SUNDAY SHOWCASE: THE LUCY-DESI MILTON BERLE SPECIAL

November
1, 1959

Directed
by Desi Arnaz ~ Written by Lou Derman and Arthur Julian ~ Script
Consultants Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf

Milton
Berle (Himself)
was born Milton Berlinger in New York City on July 12, 1908. He
started performing at the age of five. He perfected his comedy in
vaudeville, early silent films, and then on radio, before taking his
act to the small screen, where he would be proclaimed “Mr.
Television” and later “Uncle Miltie.” He hosted “Texaco Star
Theater” on NBC from 1948 to 1956. The variety show was re-titled
“The Milton Berle Show” in 1954 when Texaco dropped their
sponsorship. The program was briefly revived in 1958, but lasted only
one season. In 1959 he played himself in “Milton
Berle Hides out at the Ricardos.”  This
cross-over is in repayment for that appearance. Berle
continued to perform live, in films, and on television specials for
the remainder of his career. He was seen in three episodes of "The
Lucy Show” and two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” On all but one,
he played himself. He died of colon cancer in 2002.  

Lucille
Ball (Lucy
Ricardo) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began
her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of
the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With
Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite
Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,”
a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her
real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was
phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was
once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960
(in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so
did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu
financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The
Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a
similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life
children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined
the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death
in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With
Lucy,” also with Gordon, which was not a success and was canceled
after just 13 episodes.

Desi
Arnaz
(Ricky Ricardo / Director) was
born in Cuba in 1917 and immigrated to America as a youngster.  He
was a musician who married Lucille Ball in 1940 after meeting her on
the set of 1939’s Too Many Girls, which he had done on stage in New
York.  In order to keep him ‘off the road’ Ball convinced
producers to cast him as her husband in a new television project
based on her radio show “My Favorite Husband.” The network
was convinced. In 1951, Arnaz and Ball began playing Lucy and
Ricky Ricardo, roles they would be identified with for the rest of
their lives. The couple had two children together, Lucie and Desi Jr.
 In 1960, Ball and Arnaz divorced. Desi became a producer,
responsible for such hits as “The Mothers-in-Law” (1967-69). He
re-married in 1963. Desi Aranz died in 1986, just a few years before
Ball.  

George
Macready (Edward
Jones, Jewel Thief, left) was a classically trained actor who did 15 plays
on Broadway and claimed to be descended from Shakespearean actor
William Macready. The scar on his cheek is not make-up. Macready was
in a serious auto accident while in college.  

‘Edward
Jones’ is probably an alias.

Mike
Mazurki (Maxwell
Mason, Jewel Thief, right) was in the cast of 1955’s Blood
Alley,
a film John Wayne promoted when he appeared on “I Love Lucy”.
Mazurski was also seen in 1945’s Bud
Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood,
which also featured Lucille Ball. He had a role in the Lucille Ball
film The
Facts of Life
(1960) and was seen with Milton Berle in It’s
a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963).

‘Maxwell
Mason’ is probably an alias. 

Marion
Colby
(Ruth Berle) was a singer-dancer whose first screen appearance was in
Holiday
Inn
(1942).

Colby
is playing Milton Berle’s wife, whose maiden name was Ruth Cosgrove.
Coincidentally,
Ruth Cosgrove is also the name of a character played by Doris
Singleton on a 1966 “The Lucy Show.”  The real Ruth Berle will
appear as herself (with her husband) in a 1967 episode of the series.  

Lloyd
Corrigan
(Justice of the Peace) was
a portly character actor, who played bit parts in silent movies,
before switching his attention to writing and directing. He returned
to acting in the 1940s, appearing in two films with Lucille Ball. He
made three appearances on “The Lucy Show.”  

Stephen
Bekassy
(Jacques Marcel, Jeweler) was born in Hungary in 1907. He did nearly
80 films and television shows between 1930 and 1964.

Jacques
Marcel 
is also the name of the French fashion designer who knocks-off Lucy
and Ethel’s designer burlap dresses in “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown”
(ILL S5;E20).  

Cyril
Delavanti
(Wedding Chapel Manager) was a London-born
character actor, who had a lengthy career in American films and on
television. He
was seen in the 1947 film Lured
with Lucille Ball.

Nancy
Kulp
(Girl at Wishing Well) played
the cockney hotel maid who teaches Lucy how to curtsy in “Lucy
Meets the Queen” (ILL S5;E15)
and went on to play an Air Force Captain on “Lucy Becomes an
Astronaut” (TLS S1;E6).
Born in Harrisburg, PA, Kulp will always be remembered as Miss Jane
Hathaway, the upright secretary of banker Drysdale on “The Beverly
Hillbillies” (1962-1971) which premiered just five days before “The
Lucy Show.” The role of Miss Hathaway earned Kulp an Emmy
nomination in 1967. She made an unsuccessful run for Pennsylvania
congress in 1984, after which she retired and taught acting.

Leslie
Sheldon
(Harriet) has only one previous credit, a February 1959 episode of
“The D.A.’s Man.”

Jack
Berle
(Doorman, uncredited) was
the older brother of Milton Berle. He made eleven uncredited
appearances on the “Here’s Lucy” as well as two episodes of “The
Lucy Show.”  

Sayre
Dearing
(Check, uncredited) was seen in six films with Lucille Ball between
1939 and 1954.

Emelio
Muscelli
(Maitre ’D, uncredited)

Monty
O’Grady
(Program Salesman, uncredited) was
first seen with Lucille Ball in The
Long, Long Trailer (1953)
and played a passenger on the S.S. Constitution in “Second
Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14).
He was a traveler at the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan”
(1959).
He made more than a dozen appearances on “The Lucy Show” and a
half dozen more on “Here’s Lucy.” 
He also played a casino patron in “Lucy Goes To Vegas” (TLS
S3;E17) in 1965.

Paul
Cristo
(Paul, Front Desk Clerk, uncredited) appeared
in the audience of The
Most Happy Fella during “Lucy’s
Night in Town” (ILL S6;E22).
He did two episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” and did two
episode of “The Lucy Show.” Coming full circle, he was in the
theatre audience of Lucy’s 1963 film with Bob Hope, Critic’s
Choice.

Sammy
Shack
(Taxi Driver, uncredited) appeared in more than 100 films and
television shows from 1937 to 1971.

Fred
Sherman
(Drunk, uncredited) also played the drunken patron in “The Diner”
(ILL S3;E27) in 1954. His drunk act was so good that he was also cast
as the drunk in Some Like It Hot (1959), “Northwest Passage”
(1959), and on “Laramie” (1961).  

Casino
Patrons (uncredited):

• Ralph
  Brooks made
  four films with Lucille Ball between 1940 and 1956.  He
  also played a casino patron in “Lucy Goes To Vegas” (TLS S3;E17)
  in 1965.
• Bess
  Flowers
  was
  dubbed ‘Queen of the Extras’ in Hollywood and is credited with
  more than 700 film and TV appearances from 1923 to 1964. She was seen
  in the audience of Over
  the Teacups in “Ethel’s
  Birthday” (ILL S4;E8) and The
  Most Happy Fella during “Lucy’s
  Night in Town” (ILL S6;E22).
  She made five uncredited appearances on “The Lucy Show.”
• Hans
  Moebus
  was
  a German-born actor who appeared as an uncredited background
  performer in hundreds of movies and TV shows, including the Lucille
  Ball films DuBarry
  Was a Lady (1943), A
  Woman of Distinction (1950),
  and The
  Facts of Life (1960).
  He was seen on the dock during the “I Love Lucy” episode “Bon
  Voyage” (ILL S5;E13).
  Moebus did
  two episodes of “The Lucy Show.” 
• Hazel
  Pierce
  was
  Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in throughout “I Love
  Lucy.” She also made frequent appearances on the show, although
  only once did she speak.  She made 21 uncredited on-camera
  appearances on “The Lucy Show.” In “Lucy Plays Cleopatra”
  (TLS S2;E1), she finally received screen credit as Mary Lou. She was
  also an uncredited extra in the film Forever
  Darling (1956).
• Norman
  Stevans
  was
  in the audience of “Over The Teacups” during “Ethel’s
  Birthday” (ILL S4;E8) and
  at the airport when “The
  Ricardo’s Go To Japan,” a
  1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”  He made two
  appearances on “Here’s Lucy” and was seen in the 1974 Lucille
  Ball film Mame.
• Perk
  Lazelle appeared
  on a 1960 episode of “The Desilu Westinghouse Playhouse” titled
  “The Man in the Funny Suit.” It was introduced by Desi Arnaz and
  also featured Paul Cristo, Bess Flowers, Rudy Germane, and Monty
  O’Grady. Lazelle also was a background performer on four episodes of
  Desilu’s “The Untouchables.”

Croupiers and Dealers (uncredited):

• George
  Bruggeman
  was
  a passenger on the S.S. Constitution when Lucy and Ricky Ricardo has
  their “Second
  Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14) in
  1956. He was also an extra in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film The
  Facts of Life (1960).   
• Rudy
  Germane
  did
  three films with Lucille Ball as well as a 1966 episode of “The
  Lucy Show.” 

Roy
Rowan
(Announcer) was the announcer for all of Lucille Ball’s
television shows. He even made on camera appearances.

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“Sunday
Showcase” was an NBC anthology series featuring
various specials. Some were comedy, and others were serious drama by
famous authors. This special is available on video or streaming.  

Writers
Larry Rhine and Lou Derman would go on to write ten episodes of
“Here’s Lucy” between 1970 and 1973.  In 1959 they were writing
for Desilu’s “December Bride.” Script Supervisors Bob Schiller
and Bob Weiskopf started writing for “I Love Lucy” in 1955 and
were responsible for all 13 episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy
Hour,” including the one starring Milton Berle.  

This was only Desi
Arnaz’s second directing credit, after staging “Milton Berle Hides
Out at the Ricardos” a few weeks earlier. He went on to direct
the last two of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours” and 23 episodes of
“The Mothers-in-Law,” which he also produced under Desi Arnaz
Productions.  

Desilu
production staff working on this special include Bud Molin (Film
Editor), Irma Kusely (Hairstylist), W. Argyle Nelson (Production
Supervisor), Hal King (Make-Up), Edward Stevenson (Lucille Ball’s
Costume Designer).

This
NBC special was a reciprocal appearance in return for Milton Berle
being on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Milton Berle Hides Out
at the Ricardos” on September 25, 1959. There is no mention of Lucy and Ricky’s Connecticut homelife, Little Ricky, or the Mertzes. 

El
Rancho Vegas was
a hotel and casino on
the Las
Vegas Strip.
It was located at 2500 Las
Vegas Boulevard,
at the southwest corner of Las
Vegas Boulevard and Sahara
Avenue, and
opened on April 3, 1941. Until 1942, it was the largest hotel in Las
Vegas with 110 rooms!

On June 17, 1960, just 8 ½ months after this
special aired, the hotel was destroyed by fire. In 1982, the El
Rancho Hotel and Casino –
formerly
known as the Thunderbird and later as the Silverbird – opened
across the street from the former site of the El Rancho Vegas,
creating some confusion between the two.

This
is not the first time Lucy
Ricardo traveled to Las Vegas, the Ricardos and Mertzes went there
in “Lucy
Hunts Uranium,” a
1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” They don’t visit
the casino, however, being too busy hunting uranium with Fred
MacMurray. At the start of season six, Ricky Ricardo says he caught
Orson Welles’ nightclub act while he was playing Las Vegas. This is
not shown on screen and it is never discussed just how or when Ricky
went to Vegas. 

Lucy
Ricardo also gambled in a casino when she visited Monte Carlo during her trip to Europe. On
“The Lucy Show,” Lucy Carmichael and Vivian Bagley flew from
Danfield to Vegas in January 1965. The episode, however, was filmed
entirely in the studio, with no location or establishing footage of
Las Vegas.  

On
“Here’s Lucy,” Lucy Carter went to Vegas in “Lucy
and Wayne Newton” (HL S2;E22).
The
show opens with a daylight montage of the the Las
Vegas strip circa
1970 from a moving car. 

In the Lucille Ball Special “Lucy Gets
Lucky,” the action was filmed in and around Las Vegas’ newly opened
MGM
Grand. The special begins with an aerial view of the Vegas Strip
circa 1975, this time at night. 

Berle’s
monologue in front of the casino audience mentions a “Mr.
Katleman.” He is referring to the El Rancho Vegas’ owner, Beldon
Katleman (1914-88). Katleman is credited with innovating the casino
buffet!  

Berle:
(to his audience)
“I’d like to leave you with three words that so eloquently describe
Las Vegas: Please Bring Money.”

When
Ricky figures out Lucy is headed to bother Milton Berle, she calls
him the Cuban Charlie Chan. Charlie Chan was a fictional Asian detective who was the subject of several Hollywood films.  

While
Lucy is getting Berle’s autograph, someone puts a coin into his slot
machine and wins the jackpot. The machines on the casino floor were
made by Mills
Novelty Company. The machines were nicknamed ‘one armed bandits’
due to their single pull lever.

The
premise of the show implies that Lucy Ricardo has not previously met
Milton Berle, when in fact, Berle hid out at the Ricardo’s
Connecticut home just five weeks earlier!  Lucy claims to want Mr.
Berle’s autograph for a “sweet little old lady” who lives next
door to them. Unless Lucy is fibbing to get an autograph for
herself, no “little old ladies” were ever mentioned or depicted
in Westport on “I Love Lucy” or “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”

Lucy
tries to repair the relationship between Milton Berle and his wife by
sending her a telegram to come to Las Vegas, where her husband is to
buy her a diamond ring. Berle is convinced by Lucy to purchase the
most expensive gem in the store, the world-famous Winthrop diamond.

Mr.
Marcel:
“Are Mrs. Berle’s lobes pierced?”
Berle:
“I
think so. On windy days, her ears whistle.”  

Lucy
tries on the ring to show it off to the front desk clerk and can’t
get it off. This is a situation that also will happen to Lucy
Carmichael when she tries on a ring Mr. Mooney bought for her wife
in “Lucy
and the Ring-a-Ding Ring” (TLS S5;E5). It
happens again to Lucy Carter, when she tries on Elizabeth Taylor’s
world-famous 68 karat Cartier diamond ring (above) in “Lucy Meets the
Burtons” (HL S3;E1) in 1970.

In
Berle’s dressing room, Lucy sticks her hand in his freezer hoping the
ring will come off.  When she takes it out, her hand is dripping with
icicles. This time it is just her hand, but in “The Freezer” (ILL
S1;E29), her entire body was frosted over from being trapped inside a
walk-in freezer.

The
two jewel thieves approach Lucy (who is still wearing the ring) and
tell her they are jewelry wholesalers. The plot of this special is
similar to “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5) where Lucy is
also taken in by a jewel thief who lies about his identity.  

Fleeing
the jewel thieves, Lucy and Milton take cover in a wedding chapel
where they disguise themselves as Bruce Wellington and Cynthia
Parker, a couple from England. The Justice of the Peace tells Berle
to take his hat off in the chapel, but Berle says he’d rather keep it
on because in the rush to get there he’s developed a ‘beastly
headache.’

Lucy:
(in
a broad Cockney accent) “From
the train to the plane he caught a beastly pain.”
Justice
of the Peace: “I
beg your pardon?”
Lucy:
(in
a refined English accent, enunciating each word) “From
the train to the plane he caught a beastly pain.”
Berle:
“By
George, I think she’s go it. She’s got it!”

This
exchange is inspired by the song “The Rain in Spain” from the
Lerner and Loewe Broadway musical My
Fair Lady,
which opened on Broadway in 1956. The film version would not be made
until 1964. The following year, Lucille Ball did her own version, “My
Fair Lucy” (TLS S3;E20) on “The Lucy Show.”  

Just
as they are making a clean get-away, they learn that they are the
10,000th couple to get married in the El Rancho Vegas Chapel and they
have won a $1,000 prize, delivered by bandleader Ricky Ricardo!

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This
Date in Lucy History
– November 1st

"Mr.
and Mrs. TV Show” aka “The Ricardos are Interviewed” (ILL S4;E5) – November 1, 1954 (although preempted in many areas
until April 11, 1965)

“Lucy
Helps Danny Thomas”
(TLS S4;E7) – November 1, 1965

“Lucy
and Her All-Nun Band”
(HL S4;E8) – November 1, 1971

“Lucy
Make Curtis Byte the Dust”
(LWL S1;E6) – November 1, 1986

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