LUCY’S BIRTHDAY

S1;E8
~ November 18, 1968

Directed
by Jack Donohue ~ Written by Milt Josefsberg and Ray Singer

Synopsis

Kim
and Craig take Lucy out to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate her
birthday. But when Craig forgets his wallet, Lucy must fake illness
to get out of paying the bill.  

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter), Desi
Arnaz Jr. (Craig
Carter)

Guest
Cast

Victor
Sen Yung
(Waiter) is probably best remembered as ranch cook Hop-Sing on
“Bonanza” from 1959 to 1973. This is the first of his two
appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”  He appeared in two dozen films and
TV shows with uncredited extra Spencer Chan.  He died in 1980 at age
65 of natural gas poisoning in his own home a month after his final
film was released.  

Spencer
Chan (Restaurant
Employee, uncredited) was a Los Angeles-born actor with more than 100
TV and film projects on his resume, most all uncredited, many with
Victor Sen Yung.  This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.  

Murray
Pollack
(Restaurant Patron, uncredited) was
seen as one of the party guest in “Country
Club Dance” (ILL S6;E25),
the episode that introduced Barbara Eden. Coincidentally, he later
appeared on half a dozen episodes of “I Dream of Jeannie.” He was at the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan”
(1959).
He was seen in the 1963 movie Critic’s
Choice with
Lucille Ball. He made two appearances on “The Lucy Show.” This is
the first of his three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Other
restaurant patrons and staff are played by uncredited background
performers.  

At
the time this episode first aired, Lucille Ball was 57 years old.
Ball’s birthday is August 6th.

Victor
Sen Yung, Spencer Chan, and Murray Pollack all appeared in the 1961
film musical Flower
Drum Song,
based on the 1958 Broadway musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

This
is the first time we have seen Lucy’s bedroom or any of the rooms on
the second floor of the house.  

Kim
sings “Happy Birthday” to her mother. The song is also used in
the underscoring.  In the final moments, it is sung in Chinese by the
waiters and Harry.  “Happy
Birthday To You”
has
traditionally
been attributed to sisters Patty
and
Mildred
J. Hill
in
1893 and was under copyright.  In 2015 a court decision ruled the
song was no longer covered under copyright protection.  

When
trying to think of a possible date for Lucy, Craig asks Kim who she
would like to date. Kim replies “I
don’t think mother would be happy with Ringo Starr.” Craig
then suggests Lawrence Welk. Ringo
Starr (born
Richard Starkey in 1940) was the singer, songwriter, and drummer for
the phenomenally successful Beatles.  Lawrence
Welk
(1903-1992) was a musician,
accordionist,
bandleader,
and television impresario,
who hosted TV’s The
Lawrence Welk Show
from
1951 to 1982. Welk was mentioned several times on “The Lucy Show” and starred as himself on a 1970 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” These two musical artists also represent the spectrum of popular
music – from rock and roll (Kim’s generation) to big band (Lucy’s
generation).  

Harry
says that he promised to give Lucy a raise on her 40th birthday.  In an earlier episode Lucy says that she’s only worked for
Harry for two years.  Lucy is about to try to calculate her back pay
but realizes that would mean disclosing her real age, so…she takes
an early lunch instead!

Alone
in the office, Harry is nearly caught by his niece and nephew looking
at a magazine centerfold.  Although the cover of the magazine has
been removed, the fold-out centerfold was a device used by Playboy
Magazine,
a publication that was famous for its photographs of nude or nearly
nude women.  

Harry
says he wishes his niece and nephew had been named after his
grandparents: Bonnie
and Clyde.
This is the second series reference to the Oscar-winning biopic
Bonnie
and Clyde.

The
Chinese restaurant is called Yang Sing Ching. The (unseen)
proprietor is named Irving. They have matzoh ball soup on the menu.

The
waiter calls Harry “Hot Shot Harry.”  Apparently, he has a
reputation around Yang Sing Ching.

Lucy
plans to fake illness because she has no money to pay the bill. She
brags her performance will make “the
dying scene of ‘Camille’ look like a love-in.”
Camille
was a 1936 film starring Greta Garbo based on the 1848 novel La
Dame aux Camélias
(The
Lady with the Camellias)
by Alexandre
Dumas fils,
in which a young courtesan is dying of consumption.  Camille is
mentioned several times on “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.” During the 1960s a ‘love-in’
was is a peaceful public gathering focused
on meditation, love, music, sex and
sometimes the use of psychedelic
drugs.
The term was coined by Los Angeles radio comedian Peter
Bergman,
who may also have hosted the first one in early 1967. 

Although
this episode has a happy, sentimental ending, it is considered
politically incorrect today to depict stereotypical Asians speaking
English by changing the letter ‘L’ to ‘R’ (’Rucy’ instead of
‘Lucy’). Clever dialogue is displayed in the scene depicting the
selection of the menu items and Lucille Ball gets to show of her
skill at physical comedy through the use of chopsticks.  

A
lonely Lucy Ricardo sought the company of the Friends of the
Friendless in “Lucy’s Last Birthday” (ILL S2;E25).  

When
they have no money to pay the check, Kim and Craig worry that they
may have to wash dishes!  In “Equal Rights” (ILL S3;E4) the boys
teach Lucy and Ethel a lesson by not paying for their dinner, forcing
them to work-off their bill by washing dishes.  

Lucy also had trouble with chopsticks in a 1962 “Danny Kaye Special” that looked at the international dining craze. 

Props! It’s
pretty obvious there’s no water in the sink when Kim is washing the
breakfast dishes at home.

“Lucy’s Birthday” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5 

This episode manages to have some charm while walking the fine line of stereotypes of Asian characters. There were worse and things get better.