Lucille
Ball’s outrageous stunts have inspired other shows to get laughs from
the same unlikely situations. These are some of my favorite Lucy
inspirations (in no particular order)…
WILL & GRACE (1998-2006
and 2016+)
“Who’s
Your Daddy?” (S9;E2 ~ October 5, 2017)
Starring
Debra Messing (Grace), Megan Mullalley (Karen)
inspired
by
“The
Lucy Show”
“Lucy and Viv Put In a Shower” (S1;E18 ~
January 28, 1963)
Starring
Lucille Ball (Lucy), Vivian Vance (Viv)
Debra
Messing (Grace) bears a striking resemblance to Lucy, and has often
admitted to being inspired by her. She Tweeted in 2017: ”You [Lucy] changed the rules of the game for women in comedy and inspired
millions of little girls who wanted to make people laugh.” It is
no wonder then, that scenes with her co-star Megan Mullalley (Karen)
feel like the funniest antics of Lucy and Ethel. In this instance,
the two recreate the time Lucy Carmichael and Vivian Bagley installed
a home shower – and couldn’t turn off the water!
Although the
relationships are strictly 21st century, the foursome of Will & Grace and Karen & Jack often feels
a lot like Lucy & Ricky and Fred & Ethel!
BEWITCHED (1964-72)
“Samantha’s
Power Failure” (S5;E25 ~ March 20, 1969)
Starring
Elizabeth Montgomery (Serena), Paul Lynde (Uncle Arthur), Ron
Masak (Buck)
inspired
by
“I
Love Lucy”
“Job Switching” (S2;E1 ~ September 15, 1952)
Starring
Lucille Ball (Lucy), Vivian Vance (Ethel), Elvia Allman (Forewoman),
Amanda Milligan (Candy Dipper)
Instead
of candy, Samantha’s cousin Serena and her Uncle Arthur are sent to
work in an ice cream shop where they are charged with dipping bananas
in chocolate when they come down a conveyor belt. As with Kramer’s
Candy Kitchen, the belt moves faster and faster as the scene goes on
and neither one can keep up!
In the end, Arthur, Serena, and Buck,
(the boss putting the moves on Serena) are covered in chocolate just
like Lucy and her candy dipper co-worker. In this case, the
inspiration for the scene came from the creators themselves. William
Asher, who was the director of “Bewitched” (and husband of its
star, Elizabeth Montgomery), was also the director of “Job
Switching.” Harry S. Ackerman, who produced “Bewitched” for
ABC, was one of the original CBS executives to green light “I Love
Lucy” in 1951.
BUNGLE ABBEY (1981)
Pilot
(May 31, 1981)
Starring
Charlie Callas (Brother Charles), Graham Jarvis (Brother Virgil),
Gino Conforti (Brother Gino), Peter Palmer (Brother Peter)
inspired
by
“I
Love Lucy”
“Lucy’s Italian Movie” (S5;E23 ~ April 16, 1956)
Starring
Lucille Ball (Lucy), Teresa Tirelli (Grape Stomper), Ernesto Molinari
(Vineyard Boss)
Perhaps
no more bit of physical comedy is more recognizable than the sight of
Lucy stomping grapes (and nearly drowning) in Italy. It is unsurprising that Lucille Ball, in her one solo outing as a director, started
the pilot with grape stomping in a big vat. But that’s as far as
the scene goes.
Instead of a fight in the vat, the scene is capped off by the sight of the
brothers emerging with purple feet. It was clear from this pilot
episode that the show was not going to be picked up for series and
only this episode was ever shown. This was part of Lucille Ball’s
deal to work for NBC, a move that never amounted to more than one
special and this pilot. Gale Gordon played the Abbot, but was not in
this scene.
LAVERNE & SHIRLEY (1976-83)
“The
Diner” (S5;E25 ~ May 6, 1980)
Starring
Penny Marshall (Laverne), Cindy Williams (Shirley), David Lander
(Squiggy), Michael McKean (Lenny)
inspired
by
“I
Love Lucy”
“The Diner” (S3;E27 ~ April 26, 1954)
Starring
Lucille Ball (Lucy), Desi Arnaz (Ricky), Vivian Vance (Ethel),
William Frawley (Fred), James Burke (Mr. Watson)
No
other female comedy team in the history of television has been so
often compared to Lucy and Ethel as Laverne and Shirley. Add in their
pals Lenny and Squiggy, you’ve got a reasonable facsimile of the
Ricardos and Mertzes, especially when the plots pit men against the
women. In this episode, which has the same exact title as its
inspiration, Lenny has inherited a diner that he gives over to the
girls to run.
Just as Ethel was confined to the kitchen, so is
Laverne. She even does a bit of business with a pop-up toaster,
something that Lucille Ball often did. Both sets of ladies indulge in
“diner lingo” and get overwhelmed by their new business ventures.
THE MUNSTERS (1964-66)
“A
House Divided” (S2;E29 ~ April 7, 1966)
Starring
Fred Gwynn (Herman), Yvonne De Carlo (Lily), Al Lewis (Grandpa),
Butch Patrick (Eddie), Pat Priest (Marilyn)
inspired
by
“I
Love Lucy”
“Men
are Messy” (S1;E8 ~ December 3, 1951)
Starring
Lucille Ball (Lucy), Desi Arnaz (Ricky), Vivian Vance (Ethel),
William Frawley (Fred)
When
Lucy declares that ‘men are messy’ she divides the apartment in two,
drawing a literal line down the center with white ribbon. On “The
Munsters” Herman and Grandpa are the ones seeking separation,
drawing their line with white paint.
On “I Love Lucy” the pair
were forced to tear in half the last cigarette: “I’ll
have Philip, you can have Morris.” When
Philip Morris was no longer a sponsor, the brief moment was cut and
not seen again until the DVD release.
The white line was resurrected when
the Ricardos and Mertzes can’t agree how to run “The Diner”
(S3;E27), drawing a line down the center that bisects a single stool.
Naturally, a patron occupies that borderline seat and pits “A
Little Bit of Cuba” against “A Big Hunk of America.”
MIKE & MOLLY (2010-16)
“Poker
in the Front, Looker in the Back” (S4;E5 ~ December 2, 2013)
Starring
Melissa McCarthy (Molly), Swoosie Kurtz (Joyce)
inspired
by
“I
Love Lucy”
“The
Tour” (S4;E30 ~ May 30, 1955)
Starring
Lucille Ball (Lucy), Vivian Vance (Ethel)
Although
the plots of both episodes are very different, there’s no denying
that when Molly and Joyce decide to scale the fence to their
neighbor’s yard, they instantly recall Lucy and Ethel scaling Richard
Widmark’s wall to get a souvenir grapefruit. In both cases there’s a
dog on the other side!
The resemblance is sealed when Molly gives Joyce a boost over the wall, just as Ethel did for Lucy.
CAR 54 WHERE ARE YOU? (1961-63)
“Boom,
Boom, Boom” (S1;E14 ~ January 14, 1962)
Starring
Fred Gwynn (Muldoon), Joe E. Ross (Toody), Gerald Haken (Katz the
Butcher)
inspired
by
“I Love Lucy”
“The
Freezer” (S1;E29 ~ April 28, 1952)
Starring
Lucille Ball (Lucy), Desi Arnaz (Ricky), Vivian Vance (Ethel),
William Frawley (Fred)
The
plots leading up to being trapped in the walk-in freezer vary, but
the sight of icicles hanging off Officer Muldoon (Fred Gwynn) recall
when Lucy Ricardo accidentally got trapped in her own home freezer
and was discovered frosted over. Make-up expert Hal King was in charge of
transforming Lucy into a human icicle.
GREEN ACRES (1965-71)
“The
Deputy” (S1;E24 ~ March 16,1966)
Starring
Eva Gabor (Lisa), Eddie Albert (Oliver)
inspired
by
“I
Love Lucy”
“The
Handcuffs” (S2;E14 ~ October 6, 1952)
Starring
Lucille Ball (Lucy), Desi Arnaz (Ricky)
When Oliver is temporarily appointed Deputy of Hooterville, he demonstrates to Lisa how to use a pair of handcuffs. Then he realizes
he’s lost the key! This tethers the married couple by the wrist,
just like when Fred Mertz handcuffed Lucy to Ricky when demonstrating
his vaudeville magic act. The same kind of physical contortions that
Lucy and Ricky engaged in just to get undressed for bed were
repeated when Lisa and Oliver had to get behind the wheel of a car!
Papermoon Loves Lucy 
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