LUCILLE & DESI SOLVE A PARENT PROBLEM

November 22, 1952

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were on the cover of TV Digest for the week of November 22, 1952.  The inside article was titled “Lucille and Desi Solve a Parent Problem.” 

“With a baby due in January, how does the show stay on the air?” 

The article reveals that the past summer hiatus was spent ‘banking’ enough episodes of the show to last through March 1953.  Using a photo of Lucy tumbling through an open window in “The Anniversary Present” (ILL S2;E3) aired on September 29, 1952 but filmed on May 9, 1952, the article asserts that physical comedy will be temporarily omitted from future episodes.  A candid photo depicts Lucille and Desi relaxing with their infant daughter, Lucille Desiree. 

The inside listings include the original broadcast of “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) first aired on Monday, November 24, 1952. At the time of filming, Lucille Ball was already four months pregnant, although it was not yet part of the storyline on the show. To hide her condition, Lucy dressed in loose-fitting clothes throughout the episode. The big announcement would come two weeks later in “Lucy is Enceinte” (ILL S2;E10) aired on December 8, 1952. 

IN OTHER NEWS…

Also on November 22, 1952, an Arlington Heights, Illinois, cinema offered a double bill of Cuban Pete (1944) starring Desi Arnaz and Lover Come Back (1946) starring Lucille Ball, which was retitled for its’ 1952 re-release Lucy Goes Wild to capitalize on the success of “I Love Lucy.” In the early 1950s cinemas were worried that competition from TV would make them obsolete. 

The State Theatre in Richmond, Indiana, also wooed people away from the television into their popcorn palace, this time with second-run screenings of  Look Who’s Talking (1941) and Too Many Girls (1940).  

Nationwide, other cinemas were taking a similar tact with re-bookings of:  

• Fancy Pants (1950) in Bunkie, Louisiana and Hazleton, Pennsylvania 
• Sorrowful Jones (1949) in El Paso, Texas
• A double bill of The Fuller Brush Man (1948) and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950) in Dorchester, Massachusetts 
• The Magic Carpet (1951) in Vancouver, British Columbia
• Too Many Girls (1940) in Miami Beach, Florida

In a San Mateo, California, newspaper, Bob Foster credited the success of “I Love Lucy” with saving General Services Studios from bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, in Hawaii, one of Lucy and Desi’s favorite vacation spots, an appliance dealership in Honolulu was tempting potential viewers to buy a set in order to see “I Love Lucy” and other great shows when network television broadcasts finally arrived on the island in December 1952.

Groff’s Hardware in New Holland, Pennsylvania, took out a classified ad to let readers know they were selling the “I Love Lucy” baby doll. 

Erkskine Johnson did a story on the ubiquitous laugh track, getting a quote from “I Love Lucy” DP Karl Freund. 

SATURDAY’S SYNDICATED STORIES!

Lucy’s friend and future co-star Hedda Hopper claimed Lucy often wore ribbons in her hair, making her look like a Christmas tree.  B. Kaper is composer 

Bronisław

Kaper, who scored Without Love (1945) starring Lucille Ball and would also score Forever, Darling starring Lucy and Desi in 1956. 

Walter Winchell’s “Broadway and Elsewhere” reported that the latest “I Love Lucy” episode was “30 minutes long and a smile wide…”  There was no new episode the previous Monday (November 17, 1952), so Winchell must be referring to “The Courtroom” (ILL S2;E7) which aired on Monday, November 10, 1952.

Erskine Johnson’s November 22, 1952, syndicated column “In Hollywood…” provided an anecdote about an “I Love Lucy” fan and the show’s record-setting viewership. 

Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column “Broadway: Gossip in Gotham” reported that Lucy and Desi were thinking about moving production of “I Love Lucy” to Cuba for tax reasons!  As history knows, this never happened and sounds highly unlikely knowing Desi’s patriotic love of the USA. 

Earl Wilson’s November 22, 1952 syndicated column “It Happened Last Night” closed with a barb attributed to Lucille Ball: “Will you please excuse me while you leave my table?”