Freshly Baked Comedy!

Baked goods were popular on Lucycoms – whether it be competitve cake-baking or cream pies for throwing!  And there was also some experiments in bread baking that failed in a big way!  

“The Wonder Show” (1938) ~ A radio show sponsored by Wonder Bread that marked the first collaboration between Gale Gordon and Lucille Ball. 

“The Audition” (1951) ~ The episode ends with Ricky mistakenly thinking Lucy might be pregnant – but the only thing in her ‘oven’ is his favorite pie!. When Lucy said the same lines in the un-aired pilot, she actually was! 

“Pioneer Women” (1952) ~ Forced to do their own baking, Lucy mistakes the number of cakes of yeast in the recipe for homemade bread and produces a mammoth loaf. In reality, the bread was baked by L.A.’s Union Baking Company. The final product was rye bread, as rye lasts longer without spoiling. The bread was cut up and served to the studio audience after filming. 

LUCY: “It’s a happy little loaf!”

“Job Switching” (1952) ~ When the girls go to work, the boys stay home to do the cooking and cleaning. Preparing dinner, Fred is in charge of baking a cake for dessert. It is a flop – literally. Ricky suggests he wait till breakfast and serve it as a pancake. 

“Lucy’s Last Birthday” (1953) ~ Lucy thinks that Ricky has forgotten her birthday, but he plans to surprise her with a huge cake and party at the Tropicana. 

“The Diner” (1954) ~ A bakery delivery boy (Don Garner) brings cream pies to Little Bit of Cuba / Big Hunk of America. Naturally they end up on the cast’s faces, not in their customer’s bellies. 

“Ricky Minds the Baby” (1954) ~ When Ethel is still hungry after dinner, Lucy offers her some stale brownies which, when dumped on the table, actually break a plate. Too stale even for Ethel!  

“Million Dollar Idea” (1954) ~ For dessert, Lucy brings out a plate of bite sized pastries. When Ricky wants to talk about her being overdrawn at the bank, Lucy doesn’t want to discuss it while she’s eating. Rather than have to ‘splain her finances, Lucy eats a dozen of the treats while Ricky waits patiently! What the props department used for the sweets is unknown, but they make an audible crispy crunch when Lucy bites into them.

“Home Movies” (1954) ~ The pastry chef at the Tropicana bakes a cake with the title of Ricky’s TV pilot film “Tropical Rhythms”.  

“Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation” (1954) ~ On a radio quiz show, Lucy is pelted with food and drink when Ricky sings key lyrics – from a safe distance. Like any good meal, the episode ends with coffee and pie! 

“Lucy Learns to Drive” (1954) ~ To wake Fred from his catontonic state after losing money on an antique Cadillac, Lucy tempts him with homemade apple pie. 

“Lucy Visits Grauman’s” (1955) ~ To celebrate Ricky’s success in Hollywood, Lucy throws him a party with a cake that compares him to 1954 Oscar-winner Maron Brando. 

“Lucy Misplaces $2,000″ (1962) ~ The episode starts with Harry bringing over fresh donuts from Friehoffer’s Bakery. Unfortunately, Lucy and Viv are on a 253 calorie diet. 

“Lucy’s Sister Pays a Visit” (1963) ~ For her sister’s wedding, Lucy and Viv bake a wedding cake – sipping from a heavily spiked punch bowl while they ice it. 

“Lucy and the Military Academy” (1963) ~ When her son is at a military academy, Lucy bakes him a birthday cake, although it is against the rules. When she arrives, she learns she isn’t the only mother to have the idea. 

“Lucy Goes To Art Class” (1964) ~ To impress a handsome bachelor, Viv bakes him a pie. Jealous Lucy sneaks into his apartment and replaces Viv’s pie with her ‘poison pie’ containing three jars of hot peppers, two cans of anchovies, and one bottle of Tabasco sauce.

When Lucy is caught spying, she must eat a slice of her own concoction to hide her sabotage. 

In the second kitchen scene, there is a pink bakery box on the counter. These same boxes will turn up later in the year in “Lucy’s Contact Lenses” (S3;E10) and “Lucy Gets Her Maid” (S3;E11). Pink bakery boxes were a California anomoly, instantly recognizable as fresh baked goods – usually (but not exclusively) – donuts. 

“Lucy Enters a Baking Contest” (1964) ~ Lucy’s baking skills are always being compared unfavorably to Viv’s, so she decides to give her a run for her money by entering the Danfield Tribune’s annual pie-baking contest.

Baking for her bridge group, Lucy’s cake falls before it can be iced, so she calls Mr. Mooney and asks him to go by Trumbull’s Bakery and pick up a large sunshine cake with white icing thinking no one will be the wiser. During the bridge game, Viv reminds Audrey and Kathleen about the failure of Lucy’s brownies for the PTA bazaar.

Mr. Mooney ends the episode with a pie in the face, which will be (somewhat appropriately) the final image of season two of the series.

“Lucy’s Contact Lenses” (1964) ~ Lucy and Viv are baking a chocolate fudge cake to donate to Mrs. Mooney’s charity bake sale at the bank. Lucy drops one of her contact lenses into the icing. 

After searching through 15 similar cakes, Lucy and Viv discover that Mr. Mooney has bought Lucy’s cake for his wife’s birthday. Lucy and Viv must now break into the Mooney home to steal the cake to retrieve the lost lens.  

“Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map” (1966) ~ The town of Bancroft has a bakery on Main Street: Grandma Thompson’s. It is named in honor of Maury Thompson, who directed the episode. 

“Lucy’s Birthday” (1968) ~ Kim and Craig take Lucy out to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate her birthday. The waiters present her with a birthday cake and sing “Happy Birthday” to her – in Chinese! 

“Lucy’s Wedding Party” (1970) ~ While Harry is away, Lucy uses his home to host a big fat Greek wedding – complete with a two-tiered wedding cake. 

When Harry comes home unexpectedly – he is greeted with cake – in his face! 

“Lucy and the Great Airport Chase” (1969) ~ Trying to escape an international espionage ring, Lucy and Harry blend in at the airport kitchen, filling cream pies. 

On the tarmac, bakers Kim and Craig get into the act. 

At the end, the spy is caught – and pelted with pies!

“Goodbye Mrs. Hips” (1973) ~ Lucy, Mary Jane, and Vanda all go on a crash diet. At the same time, Harry has been invited to join a prestigious food and wine society when his refrigerator breaks down. He stores his Chantilly cream cake with toasted hazelnuts at Lucy’s – in the same home with three ravenous women!

“Lucy and Chuck Connors Have a Surprise Slumber Party” (1973) ~ When Lucy rents out her home for Chuck Connors to shoot a movie, the studio commissary sends over slices of apple pie to feed the crew. 

“Lucy the Sheriff” (1974) ~ A little old lady (Florence Halop) brings a homemade cake to a couple of prisoners. Sheriff Lucy immeditaly thinks it has a file in it. Turns out the little old lady is smarter than that and has a saw hidden under her shawl! 

“Lucy Calls the President” (1974) ~ Lucy and Viv prepare for a visit by Jimmy Carter (peanut farmer turned president) by baking a cake with his face on it. 

VIV: “Come see my cake.  I’m so proud of it, Lucy.” 

LUCY: “Oh, it’s a work of art. It was so clever of you to make President Carter’s teeth out of peanuts.”

“CBS on the Air: A Celebration of 50 Years″ (1978) ~ Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur, representing Monday Nights on CBS, end their tribute to comedy with pies in the face. 

“Mother of the Bride” (1986) ~ In the last-aired episode of “Life With Lucy”, Lucy, Curtis and Lucy’s sister (Audrey Meadows) all end up wearing the wedding cake prepared for the vow renewal of Ted and Margo – a fitting way to mark the end of Lucille Ball’s 35 years on television.