LUCY, THE PART-TIME WIFE

S3;E14
~ December 14, 1970

Directed
by Ross Martin ~ Written by Larry Rhine and Lou Derman

Synopsis

Harry
is panicked when he thinks an old college girlfriend wants to marry
him, so he recruits Lucy to pretend to be his wife – complete with
two teenage kids and another one on the way!

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)

Desi
Arnaz Jr. (Craig
Carter) does not appear in this episode. He is, however, mentioned in
the dialogue and his name appears in the opening credits. Harry
claims Craig is “on vacation.”

Guest
Cast

Jean
Willes
(Gertrude Krebs) appeared in The
Fuller Brush Girl
(1950) and A
Woman of Distinction
(1950) with Lucille Ball. This is her only series appearance.

Gertrude
is a college friend of Harry’s.

Carole
Cook
(Lillian Rylander) played
Thelma Green on “The Lucy Show” as well as a host of other
characters. She was a protege of Lucille Ball’s during the Desilu
Playhouse years. Although born as Mildred Cook, Ball suggested she
take the name Carole, in honor of Lucy’s great friend, Carole
Lombard. Cook appeared in five episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Lillian
is a member of Lucy’s bridge club. The surname Rylander has been
used many times by Gale Gordon when dictating letters to Lucy in both
“Here’s Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.”

Eddie
Quillan
(Cab Driver) appeared in the Lucille Ball film A
Guide for the Married Man
(1967) and in two episodes of “The Lucy Show.” This is
the first of his two “Here’s Lucy” installments.

Billy
Benedict
(Delivery Man) played Whitey in the original Bowery Boys / East Side
Kids film serials. He married
for the first time at age 52 while working as an extra on Hello,
Dolly
(1969) – coincidentally to a girl named Dolly!
This is his only time (in more than 300 films and television shows)
working with Lucille Ball.

Gary
Morton
(Airport Announcer Voice, uncredited) 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. He appeared in “Lucy
and the Andrews Sisters” (S2;E6) and
“Lucy and Sammy Davis Jr.” (S3;E3). Morton passed away in 1999.

The
voice delivers the news that Gertrude’s flight has been delayed five
hours.

Unusually,
the character of Dr. Brogan (above), who has dialogue in the episode’s final
scene, is not identified or credited in the end credits. Other airport travelers are played by uncredited background performers.

This
is the first episode to be directed by actor Ross
Martin,
who was a good friend of Lucille Ball’s. In a 1970 TV special (two
weeks before this episode first aired) titled “Swing Out, Sweet
Land” – a history of America hosted by John Wayne – Lucille Ball
did the voice of the Statue of Liberty and Martin played Alexander
Hamilton. He will direct one more episode of “Here’s Lucy.”

The
title of this episode is often listed without the article: “Lucy,
Part-Time Wife.”

Gary
Morton’s loud laughter from the studio audience is particularly
noticeable in this episode. Perhaps, as her husband, he was wildly amused at
the idea of Lucille being pregnant?

When
Harry pleads with Lucy saying “it’s
a matter of life or death”
Lucy immediately assumes he’s been drafted. From
1940 until 1973 men were drafted to fill vacancies in the United
States Armed Forces that
could not be filled through voluntary means. The draft came to an end
when the United States Armed Forces moved to an
all-volunteer military
force.
In 1970, the Vietnam War made the draft a hot button issue on TV and
politics.

To get Lucy to play along as his expectant wife, Harry bribes Lucy with a steam cabinet and an all-expenses paid trip to the Grand Canyon.

Gertrude
is in Los Angeles on a layover on her way to Honolulu. At the end of
season three, Lucy and Vivian will go to Hawaii, but by cruise ship,
not plane.

Gertrude’s
college nicknamed was ‘Blood and Guts’, the nickname of General
Patton. General George
Smith Patton Jr. (1885-1945)
was a senior officer of
the United
States Army who
commanded in the Mediterranean and European
theaters of World War II,
but is best known for his leadership in France
and Germany following
the Allied invasion
of Normandy in
June 1944.
A biopic of his life starring George C. Scott (inset) opened in spring 1970
making this reference topical.

Lillian
Rylander says she’s at the airport on her way to Chicago with Hilda
and Jane for a bridge tournament. When
Lucy’s Bridge
Club was
introduced in “Lucy
and Eva Gabor” (S1;E7) it
consisted of Dolores, Maude and Nelly. Hilda was mentioned as a
Bridge Club member in “Lucy the Helpful Mother” (S2;E15). This
is the first mention of a member named Jane.

Lucy
tells Gertrude that she’s had cravings for pickles and ice cream, the
usual TV trope craving for expectant mothers.

When
Lucy is reading baby names from a book, she stops on the name ‘Anabell.’ Lucille Ball starred as Annabel Allison in the films The
Affairs of Annabel (1938)
and Annabel
Takes a Tour
(1938).

Lucie
breaks out the doll she had as a child, which was named Clarabelle.

At
the end of the episode, Lucy kisses Harry, her brother-in-law, on the
lips!

Interestingly, the last time Lucille Ball was pregnant on camera was with Desi Arnaz Jr., who is coincidentally absent from this episode of “Here’s Lucy.”

In 1952, when Lucy Ricardo was expecting, CBS censors forbade the writers from using the word ‘pregnant.’ Throughout this episode – eighteen years later – the word is still not used!

When
Lucy Ricardo was pregnant she craved pistachio ice cream and
sardines.

Lucy
Ricardo also worried about picking a name for the baby, wanting names
that were “unique and euphonious.”

Lucy
Ricardo spends some time in a steam cabinet in “The Diet” (ILL
S3;E1).

Sitcom
Logic ~~Gap~~
Chasm! Lucille
Ball was 59 years old when she filmed this episode!

Also,
Harry tells Gertrude that Lucy is having a baby “any
day now.”
Could they not simply tell Gertrude that the baby came early and
disguise a doll (or a cheese!) as the baby?