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LUCY AND THE CHINESE CURSE
S4;E18
~ January 10, 1972
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Martin A. RagawaySynopsis
When
Lucy saves the life of a Chinese laundry owner (Keye Luke), she is
obliged to take care of him for the rest of his life or face the
curse of 4,000 ancestors. Kim, Lucy, and Harry devise a plan to turn
the tables on the man, who may be using the curse as a scheme to keep
his laundry business afloat.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)Guest
Cast
Keye
Luke
(Quon Fong) was born in China in 1904. He grew up in the United
States and entered the film business as a graphic artist. He made
his acting debut in 1934 and is best remembered for playing Lee Chan (“number
one son”) in the Charlie Chan movies of the 1930s starring Warner
Oland. Shortly after this episode of “Here’s Lucy,” he created
the role of Master Po on TV’s “Kung Fu” (1972-75). He died in
1991. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.
Mary
Jane Croft (Mary
Jane) played Betty Ramsey during season six of “I Love Lucy. ”
She also played Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy
is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) and
Evelyn Bigsby in “Return
Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26).
She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy
Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the
actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her
episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing
Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in
1999 at the age of 83.Mary
Jane is sporting a new hairstyle in this episode.
Tommy
Farrell (Reporter)
was
on Broadway in three plays between 1942 and 1947. He was seen on “The
Lucy Show” twice. This is the third of his six episodes of
“Here’s Lucy.”Walter
Smith
(Policeman) made
14 mostly uncredited appearances on the series. He also did one
episode of “The
Lucy Show.”
Larry
J. Blake (Sam)
first
appeared as a Native American Medicine Man in “Lucy
the Rain Goddess” (TLS S4;E15).
He was an ex-vaudevillian making the fifth of his eight “Here’s
Lucy” appearances.
Sid
Gould (Fred)
made
more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” and nearly as many
on “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille
Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton.
In real life he was married to Vanda Barra (Sally).Vanda
Barra (Sally)
makes one of over two dozen appearances on “Here’s Lucy” as
well as appearing in Ball’s two 1975 TV movies “Lucy Gets Lucky”
(with Dean Martin) and “Three for Two” (with Jackie Gleason). She
was seen in half a dozen episodes of “The Lucy Show.” Barra was
married to Sid Gould (Fred) so is Lucille Ball’s cousin-in-law.This
is one of the few times to date that Sid Gould and Vanda Barra appear
in the same scene together. The names Sam, Fred, and Sally are never
used in the episode and only found in the closing credits.
Shirley
Anthony
(Onlooker, uncredited) makes
the fifth of her 13 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”Sig
Frohlich
(Onlooker, uncredited) makes
the fourth of his six uncredited background appearances on the
series.Monty
O’Grady
(Onlooker, uncredited) was
first seen with Lucille Ball in The
Long, Long Trailer (1953)
and played a passenger on the S.S. Constitution in “Second
Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14).
He was a traveler at the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan”(1959).
He made more than a dozen appearances on “The Lucy Show” and a
half dozen more on “Here’s Lucy.”
This is his last time appearing with Lucille Ball.The
other onlookers and patrons of the laundry are played by uncredited
background performers.
When
the episode starts, Lucy has just saved Mr. Fong from being crushed
by the falling safe, which presumably happened moments before. This
saves Lucille Ball Productions (LBP) from staging the costly stunt of
dropping the safe!When
Mary Jane enters Lucy’s office and says hello, Lucy knows who it is
without looking up from her typewriter. When Mary Jane asks how she
knew, Lucy says she didn’t think it was Orson Welles. This is a joke
about Mary Jane’s high pitched, squeaky voice, compared with Welles’
deep, mellow baritone. Orson
Welles
guest starred on “I Love Lucy” as himself in 1956.
When
Harry is forced to wear a clerical collar to work after dealing with
Mr. Fong’s laundry, Harry dubs him a “starch-happy
Charlie Chan.”
Keye Luke (Mr. Fong) played Charlie
Chan’s
son in several movies of the 1930s and later took on the role of
Chan himself. Harry also sometimes mimics Mary Jane’s voice for the
sake of a laugh.
Lucy’s
grocery bag has a roll of Gala
II Paper Towels
sticking out of it. Gala was a popular brand of paper towel
advertised on TV with commercials by Tennessee Ernie Ford, who was a
frequent guest star on the “Lucy” shows.
Sam
(Larry J. Blake), who claims he saved Mr. Fong from drowning, cites
an earthquake during the first week of February as a manifestation of
the curse. In real-life, on February 9, 1971 a 6.7 earthquake
caused extensive damage from the San Fernanado Valley to Los Angeles.Harry
wants to watch a boxing match on Lucy’s TV between Kid Jacobs and
Freddy the Fox. These are fictional boxers.
The
stunt of swinging on the chandelier was repeated in Lucille Ball’s
ill-fated final sitcom “Life With Lucy.” Lucille Ball was 75
years old at the time.
Lucy
went to work in disguise at a Chinese Laundry to pay off a debt in
“Lucy, the Laundress” (S2;E17).
Mary
Jane’s iron-burned blouse was nothing new to Lucy viewers. Ricky
Ricardo scorched Lucy’s blouse in a similar pattern in “Job
Switching” (ILL S2;E1). When Lucy Carter went to work at the
Chinese Laundry in
“Lucy, the Laundress” (S2;E17), she, too, also branded several
shirts with the same mark.
Oops!
When
Harry quickly moves the chair out of the way of the television to
watch the boxing match, the chair cushion flies off under the
television set.Say
Again?
The dialogue that takes place over the sound of the TV boxing match
sounds very much like it was dubbed over in post-production.
“Lucy and the Chinese Curse” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5An interesting episode that manages to avoid any “yellow” racism (for the most part) while still being funny and original.
1972, Boxing, CBS, chandelier, Charlie Chan, Chinese Laundry, Coby Ruskin, Gala Paper Towels, Gale Gordon, Here’s Lucy, Keye Luke, Larry J. Blake, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Lucy and the Chinese Curse, Martin A. Ragaway, Mary Jane Croft, Monty O’Grady, Orson Welles, San Fernando Earthquake, Shirley Anthony, Sid Gould, Sig Frohlich, tv, Vanda Barra, Walter Smith -
LUCY AND THE LITTLE OLD LADY
S4;E17
~ January 3, 1972
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Fred S. Fox and Seaman JacobsSynopsis
When
a kindly widow from out of town (Helen Hayes) comes to the Unique
Employment Agency looking for a part-time job, Lucy gives her a place
to stay and Harry buys some real estate from her. Kim becomes
suspicious that she may be running a con game so they plan to hold a
fake séance to get Harry’s money back.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)Guest
Cast
Helen
Hayes
(Kathleen Brady) had a career that spanned over 80 years on stage and
screen. She was known as ‘The First Lady of the American Theatre’.
She was born in 1900 in Washington, DC, and was a child actress who
eventually worked on Broadway and Hollywood winning a 1932 Oscar for
The
Sin of Madelon
Claudet.
On Broadway, she won Tony Awards in 1947, 1958, and a special Tony
in 1980. She has had two Broadway Theatres named after her. The Helen
Hayes Awards for excellence in theater in the Washington DC area was
named in her honor. In 1928, Hayes married playwright Charles
MacArthur (The
Front Page)
and they adopted a son, actor James MacArthur (“Hawaii 5-0”). In
1970, she received her second Oscar for the film Airport.
In 1974 she teamed with Mildred Natwick on “The Snoop Sisters,”
a TV detective series. Helen Hayes died in 1993 at age 92. The
lights of Broadway were dimmed in her honor.Mrs.
Brady is a widow from Dubuque, Iowa. Helen Hayes uses an Irish accent
for the character.
Hank
Brandt
(Johnny Muldoon) was
born in 1934 in New Jersey. He began his screen acting career
in 1961. He previously played one of the astronauts in “Lucy
and the Astronauts” (S4;E5). He will do one more episode in 1973.Johnny
Muldoon is Mrs. Brady’s nephew, a detective with the Los Angeles
Police Department.Sid
Gould (Luncheonette
Waiter, uncredited) made
more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” and nearly as many
on “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille
Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton.The
waiter merely walks by in the background and has no dialogue.The
other diners and staff at the luncheonette and the guests at the
séance (Kim’s friends) are played by uncredited background
performers.
This
is the first episode of 1972, the start of Lucille Ball’s third
decade on television.
During
the late 1960s, after watching one of Helen Hayes’ performances,
Lucille Ball wrote the actress a letter to express her admiration.
Hayes wrote back and suggested the two might work together someday.
Lucy asked her secretary Wanda Clark to save the note in her
scrapbook, but chalked up the offer to collaborate as mere
politeness.
While
Helen Hayes was appearing in Long
Day’s Journey Into Night
in Washington, DC she got very ill and had to be hospitalized.
Doctors told her that she was allergic to the backstage dust and
should no longer work on the stage. Lucille Ball’s offer to play Mrs.
Brady came along at the perfect time. Television gave Hayes a new
direction and prolonged her career for many years.Fun Fact: Eugene O’Neill’s drama Long Day’s Journey Into Night premiered in 1956 at the (now defunct) Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway. In 1958, Helen Hayes starred in Eugene O’Neill’s A Touch of the Poet at the Helen Hayes Theatre.
Lucille
Ball later said of Hayes:“I
can recommend a performance in company with Helen for giving any
actress a true perspective of things. If that experience doesn’t give
you a sense of humility, nothing will. I found myself devoting as
much attention to watching her perform as to actually performing with
her. She set the standard for the rest of us.”
Helen
Hayes plays Kathleen Brady, which is also the name of the biographer
who wrote Lucille:
The Life of Lucille Ball,
published in 1994 by Billboard Books.
The
character Hayes plays here capitalizes on her Oscar-winning role of
Ada Quonsett in Airport
(1970), a sweet little old lady who cons the airlines and stows away
to get free air travel. On “Here’s Lucy” the plot relies on the
premise that Mrs. Brady could be a con artist.
Mrs.
Brady receives ‘messages’ from her late husband Michael from her
guides in the spirit world, Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
was a French statesman and military
leader who
rose to prominence during the French Revolution and
led several successful campaigns during
the French Revolutionary Wars. He was Emperor of the
French from
1804 until 1814, and again briefly in 1815. Joséphine
de Beauharnais (1763–1814)
was the first wife of Napoleon and thus the first Empress
of the French.
Harry
theorizes that Mrs. Brady may be like the sweet little old ladies in
Arsenic
and Old Lace,
poisoning people with elderberry wine. That is the cue for Mrs.
Brady to serve Harry a glass of her late husband’s favorite drink –
elderberry wine! Lucie Arnaz ad libs the line “That
was just a play!” Arsenic
and Old Lace
by Joseph Kesselring opened on Broadway in 1939 and ran until 1944,
during which time
Helen Hayes starred in four other Broadway plays. It was made into a
film by Frank Capra in 1944. In
1969, Helen Hayes starred in a TV version with Lillian Gish (inset photo), Bob
Crane, Fred Gwynne, and David
Wayne. The play / film was previously mentioned was in “Lucy and the Ex-Con” (S1;E15).
When
Mrs. Brady comes to Harry for financial advice, he brags that “Dun
and Bradstreet don’t make a move without me!” Dun
and Bradstreet
is a financial analytics firm founded in 1841 in New York City. They
are still in business today, headquartered in Short Hills, New
Jersey.
Mrs.
Brady has some property she needs to sell located on the northeast
corner of Molby and Delaney Streets, in Dublin, Ireland. The Irish
consulate tells Harry it is worth $25,000. Harry manages to get Mrs.
Brady to part with it for $5,000.
When
Harry sees the opportunity to cash in on Mrs. Brady’s Dublin
property, he sings a bit of “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral
(That’s an Irish Lullaby)”
a
classic Irish-American song
originally written in 1913 by composer James Royce Shannon for
the Tin Pan Alley musical Shameen
Dhu.
The
song was brought back to prominence by Bing Crosby in
1944’s Going
My Way. Crosby’s single sold over a million copies and peaked at #4 on the Billboard charts.
When
Harry hears Lucy and Kim’s scheme about the fake séance, he says “If
this is the ship of fools, would you let me off at Catalina?”
Ship
of Fools
was an Oscar-winning film released in 1965 based on the 1962 novel of
the same name by Katherine Anne Porter. Catalina,
an island off the Los Angeles coast, has been the punchline of many
jokes on “Here’s Lucy.”
In
“The Seance” (ILL S1;E7) the Ricardos and the Mertzes fake
a seance to conjure up Tilly for Mr. Merriweather (Jay Novello) in
order to further Ricky’s career.
Lucille
Ball has played stereotypical ‘little old ladies’ many times. Lucy Carter went gray in “Lucy and the Ex-Con” (S1;E15) and in “Lucy and the Celebrities” (S4;E10, above).
Lucy Carmichael aged herself for “Lucy Helps the Countess” (TLS S4;E8), “Lucy and the Soap Opera” (TLS S4;E19) and “Little Old Lucy” (TLS S6;E7).
Lucy Ricardo donned
old age make-up in “The
Young Fans” (ILL S1;E20)
and in “The
Girls Go Into Business” (ILL S3;E2, above).
Kim Carter (Lucie Arnaz) took a page from her mother’s playbook and donned the Little Old Lady garb in “Meanwhile, Back at the Office” (S6;E16).
Elderly character actress Ruth McDevitt played an (even more) eccentric little old lady in “Lucy
and the Diamond Cutter” (S3;E10). McDevitt may have been considered
for the role of Mrs. Brady, but during her episode there was an
incident on set that resulted in McDevitt having to receive medical
care.
Sitcom
Logic Alert! Unlike
the classic ‘Ethel to Tilly’ séance on “I Love Lucy” this
séance seems a bit overly elaborate for a home-spun spirit raising.
It includes- pre-fabricated dummies for Lucy and Harry;
- a quick change
with elaborate costumes for Harry and Lucy to play Napoleon and
Josephine; - a theatrical spotlight in the living room to heighten the
drama; - a huge dining room table that appears just for this episode;
- three background performers (“Kim’s friends”) to fill out the
party.
Lucy and Harry do not disguise their voices (which Lucy
Ricardo and Fred Mertz did so memorably on “I Love Lucy”) and
Lucy’s bright red hair (that Mrs. Brady previously remarked on) is
not wigged. In short, Mrs. Brady would have to be a real con artist
or in the throes of dementia to think the séance was real! But
that’s the show biz!
“Lucy and the Little Old Lady” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5The
Queen of Comedy meets the First Lady of the American Theatre in a
memorable episode. Hayes looks to be having a wonderful time in the
role and it is a joy to watch. -
LUCY’S BONUS BOUNCES
S4;E16
~ December 27, 1971
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Martin RagawaySynopsis
On
the suggestion of his psychiatrist, Harry gives Lucy a big raise in
order to gain her loyalty. But the scheme backfires when Lucy
worries that Harry is hiding something.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)Guest
Cast
Mary
Jane Croft (Mary
Jane) played Betty Ramsey during season six of “I Love Lucy. ”
She also played Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy
is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) and
Evelyn Bigsby in “Return
Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26).
She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy
Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the
actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her
episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing
Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in
1999 at the age of 83.
Parley
Baer (Dr.
Cunningham) previously played MGM’s Mr. Reilly in “Ricky
Needs an Agent” (ILL S4;E29) and
furniture salesman Mr. Perry in “Lucy
Gets Chummy with the Neighbors” (ILL S6;E18).
He made five appearances on “The Lucy Show.” He previously
played Dr. Cunningham in “Lucy’s Vacation” (S3;E17). Baer is
perhaps best known for his recurring roles as Mayor Stoner on “The
Andy Griffith Show” and Doc Appleby in “The Dukes of Hazzard.”Dr.
Cunningham is Harry’s psychiatrist. He has a neurotic wife and
neurotic children.
Paul
Picerni
(William McPherson, IRS Agent) also
appeared with Lucille Ball in the 1975 TV movie “Lucy Gets Lucky.”
Picerni was a cast member of Desilu’s “The Untouchables”
from 1959 to 1963.
This is his fourth and final episode of “Here’s Lucy.”Picerni’s
character is never identified by name in the script, only in the
final credits. Paul Picerni introduces this episode on the series DVD.
Vanda
Barra (Connie
the Waitress) makes one of over two dozen appearances on
“Here’s Lucy” as well as appearing in Ball’s two 1975 TV
movies “Lucy Gets Lucky” (with Dean Martin) and “Three for Two”
(with Jackie Gleason). She was seen in half a dozen episodes of “The
Lucy Show.” Barra was Lucille Ball’s
cousin-in-law.Shirley
Anthony
(Golf Course Restaurant Patron, uncredited) makes
the third of her 13 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”Other
Golf Course Restaurant patrons and staff are played by uncredited
background performers.
This
is the final episode of calendar year 1971.
After 15 episodes, the series finally acknowledges that Craig, a role played by Lucille Ball’s own son, Desi Arnaz Jr., has gone
away to school. While at the office, Lucy gets a phone call from him, but Desi Arnaz Jr. is not heard or seen. He will, however,
return to the role for a single episode in season 5.
This
episode cleverly incorporates a running gag of fainting.
First
Harry faints when Dr. Cunningham suggests giving Lucy at $50 a week
raise…
Then
Lucy faints when she hears Harry telling her he’s giving her a $50 a
week raise…
Then
Kim faints when her mother tells her Uncle Harry gave her a $50 a
week raise. Then,
in a phone call, Lucy tells her son Craig that Uncle Harry gave her a
$50 a week raise, and it is inferred that Craig fainted. This is
accomplished by a descending chord from the background music and Lucy
asking “Craig?
Craig?”
Later, Mary Jane says she feels faint when she hears about the raise – but she
doesn’t pass out.
To bring the episode full circle, Harry faints
again when Lucy
returns
the $50 a week raise! After each person faints, someone sprinkles
them with water to revive them, but in Harry’s case (true to form) he
is drenched in water from several sources.Harry
pays Dr. Cunningham $35 an hour. Accounting for inflation, that would be like $225 in today’s money. It is hard to believe tightwad Harry would shell out that amount for his own psychiatric care!
Reading the single entry in Harry’s diary, Lucy
says that Harry never had a secret love life and that if they ever
made a movie of his life he’d be played by Doris Day. This is a
reference to the song
“Secret Love” by
Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster for the 1953 film Calamity
Jane
starring Doris Day. The song was a #1 hit for Day.
Appealing
to the IRS Agent (Paul Picerni) for leniency for Harry, Lucy
paraphrases Portia, a lawyer in William Shakespeare’s The
Merchant of Venice.
When
the IRS starts to focus on Lucy, Harry insists she be taken to prison
– any prison – San Quentin, Alcatraz, Devil’s Island. Both San
Quentin and Alcatraz were located in California, while Devil’s Island
(aka Bagne de Cayenne) was a penal colony in French Guiana. All
three were no longer in service as prisons, but have entered pop
culture lore for their reputations.
Dr.
Cunningham, Harry’s psychiatrist, first appeared in “Lucy’s
Vacation” (S3;E17). Unfortunately, although this might have been a
good running character, this was his last appearance.
Title Trouble! The title never really comes to pass. Lucy ‘returns’ her raise before it can even be deposited in the bank, let alone ‘bounce.’
Character Consistency! The premise of the episode relies on the unlikely idea that tightwad Harry would give Lucy a $50 a week raise – a substantial sum for a secretary in 1971.
Costume
Recycling!
When spying on Harry, Lucy wears the same green candy striped jacket
she wore at the end of the previous episode, “Lucy’s Lucky Day”
(S4;E15).
Catching Up with Catsup!
A distracted and distressed Harry pours ketchup on his cantaloupe.
This gag is telegraphed by having large ketchup bottles on every
table, even in the previous scene. Harry’s melon has been noticeably
hollowed out to hold the ketchup. The ketchup has been watered down
to pour freely out of the bottle without any effort from Harry.
“Lucy’s Bonus Bounces” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5
This
is one of the very few unique plots of the series. There were
previous stories about getting a raise, but it is unusual for a
character to be concerned about the motivations behind the pay
increase. The writing here is top notch, perhaps because Martin
Ragaway was one of the few who worked without a collaborator. The
directing, editing, and even the background music, is sharp –
tonally, it almost feels like another show. The only regrettable
thing is that there is a lot of unnecessary shouting, something that
marred later episodes.1971, Alcatraz, audit, CBS, Coby Ruskin, Devil’s Island, Doris Day, fainting, Gale Gordon, golf, Here’s Lucy, IRS, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Lucy’s Bonus Bounces, Martin Ragaway, Mary Jane Croft, Parley Baer, Paul Picerni, psychiatrist, San Quentin, Secret Love, Shirley Anthony, The Merchant of Venice, tv, Vanda Barra -
LUCY’S LUCKY DAY
S4;E15
~ December 20, 1971
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Fred S. Fox and Seaman JacobsSynopsis
To
capitalize on what seems to be a lucky streak, Lucy goes on a TV game
show and is challenged to teach an untrained chimpanzee to do a trick
in order to win a thousand dollars.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)Guest
Cast
Dick
Patterson (Dick
Dunkirk) made
his Broadway debut in David Merrick’s Vintage
‘60,
and appeared in The
Billy Barnes People,
the national touring company of Bye
Bye Birdie, and
opposite Carol Burnett in Fade
Out, Fade In.
His last musical was Smile,
a spoof of beauty pageants. He was seen in “Lucy
Helps Danny Thomas” (TLS S4;E7).
This is the second of his four appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”Dick
Dunkirk is the host of “Milky Way to Riches” sponsored by the
Dover Dairy.
Billy
Sands
(Mr. Larson, the Milkman) began
his professional acting career in 1946 when he appeared on Broadway
with Spencer Tracy in Robert Sherwood’s Rugged
Path,
but he eventually became a television character actor who appeared
regularly as Dino Papparelli on “The Phil Silvers Show” and as ‘Tinker’ Bell on “McHale’s Navy.” This is the first of his three appearances on
“Here’s Lucy.”Sid
Gould
(Stage Hand, uncredited) made
more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” and nearly as many
on “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille
Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton.
Jackie
the Chimpanzee is the seventh chimpanzee to work with Lucille Ball on television.
Uncredited
studio audience members at “The Milky Way to Riches”:- Shirley
Anthony
makes
the second of her 13 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” - Sig
Frohlich
makes
the second of his uncredited background appearances on the series. - Robert
Hitchcock was
seen in “Lucy
and Phil Harris” (TLS S6;E20) at
the piano bar. This is the third of his four episodes of
“Here’s Lucy.” - Paul
King
makes
the fifth and final background appearance on the series.
The
other studio audience members are played by uncredited background
performers.
In
his DVD introduction to the episode, choreographer Jim
Bates
recalls that the chimpanzee only knew one trick – to cross its legs
– so the entire routine was built around that. He also recalls
that when Gale Gordon took off the gorilla head in the presence of
the baby chimp, the chimp went into hysterics and had to be taken off
set to calm down.
Lucy
has an overdue book at the library – Gone
With The Wind
– which she took out when it was first published. The novel by
Margaret Mitchell dates from 1936, which means Lucy has had the book
for 35 years! The film adaptation of the book was a part of “Lucy
and Flip Go Legit” (S4;E1) and “Lucy and Carol Burnett aka The
Hollywood Unemployment Follies” (S3;E22).
When
Mr. Larson the milkman rushes in with good news, Lucy teases him by
guessing that Elsie the Cow had triplets. Elsie
was the cartoon cow mascot of the Bordon Dairy Company from 1936
until it went out of business in the mid-1990s. Elsie was one of the
most recognizable advertising symbols in the country. Larson tells Lucy that she has won Dover Dairy’s customer of the
year and will receive a free pint of raspberry apricot yogurt every
week for a year.Kim
jokingly predicts that the person at the door is Howard
Hughes
with a basket full of money. Hughes (1905-76) was one of the most
financially successful people in the world. On “Here’s Lucy,”
whenever a joke was about great wealth, the punchline either featured
Howard Hughes or Fort Knox.
On
“The Milky Way To Riches” Lucy must answer three geography
questions to qualify to earn a chance to win $1,000:
DICK: Where is the lowest point in the world below sea level?
LUCY: Oh,
boy. I’m dead, see —
~Answer: The Dead
Sea
DICK: The Dead Sea is part of the border between Jordan and what other
country?
LUCY: Oh, boy. That question is real tough –
~ Answer: Israel
DICK: It’s an autonomous region of China, bordered by China on the north
and east, by India on the south and Cashmere on the West. Name this
Chinese autonomous region.
LUCY: And I wanted to bet I’d win.
~Answer: TibetAfter
answering three questions, Lucy has to pick between three doors, just
like on the TV game show “Let’s Make a Deal.” Lucy picks door #2, which is the gag prize, an untrained chimpanzee named Jackie.
When
Jackie the chimp spins and Harry in a gorilla costume spin in circles
to the music on Kim’s transistor radio, Lucy dubs them Fred Astaire
and Ginger
Rogers.
The latter was the guest star on “Ginger Rogers Comes to
Tea” (S4;E11).
Back
on “The Milky Way to Riches” program Kim, Harry, and Lucy (and
Jackie) sing and dance to “While
Strolling Through the Park One Day” which
is actually titled “The Fountain in the Park” and was written by
Ed Haley around 1880. In “Lucy’s Show-Biz Swan
Song” (ILL S2;E12) a pregnant Lucy Ricardo grabs a parasol and does
an impromptu chorus of the song to impress Ricky.
The trio (with Jackie) sings “Tell
Me, Pretty Maiden”
written in 1899 by Paul Rubens, Ernest Boyd Jones, and Leslie
Stuart for the musical Floradora.
Finally,
the foursome sing (and play on the bells) “Daisy
Bell / Bicycle Built for Two”
written
in 1892 by British songwriter Harry
Dacre.
At
the beginning of the episode, Kim reads Lucy her horoscope, but Lucy
scoffs at the idea of astrology. In “The Seance” (ILL S1;E7), it
is Lucy Ricardo who is a believer and Ricky is dubious.
In
“Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio” (ILL S1;E32), the Ricardos must
answer questions on “Mr. and Mrs. Quiz” hosted by Freddy Fillmore.
On that 1952 episode, Ricky stumbles into the right answers quite
accidentally, just as Lucy Carter does here.
Lucille
Ball got lots of practice walking on stilts in two episode of “The
Lucy Show”: “Lucy and Her Electric Mattress” (TLS S2;E12) and
“Lucy Bags a Bargain” (TLS S4;E17).
Lucille
Ball showed her proficiency on roller skates in “The Million Dollar Idea” (ILL S3;E13), “Lucy and the Good
Skate” (TLS S3;E1), and in the motion picture Mame (1974).
Lucille
Ball worked with chimpanzees in “Lucy
the Babysitter” (TLS S5;E16) which
featured Lucy Carmichael and three baby chimps.
In “Lucy
the Helpful Mother” (S2;E15),
the Carter living room is turned into a pet shop that also features a
chimpanzee (named Irving).
In “Lucy in the Jungle” (S4;E13) Lucy Carter dealt with a pair
of baby chimps named Fido and Rover.
At
the end of “The Milky Way to Riches” “Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built
for Two)” turns into a solo for bell ringers. The Ricardos and the
Mertzes were western bell ringers in “Lucy Goes to the Rodeo”
(ILL S5;E2) clanging out the tune of “Down by the Old Mill Stream.”
Lucy
Ricardo’s milkman also brought her some ‘news’ with her milk order in
“The Gossip” (ILL S1;E24).
Overdue
with the Wind! Lucy’s library is still sending reminder
cards for books overdue for 35 years! Surely the cover price would
have been paid many times over by the fines accrued! To be precise,
in 1936 Lucy probably would have still been living in New York. In a
season one episode she stated that the family had moved from the East
Coast. This implies that she had married and had children, making
the move less than 20 years ago.
“Lucy’s Lucky Day” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5
This episode has a lot of callbacks to previous “Lucy” shows. In the end, however, it is another episode of Lucy working with live animals, especially chimps, which was just done two weeks earlier! It’s also typical that the final scene turns into a musical number – something Lucille Ball loved to do.
1971, Astrology, Bicycle Built for Two, Billy Sands, CBS, chimpanzee, Daisy Bell, Dick Patterson, Elsie the Cow, Floradora, Fountain in the Park, Gale Gordon, Ginger Rogers, Gone With The Wind, Here’s Lucy, Howard Hughes, Jim Bates, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Lucy’s Lucky Day, milkman, Paul King, Quiz Show, Robert Hitchcock, Shirley Anthony, Sid Gould, Sig Frohlich, Strolling Through the Park, Tell Me Pretty Maiden, tv - Shirley
-
LUCY AND CANDID CAMERA
S4;E14
~ December 13, 1971
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Milt Josefsberg and Al SchwartzSynopsis
Alan
Funt has a criminal impostor who recruits Lucy, Harry and Kim to
commit robberies under the pretense that they are doing stunts for his
“Candid Camera” television show.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)Guest
Cast
Allen
Funt (Himself
/ Impostor) was
born in 1914 in New York City. He is best known as the producer,
director, and host of the hidden camera show “Candid Camera.” He
produced
“Candid Microphone” on radio before moving the format to
television in 1948. He died in 1999. After his passing,
the “Candid Camera” franchise was taken over by his son, Peter
Funt.Although
Allen Funt plays two characters here, the impostor is never given a
name.
James
Millhollin
(Mr. Ponsonby) appeared on Broadway between 1955 and 1960 including
in 1955’s No
Time for Sergeants,
which he also filmed in 1958. This is his only appearance with
Lucille Ball.
Robert
Carson
(Police Sergeant Lou Holmes) was
a busy Canadian-born character actor who appeared on six episodes of
“The Lucy Show.” This is the fourth of his five appearances on
“Here’s Lucy.”Although
his name is not spoken in the dialogue or listed in the credits, it
is written on his office door!
Fred
Festinger
(Bank Guard) makes one of his only six screen appearances here.
Vanda
Barra
(Bank Teller) was Lucille Ball’s cousin-in-law and married to frequent day player Sid Gould. This is just one of her over two dozen appearances on “Here’s Lucy” as well as appearing in Ball’s two 1975 TV movies “Lucy Gets Lucky” (with Dean Martin) and “Three for Two” (with Jackie Gleason). She was seen in half a dozen episodes of “The Lucy Show.”
Maurice
Kelly
(Bank Teller, left) was
an English-born actor who played a student in “Lucy
and Viv Take Up Chemistry” (TLS S1;E26).
This is his third and last appearance on “Here’s Lucy.”
He died at the age of 46 in 1974.
Peter
Leeds (First
Cop) was
born in Bayonne, NJ and starred with Lucille Ball in the films The
Long, Long Trailer (1953)
and The
Facts of Life (1960). He also appeared in “Lucy
and Bob Hope” (ILL S6;E1) as
well as playing a reporter in “The
Publicity Agent” (ILL S1;E31). This is his only appearance on
“Here’s Lucy.”
Paul
Sorensen
(Second Cop) played policemen on many television shows during his
long career. He appeared with Lucille Ball in 1967’s The
Guide for the Married Man.
This is his only appearance on “Here’s Lucy.”Shirley
Anthony (Bank
Customer, uncredited) makes
the second of her 13 (mostly uncredited) appearances on “Here’s
Lucy.”Jack
Berle (Bank
Customer, uncredited) was
the older brother of Milton Berle. This is one of his eleven
uncredited appearances on the series. He previously did two
episodes of “The Lucy Show.”Walter
Smith
(Bank Customer, uncredited) made
14 mostly uncredited appearances on the series. He also did one
episode of “The
Lucy Show.”The
other policeman and the other bank customers are played by uncredited
background performers.
“Candid
Camera” began
on radio as “Candid Microphone” and moved to television in 1948.
Although aired on all three major networks and in syndication, the
radio program was originally aired on CBS and sponsored by Philip
Morris, just like “I Love Lucy.”Allen
Funt grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Funt wanted to be a writer and his friend and next door neighbor wanted to be an
actor. It turned out that Funt’s friend was Milt Josefsberg, the
script writer for this episode!
This
episode was originally sponsored by Lever Brothers. The DVD includes
commercials for Wisk, the 1971 Lady Remington shaver, and Lux,
including one starring Sandy Duncan and Christopher Hewett (“Mr.
Belvedere”).
On
the series DVD, the episode is introduced by Jim Bates, who
choreographed the musical comedy bank robbery.
Lucy
initially mistakes Allen Funt for Ralph Edwards. Ralph
Edwards
(1913-2005) was primarily known for hosting “This is Your Life”
(1953-1992).
Thinking
they are pulling off a Candid Camera stunt, Lucy, Harry, and Kim rob
the Supreme Fur Salon, posing as posh shoppers named Sherwood (Harry),
Penelope (Kim), and Mumsy (Lucy).
Thinking
they are pulling off a second Candid Camera stunt, Lucy, Harry and
Kim rob the City Bank. This time their crime is done using a
song and dance medley especially written for this episode:- “Stealin’
the Jack” aka “Ballin’
the Jack”
was written in 1913 by Jim Burris and Chris Smith. - “Hello,
Dollar!” aka “Hello,
Dolly!”
is the
title song of the 1964 musical of
the same name written by Jerry Herman. - “Whatever
Lucy Wants” aka “Whatever
Lola Wants”
is by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross from the 1954 musical Damn
Yankees. - “We
Got the Money” aka “We’re
in the Money
or
The Gold Diggers Song”
was written by Al Dubin and Harry Warren for the film The
Gold Diggers of 1933.
It is now part of the stage musical 42nd Street. - “The
Impossible Dream or
The Quest” was
written by Joe Darien and Mitch Leigh for the 1964 musical
Man of La Mancha. - “Please
Don’t Talk About Us When We Go” aka “Please
Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone”
was written by Sidney Clare and Sam H. Stept in 1930. - “Hey
Look Me Over” written
in 1960 by Cy Coleman for the Broadway musical Wildcat
and
introduced by Lucille Ball.
The
police officer (Peter Leeds) tells Allen Funt “I don’t care if
you’re Spiro Agnew, get your hands up!” Spiro Agnew (1918-96) was
the Vice President of the United States under Richard Nixon. Agnew
was previously mentioned in “Lucy’s Wedding Party” (S3;E8).
Lucy
Carmichael also got involved in a hidden camera television show in
“Lucy and the Beauty Doctor” (TLS S3;E24). In that show, the TV
program was called “The Boiling Point.”
Van
Johnson also had a criminal doppelganger in the episode “Guess Who
Owes Lucy $23.50?” (S1;E11).
Harry
(as Sherwood) mentions using one of the fur coats for a bath mat. In
“Lucy Cries Wolf” (ILL S4;E1) Fred Mertz jokingly says that he
might use Lucy Ricardo’s lynx stole as a bath mat.
While “Here’s Lucy” has the Supreme Fur Salon, Lucy Ricardo visited Henderson’s Furs in in “Lucy
Changes Her Mind” (ILL S2;E21).
In Danfield, Lucy Carmichael shopped at Madam Fifi’s in “Lucy Gets Amnesia” (TLS S3;E4).
Lucy
Carmichael and Vivian Bagley pretend to be bank robbers in “Lucy
Takes a Job at the Bank” (TLS S2;E21).
In “Lucy and the Great
Bank Robbery” (TLS S3;E5), Lucy and Viv took in two gentlemen boarders who turned out
to be crooks looking to rob the same bank.
Where the Floor Ends! Once again, the camera pulls back too far and the viewers can see where the office carpet meets the cement soundstage floor.
“Lucy and Candid Camera” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5Lucy,
Lucie and Gale are a lot of fun to watch as the posh fur thieves, but
there seems little reason to make the second “stunt” a musical
number. Besides being awkward and unfunny (with ugly costumes), it
uses up time that might have been better spent on a satisfying
ending. Allen Funt was not an actor, and his line readings are no
different than when he was introducing his television show. Needless
to say, he doesn’t even try to make the impostor different from
himself.
Al Schwartz, Allen Funt, Ballin the Jack, Candid Camera, Christopher Hewett, Coby Ruskin, Fred Festinger, Gale Gordon, Hello Dolly, Here’s Lucy, Jack Berle, James Millhollin, Jim Bates, Lever Brothers, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Maurice Kelly, Milt Josefsberg, Paul Sorensen, Peter Lees, Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone, Ralph Edwards, Robert Carson, Sandy Duncan, Shirley Anthony, The Impossible Dream, Vanda Barra, Walter Smith, We’re in the Money, Whatever Lola Wants - “Stealin’
-
LUCY IN THE JUNGLE
S4;E13
~ December 6, 1971
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Larry Rhine and Lou DermanSynopsis
Harry’s
doctor says he’s in danger of a nervous breakdown, so Lucy suggests a
house swap vacation. Unfortunately, the only home left was in
Nairobi, Kenya. Their swap turns out to be a jungle hut, populated
by wild animals and without modern conveniences, causing Harry to get
even more tense than he was in Los Angeles.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)Guest
Cast
Ben Wrigley (Homer Pomeroy) played Butlers in “Lucy and Liberace” (S2;E16) and “Lucy and Jack Benny’s Biography” (S3;E11). He was a British actor who appeared in the film My Fair Lady (1964) and Bednobs and Broomsticks (1971). Wrigley previously appeared as a ticket agent in “Lucy Flies to London” (TLS S5;E6). This is his last episode of “Here’s Lucy.”
Lola
Fisher
(Matilda Pomeroy) understudied
and replaced Julie Andrews on Broadway in the musical My
Fair Lady.
It was the third and last of her Broadway shows. Fisher makes the
second of her three “Here’s Lucy” appearances.The
Pomeroys’ first names are not spoken in the dialogue and only listed
in the final credits.
Ginny
Tyler
(Polly the Parrot, uncredited voice) previously
voiced Clementine the sheep in “Lucy
Buys a Sheep” (TLS S1;E5)
and
the bird voices in “Lucy Gets the Bird” (TLS S3;E12).
She did the voice of the sheep in Disney’s 1964 hit Mary
Poppins.
She started out on radio before hosting a children’s TV show in
Seattle. By the late 1950s, she had moved to Hollywood and was
narrating record albums for Disney, including “Bambi” and “Babes
in Toyland.” Although she died in 2012, her voice can still
be heard in the chorus of birds outside The Enchanted Tiki Room at
Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Baby
Chimpanzees
(Fido and Rover)The
ham radio voice of the Doctor from Nairobi General Hospital is
uncredited.
This
episode was first aired on Wally Cox’s 47th birthday, December 6, 1971. Cox was one of
Lucille Ball’s favorite character actors. He appeared on four
episodes of “Here’s Lucy” and one “The Lucy Show.”
In
her DVD introduction to the episode, Lola Fisher says that she later
actually visited Nairobi, Kenya, and that the Hollywood version of
the jungle was “pretty good.”
Lola
Fish and Ben Wrigley (the Pomeroys) had appeared on stage in My
Fair Lady
together. She was Eliza, and he played her father, Alfred P.
Doolittle.
Harry
gets wet right away in this episode, when he crushes the paper cup
that holds the water to swallow his nerve pills. It’s not “Here’s Lucy” until Gale Gordon gets wet!
When
Harry sees the Pomeroy hut in Nairobi, he says he’d be better off
in the San Diego Zoo. In “Lucy the Helpful Mother” (S2;E15),
Lucy
compared her house full of animals to the San
Diego Zoo.
It was also mentioned as a possible stop-over in “Lucy and Viv
Visit Tijuana” (S2;E19). Located in Balboa Park, San Diego,
California, it is one of the most famous zoos in the world. It
first opened in 1916 and is still in operation today.
When
Harry sees baby chimps Fido and Rover, he reminds Lucy and Kim that
King Kong started out as a baby, too! King
Kong,
Hollywood’s tale of a giant ape, was first filmed in 1933, then
re-made in 1976 and 2005. A stage musical of the story has even been
created. Fay Wray, one of the stars of the original film, also made
The
Bowery
that same year, which was the uncredited screen debut of Lucille
Ball.
When
Kim says that Fido and Rover are cute, Harry snaps back that she
thought Jack the Ripper, Ivan the Terrible, and Bluebeard were all
cute! All three were historical figures that reigned terror through
murder, despotic leadership, and robbery, to name but a few.Lucy
cooks up a Jungle Stew consisting of gazelle gizzards and hippo ham
hocks. These ingredients were doubtless chosen for their comic
alliteration.
To
keep Harry awake after he has supposedly been bitten by a Tsetse fly,
Lucy and Kim sing “Deep
in the Heart of Texas”
slapping Harry in the face on the downbeat. The anthem to the Lone
Star State was written in 1941 by June
Hershey and Don Swander.The
Pomeroys call off the house swap because Los Angeles has made nervous
wrecks of them due to smog, floods, earthquakes and the freeways!
This
episode is similar in setting to “Lucy’s Safari” (S1;E22) which
was actually supposed to be set in Topanga Canyon, outside of Los
Angeles, but looked more like a jungle in the middle of Africa.
In
“Lucy the Helpful Mother” (S2;E15), the Carter living room is
turned into a pet shop that also features a chimpanzee (Irving)…
…and a
talking parrot (Radish), in addition to many other live animals.
Lucille
Ball had previous experience with chimps in “Lucy
the Babysitter” (TLS S5;E16)
which
featured Lucy Carmichael and three baby chimps.
Oops!
When Lucy enters with the luggage on her head, she stoops to set it
down and something falls off her head and underneath the stack of suitcases. This is a foam ring that Lucille Ball had between her head and the luggage as a cushion and to prevent her hair from being flattened!
Lion-Eyes!
When the lion leaps up at the window, the animal’s taut wire restraints can be seen at the right.
Horny Harry! When Harry stares at the ostrich egg, the boar’s teeth
on the wall behind him make it look like Harry has horns! This
devilish look was intentionally given to Harry in “Lucy Protects
Her Job” (S2;E14).
“Lucy in the Jungle” rates 1 Paper Heart out of 5
Although not quite as bad as “Lucy’s Safari” (S1;E22), this episode is basically just Lucy interacting with live animals, which was better done in “Lucy, the Helpful Mother” (S2;E15).
-
LUCY HELPS DAVID FROST GO NIGHT-NIGHT
S4;E12
~ November 29, 1971
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn DavisSynopsis
Television
host David Frost comes to the Unique Employment Agency to hire a
traveling companion to assure that he gets some sleep on his flight
to London. When Harry hurts his leg, Lucy is sent in his stead.
Needless to say, with Lucy beside him Frost finds sleeping is not
easy.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter)Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter) is not in this episode, but does receive opening title
credit.Guest
Cast
David
Frost
(Himself) was a prominent English television host and journalist.
His career began in the UK in 1962 hosting “That Was the Week that
Was” which led to “Frost on Sunday” in 1968. He is best
remembered for his US talk show “The David Frost Show” (1969-72).
His 1977 interviews with former President Richard M. Nixon were
eventually staged and filmed as Frost
/ Nixon
by Peter Morgan. Frost died in 2013 while aboard a cruise ship in
the Mediterranean. He was 74 years old.
Tommy
Farrell
(Sky
Marshal, above left) was on Broadway in three plays between 1942 and 1947. He was seen on “The
Lucy Show” twice. This is the second of his six episodes of
“Here’s Lucy.”Suzanne
Taylor (Nancy,
First Class Flight Attendant, above right) began acting on television
in 1966. Her final credit was in 1975. This is her only appearance
with Lucille Ball.
Rosalind
Miles (Flight
Attendant) will make one more series appearance in 1972. Her screen
acting career lasted just seven years.
Mike
Howden (Flight
Attendant) played
small roles on Desilu shows like “Star Trek” and “Mannix.”
His
first series appearance was as the Ski Instructor in “Someone’s On
the Ski Lift With Dinah” (S4;E7).
Ivor
Barry
(“The David Frost Show” Producer) was
a Welsh-born
character actor who began his film career in England in bit parts;
moved to Canada in 1953 where he wrote and adapted scripts for radio
and eventually appeared on American TV.
He will play a French chef in “Lucy Meets Donny Osmond”
(S5;E11), his second and last appearance with Lucille Ball.The
character wanders onto the set of “The David Frost Show” after
both David and Lucy have fallen asleep. He is not identified as the
show’s producer.Hank
Robinson
(Passenger, uncredited) was a busy background player in Hollywood
seen on such shows as “Kojak,” “The Rockford Files,” and
“Gunsmoke.” He will appear in one more episode of “Here’s
Lucy” in 1972.The
other first class passengers are played by uncredited background
performers.
The
evening this episode first aired “The David Frost Show” featured
Frost interviewing Lauren Bacall. Starting in 1970, Lucille Ball
appeared on “The David Frost Show” five times, with the fifth
appearance just two weeks before this episode first aired.
On
her DVD introduction to the episode, Lucie Arnaz (who was not
actually in this episode) is somewhat surprised that the title of the
episode includes baby talk like “Night-Night.” The episode,
however, does feature Lucy playing “mommy” to Frost and using the
words “beddy-bye” and “tummy” as she tucks him in to his
first class airline seat.
Complimenting
David Frost, Lucy mentions that she saw him on “The Carol Burnett
Show.” Frost had been one of Carol’s celebrity guests on March 22,
1971. Frost had also made appearances on “The Flip Wilson Show.”
Both Burnett and Wilson had been guest stars on “Here’s Lucy.”
The
jet seen in the stock footage of the airport is a Pan Am Boeing 747
with an upper deck first class lounge.
David
Frost reckons that he has taken 346 air trips or traveled 1,853,000
miles!
While
Frost is trying to sleep, Lucy wears her headset and hums along to
“Hey Look Me Over” while tapping it out on the glasses with her cutlery.
Lucille Ball introduced the song in the 1960 Broadway musical
Wildcat.
When
Lucy sees the Sky Marshal’s gun and thinks he is a hijacker, she says
that if Frost doesn’t help her apprehend him, he may be doing his
show from Cuba. The inference is that a hijacker would re-route the
plane to a communist country like Cuba. This is ironic considering
Lucille Ball (and Lucy Ricardo’s) relationship with the island
nation.
On
David Frost’s TV show Lucy Carter tells her life story beginning with
“I
was born in Jamestown, New York, and shortly after that we moved to
Montana…”
In reality, shortly after her birth Lucille Ball’s father moved the
family to Montana for work purposes, but when he died suddenly (Lucy
was just three), Lucy’s mother Dede moved the family back to
Jamestown, New York, where Lucy was raised. When Lucille Ball was a
young actor, she thought that it would sound more interesting to say
that she was born in Butte, Montana, rather than Jamestown. Early
motion picture directories (above) listed her birthplace as Butte.
This
is the first time we have seen Lucy Carter actually as a passenger on
a jet, although she says she had flown before and liked it (but not
the take-offs and landings). We have seen her jump out of an
airplane…
…and also in an episode set around Los Angeles International
Airport.
Pan
American World Airways (Pan Am) clipper
service is the carrier that brings the Ricardos and the Mertzes back
to New York in “Return Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26).
They will
also use Pan Am when flying from Miami Beach to Havana in “The
Ricardos Visit Cuba” (S6;E9).
On both episodes there are insert shots of Pan Am aircraft, as well
as the Pan Am logo visible on blankets and tote bags. The airline
folded in 1991.
Lucy
Carmichael started her journey to London Lucy on British Imperial
Airways, a fictional carrier, in “Lucy Flies to London” (TLS
S5;E6).
She changes planes (and airlines) in New York, boarding Pan Am to get to Heathrow in “Lucy in London” (1966).
Lucy
Ricardo struggled to stay awake after
too much Dramamine in “The
Passports” (ILL S5;E11) and
when she was exhausted from her commuter lifestyle in “Lucy
Wants a Career”,
a 1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” In
1962, Lucy Carmichael had trouble staying awake during a classical
music concert in “Lucy the Music Lover” (TLS S1;E8).
Not
wanting to waste her one day in London, Lucy Carter plans to see the
changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, something Lucy Ricardo
did in “Lucy Meets the Queen” (ILL S5;E15) in 1956.
Sitcom
Logic Alert! Recounting David Frost attacking the Sky Marshal, Lucy says that
people thought that David Frost was the hijacker. The premise of the
episode was that Frost was so recognizable people would not let him
sleep – so how did the other passengers not recognize him? Or did
they think that famous interviewer David Frost was actually hijacking
a plane?
“Lucy Helps David Frost Go Night-Night” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5Lucy Carter goes to London – at least for a day – just as Lucy Ricardo and Lucy Carmichael did before her. Lucy and Frost have good comic rapport. Lucy trying to stay awake on live television is classic!
1971, Airport, Bob Carroll Jr., Butte Montana, Carol Burnett, CBS, Coby Ruskin, Cuba, David Frost, Gale Gordon, Hank Robinson, Here’s Lucy, Hey Look Me Over, Hijacker, Ivor Barry, London, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Madelyn Davis, Mike Howden, Pan Am, Rosalind Miles, Sky Marshal, Suzanne Taylor, The David Frost Show, Tommy Farrell, tv, Wildcat -
GINGER ROGERS COMES TO TEA
S4;E11
~ November 22, 1971
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn DavisSynopsis
Ginger
Rogers leaves her purse in a movie theatre where she’s gone incognito
to see one of her films for the first time. Lucy and Harry discover
the purse and hope to get to meet the star in person by inviting her
to tea.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)Guest
Cast
Ginger
Rogers
(Herself)
was
born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri on July 16,
1911, just one month before Lucille Ball. As a singing and dancing
actor, Rogers was mainly know for her partnership with fellow singer
/ dancer Fred Astaire in ten films. It was said that “Ginger did
everything that Fred did, except backwards – and in heels!”
During the 1930’s Lucille Ball did five films with Rogers, whom she
considered a mentor. By the 1970s Rogers had entered
semi-retirement. Lucie Arnaz has said that Rogers may have been a
distant cousin of Lucille Ball’s. She won an Oscar in 1940 for Kitty
Foyle,
a rare dramatic role. Rogers died in 1995.
William
Lanteau
(Spike, Ginger Rogers’ Secretary) first
appeared with Lucille Ball in The
Facts of Life (1960).
In addition to an episode of “The
Lucy Show,” Lanteau
did four episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” He is best remembered
for playing Charlie the Mailman in the play and the film On
Golden Pond (1981).Lanteau
wears a toupee and eyeglasses for the role.
Shirley
Anthony
(Theatre Patron, uncredited) makes her second screen appearance and
the first of her 13 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”Bob
Harks(Theatre Patron, uncredited)
Extra, stand-in, and double Bob Harks was born on September 20, 1927.
Harks appeared in his first film in 1968 and was seen in the
background of Mame
(1974). In 1970 he popped up on his first television show and was
seen in more than a dozen episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” He died at
age 83 in 2010.Eugene
Jackson
(Theatre Patron, uncredited) gained
fame as Farina’s older brother, Pineapple, in six of Hal Roach’s
“Our Gang” serials (1924-25). He appeared with Lucille Ball
in the 1963 film Critic’s
Choice as
well as an episode of “The Lucy Show.” He was seen in a
previous episode of “Here’s Lucy” guest-starring Sammy
Davis Jr.Victor
Romito (Theatre
Patron, uncredited) was
seen as the Bartender in “Lucy
Meets John Wayne” (TLS S5;E10).
He also appeared in four episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Romito
was an extra in the 1960 Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film Critic’s
Choice.The
other Theatre Patrons are played by uncredited background performers.
This
episode was filmed without an audience due to an imminent actor
strike. As a result, the canned laugh track is noticeably missing
Gary Morton’s usual loud guffaws. The
episode was filmed in mid-July 1971 with only two days of rehearsal as
Lucille Ball wanted to make sure it was completed before the strike.
The strike was averted when the Actors Guild signed a three-year
contract on July 14, 1971.
During the 1930s, newcomer Lucille
Ball was coached by Ginger Rogers’ mother, Lela, at the little
theatre on the RKO lot. Inspired by this Lucy also mentored young
actors at a little theatre when she bought the studio for Desilu.
At
the start of the episode, Harry is looking to hire party staff for an
(unseen) client named Mrs. Metcalf. Metcalf was the surname given to the Fire Department Captain played by Patrick McVey in “Lucy and Viv are Volunteer Firemen” (TLS S1;E16), also written by Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr.
Instead
of working late, Lucy tells Harry that she wants to go to a Ginger
Rogers Film Festival. They are showing
Tender
Comrade (1943)
and Flying
Down To Rio (1933), two films made at RKO, which eventually became Desilu.
Lucy
claims to be Ginger Rogers’ biggest fan alive, seeing every picture
she’s ever made, some of them several times. This is a claim made by
Lucy Carter about most celebrities, as well as by Lucy Ricardo and
Lucy Carmichael.
In
the office, Harry and Lucy improvise singing and dancing to “Cheek
to Cheek” a
song written by Irving
Berlin in
1935
for
the Fred
Astaire /
Ginger
Rogers movie Top
Hat.
Trying
to impugn the taste in films of the mystery woman (a disguised Ginger Rogers), Lucy tells her to try back next week and they might be showing
Beach Blanket Bingo. This was the fourth of the light comic
films set on the California beach starring Frankie Avalon and Annette
Funicello. It was released in 1965. Two years later, Avalon appeared (not as himself) in “Lucy and the Starmaker” (TLS S6;E4). He will also play himself on “Here’s Lucy” in 1973.
According
to the hotel key in her purse, Ginger Rogers is staying at the Bel-Air Hotel. This is probably meant to be the Hotel Bel-Air, located
just outside Beverly Hills and Westwood. Hotel Bel-Air has regularly
housed celebrities including Robert
Wagner,
Judy
Garland,
Bette
Davis,
Lauren
Bacall,
Paul
Newman,
Robert
Redford,
Jimmy
Stewart,
Audrey
Hepburn, and
Grace
Kelly,
who frequented the hotel so regularly she had a suite named after
her.
Rogers
tells Lucy she has done 73 movies. Rattling off some of Rogers’ hits, Lucy adds a sugar cube to
Ginger’s tea for each title: Top Hat, Roberta, Flying Down To Rio,
Follow the Fleet, Shall We Dance, and
The Barkleys of Broadway. When Lucy realizes she’s put six lumps
of sugar in Ginger’s tea, Rogers says she only wanted Top Hat and
Roberta (two lumps).
Rogers
mentions having a meeting with David Merrick to discuss starring in
his new musical. In August 1966 Rogers had taken over the role of
Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway produced by David
Merrick.
When
Kim returns with photos of Ginger Rogers for the star to sign, she
accidentally grabbed a photo of Lassie. Canine star Lassie was
the hero of both movies and television. Lassie was first mentioned by Lucy
Ricardo in “The Young Fans” (ILL S1;E20) twenty years earlier. The dog made an appearance in “The Desilu Revue” in 1959.
Kim,
Lucy and Ginger Rogers all dance the Charleston in this episode. Lucy
reminds Rogers that she was the Texas State Charleston champion. A
portion of the dance routine was originally choreographed for Lucie
Arnaz by Jim Bates on “The Kraft Music Hall” which aired on NBC
on February 4, 1970. It also starred Desi Sr. and Jr. (above). Bates had taken over for choreographer Jack
Baker on “Here’s Lucy.”
After
dancing the Charleston with Lucy and Kim, Lucy asks Rogers to do a
scene from Kitty Foyle, Ginger’s Oscar-winning role. Rogers graciously declines, asking Lucy to become a
Katherine Hepburn fan instead!
In
“The Dancing Star” (ILL S4;E27) Lucy Ricardo got to dance with another one of her idols, Van Johnson. Johnson and Ginger Rogers had starred
together in 1945’s
Week-End at the Waldorf. Irving
Bacon (who played Ethel’s father, Will Potter) was also in the MGM film.
I
Had A Dream! The
passage of time while the theatre patrons are watching Flying
Down To Rio
is marked by the use of a wavy screen and harp glissando, techniques
that usually indicate a dream sequence, not the mere passage of time.Where
Do I Live?
Lucy gives her home address as 4863 Valley Lawn Drive. Both Harry
and Lucy have given this address as their own in previous episodes.
“Ginger Rogers Comes to Tea” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5
Ginger Rogers shows just what a good actress she was here, despite just two days rehearsal. Not having a studio audience didn’t bother Ginger, who was at home on a closed set. William Lanteau (Spike) creates an interesting secretary character – borderline gay but never over-the-top (except for that bad toupee). Although many might site the dance sequence with Lucy and Lucie as the highlight, I prefer watching Ginger Rogers the actress – especially in her disguise at the film festival!
1971, Beach Blanket Bingo, Bob Carroll Jr., CBS, Charleston, Cheek to Cheek, Coby Ruskin, David Merrick, Eugene Jackson, Flying Down to Rio, Follow the Fleet, Fred Astaire, Gale Gordon, Ginger Rogers, Here’s Lucy, Hotel Bel-Air, Kitty Foyle, Lassie, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Madelyn Davis, Roberta, Shall We Dance, Shirley Anthony, Tender Comrade, The Barkleys of Broadway, Top Hat, tv, Victor Romito, William Lanteau -
LUCY AND THE CELEBRITIES
S4;E10
~ November 15, 1971
Directed
by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Milt Josefsberg and Al SchwartzSynopsis
When
a rival employment agency starts advertising using endorsements,
Harry charges Lucy with getting celebrities to do radio commercials
for the Unique Employment Agency. After being refused admittance to
a movie studio, Lucy discovers that Kim is dating celebrity
impressionist Rich Little and convinces him to help her.Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy
Carter), Gale
Gordon (Harrison
Otis Carter), Lucie
Arnaz (Kim
Carter)Guest
Cast
Rich
Little
(Himself) was born in Canada in 1938. He was a nightclub comic who
became famous for his vast repertoire of impressions. His screen
career began in 1964 and he appeared on virtually every TV talk and
variety show over the next thirty years. He was known as “The Man
of a Thousand Voices.” This is his only scripted appearance with
Lucille Ball.
Jack
Benny
(Himself) was
born on Valentine’s day 1894. He had a successful vaudeville
career, and an even greater career on radio with “The Jack Benny
Program” which also became a successful television show. His screen
persona was known for being a penny-pincher and playing the violin.
Benny was a Beverly Hills neighbor of Lucille Ball’s and the two
were off-screen friends. Benny previously appeared on “The Lucy
Show” as Harry Tuttle (a Jack Benny doppelganger) in “Lucy
and the Plumber” (TLS S3;E2),
did a voice over cameo as himself in “Lucy
With George Burns” (TLS S5;E1),
and played himself in “Lucy
Gets Jack Benny’s Account” (TLS S6;E6).
This is the fourth and final episode of “Here’s Lucy,” all
playing himself. This is also his final screen appearance in a
dramatic (scripted) series. Benny and Ball appeared on many TV
variety and award shows together. He died in 1974.
Sid
Gould (Studio
Guard) made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” and
nearly as many on “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader)
was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton.For
some reason, Sid Gould wears sunglasses throughout his scene.
Rich Little introduces the episode on the series DVD. He remembers that Lucy ran a tight ship and that he was aware that he needed to hit his marks and know his line!
When Lucy tells Harry to fight fire with fire, Harry invokes the name Smokey the Bear, an advertising icon used from 1940 to warn against the dangers of forest fires. Smokey was used as a punchline in several episodes of “The Lucy Show.”
Trying
to get access to celebrities, Lucy visits Morton Pictures, a movie studio. Morton is
Lucille Ball’s married name.
Naturally, the first star she asks to
see is John Wayne. Wayne appeared as himself on both “I Love Lucy”
and “The Lucy Show.” Lucy, dressed as a little old lady, says
she is founder of his fan club – Pismo Beach Chapter. Pismo Beach
was often used as a punch line on “Here’s Lucy.”
Being
turned down, Lucy ducks behind a phone booth and changes into a
sturdy matron who demands to see Jimmy Stewart. The Guard (Sid
Gould) tells her that Stewart is on location on the island of Catalina. The Island of Catalina is another California location that has been used in
“Here’s Lucy” punchlines.
Kim
is going on a date with Rich Little. Lucy says the name sounds like
a millionaire midget. For no reason other than to be stylish, Kim
dresses as a Native American woman. A surprised Lucy
says “How!” “Why?” is more like it. Kim feels this look is
fashion forward!Rich
Little mentions the names of celebrities that he imitates:- Cary Grant
- Kirk Douglas
- Spiro Agnew
- Ed Sullivan
- Flip Wilson
- Gregory Peck
- Jimmy Stewart
- John Wayne
- and Jack Benny
He does his imitation of
the last three during the course of the episode. Kirk Douglas had a cameo on a 1966 episode of
“The Lucy Show.” Flip Wilson guest-starred on “Here’s Lucy.”
Visiting
the office, Little disguises himself as Dr. Kurtzman, an eye doctor
with a heavy German accent and a beard. He diagnoses Harry with a
severe case of (fictional) “Peeper Poopers” and requires him to be
blindfolded. Harry invokes the name of the Mayo Brothers. The Mayo
Brothers founded a famous hospital in Minnesota that still exists
today. On “I Love Lucy” Ethel Mertz said she went there to have
her gall bladder removed.
Dr.
Kurtzman/Rich Little tells Lucy to keep the compresses on Harry’s
‘peepers’ wet. This gives Lucy a good excuses for spritzing Harry in
the face with water as well as later pouring an entire pitcher of
water over his head! Harry being wet is considered the ‘go to’ source of humor on “Here’s Lucy.”
While
Harry is blindfolded, Rich Little enters as Jimmy Stewart, then as
John Wayne…
…and finally as Jack Benny.
After
Jack Benny/Rich Little records his poem/commercial, Harry says “Rod
McKuen, eat your heart out!” Rod
McKuen
(1933-2015) was one of the best-selling poets in the United States
during the late 1960s.
This
episode is a spin on “Lucy Meets Harpo Marx” (ILL S4;E28) with
Rich Little imitating the celebrities instead of Lucy.
Sitcom
Logic Alert!
If Harry is blindfolded why does Rich Little need to change costumes
to do his impressions? [The practical answer is that this is a
television show!]Props! After
Jack Benny/Rich Little records his poem/commercial, Lucy puts down
the tape recorder and picks up the water spritzer. She
realizes she doesn’t need the prop, so puts it back down again.Technical Data! It
seems a little odd that college girl Kim knows all about getting legal releases when
celebrity voices and photos are used. Perhaps she learned if from
dating Rich Little?
Meta Mantle! Lucy
has a photo of herself, Kim and Craig on the mantle. The photograph
was the publicity photo for season one of “Here’s Lucy.”Memory Lapse! For
the fourth time, Lucy Carter meets Jack Benny, but neither one
recalls ever meeting the other in the past!Loose Ends! Two
unusual things that are not explained by the plot: Kim’s Indian garb
and the Studio Guard’s sunglasses! Perhaps the Guard has Peeper
Poopers, too? There’s a story there!
“Lucy and the Celebrities” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5
This episode has lots of oddities that go unexplained: Sid Gould’s sunglasses, Lucie’s Indian dress, why Kim is dating well-known impressionist Rich Little! Lucy’s costumes for getting through the studio gate are some of the most hideous she has worn on the series. The plot seems to be working toward a performance by Little, but instead he does his tour de force in the office. The last time Lucy had a fish tank in the living room it was filled with piranha. Here, it is goldfish – which is an apt analogy for this episode!
-
RIP Jim Nabors (1930-2017) ~ Actor and singer who was most famous for playing the simple but sweet Gomer Pyle on television. Nabors made a cameo appearance as Pyle on a 1966 episode of “The Lucy Show" “Lucy Gets Caught Up In The Draft” (TLS S5;E9) and that one minute cross-over appearance set the whole Lucy-verse spinning! Consider: "Gomer Pyle USMC” was a spin off of “The Andy Griffith Show.” “The Andy Griffith Show” was a spin off of “The Danny Thomas Show/Make Room For Daddy.” “The Danny Thomas Show” also did a crossover with “I Love Lucy/The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” The upshot of all of this is that Lucy Ricardo and Lucy Carmichael both exist in the same world! That’s just weird.
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