Lucy and the ‘Boss of the Year’ Award

S6;E24 ~ March 11, 1968

Synopsis

Lucy hopes to get Mr. Mooney a promotion to a new bank by nominating him for an award. Mr. Mooney also wants to nominate Mr. Cheever. When Lucy wins the contest, she sings Mr. Mooney’s praises – literally!

Regular Cast

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

Guest Cast

Gary Morton (Emcee) was a comedian who worked the famed ‘Borscht Belt’ in the Catskills Mountains. He met Lucille Ball shortly after her divorce from Desi Arnaz and they married in November 1961. At her request,Morton gave up his nightclub career and became a producer of “The Lucy Show.” Morton also served as a warm-up comic for the show’s studio audience. In early episodes of the series, his loud guffaw can be heard on the laugh track. He will make three appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” Morton passed away in 1999.

Jack Collins (Ernie Williams) appeared with Sid Caesar on a 1953 episode of “Texaco Star Theatre” starring Milton Berle. He will also make six appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”

Williams and Mr. Mooney are old college fraternity brothers.

Sid Gould (Waiter) 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.

Don Anderson (Ceremony Guest, uncredited) will also make three appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”

George DeNormand (Ceremony Guest, uncredited) appeared in three films with Lucille Ball from 1937 to 1963. This is the just one of his many appearances on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.”

Monty O’Grady (Ceremony Guest, uncredited) 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 a traveler 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.”

James Gonzales (CeremonyGuest, uncredited) 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.”

The other ceremony guests and diners at the club restaurant go uncredited as does the quartet of male singers at the ceremony.

This is the end of season 6 and the final episode of the series. The season ended with a 27 share and the show was #2 in the ratings. In addition to 156 regular half hour episodes, there was one hour-long prime time special titled “Lucy in London” (1967). This represents 79 hours of television!

Only Lucille Ball (Lucy Carmichael) appeared in all 156 episodes
Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney) did 111
Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley / Bunson) did 81
Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael) did 55
Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley) did 44
Candy Moore (Chris Carmichael) and Mary Jane Croft (Audrey / Mary Jane Lewis)
tied with 39

Of the background players, Sid Gould appeared in nearly 50 episodes, although not always credited. Also frequently employed were James Gonzales, George DeNormand, Monty O’Grady, Hazel Pierce, and Bennett Green. Of those mentioned, the actor with the greatest longevity on the series is James Gonzales, who was in episode 2 of season 1 and this final episode. Lucy’s friends and favorites like Mary Wickes and Carole Cook were also heavily featured in character roles. Nepotism was never a problem for Lucy, who employed Lucie (daughter), Desi Jr. (son), Gary Morton (husband), Sid Gould (cousin-in-law), Vanda Barra (cousin-in-law), and Cleo Smith (cousin) behind the scenes. During its six seasons on the air, “The Lucy Show” employed more than 450 actors and countless crew and technical staff. The series was only supposed to last long enough to get Desilu out of financial difficulty. However, Lucille Ball found the work fulfilling and continued for six seasons.

This final installment was filmed on February 1, 1968. Lucille Ball had sold Desilu (and along with it, the format for “The Lucy Show”) to Gulf & Western / Paramount, and she did not wish to continue to produce a show that she no longer owned. She was also looking to work with her daughter Lucie as well as her son Desi Jr. Lucille Ball Productions (LBP) will return in September 1968 with a revamped series titled “Here’s Lucy.” It will still feature Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon (as her employer) and be set in Southern California.

Airing immediately after “Lucy” on March 11, 1968 “The Andy Griffith Show” broadcast an episode featuring Ken Berry as Sam Jones. Ken Berry was Lucille Ball’s protégé and a recent guest star on the series. Like “The Lucy Show” “The Andy Griffith Show” (filmed at Desilu / Paramount) will also be re-formatted and return in the fall of 1968 under a new title: “Mayberry R.F.D.” starring
Ken Berry.

The Boss of the Year Award is sponsored by the Businessman’s Club.

Lucy Carter wears the same flowing pastel gown that she wore to the 19th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on June 4, 1967. She won for Leading Actress in a Comedy Series.

Mr. Mooney and Ernie were members of Alpha Beta Gamma fraternity. Their favorite college drink was sloe gin and root beer (neat).

Mr.Mooney met his wife in college on a blind date. She was a shot
putter with a butch haircut and buck teeth. Her maiden name was
Klottendorf. Mr. Mooney fails to use her first name, which was
previously Irma. The character remained off screen for the entire
series. The various horrific descriptions of her were a running gag
on the series.

The episode employs a voice-over of Mr. Mooney writing the letter
recommending Mr. Cheever for the award. This type of thing has never been done on “The Lucy Show” in the past. While he writes under the watchful eye of Abraham Lincoln, the underscoring plays
“The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

Mr. Mooney absentmindedly calls Mary Jane ‘Baby Jane.’ The previous episode guest starred Joan Crawford, star of the film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).

Mary Jane suggests Lucy literally sing Mr. Mooney’s praises instead of write them in a letter. Lucy facetiously suggests “I
Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” a song written by George Gershwin
for the 1934 folk opera Porgy and Bess.

Mary Jane comes up with some more positive suggestions:

“Who’s Wonderful? Who’s Marvelous? Mr. Mooney!” aka “Miss Annabel Lee” written by Sidney Clare, Lew Pollack, and Harry Richman in 1927.
“When the Mooney Comes Over the Mountain” aka “When
the Moon Comes Over the Mountain” written in 1931 by Howard Johnson, Harry M. Woods, and Kate Smith.
“Mooney! How I Love Ya! How I Love Ya!” aka “Swanee” written in 1919 by George Gershwin and Irving Caesar for Al Jolson.
“I’m in Love With Mr….Mooney” aka “Honey (I’m in Love With You)” written in 1928 by Richard A. Whiting, Seymour
Simons, and Haven Gillespie. The song was sung by by Desi Arnaz in “Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation” (ILL S3;E22).
“Mooney and Roses” aka “Moonlight and Roses” by Edwin Lamare with lyrics by Ben Black and Neil Moret.
“Mooney River” aka “Moon River” composed by Henry
Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer for 1961 for the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It won the Oscar for Best Song.

When the scene opens at the Boss of the Year Awards dinner, couples are dancing to “Spanish Eyes” sung by a unidentified and uncredited male close-harmony quartet. The orchestra plays “Mama Ines” a 1931 song by Cuban composer Eliseo Grenet Sánchez popularized by Xaviar Cugat and sung by Desi Arnaz in “The Freezer” (ILL S1;E29). This is likely at tribute to Arnaz, who served as Executive Producer of “The Lucy Show” for the first half of Season 1.

During the ceremony Lucy performs:

“76 Big Loans” aka “76 Trombones” written by Meredith
Willson for the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man, which was filmed in 1962. The film featured Ralph Hart, who played Sherman Bagley on early episodes of the series.
“Thanks For the Memory” by Ralph Rainger and new lyrics by Leo Robin. This was the theme song of Lucy’s movie co-star Bob Hope.

Although there is a ray of hope that Mr. Mooney will earn a promotion to a San Francisco branch of the Westland Bank, the idea is shot down at the last moment by Mr. Cheever’s desire to keep Lucy and Mr. Mooney together. This final scene of Lucy honoring Mr. Mooney is fitting since Lucille Ball had been trying since 1951 to re-team with Gale Gordon, who first starred in her successful radio show “My Favorite Husband.” He was wanted for the role of Fred Mertz but was unavailable. In 1962 Lucy wanted him to play her banker on “The Lucy Show” but he was still under contract to “Dennis the Menace.” When that show was canceled, she was finally able to create a role for him, writing out banker Barnsdahl (Charles Lane) and replacing him with banker Mooney. Gordon would become her sidekick after Vivian Vance departed the series. This boss / employee relationship will continue on “Here’s Lucy” in just sixmonths time.

Blooper Alerts!

Time Flies! The finale of the installment, a musical number by Lucy saluting Mr. Mooney, refers to Lucy having worked for Mooney for six years. Lucy Carmichael has actually worked for Mr. Mooney only since October 1965, less than three years.

Decorating! To serve the plot, the abstract skyline painting behind Mr. Mooney’s desk has been replaced by a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. In two previous episodes, it was replaced (also for plot purposes) by a portrait of George Washington. The office has further been modified with bolt locks on both doors and a framed photo of Mr. Cheever (Roy Roberts) on Mr. Mooney’s desk.

By Any Other Name! Mr. Cheever’s first name is back to being Winfield. In “Lucy and the Starmaker” (S6;E4) Winfield was stated to be his middle name. In “Little Old Lucy” (S6;E7) Mr. Mooney called him Harrison, which would also be Gale Gordon’s character name on “Here’s Lucy.”

Papermoon Loves Lucy