucy.
In
“The Tour” (ILL S4;E30), Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz took a bus
tour of Beverly Hills with a map of the stars homes in hand. They
disembarked at Richard Widmark’s house, which (in the second unit
footage) was actually Lucille and Desi’s Beverly Hills home on
Roxbury Drive.
If Lucy Carmichael’s failure to keep up with her ushering squad seems familiar, it’s because she also failed to keep up in “Lucy and the Military Academy” (S2;E10).
Lucy’s autograph book is bright yellow so that Coconuts can believably mistake it for a banana and cause the chaos that results in…
…Mr.
Mooney falling into wet cement! Little Ricky
did the same thing in “Lucy and John Wayne” (ILL S5;E2) when the gang tries to replace Wayne’s footprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. This brings things full circle!
Blooper
Alerts
Hats
off! Lucy’s hat falls off while arguing with the Kid, but Lucille Ball lets
it lie in the gutter until a convenient break in the dialogue when
she can pick it up. It falls off again when Mr. Mooney startles her.
This time, she immediately retrieves it.
Glamour
Boy! Lucy goes incognito as a male doorman / usher at the Taj Mahal, yet she
is in full glamour make-up: red lipstick, blue eye shadow, and heavy
false eyelashes. It seems unlikely that anyone, especially Mr.
Mooney, would mistake her for a man.
Funny
Girl! Announcer Johnny Grant (not really an actor) cannot keep from laughing when Lucy
does her funny marching steps.
Who
Wore it Better? On the red carpet, Road Block’s arm candy wears the
same green feathered hat that Lucy wore when she went incognito as
Pamela Pettebone in “Lucy Goes to Vegas” (S3;E17). In Vegas, Viv called it a “fresh crop of crab grass”!
Shoe Show! When Lucy removes her uniform to reveal her canary yellow evening gown (a rare color for Lucille Ball to wear), she does not change her shoes, and sashays into the theatre in the clunky men’s black lace-ups she wore as ‘Smith’! Ball takes a moment to fluff her hair after removing the hat, making it is clear that she was not wearing a wig for this episode, as he sometimes did.
Fast Forward!
Here, Lucy is terribly inept at keeping up with the martial precision of her fellow ushers. Later in 1966, Private Carmichael will be equally (yet hilariously) out of step when “Lucy Gets Caught Up in the Draft” (S5;E9).
In 1971, “Here’s Lucy” presented another episode jam-packed with Hollywood references. It also featured Gale Gordon and Sid Gould.
Long before David Permut became an Oscar-nominated producer, he was selling $3 maps to celebrity homes! The same year this episode first aired, a young Permut moved with his family to Los Angeles. Within three years, Permut was hawking his own self-created maps on the corner of Ladera and Sunset. On a very good day he could pull in $30 (about $180 today). The above map (not one of Permut’s) has the Arnaz mansion on the cover, along with the home of her dear friend and “Lucy Show” co-star Ann Sothern!
In the 1997 film Star Maps, a young man starts off selling maps to the stars homes as a foothold into Hollywood, but ends up in a world of male prostitution. Not exactly a subject that Lucy would tackle in 1966!
“Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5
Papermoon Loves Lucy 
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