S5;E15
~ January 9,
1967
Synopsis
Viv
visits Lucy in Los Angeles and tells her some gossip about a Danfield
boy who is now hanging out on the Sunset Strip. Hoping to rescue the
once-promising college boy, Lucy and Viv try to blend in to track him down.
Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carmichael),
Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney)
Mary
Jane Croft (Mary
Jane Lewis) and Roy
Roberts
(Mr. Cheever) do not appear in this episode.
Guest
Cast
Vivian
Vance
(Vivian Bunson) returns to the series in the role she created, Lucy’s
best friend and former roommate, Vivian Bagley (now Bunson). Vance
was
born Vivian Roberta Jones in Cherryvale, Kansas, in 1909, although
her family quickly moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she was
raised. She had extensive theatre experience, co-starring on Broadway
with Ethel Merman in Anything
Goes.
She was acting in a play in Southern California when she was spotted
by Desi Arnaz and hired to play Ethel Mertz, Lucy Ricardo’s
neighbor and best friend. The pairing is credited with much of the
success of “I Love Lucy.” Vance was convinced to join the cast
of “The Lucy Show” in 1962, but stayed with the series only
through season three. She made half a dozen appearances on “Here’s
Lucy,” as well as joining Ball for a TV special “Lucy Calls the
President” in 1977. Vance died two years later.
Chet
Stratton (Airline
Official) was born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1915. He was a
prolific actor in both New York and Hollywood, with 11 Broadway plays
to his credit between 1934 and 1953. Born
into a theatrical family, he toured as a child in repertory shows and
in vaudeville.
This is his only appearance opposite Lucille Ball.
Jerry
Rush
(Airline Gate Attendant) makes
the seventh of his nine (mostly uncredited) appearances on the
series. He also did two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Steven
Marlo
(Hy, a Biker) appeared as the Marine Guard in “Lucy and the
Submarine” (S5;E2). This is his final appearance on the series.
Ray
Kellogg
(Motorcycle Officer, above right) played
the barking Assistant Director (“Roll
‘em!”)
in “Ricky’s
Screen Test” (ILL S4;E6)
and later appeared in “Bullfight
Dance” (ILL S4;E22).
This is the sixth of his seven episodes of “The Lucy Show.” He
also did two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Just as he does here,
most most time he played a policeman.
John
J. ‘Red’ Fox (Patrolman
Harry McLeod, above left) was also best known for playing policemen, which is
what he did on five of his eight appearances on “The Lucy Show”
as well as three of his five episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
The
Patrolman is never addressed by his surname during the episode.
Ralph
Maurer
(Hairy Ape Doorman) was born Lev Mailer. This is his very first
screen appearance and his only one with Lucille Ball. He became a
respected acting teacher.
Les
Brown Jr.
(Herbie Watson aka Itchy) was the real life son of bandleader Les
Brown. He was best known for playing Jim Bailey on TV’s “The
Baileys of Balboa,” a one-season comedy on CBS from 1964-65. This
is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.
Lucy
says she was at Herbie’s high school graduation. His parents are
Helen and Joe Watson, a barber from Danfield. Brown’s real
life father, Les Brown Sr. (the bandleader), was mentioned in “Viv
Moves Out” (S2;E22).
Charley
Britt
(Hairy Ape Dancer, above right) played Charley on “The Adventures of Ozzie and
Harriet” from 1961 to 1965. It was on a 1962 episode of the show
that he met his future wife, Pamela Austin. This is his only
appearance with Lucille Ball.
Tony
Barro
(Hairy Ape Dancer, above left) has only one other credit (according to IMDB), a
1970 episode of “Pufnstuf.”
Christopher
Riordan
(Hairy Ape Patron, uncredited) began his screen career in 1956 and is
still acting today. He plays Chris in the NBC show “Superstore.”
Several
dozen other background performers play travelers at the airport, the
people on Sunset Strip, and patrons of The Hairy Ape.
This
episode was filmed on November 17, 1966. That evening Ralph Hart,
who had played Viv’s son Sherman, appeared on an episode of “My
Three Sons.” Also a regular on “My Three Sons” was Barry
Livingston, who twice played Mr. Mooney’s son Arnold.
The
evening this episode first aired (January 9, 1967) CBS gave “The
Lucy Show” a new lead-in titled “Mr. Terrific,” a mid-season
replacement and super hero series designed to fight the phenomenon of
“Batman” on ABC. The first episode of “Mr. Terrific”
featured character actor John McGiver (above center), who had played a Lawyer in
“Lucy is a Kangaroo for a Day” (S1;E7) and a Judge when “Lucy
is Her Own Lawyer” (S2;E23). He will play Lawyer Babcock opposite
Lucille Ball in 1974’s Mame.
“Mr. Terrific” proved ‘not so terrific’ in the ratings and lasted
just one season.
This
is Vivian Vance’s first appearance on the show since episode “Lucy
the Disc Jockey”
(S3;E26) at
the end of Season 3.
The very first line of the episode! Lucy Carmichael: Mistress of the Obvious!
Continuing to be clueless, Lucy looks up at the airplane arriving and mistakes the landing
gear for Viv!
Even though the production previously used stock
footage of the exterior Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in
“Lucy Flies to London” (S5;E6), they do not do so here. It looks
as though it is supposed to be a local airport.
Naturally,
the studio audience gives Vivian Vance a very warm round of entrance
applause.
Viv
says her husband (Mr. Bunson) is handsome, tall, dark hair, blue
eyes, strong, and has lots of character. He will never be seen on camera.
Viv
tells Lucy that she is taking singing lessons back home. Her husband
calls her his “happy little canary.” Mr. Mooney remarks that
he’s never seen a 150 pound canary. Ironically, he will in 1971 when Viv (Jones) dresses as a canary to sing “Yellow Bird” (above) on a cruise ship to Hawaii on “Here’s Lucy.”
This episode again resorts to jokes
about Viv’s weight and her propensity for overeating, saying that
she’s cut down to just six meals a day. She also remarks that is now
three hours younger due to the time change, contributing jokes about
age as well.
When Viv relays that a former hometown boy, Herbie Watson, is hanging out on the Sunset Strip with long hair and a wristwatch for an earring, Lucy is determined that they should find him and set him right before his mother finds out! Viv is reluctant:
VIV: “I came here to see the sights.”
LUCY: “Well, then you’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re going to see the Sunset Strip, and believe me girl, that’s a sight!”
The
Sunset
Strip
is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset
Boulevard
that
passes through West
Hollywood, California.
The Strip is probably the best-known portion of Sunset, embracing
boutiques, restaurants, rock clubs, and nightclubs
that
are on the cutting edge of the entertainment industry. In the
mid-1960s it became a major gathering place for the counterculture
and
the scene of the Sunset
Strip curfew riots of
November 1966 (the same month this episode was filmed). The riots
involved police and crowds of young club-goers, and inspired the
Buffalo
Springfield song
“For
What It’s Worth.”
When
the two policemen see Lucy with her foot up on their motorcycle, they
wonder aloud if the ‘new rules’ allow them to tell her to take her
foot off of it. This gets a loud round of applause from the studio
audience, reacting to the headlines of the day. Later, the nightclub
where Lucy and Viv are hanging out is raided by the police. The
charge? Violating the curfew laws! Straight from the headlines to
sitcom history. Six weeks later a low-budget film titled Riot
on the Sunset Strip
was released. “Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy” background actor
Dick Winslow had a small role in the film. For all its topicality,
this episode still presents some misconceptions about the youth of
the mid-60s. Viv and Lucy call the young people “kooks” and “weirdos.” It is clearly written from the somewhat skewed
perspective of the older generation.
The
Police Officer’s motorcycle is a 1958 Harley-Davidson Duo Glide.
Several other motorcycles are also parked on the street during the
scene.
Lucy
and Viv visit Sunset Strip dressed as an odd combination of beatniks,
hippies, and mods. There they pass by:
- Hamburger Hovel – Home of
the Famous Bikerburger - Half Beat Harold’s (a record shop)
- Milt’s Mad Mod Pod (a boutique). The name Milt may be a tribute to
Milt Josefsberg, the show’s script supervisor.
About Toronto’s famous “Strip”, English writer Stephen Brook may well have been describing the opening scene of this episode:
Interestingly, Half Beat Harold’s was another Toronto landmark.
Above is the same portion of The Sunset Strip (8650 Sunset Boulevard) as it looks today.
The
reveal of the interior of The Hairy Ape nightclub, with its live band
and dancers in full swing, gets a round of applause from the studio
audience.
At
The Hairy Ape, two scruffy dancers ask Lucy and Viv if they know how
to dance The Arrow or The Rooster. Instead, Lucy and Viv show them
how to do The Lighthouse and The Chipmunk – which they make up on
the spot.
All four dances were created for the episode.
Biker
Hy asks “Vi” (Viv) and “Loose” (Lucy) if they belong to the
Sharks or the Cobras. Lucy replies that they are part of the
Bloomer Girls (an undercover outfit). Bloomers, a lightweight, loose-fitting leg
covering for women similar to pants, were first introduced to America
in 1851 by temperance advocate Amelia Bloomer. In the 1890s
all-female sports teams began adopting the mode of dress and became
known as ‘bloomer girls’. In “The Camping Trip” (ILL S2;E29)
Lucy and Ethel set up a basketball court in their living room and
Fred calls them “bloomer girls.” There was also a Broadway musical titled Bloomer Girls which was adapted for television in 1956 starring Keith Andes, who played the male lead opposite Lucille Ball in Wildcat on Broadway.
The
young revelers at The Hairy Ape snap their fingers in approval of the
band’s performance. Unfortunately, it mixes with the studio
audience’s applause and is drowned out a bit. Snapping instead of
clapping was associated with the beatniks, who met in
‘underground’ coffee houses and bars for their performances.
Itchy
recites his “song” rather than sings it and strums a random chord
or two on his ‘gitbox’ in between verses. Similarly, Lucy picks up
the guitar to accompany Viv in her song, but only strums it once.
Lucy does not know how to play the guitar so it is odd to see her so
eagerly pick it up. It may be that Les Brown Jr. (despite his musical
lineage) did not either!
Itchy
tells Viv he doesn’t miss his parents because “that
‘Maggie and Jiggs’ action was pretty hard to take.”
Maggie
and Jiggs
(or Jiggs and Maggie)
was the colloquial name for a comic strip actually titled “Bringing
Up Father.” It was created by George McManus and ran from 1913 to
2000. The strip presented the life of a nouveau-riche American
family. It was translated to stage, radio, television and six
films.
Before
leaving The Hairy Ape, Viv takes the stage to sing “her best song”
– “I
Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” by Stephen Foster (1826–64), first published in 1854. Lucy
and Rosie (Ann Sothern) sang it while drunk in “Lucy and the
Countess” (S3;E19). In some syndicated versions, Viv’s song is cut for time.
Callbacks!
Inside
The Hairy Ape, the décor includes the female bull head Lucy Ricardo
wore in “Bullfight Dance” (ILL S4;E22) back in 1955. Clearly, the Desilu Props Department was raided for this episode!
A
female dancer in the club is wearing the same (or same type of) shift
dress worn by Lucy in the beach scene of “Lucy is a Chaperone”
(S1;E27), with
the face of a smiling girl with free-flowing pigtails on the back.
Here the face is worn on the front. It is interesting to see both of
these props / costumes in color for the first time!
The diamond-shaped drop earrings worn by the blond extra in the Hairy Ape are the same ones worn by Lucy Carmichael in the 1966 special “Lucy in London”.
Blooper
Alerts!
Behind
Lucy’s desk, the file cabinet ID tags have changed again since the
previous episode. Lucy’s filing system must be its own off-screen comedy!
Papermoon Loves Lucy 
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