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RECYCLING CENTER!
“Here’s Lucy” often used props and costumes in more than one episode. Here’s a look at some of the items recycled from previous episodes – and even previous shows!
Sharp eyes will remember this desk in Harry’s home from Lucy Carmichael’s Los Angeles apartment on “The Lucy Show.”
It wasn’t just the wallpaper that was recycled – it was the walls! Both scenes took place in a nostalgic setting.
Ma Parker (Carole Cook) and Rudy Vallee have similar taste in Bavarian beer steins!
Larger items are easier to spot. This ship’s prow decoration turned up in a nightclub and at Craig’s scavenger hunt!
The zebra lamp with the red shade was on the tables of the Red Devil nightclub and also turned up at Lucy’s garage sale. Unboxing items for the sale, Lucie finds her favorite doll, Clarabelle, who previously made an appearance in “Lucy, the Part-Time Wife” (S3;14), although she now has on a new frock.
When Lucy and Carol Burnett discover a wardrobe rack of costumes worn by Betty Grable and Alice Faye, it also holds the silver space suit worn by Harry in a benefit musical revue about the Generation Gap!
These heavily redacted milk crates were found at the Proud Penguin Frozen Custard stand and at Kim’s college quad! It was common to use gaffer’s tape to conceal brand names.
A large, unique, and colorful gramophone was easy to spot in its three appearances on the series – all in quite different locations: a Victorian living room, a Navajo hut, and a college dorm room!
A sign reading “SILENCE” is a logical prop at a library, but part maybe something stolen by prankster co-eds in a dorm room in another episode!
This ‘musical comedy’ dorm room dug deep in the Desilu prop stock for unique items – including this Tait pennant, which was the location of the stage and screen musical “Good News” but also decorated the boys’ bedroom on “The Lucy Show”!
Still in the kitschy, cluttered dorm, this Sarah Bernhardt poster by Alphonse Mucha (1897) turned up in several different episodes.
License plates were swapped from vehicle to vehicle as needed. Here Lucy’s car has the same plates as a borrowed camper!
This gold table lamp was briefly seen in Harry’s office, but also turned up in the office of a talent agent!
While it was usual for day-to-day Lucy to repeat wardrobe items, a green candy-striped jacket draws attention to itself when going undercover or dancing with a cross-dressing chimp!
This blue chenille bathrobe certainly made the rounds: it was worn by Ethel Mertz on “I Love Lucy” in 1952; then by Lucy Carmichael in 1968; and again by guest-star Ann-Margret in 1970!
This now-iconic blue polka dot dress from “I Love Lucy” was certainly not placed among Lucy Carter’s garage sale items by chance! The aforementioned Sarah Bernhardt poster is back, too!
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ODDS & ENDS!
Some of the weird (yet wonderful) screenshots from “Here’s Lucy” that defy classification!
I spy with my little eye(s)… the weirdest and worst disguises in television history!
Why is Lucy carrying a wax figure of Lawrence Welk, and why is he holding a purse?
I’m not lyin’ – that’s a lion – about to eat a chauffeur. A real lion; not a real chauffeur.
Snap! Somebody’s got “Fever”!
Foster Brooks is tapping into a painting for a glass of wine.
Only his hairdresser knows for sure! Clearly defective merchandise!
Lucy dubs this steely-eyed woman (Jody Gilbert) “Mrs. Kong”!
Lucy and Kim try to convince Uncle Harry he’s seeing double!
Morreen and Colleen Gemini appear as the Conklin Twins (but to Harry, just Jane Conklin.) The surname ‘Gemini’ indicates that these actors probably did not use their real names!
Why is Lucy in a shortie nightie outdoors? Looks like she’s enjoying the fresh air.
A restaurant owner wants pre-washed jeans so he cooks up this odd plan.
Little person Jerry Maren played Milton (aka ‘Little Mildred’). Maren played the Munchkin who hands Dorothy a welcome lollipop in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) but probably never dreamed he’d end up like this!
Lucy Carter celebrates her birthday at a Chinese restaurant!
To increase a ‘dead’ painter’s productivity, Lucy has him paint with his hands AND feet!
Liberace chose “Here’s Lucy” to debut his ‘light-up jacket’!
Harry ‘marries’ a prince (Ricardo Montalban)!
Lucy is enceinte! At age 59!
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ALL SIGNS LEAD TO FUN!
Follow the signs to “Here’s Lucy” hilarity!
The most recognizable sign on television from 1968 to 1974 was this sampler-style sign for Carter’s Unique Employment Agency. There were actually two different versions of the sign. Here Harry moves the office to Lucy’s home and takes charge of the sign!
No, not THAT Ethel – this was a cow that Van Johnson was hired to sing to!
Lucy enlists Harry’s eye doctor to convince him to get his eyes examined! One sign supposedly says “Carter’s for Jobs” (in Latvian) and the other “Carter’s Gets Best Results” (in Rumakian…where they make rumaki!).
Patty Andrews guest starred on this episode with Lucy and Kim dressing up as LaVerne and Maxene for an Andrews Sisters Fan Club show!
After following a stranger to a run-down hotel, Kim slips away and leaves the man a message on the mirror. The “nice man” in question was Andy Griffith.
Lucy convinces Carol Burnett to participate in a benefit to raise money for Kim and Craig’s high school gymnasium. These vaudeville-style title cards are a good indication of the show’s comedy roots.
When Lucy crashes a Hollywood Studio to dig up celebrities for a benefit, she visits Morton Pictures. Of course, the fictional studio was given her married name, Morton.
In a musical episode set at Bullwinkle University, the football score gives the home team the lead! Although there is a Keokuk in Iowa, the town of North Keokuk is actually in Oklahoma!
At Kim’s college, Lucy crashes a faculty / student mixer to spy on her daughter’s professor boyfriend!
This vaudeville title card was actually set in a vaudeville act depicting Jack Benny and his partner Debbie (aka Lucy)!
In this case signs were painted along the walls of alliterative Cheerful Charlie’s used car lot. Signs also were needed to show the prices of the cars. The character was played by Milton Berle with a bald head!
Kim manages to secure popular singing star Donny Osmond for her benefit show. Kim was a member of an environmental group to keep the beaches clean!
To advertise their new Frozen Custard stand, Lucy wore a sandwich board sign – and a penguin suit!
Harry notices Lucy has spelled ‘Commerce’ with only one ’M’. She says they ran out of ’M’s’ because her girlfriend needed them for the Marymount Mother of the Month membership meeting.
More vaudeville title cards (and another blonde card girl) for the musical show-within-the-show “The Generation Gap Through the Ages.”
In the “Space Age” section of the “Generation Gap” musical, the kids do the “Jupiter Jump” while the adults do the “Moon Walk.”
For a visual joke based on the topic of the day – race relations – an Asian named Murphy runs an Italian pizza parlor!
More clothing signs get the message across in these two different episodes!
Look closely! The Unique Employment Agency has been sold to Ken Richards!
If the calligraphy for the Carter Gold Mining Corp. looks familiar, it is the same hand that penned the signage for CBS’s “The Beverley Hillbillies,” “Green Acres” and “Petticoat Junction.”
This sign states the title of the episode: “Uncle Ernie’s Fun Farm” as well as recalling his appearance on “I Love Lucy” when Ford, the Ricardo’s, and the Mertzes sang “Y’all Come.”
When Lucy, Mary Jane, and Vanda are on a diet, Lucy makes access to the refrigerator difficult at best. Thinking of snacking? Forget it!
When Lucie decides to picket for a raise, the protest signs look very similar to the show’s cue cards! Even the calligraphy is the same! Harrison Carter is a fink!
A traditional sign tells us (and the characters) where they are! Interestingly, it looks like a sign has been removed from the background for some reason. Perhaps it was advertising or had contradictory information. Lee’s Ferry, Arizona is a real place, although the scene may not have been shot there.
This banner says it tall: place and occasion. The fictional Montana town of Cartridge Belt was actually named after a style of Western gun holster!
The scene was actually shot on a soundstage, not a United States Border Station in San Diego, California.
After scrubbing clean a painting to find what they think is a priceless masterpiece, this classic “No Ball Playing Allowed” was revealed by Vincent Price. The pun of “Ball Playing” on a “Lucille Ball” sitcom may have been intentional – or not!
Product placement! A fictional perfume called Mais Oui is sponsoring a look-alike contest. Can you tell Lucy Carter from Lucille Ball?
The gates to Wayne Newton’s ranch are ‘branded’ with his ‘brand’…
Casa de Shenandoah! The sign “Ranch Hands Wanted” was place by production to tie into the episode, but the gate signage was real.
This same episode started with a montage of signs along the Las Vegas Strip! Caesars Palace was hosting Sinatra and Little Richard during the second unit shooting.
Never one to pass up free advertising, Harry has a parachute custom made to promote Carter’s Unique Employment Agency when Lucy takes up sky-diving.
Although the script for the final episode was written, Lucille Ball agreed to do a sixth season so this sign was added with a wink to end season five.
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PROPS!
“Here’s Lucy” props master Kenneth Westcott was in charge of sourcing and creating some usual items to make Lucy’s comedy work! Here’s a look at some of the oddities seen on screen!
While it was amazing to book Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Lucille Ball Productions also managed to get Taylor’s world-famous 68 carat Cartier diamond ring worth over a million dollars. It was guarded by private security while on the set and only used for close-ups like the above shot. Westcott created two replica rings for the medium and long shots which were crafted from chandelier crystals. Although he wanted to keep one after the shoot, Ball took one and Taylor took the other.
When Lucy Carter has a garage sale, one of the items is Lucy Ricardo’s polka dot Vitameatavegamin dress worn on “I Love Lucy!” This is a wonderful ‘Easter Egg’ for Lucy fans!
When Craig is making a documentary about his mother, it involves hidden cameras and drilling holes in the walls! Smile! Lucy’s on Candid Camera!
For a talent competition featuring Kim and Frankie Avalon as Sonny and Cher, an applause meter was used to determine the winner. Needless to say, no meters were necessary when Lucille Ball was performing – 100 every time!
The props departments often needed to provide food – some real, some fake. Food also had to withstand the punishing heat of the lights and sometimes be edible. Actors had to be able to speak while eating, and continuity concerns meant that more than one of each item had to be available.
Sometimes headlines helped tell the story. This prop newspaper was probably sourced from Earl Hays Press, which specialized in providing prop newspapers in Hollywood. This issue lacks one thing every real newspaper has. Can you guess what it is? Do you remember the episode or the actor in the photo?
A ring that contains cyanide tablets! Desilu also produced “Mission: Impossible” so this unique item could be from the prop shelves. The tablets are probably candy.
A diamond bracelet is dipped into a tureen of cocktail sauce! Westcott had to find the ideal fake jewelry and create a ‘cocktail sauce’ with a consistency that would photograph well, but not be too sticky or stain costumes.
A turtle neck sweater turns out to be more of a giraffe neck! Craig is under the yarn!
A visit to the recycling center for hundreds of cans made this comic moment happen. On the “Here’s Lucy” DVD extras, there is footage of the crew and cast pitching in to clean up the cans before the filming can continue. Even Lucille Ball pitches in!
A custard machine runs amok! This close-up used frozen custard, but the long shots where the custard flows freely involved a non-frozen product. It also had to be edible!
Someone had to figure out how Craig could play the drums over the telephone!
Unfortunately, it’s not very likely that there’s any food in these dozen tin-foil covered casseroles.
Can you guess the profession of the person who lives here? Moooo!
In this episode, Westcott had to provide several versions of the same vase: Harry’s prized pot, and the one Lucy tries to make to replace it!
There was usually a large gold-framed mirror on the landing of the Carter living room, but for one episode it was replaced by a cuckoo clock for the sake of a single gag. The robin needed to pop out on cue!
Instead of baking a file into a cake, a little old lady hides a hacksaw under her shawl! Westcott was in charge of sourcing the saw and baking the cake. The blade had to be dulled so the actress didn’t cut herself.
This gag had to be constructed from scratch and also required a new desk for Harry so that the actor playing the hand could hide underneath, putting his hand through hole in the top of the desk. A lot of effort for a laugh!
In the late ‘60s, this is what they thought a computer would look like! EXMO-III is probably one of the biggest props ever built for the series. A crew member inside helped EXMO operate and even serve coffee!
You won’t be shocked to learn that this desiccated chimp corpse (wearing a fright wig) was from an episode starring horror-master Vincent Price! Although it is similar to the dead monkey used in the film “Sunset Boulevard”, it is not the same prop!
A (nearly) nude painting of Lucy! It is now in the collection of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, New York. Unfortunately, the painter was not credited!
As property master, Ken Westcott was responsible for all of the props used in every scene of every show.
“I had to make sure if they did a retake, items in the original shot had to be in the same place.”
He has fond memories of his years with Lucille Ball, who sent him a four-page, handwritten letter thanking him for his diligence and patience throughout the years.
"She was a worker … we’d have a meeting Monday morning in her dressing room and all of her cast would come into her dressing room and they would read until noon. Then they would go out at the table in front of the set and they would read the script, and they would work on that. The next day, they would start rehearsing … on Thursday we did our show with a live audience.”
Lucy honored Westcott by naming the crazy prisoner played by Elsa Lanchester ‘Mumsie Westcott’. She also cast his daughter Debbie as one of Kim and Craig’s high school friends. He died in 2014 at age 93.
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CREATIVE CASTING!
After two series, Lucille Ball’s sitcoms were literally a family affair. On “Here’s Lucy” she employed her husband, her children, her cousins, and many others! Here’s a look at some of the other unusual casting choices on the show!
The ultimate celebrity guest star was none other than Lucille Ball herself! Lucy Carter met the movie and TV star when Kim entered a celebrity look-alike contest. Uniquely, Ball got two credit screens – as star and guest star!
Lucille Ball’s mother, Dede Ball, was supposedly in the audience of every filming. So when the camera’s turned on the audience (actually extras) of “The Tonight Show”, Dede was on the aisle. Johnny shared a smile and a laugh with Lucy’s mom.
Before Gary Morton married Lucille Ball in 1961, he was a stand-up comic. So naturally when small roles needed to be cast (usually emcees or announcers) he stepped in.
In 1971, Lucie Arnaz married Phil Vandervort. He was featured in several episodes in small roles, often as Kim’s boyfriend. The couple divorced in 1977.
Wanda Clark was Lucille Ball’s real-life personal secretary so when Ball was dissatisfied with the actor cast as a secretarial candidate, she called on Clark. She says that she got the role because Lucy admired how fast she could type. But the typewriter on the set was a manual and Clark had been using an electric for many years – so she had to fake it!
Jack Donohue started his career as a dancer with Ziegfeld on Broadway. He directed 35 episodes of “Here’s Lucy” and played small roles in three of them. Here he plays Dirty Jack, a club owner who puts the moves on Lucy and gets slapped by Ball!
George Marshall directed only six episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” He was brought in for the show’s outdoor episodes due to his experience with location shooting. This is his only appearance. It was said that Marshall was quite a drinker, but a very skilled director.
Coby Ruskin was the director of 68 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” He made two screen appearances on the series. In season six, Ruskin and Ball had a disagreement and he was fired. Ball stepped in and finished directing the episode, earning her the only formal directing credit on her series’.
When Ken Berry withdrew at the last minute, choreographer Jimmy Bates filled in as Billy Joe Jackson, the dancin’ man from Alabam’. Bates was seen in one other of the show’s musical episodes.
Anita Mann was assistant to the series’ first choreographer, Jack Baker. She played Craig’s shipboard romance in the two-part episode “Lucy Goes Hawaiian” (S3;E23). She later choreographed for the Solid Gold Dancers and the Muppets!
Marl Young was the first African-American to be musical director of a television series. He made several on-screen appearance when music was involved in the plot. He even played himself in an episode about integrating Phil Harris’ orchestra.
When Lucille Ball had a week to learn how to use a potters wheel, she contacted real-life art teacher Roger Twedt. He also played Lucy Carter’s onscreen instructor. Twedt was in the student film “The Potter’s Problem” which won the California Art Educators Award. It was seen by the “Here’s Lucy” writers and was the inspiration for this episode.
The Remnants were a real group of nuns from the Sisters of Charity in Leavenworth, Kansas. They made two records but generally only played benefit performances. “Here’s Lucy” writers saw them at a Los Angeles area performance and wrote an episode that featured them.
When an episode involved a benefit for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, a special appearance was made by current LA Mayor, Sam Yorty.
During his tenure he earned numerous nicknames from both admirers and detractors. In 1997, a survey of urban historians and political scientists rated Yorty the third worst big-city mayor in the USA since 1960. -
THE QUEEN OF PHYSICAL COMEDY!
The comedy of Lucille Ball was always rooted in clowning, weather it was grape stomping or trying to keep up with a fast-moving conveyor belt. She was never afraid to take on any improbable stunt or situation! Here’s a photo revue of some of the most outrageous situations that made us laugh in “Here’s Lucy.”
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LUCY’S MENAGERIE!
Lucille Ball loved animals and she wasn’t afraid to incorporate them into her shows. Everything from lions to kittens found its way into “Here’s Lucy.” There were also some ‘fake’ animals in the mix to add to the fun!
LIONS
Lions were part of two episodes of “Here’s Lucy”! The “chauffeur” is “Kitty Cat’s” trainer!
The cat wants to come in! Jungle hotel problems!
BIRDS
A hawk watches over the cadets at the Air Force Academy.
Harry’s pet parakeets Anthony and Cleopatra.
A mynah bird named Bruce who says “Get away, kid, you bother me.”
Radish, a talking parrot who says “You did it again, stupid!”
Polly the parrot, voiced by Ginny Tyler, a Mouseketeer who also did the voice of the sheep in Disney’s 1964 hit “Mary Poppins.”
Floyd, a rare Tongan Ruby Throated Weewawk (played by a white pigeon with red make-up on his neck)!
Penguins who escaped from the zoo thought Lucy was their mother when she wore a penguin costume!
DOGS
Kim and Craig adopt a dog they call Bogie because he had the same look in the rain that Humphrey Bogart had in “Casablanca”! Little did they know Bogie was a she – about to have puppies!
Exercise guru Jack LaLanne’s dog Happy (right) watches over her pup. Lucy holds one of Bogie’s pups.
Harry in a playpen full of Bogie’s puppies. Harry is allergic to dogs!
Noted dog trainer Bob Williams and his dog Louie make a guest appearance. Williams was a Vegas and talk show favorite.
Lucy gives Teddy the bulldog a bath!
Lucy snuggles a Yorkie named Tiger.
Lucy and Kim find a St. Bernard named Tinkerbell quite a handful.
Lucy sweet-talks Winston, a bloodhound.
Harry grooms an unnamed Dachshund. [The pooch in the background is plush!]
CATS
For one episode, Kim had a cat she named Harry, after her uncle.
Harry finds a kitten living behind his walls!
CHIMPS
Lucy babysits Irving, a baby chimp!
Jackie is the seventh chimpanzee to work with Lucille Ball on television.
Fido and Rover, a jungle version of house pets!
COWS
Van Johnson sings happy birthday to a cow named Ethel!
On Ernie Ford’s television variety show, Lucy milks a cow – something Ball did on “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show” as well as in real-life!
HORSES
Kim, Craig and Wayne Newton ride ‘dancing horses’ while singing “I’ve Got the World on a String”.
Wayne Newton’s miniature horse Tiny Tim (TT for short)!
OTHER ANIMALS
Harry’s jungle taxi is an ass.
Goats and sheep on a genuine Navajo reservation! These are not animal actors!
Kim’s college mascot was a billy goat named Willy!
Kim bottle feeds a baby leopard!
Kim cleans the cage of Breath-of-Spring, a deodorized skunk!
ANIMAL IMPOSTORS
Fictional beast, the wild Gorboona, a cross between a Gorilla and a Baboon!
Prohaska returned to play a black bear…
…and then again in another episode.
A mechanical piranha jumps out of the tank to grab his lunch! The parrot in the background is real, however.
Pet shop plushy!
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LUCY & HARRY: The Dynamic Duo!
Gale Gordon was an integral part of the success of “Here’s Lucy.” Although Gordon had played roles in all of Lucille Ball’s shows, here he was part of most every episode. Here’s a photo revue of their adventures over six seasons as Lucy and Harry Carter.
THE FRICK ‘N’ FRACK FROLICS!
ALL WASHED UP!
COMEDY RICHES!
FUN WITH FOOD & DRINK!
SHOWMANSHIP!
DUMPSTER DIVERS!
SHUTTERBUGS!
GETTING HIGH!
DOMESTIC DRAMA!
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CHARACTER ACTORS!
a tribute to the supporting cast of “Here’s Lucy”
Roy Roberts (5 appearances)
Reta Shaw (3 appearances)
Doris Singleton (4 appearances)
Gary Morton (Executive Producer and Lucy’s Husband)
Irwin Charone (5 appearances)
Herbie Faye (5 appearances)
Rhodes Reason (5 appearances)
Barbara Morrison (3 appearances)
Phil Vandervort (3 episodes)
Jack Collins (6 episodes)
Parley Baer (2 appearances)
Lew Parker (2 appearances)
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CAROLE COOK
a tribute to the supporting cast of “Here’s Lucy”
Carole Cook played Thelma Green on “The Lucy Show” as well as a host of other characters. She was a protege of Lucille Ball’s during the Desilu Playhouse years. Although born as Mildred Cook, Ball suggested she take the name Carole, in honor of Lucy’s great friend, Carole Lombard. Cook appeared in five episodes of “Here’s Lucy” as various characters and sometimes was a ghost singer for Lucille Ball.
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