LUCY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS

S2;E6
~ October 27, 1969

Directed
by George Marshall ~ Written by Milt Josefsberg and Ray Singer

Synopsis

Patty
Andrews of the Andrews Sisters comes to the Unique Employment Agency
to find two performers to play her sisters in a musical revue.
Naturally Lucy volunteers herself and Kim.

Regular
Cast

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

Guest
Cast

Patty
Andrews
(Herself) and
her sisters, Maxene and LaVerne, were one of the most successful
women’s singing groups, with 19 gold records and sales of nearly 100
million copies. The sisters began performing in the early 1930s when
the Depression wiped out their father’s business. In 1937, the
sisters scored their first big hit with “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen.” In addition to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” their best-known songs
included “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” and “Rum and Coca
Cola.” The trio officially broke up after the death of LaVerne in
1967, when a suitable replacement could not be found.
Patty did 19 films, always as herself. She even starred in a Broadway musical called Over Here! (1974). This is her only appearance
with Lucille Ball. Patty Andrews died in 2013 at the age of 94.

John
McLaren
(Elroy Sherwood) was born in Alberta Canada in 1911, the same year as
Lucille Ball. He started his screen career in 1944. This is his
only time appearing with Lucille Ball.

Sherwood
is Harry’s biggest client from Atlanta, Georgia. Patty calls him
“Ham hock”.

Gary
Morton
(Emcee) was married to Lucille Ball and was the Executive Producer of
“Here’s Lucy.” This is his first of three on camera appearances
on the series. He also made four appearances on “The Lucy Show.”

Joseph
La Cava
(Registrar, uncredited, background right) was
born in 1908 in Paterson, New Jersey. He played a Bartender on the
S.S. Constitution in “Second Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14). He was
also seen in the Lucille Ball films Yours, Mine and Ours
(1968) and Mame
(1974).

LaVerne
Andrews has passed away by this point and Maxene Andrews has a
love/hate relationship with her remaining sister that will last until
her death many years later. Although there are photos of the sisters on Patty’s piano, their first names are never spoken in the episode!

All the singing is prerecorded and
lip-synched by the trio. Ironically, the point of the show is that
(due to the broken records), they are all singing live!

On
the DVD extras for this episode, Lucie Arnaz notes that the studio
audience’s reaction was so overwhelming that it had to be edited down
to keep the show within its broadcast time limits. Lucy herself gets
entrance applause from the studio audience.

This episode was filmed on July 17, 1969, which was Lucie Arnaz’s 18th birthday.

Lucy
says she was the biggest movie fan in her town, which is something
she has in common with Lucy Carmichael and Lucy Ricardo, who were
also movie mad. Lucy says she had a crush on William Powell, Clark
Gable, Jimmy Stewart, and Melvin Krantz (her old boyfriend who took
her to the movies).

This
is the first time we have seen Kim’s bedroom. Kim has redecorated
with black and white movie posters of Hollywood stars such as W.C.
Fields, Clark Gable, Valentino, Oliver Hardy, Betty Grable, James
Dean, and the film Under
Two Flags
(1936).

Lucy notes that it just cost her $90 for new wallpaper for Kim’s room.

When the kids go to the car to get posters of Tom Mix,
Buster Keaton, and Valentino, Lucy finds a poster of Lucille Ball!
She looks at it thoughtfully and then says “Meh” and puts it
down. As she leaves the room Lucy blows a kiss to Humphrey Bogart as
the soundtrack plays “As Time Goes By” a song featured in
Casablanca,
one of Bogart’s biggest hit films.

Lucy
also claims to be a fan of singing groups like the Mills Brothers,
the Boswell Sisters, and the Andrews Sisters.

Given
the clue that Patty’s last name is Andrews, Lucy guesses that she is
Julie Andrews. Patty says “I
wish!”,
a joke about Julie’s phenomenal success and Patty’s waning
popularity.

Patty
says that on a clear day she can see Paul Newman, who lives next door
to her. Unfortunately, she says she can also see his wife! Newman’s
wife in 1969 was actress Joanne Woodward.

Framed gold records of Andrews Sisters hits are framed on Patty’s wall: “Bei
Mir Bist Du Schoen” (their first big hit), “South America Take it
Away,” “Apple Blossom Time,” “Three Little Fishies,” and
“Mairzy Doats”

The Fan Club show consists of Lucy, Patty, and Lucie singing a medley of Andrews
Sisters hits:

“Bei
Mir Bist Du Schoen”
by
Jacob
Jacobs
and
Sholom
Secunda, originally written
for a 1932 Yiddish language
musical,
I
Would If I Could.
It was a number one hit for the Andrews Sisters in 1938.
“South
America, Take it Away” was written by
Harold Rome for the 1946 Broadway musical Call
Me Mister.
Craig
(as Bing Crosby) sings
“Don’t Fence Me In”
by Cole Porter and Robert Fletcher, originally written for the
unproduced musical film Adios,
Argentina.
Craig
and the trio sing “"Pistol
Packin’ Mama,“ a 1943 song with words written by Al
Dexter to an American folk tune.
”Don’t
Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)“
by Sam H. Stept, Lew Brown, and Charles Tobias. The song was sung by
the Andrews Sisters in the 1942 film Private
Buckaroo.
“Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy”
by
Don
Raye
and
Hughie Prince. The song was sung by the Andrews Sisters in the 1941
film Buck
Privates.
“Three
Little Fishies” was written by
Josephine Carringer, Bernice Idins, and Saxie
Dowell.
“Pennsylvania
Polka” by
Zeke
Manners
was introduced
by the
Andrews Sisters in
their 1942 film Give
Out, Sisters.
It was a number 4 hit on the charts for the group in 1939.
”(I’ll
Be With You) In Apple Blossom Time"
is by Albert
Von Tilzer
and
Neville Fleeson in 1920. It was introduced by the Andrews Sisters in
their 1941 film
Buck Privates.
“Roll
Out the Barrel” (also
known as “The
Barrel Polka”
and “Beer
Barrel Polka“)
is a song by the Czech musician Jaromír
Vejvoda
in
1927.

During
the poker game in “Be a Pal” (ILL S1;E2), Lucy calls her two
queens ‘sisters.’ When Fred looks at his newly-dealt hand he
quips “You
can tell your two Andrews Sisters not to wait up for LaVerne.”

Sound Check! If the plan was to lip sync to the Andrews Sisters old records, why is there a band on hand to play the music at the last minute?

Where The Floor Ends! As with many episodes, several times the camera pulls back and the concrete stage floor can be seen. This also happens in Kim’s bedroom.