SYNDICATED COLUMNS

September 28, 1951

On September 28, 1951, Erskine Johnson’s syndicated column reported that Lucille Ball’s new television show would be shot in front of a studio audience on a Hollywood soundstage, something that had not been done before. 

Erskine’s column lays out how audiences will participate, the shooting schedule of a typical show, and the adaptations made to General Service studios.  Although Erskine talks about three cameras, history says that the series experimented with four cameras in early episodes, a system that proved too cumbersome.  As time went on, close-up and insert shots filmed after the studio audience left became less and less common.  

On the date this article was published, “I Love Lucy” was filming its fourth episode, “The Diet”, but the show had not yet been seen by the viewing public.  The premiere would be on Monday, October 15, 1951.  

Like Lucy’s friend and colleague Hedda Hopper, Erskine Johnson was a performer who became a Hollywood gossip columnist. 

Not to be outdone, in his September 28, 1951 column Walter Winchell included a quick mention of Lucille Ball’s salary for filming The Magic Carpet, her final feature film before beginning “I Love Lucy”.  In today’s dollars (accounting for inflation), Lucy earned nearly $850,000 for two week’s work!

Walter Winchell (like Erskine Johnson) also gave up a career on the stage for journalism. Winchell and Desilu had a love-hate relationship, but he is best remembered today as the narrator of Desilu’s “The Untouchables.” 

In yet another syndicated column, this one by Barbara Brent and aimed at female readers, Lucille Ball is mentioned in a plug for Woodbury Cold Cream. 

Ball was one of many Hollywood starlets who did print ads and radio commercials for Woodbury products, a company formed in 1870.

On September 28, 1951, Inez Gerhard’s Star Dust column anticipated the premiere of “I Love Lucy” on October 15.  

On September 28, 1951, the Palace in Palm Beach, Florida, was showing Sorrowful Jones, Lucille Ball’s 1949 film with Bob Hope. It was on a double bill with G-Men starring James Cagney, a 1935 Warner Brothers film. 

September 28, 1951 was the final screening of The Fuller Brush Girl.  The film was already a year old when being shown at this Greenville, Ohio drive-in movie theatre. It was on a double bill with Bodyhold, a 1949 comedy from Columbia Pictures that featured future “Lucy” performers Hillary Brooke, Allen Jenkins, and Roy Roberts. 

Finally, at the Corral Drive-In Theatre in Moline, Illinois, Fancy Pants was on screen on September 28.  This has to be one of the most confusing examples of creative shared billing in the history of advertising.  Bob Ball?  Lucille Hope?  Despite the confusing ad, the 1950 film could be viewed in comfort thanks to the Drive-in’s promise to heat your car – free of charge!