SOMEONE’S ON THE SKI LIFT WITH DINAH

S4;E7 ~
October 25, 1971

Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll and Madelyn Davis

Synopsis

When
Harry takes Lucy and Kim to a ski lodge, they run into their all-time
favorite singer, Dinah Shore.

Regular
Cast

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

Guest
Cast

Dinah
Shore
(Herself) was born Fannye Rose Shore in 1916. She was a singer,
actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female
vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist
during the Big
Band era,
but achieved even greater success a decade later, in television,
mainly as hostess of a series of variety programs. Her
first recordings were with Desi Arnaz’s mentor, bandleader Xavier
Cugat,
and she later changed her named to Dinah after her success with the
song of the same name.
She
was famous for blowing a kiss to her audiences (“Mwah!”) at the
end of each show. Although Shore and Ball appeared together on many
television specials and award shows, this is their only time acting
together. Her passions were golf, cooking, and painting. Shore died
in 1994.

Mike
Howden
(Ski Instructor) played small roles on Desilu shows like “Star
Trek” and “Mannix.” He will make one more appearance on
“Here’s Lucy” a month later.

Bob
Harks (Desk Clerk, uncredited) Extra, stand-in, and double Bob Harks was born on September 20, 1927.
Harks appeared in his first film in 1968 and was seen in the
background of Mame
(1974). In 1970 he popped up on his first television show and was
seen in more than a dozen episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” He died at
age 83 in 2010.

The other guests and staff at the ski lodge are played by uncredited background performers.

The
title of this episode is the first (but not the last) not to contain
the name “Lucy” although it is implied that the “someone” on
the ski lift with Dinah is Lucy. The title refers to the 1894
American folk song “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” which
contains the lyric “Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah…” In that case, "Dinah"
was a generic name for an enslaved African woman.

The
Friday after this episode first aired, the film A
Safe Place starring Tuesday Weld was released. The soundtrack featured Dinah Shore singing the
Gershwin song “Someone To Watch Over Me.”

Lucy had interviewed Dinah Shore on her CBS radio show “Let’s Talk to Lucy”
(E91, E92, E93) on January 11, 12 & 13, 1965.

The
season 4 DVD contains bonus footage of home movies of Lucille Ball and Lucie Arnaz skiing. This
episode is inspired by Lucille Ball’s real-life condominium in
Snowmass, Colorado, where she often spent time skiing and relaxing.
In 1972
a skiing accident there nearly caused the end of “Here’s Lucy.”
Instead, Ball’s accident was written into the script, with Lucy
Carter confined to a wheelchair for several weeks. The leg injury
also interfered with her ability to do some of the dance moves in the
1974 movie Mame.

This
episode was originally sponsored by Lifebuoy new mint scented soap by
Lever Brothers. For the first time, the sponsor’s commercials are
included on the DVD release of this episode.

Harry
says that Lucy is “about
as delicate as John Wayne.”
This is just one more mention of the western movie actor who
guest-starred as himself in both “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy
Show.”

When
Lucy asks if Hary can ski, he replies that he is “the
Borrego Springs answer to Jean-Claude Killy.”
John-Claude
Killy (inset, right) was a French Alpine skater who experiences world fame when he
competed in the 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics. Borrego
Springs
is a desert community located outside of San Diego California. Only
those who know Gale Gordon personally would appreciate the reference,
since this is where Gordon and his wife built a ranch in 1949.
He also built all the furniture, installed his own plumbing and
swimming pool. In the mid 1950s, Gordon became the president of the
Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce and he was later appointed
Honorary Mayor of the town, a position he held until 1974.

Lucy
reminisces about growing up in Jamestown, New York, where it snowed
all the time. Her grandfather made her a red sled.

In
the office, Lucy and Harry recreate ice skating while singing “The
Loveliest Night of the Year.” In 1950 the
music was adapted by Irving
Aaronson with
lyrics by Paul
Francis Webster for
the movie The
Great Caruso.
It was sung by Mario
Lanza and
became one of the most popular songs of 1951 reaching #3 in the US
Billboard Charts.
The
instrumental version of the song is often played in the background
while magicians performed their tricks.

Lucy
wangles an invitation for herself, Kim, and Mary Jane, but that’s
where Harry draws the line. Mary Jane is played by Mary Jane Croft,
but she does not appear in this episode.

Harry
feels entitled to approach Dinah Shore because his butcher’s cousin’s
son’s best friend is engaged to her manicurist. In the above photo, an unusually lecherous Harry enjoys the ‘view’.

Harry
tells Dinah that he used to listen to her on the “Eddie
Cantor Radio Show.” This
was a real program that aired from 1942 to 1943. In addition to
Cantor and Shore, it also featured Ida Lupino, John Charles Thomas,
Hattie McDaniel, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Bonita Granville,
and Adolphe Menjou.

Lucy
says that Dinah Shore has always been her favorite singer. Some of
her favorites were “Buttons and Bows,” “Blues in the Night,”
“Dear Hearts and Gentle People,” “Pen in Hand,” and “Man
Around the House.” Dinah asks why Lucy didn’t like “Shoo Fly Pie
and Apple Pan Dowdy.”

To pass the time while stuck on the
ski-lift (and to appease Lucy) Dinah sings “Don’t Let the Good Life
Pass You By” written by Sharon Rucker and first recorded by Mama
Cass Elliott in November 1970. As an encore, Dinah tries to sing
“Blues in the Night” but is interrupted by Lucy’s jarring percussion
noises. After a time-lapse edit, Lucy and Dinah are in full swing
singing “Mississippi Mud.” It then starts to snow and things
start to look bleak for the stranded pair.

“Lucy
Goes to Sun Valley,” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy
Hour” Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) ride the ski-lift at the resort.

Sun Valley was a favorite get-away location for the Arnaz family. This candid photo show’s the “I Love Lucy” cast with guest star Fernando Lamas.

In
“Lucy and the Winter Sports” (TLS S3;E3) Lucy Carmichael also
practiced her skiing indoors with Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) as her
instructor.

WTF? The scripted reference to Harry Carter as “Borrego Springs answer to Jean-Claude Killy” is confounding. Harry lives in Los Angeles, not outside San Diego! This is taking ‘stick close to the truth’ a bit too far!

Snow Fall! The shadow on the snowbank below Lucy and Dinah reveals that it is not as far a drop as Dinah fears.