September 13, 1965 ~ S1;E1
Directed
by Stan Harris
Written
by Gary Belkin, Mel Diamond, Saul Turteltaub, Tony Webster, Sydney
Zelinka
Steve
Lawrence (Himself
/ Host) was born Sidney Leibowitz in 1935. Between 1958 and 1960 he
served in the US Army and was a vocalist with the US Army Band and
Orchestra. After he was discharged, he started his singing career on
television, night clubs, and recordings, often with his wife Eydie
Gormé, who he married in 1957. He appeared in the 1964 Broadway
musical What
Makes Sammy Run? (Tony
nomination) and returned to Broadway in 1968 for
The
Golden Rainbow.
His
screen acting career began in 1963. In 1979 he won an Emmy Award for
“Steve and Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin.” In 1973 he appeared
with his wife Eydie on “Here’s Lucy.”
Lucille
Ball (Herself)
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.
Charles Nelson Reilly (Reilly of CBS) started acting off-Broadway in the 1950s and made his Broadway debut in 1960’s Bye Bye Birdie. He also created roles in How To Succeed... and Hello, Dolly! On TV his first regular role was as Claymore Gregg in “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” which ended its two-season run in 1970. Reilly is perhaps best remembered as a panelist on the game show “Match Game.” He did a week of shows with Lucille Ball on the game show “Body Language” in 1984. Charles Nelson Reilly died in 2007. He appeared on “Here’s Lucy” in 1970.
Betty
Walker
(Birdie Ettinger) was a comedian and character actress who appeared
on numerous talk and variety shows. She originated the role of Bertha
Kramer in the film and TV versions of “The Goldbergs.” She was
best known for playing Polly Merriweather on the NBC soap “The
Doctors” from 1967 to 1968. She died in 1982 at age 53.
Johnny
Olson
(Announcer) is best remembered for his association with Bob Barker
and the game show “The Price is Right” from 1972 to his passing
in 1985. He also announced for “What’s My Line?” a quiz show
that Lucille Ball frequently appeared on.
The
uncredited cast also includes three elderly ‘billboard’ girls,
singers and dancers, a marching band, a live elephant, and a cat.
“The
Steve Lawrence Show” was
one of the last television programs on CBS to be aired in black and
white. The show was done in New York City. This is the premiere
episode. The show lasted just seven episodes, with the last broadcast
on December 13, 1965. Subsequent guests included singers like Connie Francis,
Minnie Pearl, Johnny Cash, Louis Prima, Tom Jones, Roger Miller, and
Anthony Newley. Its competition was “Ben Casey” on ABC, which
began its fifth season that night, and “Run For Your Life,” the
premiere of a new action drama on NBC.
The
show’s main sponsor was Revlon. Other sponsors were Old Gold
cigarettes and Alka Seltzer.
This
show premiered the same night as season four of “The Lucy Show”
which presented “Lucy at Marineland” (TLS S4;E1), a show shot on
location to mark the series’ relocation to California.
The
show opens outside of Sardi’s Restaurant in New York City where
Lawrence gets Lucille to ride down 44th Street on the back of an elephant. After the title card, still atop
the elephant, they sing “Together
(Wherever We Go”) written
Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim for the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy.
At the time, the song was recently part of the 1962 feature film
version of the play. It was recorded by Steve Lawrence and Eydie
Gorme on their We
Got Us
album in 1960.
Eight years later Steve and Eydie would guest star on
“Here’s Lucy” (above) and sing the same song – with Lucy joining in.
The street is lined with onlookers as Lucy and Steve ride the
elephant toward the theatre where his show is being done. Across the
street from Sardi’s, at the Shubert Theatre, the musical The
Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd
was playing. The show had opened in May 1965 and closed in early
December of that year, just a few days before the last “Steve
Lawrence Show” aired.
Both
Steve Lawrence and Lucille Ball were recent residents of the Broadway
theatre district. Lucille Ball played Wildcat
from
late 1960 to early 1961 before leaving the show due to illness. Steve
Lawrence was in What
Makes Sammy Run?
from February to July 1964, when his role was taken over by Paul
Anka. It earned him a Tony nomination. The show closed a year later,
just a few months before this broadcast.
The
elephant marches onto the stage and Lucy and Steve both slide down
off it courtesy of a sliding board. The show is introduced by three
elderly ‘billboard girls,’ one of whom announces Lucille as “Steve’s
special star, Little Lucy Ball. Man, she’s a gas!”
Lawrence sings “Once
in a Lifetime” written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1961 musical Stop
the World…I Want To Get Off,
which closed on Broadway earlier in early 1964 and was nominated for
a 1963 Tony Award. Newley sang it in the final segment of “Lucy in
London” (above) a CBS special aired 13 months later. Coincidentally,
Bricusse and Newley were also the authors of Roar
of the Greasepaint,
then playing at the Shubert.
During
his opening remarks, Lawrence mentions the New York Mets, which is
greeted by cheers from the audience. Despite having edged the
Milwaukee Braves the day before, the Mets finished the season last in
the National League standings. Charles
Nelson Reilly
interrupts Lawrence’s monologue. He enters holding a clipboard and a
live cat, which he hands to Lawrence. He introduces himself as Reilly
from CBS, in charge of audience reactions. Charles Nelson Reilly would become a regular on “The Steve Lawrence Show.”
After
Reilly leaves, Lawrence (left holding the cat) takes this as his cue
to sing “What’s
New Pussycat?”
the
theme song for the 1965 film of the same name, written by Burt
Bacharach and Hal David.
It was nominated for an Oscar a few months later but did not win.
This arrangement and vocal by Steve Lawrence turned up on a 1965
compilation album based on the TV show. It was no coincidence that
Steve Lawrence was signed to CBS Records and his show was on CBS TV.
During the song, Lawrence releases the live cat and sings the rest of
the song to female dancers wearing catsuits!
After
a commercial, Lawrence introduces Lucille
Ball to
great fanfare. Cheerleaders with pom-poms dance, a marching band
comes down the aisles of the theatre, and the audience is waving “Hi Lucy” signs. The cheerleaders sing “We
Love You Lucy” to the tune of “We Love You Conrad” from Bye
Bye Birdie,
a 1960 musical that became a 1963 film. Lucy enters down a long white
staircase wearing an elegant sequined and feathered gown. Carried on
the shoulders of two male dancers, her hands ‘accidentally’ catch on
the chandelier, and – in true Lucille Ball style – she
chaotically swings from the chandelier!
Through
the magic of editing, Lawrence makes the entire ensemble disappear so
that it is just him and Lucy on stage. Lucy corrects him that she’s
not the First Lady of Television – “The
First Lady of Television is Milton Berle.”
This refers to Berle’s history of dressing up in drag (as Mildred),
something that he did when he guest-starred on “The Lucy-Desi
Comedy Hour” (above) in 1959. Lucy even imitates Berle walking awkwardly in
heels.
The
show takes a suggestive turn when Lucy says “Stevie
boy, I came all the way from California. What do you wanna do?”
The audience laughs. Lucy says “Oh,
that’s the kind of audience you have!”
Lawrence
sings to Lucy “I
Like the Likes of You”
written in 1933 by Yip Harburg and Vernon Duke. Steve and Eydie
included it on their Cozy
album in 1961. Lucy interjects with witty remarks while Steve is
singing.
After
a commercial break, Lawrence tells the audience about upcoming guest
stars like Jackie Gleason. Reilly from CBS interrupts again, this
time wearing an accordion around his neck. He asks Lawrence to sing
the name of his guest stars instead of speak
them, while he accompanies him on the accordion. The tune is “Old
MacDonald Had A Farm.”
In
a stage filled with vases of roses, Lawrence sings “Millions
of Roses,”
which is greeted by immediate applause of recognition by the
audience. It was released by Steve Lawrence on his album Sounds
of Summer
in 1965. It was also included on the LP of songs from this series. It
was written by Arthur Kent and Sylvia Dee.
In
a moment of levity, when Johnny Olson announces a “station break”
the screen shows and elephant’s foot crushing a model-sized building
conspicuously labeled “STATION”. The actual station break
promotes the season premiere of “Petticoat Junction” using a
still photo of Lucy’s former radio and TV co-star Bea Benadaret, who
played Kate on the series.
When
the show returns, Steve and Lucy are onstage sitting on stools. Lucy
takes the opportunity to mention that her own show (“The Lucy
Show”) also premiered that same evening on CBS. A short clip of
“Lucy at Marineland” (TLS S4;E1) showing Lucy Carmichael in a tank
with three dolphins is shown.
After a quick set-up, Lucy introduces
outtakes from the location shoot. In the excerpts, Lucy is concerned
about getting her hair wet while director George Marshall barks
orders at her from the edge of the pool. Lucy keeps telling Steve
Lawrence how cold the water was. Lawrence makes some corny jokes
while the footage is screened:
“Lucy,
you’re a very brave woman. You wouldn’t get me in there. I get shaky
opening a can of tuna fish. I’m the original chicken of the sea. Do
the fish work for scale?”
After
a commercial break, Lawrence is found sitting at the edge of the
stage singing “You’ll
Never Know”
by
Harry
Warren
and
the lyrics by Mack
Gordon
in 1943.
After the song, an effusive audience member in the first row
gets Steve’s attention and claims to be an old friend of the family,
Birdie Ettinger (played by Betty
Walker).
She shows him family photos. Birdie returns to her seat and Lawrence
sings “What
Now My Love?”
by
Gilbert
Bécaud
and
Pierre
Delanoë.
English
lyrics
were written by Carl
Sigman
in 1961.
After
another commercial break, Johnny Olson introduces “The
Many Faces of Lucy,” consisting of a montage of brief clips of the first four seasons of
“The Lucy Show”:
- Lucy flying with balloons in “Kiddie
Parties Inc.” (TLS S2;E2) - Lucy
skiing down a backyard slope in “Lucy and the Winter Sports” (TLS
S3;E3) - Lucy
hopping over a bank railing dressed as a little old lady “Lucy
Helps the Countess” (TLS S4;E8) - Lucy
trapped in a sleeping bag in “Lucy Becomes a Father” (TLS S3;E9) - Lucy
as Charlie Chaplin in “Chris’s New Year’s Eve Party” (TLS S1;E14) - Lucy
transformed into a witch in “Lucy and Viv Take Up Chemistry” (TLS
S1;E26) - Lucy
in the swamps during “Lucy Goes Duck Hunting” (TLS S2;E6) - Lucy
with chocolate on her face in “Lucy and the Safe Cracker” (TLS
S2;E5) - Lucy
playing the saxophone in “Lucy and the Boy Scout Show” (TLS
S2;E19) - Lucy
as a charwoman in “My Fair Lucy” (TLS S3;E20) - Lucy
as a wicked witch in “Lucy and the Monsters” (TLS S3;E18) - Lucy
as the little
old lady from Cucamonga
in “Lucy Helps the Countess” (TLS S4;E8)* - Lucy
emerging from a vat of dye in “Lucy Meets a Millionaire” (TLS
S2;E24) - Lucy
crashing cymbals in “Lucy Conducts the Symphony” (TLS S2;E13)
* This episode had not yet aired when “The Steve Lawrence Show” aired. “The Lucy Show” had gone into production on season four earlier in the year.
The
montage concludes with stills of Lucille Ball caught in various funny
facial expressions, some of which are from “I Love Lucy.” This
leads directly into Lucy and Lawrence in black tie and tails singing
“Hey
Look Me Over,” the
song Lucy introduced in her one Broadway show, Wildcat,
written by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh.
After
the show’s final commercial break, Steve introduces Lucille Ball and
thanks her for her time. Steve sings a specially written parting song
to the viewers and audience:
“The
time has come to say goodnight.
Let’s
make a date next Monday night.
May
the coming week bring joy in everything you do.
May
every dream you dream come true.
Until
we meet again.”
Under
the closing credits, the show re-runs the opening with Lucy and Steve
riding down the street on top of an elephant.
On
this Date in Lucy History ~
September 13
“Lucy
at Marineland” (TLS S4;E1) ~ September 13, 1965
“Lucy
and Flip Go Legit” (HL S4;E1) ~ September 13, 1971
“The
33rd Annual Emmy Awards” ~ September 13, 1981
Papermoon Loves Lucy 
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