CBS SALUTES LUCY: THE FIRST 25 YEARS

November
28, 1976

With
Tributes By: William S. Paley, Desi Arnaz Sr., Milton Berle, Carol
Burnett, Richard Burton, Johnny Carson, Sammy Davis Jr., Gale Gordon,
Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Dean Martin, Jimmy Stewart, Danny Thomas,
Vivian Vance, Dick Van Dyke, John Wayne, and Lucille Ball

Archive
Footage: Mary Wickes, *Harpo Marx, William Frawley, Pat Moran, Maury
Thompson, Edward Everett Horton, Teresa Tirelli, Ross Elliott, Jerry
Hausner, Bess Flowers, Dick Martin, Donald Briggs, Joe Ruskin, Bryan
O’Byrne, Danny Borzage, Morgan Woodward, Victor Romito, Elvia Allman,
John Williams, Lloyd Corrigan, Ernesto Molinari, Rosa Barbato, Eva
Gabor, *Lucie Arnaz, Larry J. Blake, Larry Keating, Robert Carson,
*John Bubbles, Paul Winchell, Mel Torme, *Ken Berry, *Red Skelton,
*George Burns, *Patty Andrews, *Wayne Newton, Jerry Newton, *Desi
Arnaz Jr., Tommy Amato, Don Vincent, *Jack Benny, *William Holden,
Harry Bartell, Hazel Pierce, Bennett Green, Dede Ball, Dick
Patterson, Roy Rowan, Vanda Barra, and +Eddie Albert

*
credited in voice over 

+
not on DVD release

Archival
footage from: “I Love Lucy” (1951-57), “The Lucy-Desi Comedy
Hour” (1957-60), “The Lucy Show” (1962-68), “Here’s Lucy”
(1968-74), “Carol + 2” (1964), “The Danny Kaye Show with
Lucille Ball” (1962), and “Lucy In London” (1966).  

Some
stars mentioned in the opening credits by the announcer as “starring”
do not actually appear in newly created tributes, but only in archival footage.
This is likely due to negotiations with the stars agents (or estates)
who gave permission for their images to be used in exchange for
opening title credit. Those stars include: Patty Andrews, Jack Benny
(died 1974), Ken Berry, John Bubbles, George Burns, William Holden,
Harpo Marx (died 1964), and Wayne Newton, all of whom have considerable screen time in the clips. Although some of these
names might have been used to lure viewers into watching (and not tuning away from) the two-hour
program, it is probably not likely with someone like
John Bubbles.

Some
of those absent from archival footage include Mary Jane Croft,
Kathryn Card, Doris Singleton, Charles Lane, Frank Nelson, Ann
Sothern, and Sid Gould, all of whom made many appearances opposite
Lucille Ball over the years.

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The
program was very well received and received a 29 rating and 39 share
of audience, figures unheard of today. Because of the anniversary
theme of the show, it was never repeated.  

The
special was issued on DVD by Image Entertainment. The cover photo is
of Lucille Ball at the Emmy Awards.  

CBS used other artwork, inexplicably based on her costume from “Lucy Goes To Scotland”
(ILL S5;E17).  

For
the DVD release, eight minutes of the show were trimmed for a total
running time of 97 minutes Among the missing segments was a tribute
to the late William Frawley, hosted by Gale Gordon, featuring Frawley
and Vivian Vance singing “Carolina in the Morning.” Frawley
died in 1966. In 1976 he was the only member of the main “I Love
Lucy” cast to have passed away.  Also
missing is Lucy’s soft-shoe of “Makin’ Whoopee” with Eddie
Albert. It is possible that the owners of the music copyrights were
asking more for licensing fees than the DVD producers were willing to
pay or that Albert declined permission for his image to be used.
Naturally, it may also have just been an editorially decision to edit
the show.    

This
special was produced before technology made restored, pristine prints
available. Scenes from “I Love Lucy” (owned by CBS) are the
clearest but clips from “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy”
(owned by others) are often quite poor. 

This special is billed “The First 25 Years” but sadly Lucille Ball would only work for another decade, and not at CBS.  Although it seemed like the Tiffany Network (who adopted their ‘CBS eye’ logo the same month “I Love Lucy” premiered) and Lucy would never part, Ball joined NBC in 1980, announcing her changed allegiance with a star-studded special “Lucy Moves to NBC.” The partnership was short-lived, however. In 1986 CBS declined to pick-up “Life With Lucy” (perhaps still stinging from her departure), so it went to ABC.  This means Lucille Ball was seen on all three major networks. 

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INTRODUCTION

The
tribute show is introduced by CBS Chairman William
S. Paley.  In
1964 episode of “The Lucy Show” (TLS S3;E15), Danny Kaye
telephones Paley about getting tickets to his show for Lucy
Carmichael. Paley, however, was not seen or heard.

To
kick things off, a montage of memorable moments of Lucy on TV is
underscored by Frank Sinatra singing “My Kind of Girl” by Leslie
Bricusse.

LUCY
& DESI

A
clip from “The Audition” (ILL S1;E3) leads into an appearance by
Desi
Arnaz Sr. standing
outside Stage 2 of General Service Studios where “I Love Lucy”
was first shot. Desi describes this as a scene from their pilot. The
unaired “I Love Lucy” pilot (not seen until 1990), included this
same material, but it was re-staged for the actual series in October
1951. This leads into a compilation of clips of Lucy Ricardo making
fun of Ricky’s English. Desi estimates the he and Lucy did nearly 200
shows together. Including “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours” (13), the
un-aired pilot, and the “Christmas Special,” Desi is not far off.
The total comes to 194 shows, not counting their guest appearances on
other programs.  

VITAMEATAVEGAMIN

Desi’s
awe and admiration of his ex-wife’s craft and talent is demonstrated
with a clip from the classic episode “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL S1;E30) aka
“Vitameatavegamin.” Arnaz watched Lucy do the scene just off camera and his recognizable laugh can be heard on the soundtrack.  

HAVING
A BABY

Desi
recalls the show that is closest to his heart: “Lucy is Enceinte”
(ILL S2;E10). The clip that follows has Ricky singing “We’re
Having a Baby (My Baby and Me)”
first written
in 1941 for the Broadway musical Banjo
Eyes.
For this special, the edit includes clips of other scenes of Lucy
Ricardo when expecting, including “Lucy Goes to the Hospital”
(ILL S2 E16).  

SILENT
COMEDY

To
introduce his segment, Dick
Van Dyke
begins with pantomiming netting a butterfly on the set of his
short-lived variety show “Van Dyke & Company.” A week later,
Ball would guest star on the series. This intro was probably filmed
at that time. Here he defines ‘mime’ for the audience and then
introduces a clip of Lucy doing a silent movie skit as Charlie
Chaplin from “Chris’s New Year’s Eve Party” (TLS S1;E14) and the
mirror routine in “Lucy Meets Harpo Marx” (ILL S4;E28).    

LUCY
& THE DUKE

Western
star John
Wayne emerges
from a back lot saloon and jokingly says that of all his on-screen
opponents, the most formidable one was Lucy. A clip from 1966’s “Lucy
and John Wayne” (TLS S5;E10) follows. In the scene Lucy Carmichael
is visiting the set of Wayne’s latest western and (naturally)
disrupts the shoot.

FRIENDS
FOREVER

Vivian
Vance,
drinking a cup of tea in her home, talks about her beginnings on
television as Mrs. Fred Mertz. Vance remembers the schemes Lucy got
her involved in, mostly to get Lucy into show business. Clips include
“The Operetta” (ILL S2;E5) with Lucy as Camille, the
snaggle-toothed Queen of the Gypsies. In the clip, the chorus upstage
her big number, “The Queen of the Gypsies” written by Eliot
Daniel, who also wrote the series’ theme song. Vance says they lived
out their childhood fantasies on screen, like working in a chocolate
factory. A clip from “Job Switching” (ILL S2;E1) has Lucy and
Ethel on the candy wrapping assembly line at Kramer’s Candy Kitchen.

There
is also a clip from “Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower” (TLS S1;E18)
where Lucy Carmichael and Vivian Bagley install a home shower, only
to get trapped inside as it fills with water.

TWO
REDHEADS

To
the music of the theme from her show, Carol
Burnett (redhead #1) is
seen backstage, sitting in a director’s chair. She recalls meeting
Lucy for the first time, when she came to the second night of Once
Upon a Mattress
on May 12, 1959. Carol fondly recalls that Lucy always called her
“kid.” Carol introduces a clip from “Carol + 2” (1964) in
which Lucy and Carol play night cleaning ladies at a talent agency
singing “Chutzpah!”

Danny
Kaye (redhead #2) comes down a staircase to talk about Lucy’s skill at physical comedy.

Kaye:
“Calling
Lucille Ball ‘just’ a comedian is like calling Margot Fonteyne ‘just’
a dancer.”  

The
dance metaphor helps Kaye introduce a clip of Lucy’s dancer-like
physical agility in a sketch seen on the Emmy nominated “The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball” (1962) in which Lucy and Kaye go to a
Japanese restaurant and must adapt to the customs of the Tea House –
all without dialogue.

LUCY
AROUND THE WORLD

Kaye
reports that Lucille Ball is on television in 78 different countries.
This leads to clips from shows dubbed in French (“Lucy and the
Great Bank Robbery” TLS S3;E5)… 

Japanese (“Lucy Becomes an
Astronaut” TLS S1;E16)…

Spanish (“Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to
Murder Her” ILL S1;E4)… 

and capped off with the famous grape
stomping scene from “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (ILL S5;E23), which
was already mostly in Italian, with (humorous) English subtitles. 

Kaye
states that Lucille Ball is so popular because she has universal
appeal. He introduces a clip from “The Hollywood Unemployment
Follies” (HL S3;E22) where Lucy Carter sings
“Falling
in Love Again (Never Wanted To)”
in costume as Marlene Dietrich from
the 1930 German film The
Blue Angel to
Gale Gordon.

ALWAYS
GETTING IT

This
conveniently leads to discovering Gale
Gordon sitting
on a park bench. He says he likes the quiet of the park as opposed to
working with Lucy, because nothing can spill on him. He then casts a
cautionary glance at the sky and says “Watch
it, pigeons!”
A series of clips from “Here’s Lucy” reveals Gordon “getting
it” – getting wet, dirty, and generally messy through a variety of
assaults.

DANCING
FOOL

Sammy
Davis Jr.
is discovered dancing on a stage. Davis is one of the only stars in
the Tribute who appeared with Lucy on her show (in 1970), but is not
seen in archival footage.

Sammy:
“That
lady does it all, man!”

He
introduces clips of Lucy singing and dancing.

• Lucy and John
  Bubbles do a soft-shoe in “Main Street USA” (TLS S5;E17); 
• A
  production number from “Lucy Helps Ken Berry” (TLS S6;E21); 
• A
  hobo number with Red Skelton in “Lucy Goes to Alaska” (LDCH
  1959); 
• A soft shoe from “Lucy with George Burns” (TLS S5;E1); 
• Singing “The Pennsylvania Polka” with Lucie Arnaz and Patty
  Andrews in “Lucy and the Andrews Sisters” (HL S2;E6);
• Tthe big
  finale from “Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map” (TLS S5;E18); 
• Playing banjo and singing “Waiting
  for the Robert E. Lee”
  with
  Lucie Arnaz and Wayne Newton, while Desi Jr. plays drums in the
  background in “Lucy Sells Craig to Wayne Newton” (HL S1;E9).

A
transitional clip from “Lucy Gets Jack Benny’s Account” (TLS
S6;E6) which ends with Lucy and Benny sinking in a pit of quicksand and leads into…

THANKS
FOR THE MEMORIES

Bob
Hope
singing his signature song “Thanks for the Memory” with special
lyrics about Lucy. A clip of “Lucy and Bob Hope” (ILL S6;E1) has
Lucy undercover as a hot dog vendor at Yankee Stadium and Hope
getting conked on the head with a fly ball. After the clip, Bob Hope
says that the title of world’s funniest lady is a tie between Lucille
Ball and Milton Berle, which is a cue for a clip from 1958’s “Milton
Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos” (LDCH 1958) with Milton Berle in full
drag as Mildred Burke.

STAR-STRUCK

Cut
to Milton
Berle
standing in front of the Hollywood Brown Derby to introduce a clip
from “Hollywood at Last!” (ILL S4;E16) starring William Holden.
The iconic derby-shaped eatery was closed and razed in 1980. The
derby dome could be glimpsed in the view from the Ricardo’s Hollywood
hotel room balcony. In the scene (set in a studio recreation of the
restaurant), Lucy can’t help but spy on the star in the next booth,
ending with her clumsily causing a waiter to dump a tray of food on
him.

BEING
UPSTAGED

Johnny
Carson,
on the set of “The Tonight Show” reminisces about the time he
played himself on “Here’s Lucy” (S2;E11) where Lucy is picked
from his audience to play “Stump the Band” and wins by singing
“Snoops the Lawyer.” While she is singing, Carson sits on the
arm of an aisle seat occupied by Lucy’s real-life mom, Dede Ball.

A
DATE WITH EDDIE

Feldman, that is, not Albert! Dean Martin
says he loves working with Lucy. A clip from “Lucy Dates Dean
Martin” (TLS S4;E21) has Lucy dating a man she thinks is Dean’s
stunt double, Eddie Feldman, but is actually Martin himself filling
in for Feldman, who has to work. In the clip Martin sings “Everybody
Loves Somebody Sometime” causing Lucy Carmichael to
remark “You
even sing better than he does!”

SAM
THE PLUMBER

Richard
Burton
comes out of his on-set trailer to talk about his 1970
guest-appearance on “Here’s Lucy” (S3;E1) where he tried to pass
himself off as Sam the Plumber, but is ensnared by Lucy, who has a
leaky sink. He recites Shakespeare while fixing the sink, but Lucy
Carter tells him not to quit his day job!

TWO
LEFT FEET

Danny
Thomas,
is found standing on the set of his 1976 sitcom “The Practice.”
A month earlier, Lucille Ball guest-starred on the series, which only
lasted one season. He introduces a clip from “Lucy Helps Danny
Thomas” (TLS S4;E7), which has Lucy as a clumsy showgirl turning
Danny’s TV show production number of “Broadway Melody” upside
down!

25
YEARS OF LAUGHTER

The
last segment, James
Stewart stands
at a podium and introduces the lady of the hour (or two), the first
lady of television, Lucille Ball. Although Stewart was Ball’s friend
and neighbor, the two never acted opposite each other on film or
television. They appeared together on many award shows and specials.
He presents Lucy with a plaque from the National Academy of Arts and
Sciences for 25 years of laughter.  A montage of moments from Lucy’s
quarter-century career is accompanied by the song “Look at that
Face” sung by Steve Lawrence as the credits roll.

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This
Date in Lucy History – November 28th

“Lucy
and Pat Collins”
(TLS S5;E11) – November 28, 1966