LUCY AND THE DRUM CONTEST

S3;E4
~ October 5, 1970

Directed
by Jerry Paris ~ Written by Martin Ragaway

Synopsis

When
Craig enters a amateur drum contest, Lucy convinces Buddy Rich to
give him lessons.

Regular
Cast

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

Guest
Cast

Buddy
Rich
(Himself) actually appeared with Lucille Ball as a member of the
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in DuBarry
Was a Lady
(1943). Widely
considered one of the most influential drummers of all time and known
for his virtuoso technique, power, and speed, Rich was billed as ‘the
world’s greatest drummer’ during his career.
He died in 1987 at the age of 69.

Eugene
Molnar
(Willy the Band Boy) appeared
on four episodes of the series. These are his only screen credits.

Richard
Yniguez
(Jose Garcia, Drum Contest Competitor) made his screen debut with
this episode. As of 2014 he has accrued over 100 screen credits.

Jose
has five brothers and four sisters.

Dick
Winslow
(Nightclub Emcee) appeared
in the films Thousands
Cheer (1940)
and Easy
To Wed (1943)
with Lucille Ball. This is second and last of his appearances on the
series. He also did two episodes of “The Lucy Show.”

Walter
Smith
(Nightclub Patron, uncredited) makes the first of his 13 mostly
uncredited appearances on the series. He also did one episode of
“The Lucy Show.”

The
other nightclub patrons and the musicians are played by uncredited
background performers.

This
is the second of only two episodes directed by Jerry
Paris
of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Paris also directed “Lucy Meets the
Burtons” (S3;E1), which was actually filmed after this one.
Lucille Ball and Paris had different styles, so although he had a
contract for six episodes, he was let go after only two.

This
is one of the last episodes that spotlights Desi
Arnaz Jr.
He will start missing several episodes to film Red
Sky at Morning (1970),
and by the end of the season will leave the series altogether.

Buddy
Rich’s name was first mentioned on “Here’s Lucy” in “Lucy the
Helpful Mother” (S2;E15) when Kim shouts “Hey!
Buddy Rich!” to
get Craig’s attention over the din of his drumming.

The
episode actually features four different drummers, all but one of whom perform live on the set.
Richard
Yniguez (Jose) was obviously cast for his acting ability and he alone
mimes the drumming.

When
Craig says that Buddy Rich is his favorite musician, Harry says his
is Guy Lombardo, who Lucy tells the kids is the Lawrence Welk of
Harry’s generation. Guy
Lombardo
(1902-77, above right) was a musician and bandleader known for conducting the
Royal Canadians and playing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year’s Eve.
Lawrence
Welk
(1903-92, above left) was also a musician and bandleader, as well as the host of
his own television show. He guest starred as himself on “Here’s
Lucy” during season two (inset).

To
get up close to Buddy Rich and capture the excitement of his drum
solo, “Here’s Lucy” uses a hand held camera for the first time.
It is a bit jarring to see the camera move so much on a “Lucy”
sitcom.

Willy
bring Rich his Zilca cymbols. This may be Rich’s way of not
mentioning the brand name Zilco,
which were cymbals made by the 400 year-old Zildjian company in
Canada between 1968 and 1970. The brand name of Rich’s drums,
Slingerland, however, is clearly visible. The Slingerland brand is
owned by Gibson and is strongly associated with Jazz drummers like
Rich and Gene Krupa. In “Here’s Lucy’s” early episodes, the name
brand of Craig’s drums was taped over! Now his drum set bears no
visible trademark or tape marks.

Rich said he was awake all night praying to Ringo Starr that his cymbals were safe! Ringo Starr is the drummer for the Beatles. He was mentioned in two previous episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Rich
says he dreams about Raquel
Welch.
The sex symbol / movie star was previously mentioned on two episodes
of “Here’s Lucy.” Listening
to Craig play, he tells him to hit the cymbals harder. “You’re
not Tiny Tim tip-toeing through the tulips.”
Tiny
Tim
was a ukulele player who appeared on “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In”
and became famous for his rendition of the song “Tiptoe
Through The Tulips (With Me).” Coincidentally, both performers were mentioned in one line during “Lucy Competes with Carol Burnett” (S3;E24):

Carol (about Lucy’s figure): “Compared to you, Tiny Tim looks like Raquel Welch.”

A reference to “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” is almost a weekly occurrence on
“Here’s Lucy.” “Laugh-In’s” second half hour on ABC competed
directly with “Here’s Lucy,” so the writers probably figured they
could woo channel-hoppers over to CBS with regular mentions of the
show.

Rich hints at the California divorce laws that say that a spouse is entitled to half of everything, which gets a laugh and some applause from the audience. Rich says “Have you ever tried playing with one cymbal?” Although playing himself, Rich is joking with Lucy because in reality he had only one wife, Marie Allison, whom he wed in 1953.

Lucy
Ricardo also had a son who was fond of drumming. Little Ricky was played by Keith Thibodeaux (aka Richard Keith, above). Like father, like son!

Sitcom
Logic Alert! Lucy’s purse just happens to be identical to the bag containing Buddy
Rich’s cymbals. Although Willy brought Rich the two symbols he left on
the stage, he only brings the smallest set. Did Rich remember his
medium and large size cymbals and forget only his small set?

Amnesia Alert! When
Lucy pulls the cymbals out of her bag she says she doesn’t know what
they are! Her son is a drummer whose drum set is next to her in the
living room, so it is hard to believe Lucy doesn’t have a clue what cymbals are!