LUCY AND CHUCK CONNORS HAVE A SURPRISE SLUMBER PARTY

S6;E13
~ December 17, 1973

Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Story by Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Davis

Synopsis

Harry
rents out Lucy’s home for a movie shoot. After causing several
re-takes, Lucy is banished from her own home. When she returns
early, she doesn’t know that Chuck Connors is staying overnight –
in her bed!

Regular
Cast

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter)

Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter) does not appear in this episode, nor is she mentioned in the
dialogue. The final credits do state, however, “Lucie Arnaz
wardrobe by Alroe.”

Guest
Cast

Chuck
Connors (Himself)
was a professional baseball player before his career led him to show
business, where he is best known as “The Rifleman” (1958-63). In
May 1973, he was seen in the sci-fi thriller Soylent
Green
as well as two TV movies. Although this is his only appearance with
Lucille Ball, he returned to playing comedy in 1982’s Airplane II:
The Sequel. Connors died in 1992 at age 71.

Chuck
Connors is the star of the film being shot in Lucy’s living room.

Mary
Jane Croft (Mary
Jane) played Betty Ramsey during season six of “I Love Lucy. ”
She also played Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy
is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) and
Evelyn Bigsby in “Return
Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26).
She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy
Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the
actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her
episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing
Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in
1999 at the age of 83.

Ryan
MacDonald (Jerry
Thompson) played Roy, one of the poker players, in seven episodes of
“The Odd Couple” in 1970. Of his more than 75 screen credits,
this is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Jerry
Thompson is the Director of the film being shot in the episode. He
and Harry are old friends.

Sidney
Clute
(“Lieutenant Turner, Detective”) is probably best remembered as
Paul La Guardia on “Cagney and Lacey” (1982-88) in which he was
credited even after his passing in 1985. This is his only appearance
with Lucille Ball.

Lieutenant
Turner is the name of the character in the movie being shot in Lucy’s
living room.

Buddy
Lewis
(Greg) was previously seen in “Lucy Competes with Carol Burnett”
(S2;E24). He will do one more episode of the series.

Greg
is the Assistant Director (AD) of the film within the episode. The AD
traditionally calls “Roll it” or “Roll ‘em” to start filming
while the director calls “Action” and “Cut”.

Sid
Gould (Sticks,
red sweater) made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,”
all as background characters. This is one of his nearly 50 episodes
of “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille
Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton.

“Sticks”
is the nickname for the clapper board (or clapboard) used to track
scenes and shots on a film production.

Bob
Whitney
(Cameraman, gold sweater) appeared
with Lucille Ball in The
Facts of Life (1960).
This is the fifth and final appearance on the series.

Although
billed as Cameraman in the final credits, Whitney uses a light meter
during filming which is something used by the Key Grip. Another actor
(uncredited) actor is actually behind the camera.

Walter
Smith
(Propman, blue shirt) made
14 mostly uncredited appearances on the series. He also did one
episode of “The
Lucy Show.”

There are no ‘props’ in the movie being shot. The character just holds a rag.

The
script girl, boom microphone operator, cameraman, and lighting
technician on the ladder, are played by uncredited background
artists.

In
his DVD introduction to the episode Ryan
MacDonald (Jerry
Thompson) remembers discovering that some of the stories he’d heard
about Lucille Ball were true, but that she was a hard worker and gave
her all at the very first read-through, something uncommon on most
sets. MacDonald is visibly moved when recalling how Ball sought him
out after filming to compliment him on his performance.

The
movie studio will pay Lucy $200 a day for the use of her living room
– less Harry’s ten percent fee as her house’s agent.

Trying
to get Lucy to guess who is starring in the movie, Harry says “Who
picked up Secretary Brezhnev
of the Soviet Union?” Lucy incorrectly guesses the CIA.

In
June 1973 Chuck Connors met Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev at a party
at President Richard Nixon’s California home, San Clemente (aka The
Western White House). Mr. Brezhnev had seen four or five episodes of
“The Rifleman” and liked it. Brezhnev enthusiastically shook
Connors’ hand and Connors presented him with a pair of matching Colt
.45 revolvers used in a show called “Branded.” Connors even
showed him how to twirl the guns. Brezhnev later invited Connors to
come to Russia to make a movie. Upon his departure, Brezhnev
saw Connors on the tarmac, went over to him and vigorously shook. In
return, Connors embraced him in a bear hug which lifted Brezhnev off
the ground for several seconds and made the front pages of newspapers
across the globe the next day. In late 1973, Connors was a guest of
Brezhnev in Moscow and there filmed a 90-minute documentary entitled
“Peace and Friendship.”

Harry’s
second hint is the word “ThrillSeekers.” Lucy guesses “people
who drive the freeway at rush hour.” Nope. “ThrillSeekers”
was
a syndicated
television
series
that was produced in 1973 and 1974. Hosted by Chuck
Connors, it
featured people who did dangerous stunts. In
Lucy’s kitchen, Connors wears his orange “Thrill Seekers” jacket.
The name of the show is stitched on the sleeve.

Lucy
tells Connors that she has seen “The
Rifleman”
reruns three or four times. “The Rifleman” was a Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black and white, in half-hour episodes and aired on ABC from September 30, 1958, to April 8, 1963.

Jerry
tells Chuck that his film Good
Morning, Miss Dove
starring Jennifer Jones is on television that night. Connors says the
film was one of the few times he got to nuzzle something besides a
horse. Released in 1955 by 20th Century Fox, the film co-stars Mary Wickes, a frequent guest star on
all of Lucille Ball’s sitcoms. It also features Jerry Paris, who
directed two episodes of “Here’s Lucy” before being fired, and
Robert Stack of Desilu’s “The Untouchables.” Other “Lucy”
alumni in the film include Herb Vigran, Hal Taggart, and Arthur Tovey
– all appearing uncredited.

The
Lucy character has messed up film shoots many times before, albeit
not in her own home. Lucy Ricardo’s antics interrupted filming in
“Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (ILL S4;E18).

Lucy Carmichael caused chaos for John
Wayne on the set of his latest Western in “Lucy and John Wayne”
(TLS S5;E2).

Props!

When Chuck Connors is filming in Lucy’s living room, a lighting
technician sits on a step ladder stenciled LBP – Lucille Ball
Productions. A ladder with the same stencil was also caught on
camera in “Lucy is Really in a Pickle” (S5;E15).

Tighten
Frame, Please!
As Lucy comes through the kitchen door with the apple pie, the camera
catches where the set’s left wall ends!

Channel
Surfing! When
Chuck Connors turns on the TV to watch Good
Morning, Miss Dove,
the soundtrack blares Western chase music and gunfire. Problem is, the film is
not a Western!

Cut!
Although
the director is supposed to be the only one to call “cut”,
Lucille Ball was famous for doing so on her sets. Here, Chuck Connors
also calls “cut” when Lucy and Mary Jane are in his eye line, spying from the kitchen door.

Wardrobe
Malfunction!
It is typical for Lucy to go to bed in full make-up, but when she
kneels down to help the unconscious Connors, we can see that she also
keeps on her pantyhose!

Scenic
Consistency!
This is not the same set used for Lucy’s bedroom in “Lucy’s
Birthday” (S1;E18, above).

It is also completely different from the
bedroom seen in “Goodbye, Mrs. Hips” (S5;E23). Perhaps with Kim
and Craig out of the house, Lucy has had time to redecorate or move
to another bedroom?