LUCY THE LAUNDRESS

S2;E17
~ January 12, 1970

Directed
by Herbert Kenwith ~ Written by Larry Rhine and Lou Derman

Synopsis

After
bragging to Craig about her perfect driving record, Lucy smashes into
a laundry truck. In order to pay for the repairs, she has to go to
work at the laundry and keep her identity a secret when Kim and Craig
are suddenly plagued with clothing stains.  

Regular
Cast

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

Guest
Cast

James
Hong
(Lee Wong) was born in 1929 and began his screen career in 1954. He has lately been acclaimed as the voice of Mr. Ping in the Kung-Fu Panda franchise. Aside from his nearly 500 screen credits, Hong
is
one of the founders of the East-West Players, the oldest Asian
American theater in Los Angeles.
At Desilu, he unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Sulu in “Star
Trek.” This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.    

Mr.
Wong is a widower with two young girls. He operates Lee Wong’s Hand
Laundry on Pine and Hurst.

Lauren
Gilbert
(Mr. Michaels, Insurance Adjuster) played recurring characters on
“Edge of Night” and “Hazel” – both named Harry.  This is his
only appearance with Lucille Ball.  

Bee
Thompkins
(Secretary) had only a handful of other screen credits between 1969 and 1972. Also in 1970, she was one of the passengers in the blockbuster film Airport. She was variously credited as ‘Bea Tompkins’ during her career. 

Rosalind
Chao
(Linda Chang Wong, right) made her screen debut with this episode.
She created the role of Soon-Ye Klinger on “M*A*S*H” and “After
M*A*S*H” but is perhaps best known for playing Keiko O’Brien on
“Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine.”
During that series she also filmed The
Joy Luck Club.
She recently guest-starred on TV’s “Blackish,” “This is Us,” and “The
Catch.”  

Heather
Lee
(Sue Chin Wong, left) makes her only screen appearance in this
episode.

Linda Chang and Sue Chin are sisters and the daughters of Lee Wong.

Romo
Vincent
(Laundry Customer) was
a Broadway performer from 1942 to 1959. He played an airline
passenger in “Lucy Flies to London” (TLS S5;E6). This is the
first of his two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Vincent
was cast for his size. He claims his shorts are size 52.

This
is the first of nine episodes written by Larry
Rhine and
Lou Derman.
Rhine had been nominated for an Emmy Award in 1963 for writing for
“The Red Skelton Show.” He was nominated again in 1978 for an
episode of “All in the Family.” Derman was also an Emmy nominee
for “All in the Family.”  Together they also wrote many episodes
of “Mr. Ed.”  

In
his DVD introduction to the episode, James Hong tries
to diffuse any misinterpretation of Lucy’s disguising herself as an
Asian character.

“Sometimes
it’s very offensive for the Asians to see that kind of image. But
she was in essence playing that character pointing out how society
had this cliched image of the Asians. So she was laughing at herself
and and laughing at the society’s concept of Asians. To contrast
that they had me dress up in this wonderful suit – very elegant!”  

In the opening scene, Lucy comes home with a bag of groceries containing Cheerios. On the bottom right corner of the box it states that a free Super-Ball is inside. [In the inset photo it is for Wacky Racers as a Super-Ball box was not available.]  During the summer of 1969, scores of American kids begged their parents to buy the General Mills cereal to get the amazing Super-Ball inside.  

Next to that is a box of Nabisco Rice Honeys, also a breakfast cereal. The cereal was first marketed

under another name in 1939 and, after several more name changes, was discontinued in 1975. What is unique about this particular box is that it includes free Beatles’ Rub-Ons promoting their movie Yellow Submarine. The film was released in November 1968, about a year before filming. If you saved one of those boxes, they’re currently going for over $1,000. In 2014, someone sold one for $1,430.50 at auction!

At the office, Lucy gets a call from Mary Jane. The character does not appear in this episode, but is played by Mary Jane Croft.

Harry is looking for the Treshkin contract.

The car accident costs Lucy $97.50. When
Lucy doesn’t have money to pay for the damages to Wong’s van, he
suggests she should “Sell
car. Take bus. Leave driving to us.”
This was a paraphrasing of the advertising slogan of the Greyhound Bus Company. It was
previously quoted in “Lucy
Helps Craig Get a Driver’s License” (S1;E24)
and
“Lucy and the Used Car Dealer” (S2;E9).    

When
Sue Chin Wong learns that Lucy will be working for her father, she
exclaims: “Well,
there goes the neighborhood!”
This was a common expression used to grouse about integration, which
was a hot topic in the late 1960s. To further reinforce the role reversal comedy, the writers give the line to an Asian character. 

When
Lucy meets Wong’s daughters, she greets them in an exaggerated and
condescending Chinese accent. The girls look horrified and answer
back in voices totally devoid of any Asian influence. To further the
humor of Lucy’s backward thinking, the girls are eating hamburgers
with ketchup, a typical American-style meal. 

Mr.
Wong’s daughters inform Lucy that their father only pays sixty five
cents an hour.

In late 1969 the minimum wage was $1.30 per hour, but rose to $1.45 per hour in February 1970. The girls explain that their dad thinks that because he’s Chinese he
can pay “coolie” wages. The word “coolie”
refers to
an
unskilled native laborer generally from India, China, or some other
Asian country.
Depending on the context, this word can be considered offensive or
pejorative. 

When
Kim enters the shop to get a stain out of her new dress, Lucy
disguises herself with a bright kimono, thick eyeglasses, and a
fringed red lampshade on her head. She disguises her voice to a
stereotypical Asian accent by changing her Rs to Ls (ie: “tellycroth
lobe”).  

After
Lucy’s true identity has been revealed, Harry says “Well,
if it isn’t Madam Butterfly.” He is referring to the title character in Madam
Butterfly, an Italian opera
by
Giacomo
Puccini
that premiered in 1904 and is still in the classical repertory today.
In the opera, a 15 year-old Japanese girl falls in love with an
American sailor with tragic consequences. The story was also the
inspiration for the Broadway musical Miss
Saigon (1989)
and the play M.
Butterfly
(1989).

Lucy Ricardo also caused havoc at a laundry in “Bonus Bucks” (ILL S3;E21).

Lucy
tells Craig that Mr. Wong is a decorator who is there because she is considering
doing the house over in Chinese Modern. Chinese Modern was the style
that Carolyn Appleby redecorated her apartment in “Lucy Tells the
Truth (ILL S3;E6). Sworn to be truthful, Lucy says it looks like “a
bad dream you’d have after eating too much Chinese food.”

Lucy fibs to Craig that Mr. Wong decorated Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
(everything but the footprints). The iconic Hollywood movie palace
was the setting of “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” (ILL S5;E1) and the
footprints were integral to that episode and the following one, “Lucy
and John Wayne” (ILL S5;E2).  

Lucy
Carmichael also disguised herself as an Asian character in “Lucy
and the Soap Opera” (TLS S4;E19).

Lucy
Carter’s ironing skills seem no better than that of Ricky Ricardo and Fred Mertz, who both left their ‘marks’ on the laundry during “Job
Switching” (ILL S2;E1).   

In
season one, Lucy Carter celebrated her birthday at a Chinese
restaurant.  

Ouch!

Lucille Ball accidentally scalded her hand during the filming when using the steam press.
This
is ironic, since the dialogue has Mr. Wong warn Lucy to be “careful
with the steam iron” when he first agrees to let her work off her debt.

The Shadow Knows!  There is a moving shadow across the side of the desk when Harry bends down to get a key from the drawer. The next shot is a close-up (below), which necessitated the camera move that caused the shadow. 

Props!  Harry offers Lucy a mini-bottle of booze that he got on a flight to Hawaii. It is hidden inside the jade green desk ornament that coincidentally makes its debut with this episode – and disappears thereafter.  In the above photo, the bottle is difficult to see. Only the neck of the tiny bottle with its white seal can be seen. 

Where
the Floor Ends!
This
time the floor ends in the Chinese Hand Laundry.  

Sitcom
Logic Alert(s)! 

• From the time Harry hears Lucy’s collision outside his window to
  Lucy’s entrance into the office is a mere 8 seconds!  Take into
  account that she says she left a note for the owner on his windshield
  – and put the windshield in the front seat!  
• Mr. Wong
  arrives with an estimate of the damages on the very same day as the
  accident. 
• At the laundry, Lucy immediately knows how to work a
  commercial laundry press with no instruction. 
• Even with the accent
  and disguise, Kim should probably recognize her own mother’s voice.  

Oops!
When
Lucy trips and her hat and wig fall off, the black masking placed
next to her right ear to hide her red hair stays on. Lucille Ball has
to duck down quickly and rip it off.  

“Lucy the Laundress” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5 

This
episode feels the most like an episode of “I Love Lucy.” Lucy is
caught in a fib, so instead of telling the truth, she goes to
elaborate lengths to conceal her lie. The thorny issue of racial
sensitivity rears its head when viewed by a modern audience. But it
is clear that Lucille Ball was trying to portray Mr. Wong and his
family as average Americans, and Lucy’s view of Asian culture as
backward. It is worth noting that all the Asian characters are
actually played by Asian actors. When the young girls call Lucy out
for her patronizing attitude, Lucy immediately acknowledges that
she’s been wrong and the scene (and the comedy) continues without
any rancor. The hard-fought Civil Rights battles of the 1960s are
slowly having an effect on television.