Before television and the internet were the main evening’s entertainment, there was always the option of reading a good book! Lucy and friends did their share of reading. This volume presented (mostly) in glorious color!
FICTIONAL FICTIONS
Everything
You Always Wanted to Know About Jack Benny But Were Afraid To Ask
– March
10, 1971
The
title is a riff on the book Everything
You Always Wanted To Know About Sex *But Were Afraid To Ask by
Dr. David Reuben, which was a best-seller in 1969. It would be made
into a film a year after this special by director Woody Allen.
Valley
of the Puppets
–
“Lucy and Eva Gabor” (HL S1;E7
~ November 11, 1968)
When
author Eva Von Graunitz (Eva Gabor) comes to stay with Lucy Carter to
finish her book in peace and quiet, Lucy’s home is turned upside down
over the author’s first salacious novel, whose title is based on the
Jacqueline Susann novel Valley
of the Dolls,
first published in 1966, and filmed a year later.
While
Eva is hiding out, a member of Lucy’s Bridge Club (Gail Bonney) asks her for her
autograph, on a copy of
The
Caine Mutiny,
the
1951 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Herman Wouk.
Seems Lucy’s pal didn’t buy Eva’s book, so grabbed something off her home bookshelf for her to inscribe!
Murder
In Morocco
– “Lucy and Petula Clark” (HL S5;E8 ~ October 30, 1972)
Lucy
Carter is hired to act as personal assistant for singer Petula Clark,
but she’s not above suggesting some light reading for the British
songstress.
Starved
Love
– “Lucy is N.G. as an R.N.” (HL S6;E17
~ January 21, 1974)
Lucy
asks Mary Jane why she’s reading a ‘spicy’ book like Starved
Love.
She’s heard it makes Jacqueline Susann
look
like Dr. Seuss. As soon as Lucy is out of the room, curious Harry
picks up the steamy tome. When she catches him reading it, Lucy says
“It
sure beats ‘How
the Grinch Stole Christmas,’ doesn’t
it?”
The
Dr. Seuss children’s Christmas story was published in 1957
and made into an animated holiday TV special in 1966. A live-action
film was released in 2000.
The
Killer Who Wore Wooden Shoes
by David Benton Miller – “Tipsy Through the Tulips” (S6;E10
~ November 12, 1973)
Detective
novelist David Benton Miller (Foster Brooks) needs a secretary to transcribe his latest murder mystery manuscript, set in Holland. Lucy picks up
some extra cash by taking the job. As he dictates the book to Lucy,
the author is slowly getting intoxicated by nipping on booze hidden
around the room. Playing drunk was the specialty of Foster Brooks. In
real life, he was as sober as a judge!
BEST SELLER LIST
Gone
With The Wind by
Margaret Mitchell – “Lucy’s Lucky Day” (HL
S4;E15
~ December 20, 1971)
Lucy
has an overdue book at the library – Gone
With The Wind –
which
she took out when it was first published. The novel by Margaret
Mitchell dates from 1936, which means Lucy has had the book for 35
years! Lucy Ricardo used the title as the basis for her life story
“Real Gone With The Wind” in “Lucy Writes A Novel” (ILL
S3;E24 ~ April 5, 1954).
Earthquake
by Milton Berle and John Roeburt – “Milton Berle Hides out at the
Ricardos” (LDCH September
29, 1959)
At
the time of the episode, Berle had just published his first (and
only) novel, Earthquake
written
with John Roeburt.
Lucy takes an interest in the book in order to convince Berle to star
in the Westport PTA Talent Show.
A
Thousand Days
by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. – “Harrison Carter, Male Nurse” (HL
S5;E3
~ September 25, 1972)
While
Lucy is recuperating from her broken leg, she gets Harry to play
board games with her in bed. In
the bookshelf behind the bed there is a copy of A
Thousand Days,
a book about John F. Kennedy in the White House, written by Arthur M.
Schlesinger first published in 1965 and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
On a 1963 episode of “The
Lucy Show,”
Lucy
Carmichael and Vivian Bagley took their cub scout troop on a trip to
Washington DC to meet President Kennedy.
Tom
Swift and His Electric Rifle
by Victor Appleton – “Lucy Helps Craig Get A Drivers License” (HL
S1;E24
~ March 17, 1969)
For
his Craig’s (Desi Arnaz Jr.) 16th birthday, Uncle Harry (Gale Gordon) gives his nephew his favorite book when he was
16:
Tom
Swift and His Electric Rifle,
a
young adult novel written using the pen name Victor Appleton. It is
volume 10 in the original Tom Swift novel series first published in
1911. Harry puts a check for $50 inside. He promises Craig he’ll
sign it when he turns 21!
Arouse
and Beware by
MacKinlay Kantor & Tender
is the Night by
F. Scott Fitzgerald – “No More Double Dates” (TLS S1;E21 ~
February 18, 1963)
On
a double date, Lucy and Harry try to avoid Viv and Eddie so they
pretend to take a train to Manhattan. When Lucy doubles back, the top
rack of the newsstand displays a paperback copy of Tender
is the Night, the
1934 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald which was made into a hit movie in
1962. Next to it is also a copy of the 1934 Civil War novel Arouse
and Beware
by
MacKinlay Kantor. The book was filmed as The
Man from Dakota
in
1940.
Self-Defense for Women
by Alice McGrath and Bruce Tegner – “Kim Finally Cuts
You-Know-Whose Apron Strings” (HL
S4;E24 ~ February 28, 1972)
When
Kim (Lucie Arnaz) goes to live on her own, Lucy gives her a book
titled Self-Defense for Women and the episode has Kim and her friend Sue Ann (Susan Tolsky) practicing self-defense techniques. Author McGrath served as the
show’s consultant and fight choreographer. McGrath and Tegner both receive screen credit at the end of the episode. This
episode was a pilot for a Lucie Arnaz spin-off that never went to
series.
Portnoy’s
Complaint by
Philip Roth – “Lucy the Crusader” (HL S3;E5 ~ October 12, 1970)
Okay,
nobody in the episode actually reads the racy 1969 novel, but during
Lucy’s neighborhood meeting voicing consumer gripes, a woman
recognized as Mrs. Clara Portnoy (Kathleen Hughes) stands up to
complain about a malfunctioning garage door!
The
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by
Edward Gibbon – “Lucy the Fight Manager” (TLS S5;E20 ~ February
20, 1967)
When
putting prize fighter Eddie (Don Rickles) on the bathroom scales Lucy
makes him hold two big books: The Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire and Aunt Fanny’s Cookbook because the scales are
off and that is the only way to get an accurate reading. The
Decline and Fall… traces
the trajectory of Western civilization from the height of the Roman
Empire to the fall of Byzantium. It was published in six volumes from
1776 to 1889. Hardly reading one associates with Lucy Carmichael.
Aunt Fanny’s Cookbook, on the other hand…
Mickey
Spillane Novels
– “Lucy Gets Her Maid” (TLS S3;E11 ~ November 30, 1964)
Hoping
to impress the new maid, Lucy and Viv replace all their Mickey
Spillane detective paperbacks with encyclopedias. Mickey
Spillane (1918-2006)
was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his
signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million
copies of his books have sold internationally. In 1964 alone Spillane
released four novels.
THE REMAINDER BIN
“Lucy
Misplaces $2,000” (TLS
S1;E4
~ October 22, 1962)
After
getting $2,000 cash from a bank error, Lucy places the money in an empty
candy box, and puts a hardcover book jacket around the box to hide it
in plain sight on the bookshelf. When she returns to get the cash to
give it back to the bank, it is gone! Viv’s son Sherman (Ralph Hart) found the fake book and took the candy box to the carnival, not knowing there was a wad of cash inside instead of sweets!
You can’t judge a book by its cover.
“Lucy
and the Contact Lenses” (TLS
S3;E10
~ November 23, 1964)
Lucy’s
arms are too short to read a book! Too vain for glasses, she opts for
contact lenses, despite the cost. One of her
precious lenses accidentally drops into a cake batter, which means
Lucy and Viv must paw through dozens of chocolate cakes bound for a bake sale to restore her sight!
“Lucy
the Coin Collector”
(TLS S3;E13~
December 14, 1964)
Lucy’s son Jerry (Jimmy Garrett) thinks he’s found a valuable penny so Lucy consults
a book about rare coins and sets about searching through every coin
she can get to find a copper-plated jackpot! If only she hadn’t been
standing near an open sewer grate when she found it!
“Lucy
Meets a Millionaire”
(TLS S2;E24
~ March 16, 1964)
Lucy
Carmichael is going on a date with a handsome Italian millionaire.
To impress him, she stays up nights learning Italian from a book and
spouts some foreign phrases for Viv. On “I Love Lucy,” Lucy
Ricardo learned French for their European jaunt, while it was Ethel
(Viv) who was in charge of speaking Italian. Mama mia!
“Lucy Competes With Carol Burnett” (HL
S2;E24 ~ March 2, 1970) & “Mary Jane’s Boyfriend” (HL S6;E20 ~ February 18, 1974)
In
order to impress her new boyfriend, Mary Jane says
that she’s been going to charm school. She balances a book on her
head for Lucy to show off her perfect posture. In an earlier
episode, Lucy also balanced a book on her head to prepare for a
beauty pageant where she competes with her old friend Carol
Krausmeyer for the title of Miss Secretary Beautiful.
“Goodbye
Mrs. Hips” (HL
S5;E23
~ February 26, 1973)
Lucy,
Mary Jane (Mary Jane Lewis), and Vanda (Vanda Barra) go on a crash diet together. To help them succeed,
Lucy invites them to live at her house for two weeks.
To get their minds off the fact that Harry has stored his gourmet
goodies in Lucy’s fridge, Mary Jane and Vanda try to get lost in a
good book! Naturally, their hunger gets the better of them. The episode’s title (never spoken aloud) is based on the 1934 novella Goodbye Mr. Chips by James Hilton. It has been filmed several times.
“Lucy’s
House Guest Harry” (HL S3;E20 ~ January 25, 1971)
Harry (Gale Gordon) is having his house redecorated and needs a place to stay. Naturally,
he imposes on Lucy, who is increasingly aggravated by her
brother-in-law’s obnoxious habits, like lounging around the living
room reading a book, while she spends the day doing house cleaning!
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