LUCY AND THE MOUNTAIN CLIMBER

S4;E2 ~
September 20, 1971

Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Lou Derman and Larry Rhine

Synopsis

Harry
takes on a new partner named Rudy (Tony Randall) who is a youthful
sports enthusiast. In order to prove she fits with the new
company image, Lucy challenges Rudy to a mountain climbing contest.

Regular
Cast

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

Guest
Cast

Tony
Randall
(Rudolph Springer III) is probably best remembered for his television
character of Felix Unger on “The Odd Couple,” a show that aired
concurrently with “Here’s Lucy.” The second episode of the
second season aired just four days after this episode of “Here’s
Lucy.” He was a trained theatre actor, who also had successful
careers on TV and in film. This is Randall’s only time acting
opposite Lucille Ball. Randall also championed the “Stop Smoking”
campaign. In 1992, after the death of his first wife, he re-married a
woman a third of his age with whom he had two children. He died in
2009.

Janos
Prohaska
(The Bear) was
an actor, stunt man, and animal imitator who is probably best
remembered as the talking cookie-mad bear on “The Andy Williams
Show” (1969) although due to his thick Hungarian accent, his voice
was dubbed. He first played a simian on “Lucy
and the Monkey” (TLS S5;E12).
This is second appearance on “Here’s Lucy” having played the
wild Gorboona in “Lucy’s Safari” (S1;E22). His next and final
appearance on the series will also be as a Black Bear in “Harry
Catches Gold Fever” (S6;E12). Prohaska died in a plane crash in
1974.

Morgan
Jones (Contest
Judge) previously appeared as Government Agent Bill in “Lucy and
the Great Airport Chase” (S1;E18). This is his final appearance
with Lucille Ball.

Sid
Gould (Photographer)
made
more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” and nearly as many
on “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille
Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton.

Walter
Smith
(Man on Mountaintop, uncredited) made
13 mostly uncredited appearances on the series. He also did one
episode of “The
Lucy Show.”

Roy
Rowan (Climbing
Contest Announcer, uncredited) was the off-camera announcer for all
of Lucille Ball’s television shows. He would also do voice-over
announcers of radio and TV voices heard on screen, as he does here.
In rare instances, Rowan would sometimes appear on camera as well.

Chuck,
the voice on speaker phone with Rudy, is not identified or credited.
Neither are the other two men at he mountaintop.

In
the very first scene, Harry steps into Lucy’s foot bath proving that
season 4 will be like previous seasons – where there’s water, Harry
will get wet!

Harry,
dressed in an outrageously uncharacteristic outfit, tells Rudy that
his shorts are shocking pink with bluebirds and swallows on them. He
says he got them from Liberace’s tailor. Harry met the famously
flamboyant entertainer in “Lucy and Liberace” (S2;E16). When
Harry splits the back of his trousers trying to crouch down, he says
“I
think the swallows just flew back to Capistrano.”
This
is a reference to San
Juan Mission in Capistrano,
southern California. It is there that the American cliff
swallow migrates to every year from its winters in Argentina,
making the 6,000-mile trek in springtime. The Mission’s location
near two rivers made it an ideal location for the swallows to nest.
The expression “when
the swallows return to Capistrano” has
entered common usage and has been the punchline to many jokes on “The
Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.”

Lucy
Carter reiterates to Rudy that she was born in Jamestown, New York,
just as Lucille Ball was.

When
Lucy laces the fruit punch with vodka, Harry and Rudy dance around
the living room singing “Ta-ra-ra
Boom-de-ay”
and dancing the Can-Can. The song first appeared at the end of the
19th century and was performed by the Folies Bergere in Paris.

When
Lucy hears Rudy climbing up the side of the mountain singing his
usual refrain “I
love life and I wanna live!”
she remarks “Here
comes Tiny Tim.” This
is just one of many “Here’s Lucy” references to pop singer Tiny
Tim
(1932-96), who often appeared on “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.”
He was responsible for the re-popularization of the song “Tiptoe
Through the Tulips,” which he sang while accompanying himself on
ukulele.

Lucy
tells Harry her epitaph should read: “She
was too old to work, but too young to die.”
When Harry asks what that means, Lucy says “I
dunno, but Walter Cronkite’ll do twenty minutes on it.” This is a reference to the moderator of the CBS Evening News, Walter
Cronkite (1916-2009),
who was known for his eloquent editorial comments on the affairs of
the day.

For
their brief partnership, the Unique Employment Agency has been
re-named Springer-Carter
Corporation
and the office has been redecorated in a colorful, mod style
reminiscent of artist Piet Mondian, who also inspired TV’s “The
Partridge Family” school bus (1970-74).

The
Ricardos and Mertzes went mountain climbing for recreation in “Lucy
in the Swiss Alps” (ILL S5;E21). In that case, an avalanche
stopped their progress, not a black bear.

Lucy
Carmichael also had an encounter with a black bear in “Lucy Becomes
a Father” (TLS S3;E9) In fact, the episode featured two bears, only
one of which was an actor in a bear suit, the other was the real
thing (above)!

Getting
drunk on spiked punch was also a comic highlight of “Lucy’s Sister
Pays a Visit” (TLS S1;E15).

Mind the Gap! When
Rudy, Harry and Lucy all are on top of the mountain, Lucy momentarily
loses her footing and Tony Randall reaches to help her. Lucy regains
her balance without help from Randall and the scene
continues.