-
Lucy and the Good Skate
S3;E1 ~ September 21, 1964
Synopsis
When
Lucy fears she isn’t spending enough time with her kids, she takes up roller skating. At the sporting goods store to purchase the skates from a
handsome single clerk, her vanity prevents her from getting the
proper size. Her feet swell so much that she must go
to the formal country club dance on wheels!Regular
CastLucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney), Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael)Ralph
Hart (Sherman Bagley) does not appear in this episode.Guest
Cast
Charles
Drake (Walter
Kendricks) arrived
in Hollywood in the late 1930s after being discovered in a talent
contest sponsored by RKO Studios (which became Desilu).
Drake
started apprenticing in small, often unbilled roles in what would
become enduring WWII-era classics: The
Hunchback of Notre Dame
(1939),
The
Maltese Falcon
(1941),
The
Man Who Came to Dinner
(1942),
Now
Voyager
(1942)
and
Yankee Doodle Dandy
(1942).
This
is his only appearance opposite Lucille Ball.
Ray
Kellogg (Doorman)
played the loud, barking Assistant Director (“Roll
‘em!”)
in “Ricky’s Screen Test” (ILL S4;E6) and later appeared in
“Bullfight
Dance” (ILL S4;E22).
This is the first of his seven
episodes of “The Lucy Show.” He also did two episodes of “Here’s
Lucy.” Just as in his other screen credits, most most times he
played policemen.
Sid Gould
(Waiter) made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all as
background characters. He also did 40 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by
marriage to Gary Morton. Gould was married to Vanda Barra, who also
appeared on “The Lucy Show” starting in 1967, as well as on
“Here’s Lucy.”
Glen Turnbull (Dancer) was a WWII veteran, a tennis player, actor and dancer who began his career on the musical stage and apprenticed for years in small, often unbilled roles in 1940s and 1950s. This is his only appearance opposite Lucille Ball.
The
Country Club Dance attendees are played by:- Paul
Bradley makes
the second of his six appearances on “The Lucy Show” in various
roles. He will also be seen in two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” - George
DeNormand had
appeared in three films with Lucille Ball from 1937 to 1963. This is
the first of his many appearances on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s
Lucy.” - William
Meader had
appeared as an airport extra in “The
Ricardos Go to Japan,” a
1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” He made many
appearances on “The Lucy Show,” most times as a clerk in Mr.
Mooney’s bank. - Hal
Taggart makes
the third of five appearances on “The Lucy Show” after having
been seen in the Lucille Ball film The
Facts of Life (1960). - Hazel
Pierce was
Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in throughout “I Love
Lucy.” She also made frequent appearances on the show. Of her many
on-camera appearances on “The Lucy Show” only once was she given
a character name and credited, in “Lucy
Plays Cleopatra” (S1;E1).
She was also an uncredited extra in the film Forever
Darling (1956). -
Renita Reachi was Vivian Vance’s camera and lighting stand-in for “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.” She was was a costumer and made occasional crowd background appearances in “The Lucy Show”, “Here’s Lucy” and the Lucille Ball films Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) and Mame (1974).
- James
Gonzalez
was
a popular Hollywood extra who first acted with Lucille Ball in the
1953 film The
Long, Long Trailer.
He was previously seen on the series as Stan Williams in “Lucy
Digs Up a Date” (S1;E2).
He was seen in more than 20 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 3
episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” - Sam
Harris
was
born in Australia in 1877 and did a dozen films with Lucille Ball
before appearing in the audience of Over
the Teacups
in
“Ethel’s
Birthday” (ILL S4;E8)
and
playing a subway passenger in “Lucy
and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12).
In between he was a wedding guest in Lucy and Desi’s film Forever
Darling
(1956).
He was in the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan”
in
1959. He went on to do several more episodes of “The Lucy Show,”
the last being “My Fair Lucy” (S3;E20), a parody of My
Fair Lady,
a film he had also been in as an extra!
At
the beginning of the 1964–65 season, “The
Lucy Show” went
through significant staff changes. Executive Producer Elliott Lewis
left the series and was replaced by Jack
Donohue,
who now served as producer and director. With the absence of writers
Carroll, Martin, Weiskopf, and Schiller, Ball hired veteran comedy
writer Milt
Josefsberg,
who had written for Jack
Benny,
as script consultant. Under Josefsberg’s supervision there were no
permanent writers for the series and different writers were employed
each week. Ball persuaded Weiskopf and Schiller to return and write
four episodes.In front of the camera Vivian Vance reduced the number of episodes
she would appear in to spend more time at her Connecticut home with
her husband John Dodds. Candy Moore, Jimmy Garrett and Ralph Hart
will also be seen a lot less, with Hart only doing 6 of the season’s
26 episodes. For the second season in a row, the series was filmed
in color but broadcast in black and white.While
still on Monday nights, the series was now aired at 9pm instead of
8:30pm. “The Lucy Show’s” competition on ABC was a one-season
sitcom called “Wendy & Me” starring Connie Stevens and George
Burns. It also featured J. Pat O’Malley, who had played Major
MacFarland in “Lucy Goes Into Politics” (S2;E25). “The Lucy
Show’s” lead-in on CBS was “The Andy Griffith Show” which also
had its season premiere on September 21, 1964. That episode
coincidentally featured Richard Keith (aka Keith Thibodeaux) as
Johnny Paul Jason. Keith had played Little Ricky Ricardo on season
six of “I Love Lucy” and all but one episode of “The Lucy-Desi
Comedy Hour.” “The Lucy Show” served as the lead-in for a new
sitcom called “Many Happy Returns” about the goings on in a
department store. It starred John McGiver, who had been seen on a
couple of “Lucy Shows” and only lasted one season.
There
is a new opening title sequence for season three featuring clips from
both the black-and-white and color episodes strung together. This
discrepancy doesn’t matter at this point, as the series is still
telecast in black and white.
This
episode and three others this season, including the last episode of
the season were written by Jerry Belson and Garry Marshall. At this
early point in their careers, the two were writing partners who
sold many scripts to shows such as “The
Dick Van Dyke Show”
(1961)
and Desilu Studios’ “Make Room for Daddy.” Their specialty was
writing slapstick and physical humor. By the end of his career,
Belson had won three Primetime Emmys. Marshall went on to create
some of television’s most memorable characters, including “Laverne
and Shirley,” “Mork and Mindy” and the Fonze on “Happy Days.”
He also branched out into film directing including the 1990 hit
Pretty
Woman.
The
country club doorman announces “Mr. and Mrs. Robert Maurer.”
Helen and Bob
Maurer,
were Gary Morton’s sister and brother-in-law, Lucille Ball’s new
in-laws.Jerry
needs his mother to drive him to Sitting Bull Day for an activity
with the Indian Braves celebrating Sitting Bull’s Birthday. Sitting
Bull
was
a Lakotan
Native American
who led his people during years of resistance to United States
government policies. Earlier in life he had been with Buffalo Bill’s
Wild West Show. Although his birth year is believed to have been
around 1831, no one knows for certain the exact birth date. He was
killed in 1890 by Indian Agency police at Standing Rock during an
attempt to arrest him.Chris
says that she broke up with her boyfriend Wendell, with whom she had
a three-day relationship. In “Chris Goes Steady” (S2;E16) she
was dating Mr. Mooney’s son, Ted Jr. Chris
formerly dated Chuck Gibbons and
Bob
Mooney (another of Mr. Mooney’s sons) in “Lucy
and the Bank Scandal” (S2;E7).Viv says that “It’s
easier to keep track of the French presidents that a teenager’s
boyfriends.” In
point of fact, France only had three presidents between 1947 and
1964, one less than the USA in that same period. At the time of
broadcast, the French president was Charles de Gaulle and the US
president was Lyndon B. Johnson.Danfield’s
Sporting Goods Store is run by 80 year-old Mr. Carlisle, who is not
there when Lucy and Viv arrive. Walter Kendricks is the clerk they encounter.
With
curlers in their hair in the presence of eligible bachelor Mr.
Kendricks, Viv says they both look like Yogi Berra. Lawrence
Peter
“Yogi”Berra
(1925– 2015) was a professional baseball
catcher,
manager,
and coach
who
played 19 seasons, all but the last for the New
York Yankees.
He was a tremendously popular personality and was a spokesman for
Yoo-Hoo, a chocolate flavored drink.
When
Lucy and Viv don the moose heads, Mr. Mooney mentions Smokey the Bear
and Bullwinkle. Smokey
Bear
is
an advertising mascot created in 1944 to educate the public about the
dangers of forest fires.
Mr. Mooney previously mentioned Smokey in “Lucy Decides to
Redecorate” (S2;E8). Bullwinkle
J. Moose
is a cartoon character from the 1959–1964
animated
TV series
“Rocky
and Bullwinkle.”
When
the show changed networks from ABC
to
NBC,
its name was changed to “The Bullwinkle Show,” reflecting the
immense popularity of Bullwinkle.
Viv
gets a telephone call from Audrey Simmons. Although the character
was played by Mary Jane Croft, Audrey appeared on screen for the last
time in “Lucy Enters a Baking Contest” (S2;E28). Viv says that
she’ll see Audrey later at the dance, but the character is not in the
scene.
Mr.
Mooney says the his wife could not attend the dance because she had
to attend her karate class. This continues the gag of Mr. Mooney’s
invisible spouse. In fact, Mrs. Mooney will never be seen on screen.
Lucy and Viv took a martial arts class in “Lucy and Viv Learn
Judo” (S1;E22).
While Mr. Mooney is joking about getting a karate
chop from his wife, newspaper headlines of the day (September 21,
1964) reported that Dallas
reporter Jim Koethe was killed by a lethal karate chop to the neck.
There was a conspiracy theory that Koethe was murdered in connection
to his interview with Jack Ruby, the man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald,
president Kennedy’s assumed assassin.
The
(unseen) orchestra plays “The
Blue Danube,”
a waltz by Johann
Strauss II composed in 1866. The piece was prominently used in Stanley
Kubrick’s
1968 film
2001:
A Space Odyssey.
Season 3 the closing credits are now on a different background
featuring a line drawing of Lucy.Callbacks!
Roller
Ball! Lucille Ball gets her skates on every decade or so. First
in 1954’s “The
Million Dollar Idea” (ILL S3;E13), this 1964 episode “Lucy and
the Good Skate, and finally in the 1974 motion picture musical Mame.
Lucy Ricardo visited the sporting goods section of Macy’s in “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” (ILL S6;E3) to buy scuba equipment for her trip to Florida.
Lucy Carmichael takes a job in the sporting goods department of Stacey’s Department Store in “Lucy Bags a Bargain” (S4;E17).
Blooper
Alerts!
When
Lucy goes skating out the country club’s garden doors and into the
off screen fishpond, a crowd huddles around to look. A young blonde in
a white dress is on the inside of the huddle but after a quick jump cut she
is now on the outside of the group.
“Lucy and the Good Skate” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 51964, Bullwinkle, Candy Moore, CBS, Charles Drake, Gale Gordon, Garry Marshall, George DeNormand, Glen Turnbull, Hal Taggart, Hazel Pierce, James Gonzales, Jerry Belson, Jimmy Garrett, Lucille Ball, Lucy and the Good Skate, Paul Bradley, Ray Kellogg, Roller Skates, Sam Harris, Sid Gould, Sitting Bull, Smokey Bear, sporting goods, The Blue Danube, The Lucy Show, tv, Vivian Vance, William Meader, Yogi Berra - Paul
-
Lucy Enters a Baking Contest
S2;E28
~ April 27, 1964
Synopsis
Lucy’s
baking skills are always being compared unfavorably to Viv’s, so she
decides to give her a run for her money in the Danfield Tribune’s
annual pie-baking contest.Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney)Jimmy
Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley), and Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael) do not appear in this episode.Guest
Cast
Mary
Jane Croft (Audrey
Simmons) 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 for eight episodes. Her husband Elliott
Lewis was a producer of “The Lucy Show” from 1962 to 1964. She
also played a character named Mary Jane Lewis on “Here’s Lucy”
from 1969 to 1974.This
is the
final appearance of Mary
Jane Croft
as
Audrey Simmons. When Lucy Carmichael moves to California, Croft will
play the recurring role of Mary Jane Lewis (her real married name)
until the end of the series.
Carole
Cook
(Thelma Green) was a protege of Lucille Ball’s during the Desilu
Playhouse years. Although she was born as Mildred Cook, Ball
suggested she take the name Carole, in honor of Lucy’s great
friend, Carole Lombard. Cook also went on to appear in five episodes
of “Here’s Lucy.”Although
Kathleen mentions Thelma Green in association with the pie baking
contest, she is never called by name during her actual scenes as
judge. This is the final appearance of Carole Cook as Thelma. In
future episodes she will appear as a variety of other characters.
Kathleen
Freeman
(Kathleen) was
‘born in a trunk’ to a family of vaudevillians. She made her
stage debut at age two in her parents’ act. Equally at home on
screen and stage, Freeman was appearing on Broadway in The
Full Monty in
2001 when she died of lung cancer. This is the third of her five
appearances in various character roles on “The Lucy Show.”
Dorothy
Konrad
(Mrs. Hutton, Bank Secretary) played
volunteer firefighter Dorothy Boyer in two previous episodes and will
appear in two more episodes of the series as other characters.
Hazel
Pierce (Baking
Contestant) was Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in
throughout “I Love Lucy.” She also made frequent appearances on
the show. Of her many on-camera appearances on “The Lucy Show”
only once was she given a character name and credited, in “Lucy
Plays Cleopatra” (S1;E1).
She was also an uncredited extra in the film Forever
Darling (1956).Jean
Vachon (Baking Contestant) makes the third of her six appearances
on “The Lucy Show,” all but one uncredited.The
spectators at the contest are played by:- James
Gonzalez
was
a popular Hollywood extra who first acted with Lucille Ball in the
1953 film The
Long, Long Trailer.
He was previously seen on the series as Stan Williams in “Lucy
Digs Up a Date” (S1;E2).
He was seen in more than 20 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 3
episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” - Sam
Harris
was
born in Australia in 1877 and did a dozen films with Lucille Ball
before appearing in the audience of Over
the Teacups
in
“Ethel’s
Birthday” (ILL S4;E8)
and
playing a subway passenger in “Lucy
and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12).
In between he was a wedding guest in Lucy and Desi’s film Forever
Darling
(1956).
He was in the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan”
in
1959. He went on to do several more episodes of “The Lucy Show,”
the last being “My Fair Lucy” (S3;E20), a parody of My
Fair Lady,
a film he had also been in as an extra! - Bert
Stevens
and Caryl
Lincoln
were a real-life husband and wife who made many appearances as
background players on the series. Lincoln was one of Lucy’s friends
from her Goldwyn Girl days. Stevens was the brother of actress
Barbara Stanwyck, whose given name was Ruby Stevens. He was seen in
the Tropicana audience for the Flapper Follies when “Ricky
Loses His Voice” (ILL S2;E9)
but
along with Lincoln, probably appeared on other episodes as well. - Ervin
Richardson
makes
the second of four uncredited appearances on “The Lucy Show.” He
also did two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Renita Reachi (Baker on the extreme right) was a costumer for “The Lucy Show” from 1966 to 1968. She was also Vivian Vance’s camera and lighting stand-in for “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.” She was a costumer and/or made crowd appearances on “Here’s Lucy” and the Lucille Ball films Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) and Mame (1974).
Several
other uncredited background performers play the Bank Board of
Directors, the Baking Contestants, and the Contest Spectators. The
men double in both the Bank Board and Spectator Gallery.
This episode was filmed in color, but broadcast by CBS in black and white. It was filmed on March 26, 1964.
On the date of this episode’s first airing, immediately following “The Lucy Show,” the last original episode of “The Danny Thomas Show” was telecast on CBS, bringing an end to the 11-year run of Thomas’s situation comedy that had premiered on ABC September 29, 1953 as “Make Room for Daddy.” The final episode featured “Lucy” actors Sid Melton, Herbie Faye, and Vito Scotti. When the show joined CBS in 1958, the show did a cross-over with “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” titled “Lucy Makes Room for Danny”.
This the final episode of season two and the last episode written by
Madelyn Martin and Bob Carroll, Jr. Sadly, Lucy was not happy with
their final script, accusing them of trying to ruin her career. They
believed they were fired for good and wouldn’t write another Lucy
episode until “Lucy Meets the Burtons” (1970) during the
third-season of “Here’s
Lucy.”
“The Lucy Show” will be replaced for the summer of 1964 with “Vacation Playhouse” (aka “Summer Playhouse”), an anthology series that often presented pilots for future series.
Viv
has won The Danfield
Tribune’s
pie
baking contest five years running.
The
first year Lucy also entered, but forgot to turn her oven on.
Mr.
Mooney is seen conducting a bank board meeting to approve a loan to
the McQuillan Construction Company. McQuillan was also used as the
surname of one of the alumni in “Lucy’s College Reunion”
(S2;E11). Lucy interrupts the meeting with a phone call requesting he
go by Trumbull’s Bakery and pick up a large sunshine cake with white
icing. Trumbull was the surname of Elizabeth Patterson’s recurring
character, Lucy Ricardo’s neighbor and Little Ricky’s babysitter, on
“I Love Lucy.”
During the bridge game, Viv
reminds Audrey and Kathleen about the failure of Lucy’s brownies for the PTA bazaar. The PTA
carnival was mentioned in “Chris’s New Year’s Eve Party”
(S1;E14).
Viv continually offers to help Lucy with her cake, causing her to shout “Please, Mother! I’d rather do it myself!” In 1962, an advertisement for Anacin pain reliever featured a mother trying to assist her grown daughter prepare a meal only to have her nerve-racked daughter shout, “Mother, please, I’d rather do it myself!“ Variations on this scenario became popular and were parodied a number of times, including in the Allan Sherman song “Headaches” (”Mother, don’t hand me those pills from the shelf, I’d rather do it myself”), the 1966 film The Silencers, and the 1980 film Airplane.
Lucy will revive the joke a year later in “Lucy and the Monsters” (S3;E18) substituting the word ‘mother for ‘mummy’!
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.
Callbacks!
Lucy and Viv’s Bridge Club with Kathleen and Audrey, reminds us how popular Bridge was on “I Love Lucy.” In the below episodes, the popular card game was either mentioned, played or set-up for but never played due to arguments or other plot contrivances. This is what people did before television and internet!
- “The Benefit” (ILL S1;E13)
-
"Lucy Fakes Illness”
(ILL S1;E16) in which Ricky says "How about a game of cards? What will it be, bridge or canasta?” -
“The Inferiority Complex”
(ILL S2;E18) -
"The Club Election”
(ILL S2;E19) -
"No Children Allowed”
(ILL S2;E22) - “Lucy Hires A Maid” (ILL S2;E23) in which Lucy tells Ricky “We’re playing Bridge with the Mertzes tonight!”
- "Lucy Is Matchmaker” (ILL S2;E27)
- "The Camping Trip” (ILL S2;29)
- "Lucy Tells The Truth” (ILL S3;E6)
- "Lucy Cries Wolf” (ILL S4;E3)
- "Ethel’s Birthday” (ILL S4;E9)
- "Bull Fight Dance” (ILL S4;E23)
- "Hollywood Anniversary” (ILL S4;E24)
- “Face To Face” (ILL S5;E7) in which Ethel says to Fred “Lets go over and play some bridge”.
- “Visitor From Italy” (ILL S6;E5)
- "Little Ricky’s School Pageant” (ILL S6;E10) in which Lucy asks Ethel "How about playing some bridge tonight?"
- "Lucy Takes A Cruise To Havana” (LDCH S1;E1) in which Susie says "I think I’ll play bridge tonight” and Lucy replies “Fine, you do that, you’re so good at bridge”.
Lucy Carmichael previously baked a cake for her sister’s wedding in “Lucy’s Sister Pays a Visit” (S1;E15)…
…and a birthday cake for Jerry in “Lucy and the Military Academy” (S2;E10).
Lucy
and Viv’s pie-making uniforms and chef hats are reminiscent of those
worn by Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz as employees of Kramer’s Candy
Kitchen in “Job Switching” (ILL S2;E1). Lucy even wears three
strands of pearls in both episodes. Remember that CBS did not
originally broadcast either episode in color, so the uniforms would
have looked nearly identical in black and white. Lucy’s comic
enthusiasm for her pie making is also similar in style to her
chocolate dipping.
In
“Job Switching” (ILL S2;E1) Fred Mertz bakes a seven layer cake
that is as flat as Lucy Carmichael’s sunshine cake!
Vivian’s gesture of secretly switching Lucy’s pie for hers – only to have Lucy switch them back – is exactly what happens when the Ricardo’s switch apartments with the Bensons. After Lucy and the Mertzes move all their furniture to the new apartment, movers hired by Ricky unknowingly switch the apartments back while the three are out!
In “Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her” (ILL S1;E4) another big switch takes place. Ricky slips a sleeping pill into Lucy’s drink. Thinking he has poisoned her, she swaps glasses with him, but knocks his to the ground just before he drinks.
LUCY: “I switched glasses.
RICKY: “I know you did. I swished them back.”
At the end of “The Diner” (ILL S3;E27) original owner Mr. Watson
ends up with a pie in the face just as Mr. Mooney does here. That episode was first aired exactly
ten years and a day before this one.Fast Forward!
Portraits of George Washington were commonly seen in public buildings like schools, banks, and courthouses. In a future episode of “The Lucy Show”, Lucy replaces General George with General Mooney!
An image from the episode is prominently featured on the DVD box cover for Season Two.
Blooper
Alerts!
Solar Eclipse of the Cake! Lucy’s
cake for her bridge group is described as a ‘sunshine cake’ but
un-iced and right out of the oven it is a bit too dark in color to be
yellow sponge, unless severely over-baked. Viv, an expert baker,
notes that it looks pretty good.
Justice is Blind? The
contest is supposed to insure that the judging remains anonymous by
identifying the pies by number, instead of the baker’s name, but for
the final judging they are arranged in the same exact order that the
contestants stood when baking them, so Mr. Mooney and Thelma Green
could not help but know whose pie was whose by their very placement.
“Lucy Enters a Baking Contest” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5
- James
-
Lucy is a Process Server
S2;E27 ~ April 20, 1964
Synopsis
When
Lucy needs money for a summer vacation, she takes a job as a process
server. The only trouble is her first summons must be delivered to
none other than Mr. Mooney.Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney)Jimmy
Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley), and Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael) do not appear in this episode.Guest
Cast
Stafford
Repp
(Counterman) made
a career of playing policemen even before he became famous as Chief
O’Hara on TV’s “Batman” (1966-68). He played two different
officers of the law on “Dennis the Menace” in 1962 and 1963,
alongside “The Lucy Show”’s Mr. Mooney, Gale Gordon.
Ironically, “Dennis the Menace” had their own Mr. Mooney, who was
a police officer! Repp previously appeared on “The Lucy Show” in
“Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower” (S1;E18) as Joe the plumber. He
also did a 1970 episode of “Here’s Lucy” as (what else?) a
police detective!The
counterman does not have any lines, but Repp listens attentively to
Mr. Mooney’s ramblings.
Lee
Millar
(Stewart) was
best known as the voice of Jim Dear (Lady’s master) in Walt
Disney’s classic
Lady
and the Tramp.
He was following in the footsteps of his parents, Verna Felton and
Lee Millar Sr. She had played Mrs. Porter in “Lucy
Hires a Maid” (S2;E23)
but
was best known for an array of Disney voices, including Jim Dear’s
Aunt Sarah. His father was one of the actors who supplied the ‘voice’
of Disney’s Pluto. He made four appearances on “I Love Lucy,”
although this was his only episode of “The Lucy Show.”The
credits list Millar as Stewart, but this could be due to Gale Gordon
mis-pronouncing “steward” since the character is acting in the
capacity of a ship’s cabin steward.
Richard
Keith
(Little Boy) was born Keith
Thibodeaux in
Lafayette, Louisiana, on December 1, 1950. He was cast out of 200
other young hopefuls to play Little Ricky from 1956 to 1960 on “I
Love Lucy” because of his resemblance to Desi Arnaz and his
remarkable talent on the drums. Fearing no one would be able to
pronounce his last name, his professional name became Richard Keith,
although it was never listed in the credits. In “The Lucy-Desi
Comedy Hours” he was simply credited as Little Ricky.Keith’s
appearance on camera lasts about one second. At the train station,
Lucy walks out the front doors to see if Mooney’s car is parked in
the lot. As she’s leaving, a young boy walks in with his mother. He
has no dialogue. Initially, Keith figured into a longer scene with a malfunctioning candy machine, but the scene was cut for time when the episode was running long.
Jose
“Pepin” Betancourt (Porter)
was a member of the Desi Arnaz / Ricky Ricardo Orchestra making a
rare on-camera non-musical appearance with a line of dialogue.Richard
Kindelon
(George, Bank Guard) was primarily known as a casting director. He
also was a stand-in on Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
(1960).Uncredited
background players play the people at the train station. [Although
IMDB lists Hazel Pierce and Carole Cook among them, I cannot confirm
their participation.]
CBS originally aired this episode in black and white. It was filmed on March 19, 1964.
CBS broadcast repeats of “The Lucy Show” on April 6 and April 13, 1964. This is the first new episode since March 30, 1964. Coincidentally, on April 6 “The Andy Griffith Show” (which followed Lucy on CBS) broadcast an episode that starred Richard Keith (aka Little Ricky) as Opie’s pal Johnny Paul Jason. It is possible that his very brief wordless cameo on this episode of “The Lucy Show” was timed to capitalize on him being on the Desilu lot to film “The Andy Griffith Show.”
Through a new employment agency located on Oak Street, Lucy
is hired as a secretary by the Danfield Attorney Service. One of her duties will be to act as a process server. A process server is a
person who personally delivers (as per law) writs, warrants,
subpoenas, and other legal documents to someone called to court in
a legal action.
Mr.
Mooney says that if Lucy had her way, she’d use up her allowance
until 1972.
That year, Lucille Ball finished the fourth season of “Here’s
Lucy” and started the fifth playing Lucy Carter opposite Gale
Gordon as Harrison Carter.
To help Lucy practice her shorthand, Viv reads aloud from “Mother Goose”, a collection of nursery rhymes illustrated by Hilda Miloche and Wilma Kane first published in 1953 by Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin.
A winter travel poster outside the double doors of the train station is for Greyhound Bus Lines. Although the episode was shot in winter, it was aired in spring and the girls are looking to take a summer vacation. A companion poster was titled “Summer is Fun”.
Outside the double doors on the left is a travel poster by René Jacques from 1960. It depicts the aqueducts Pont de Garde, near Nimes, in Provence, France. It was previously seen on the wall of the beach house kitchenette in “Lucy is a Chaperone” (S1;E27). Because this is a Danfield train depot, the bottom portion of the poster labeled “FRANCE” has been omitted.
When
Lucy tries to pick the pocket of the man in the station she thought
was Mr. Mooney, the man is reading a newspaper called The Times.
This is not, however, the masthead of The New York Times, but a
fictional newspaper.
Viv
is planning on going to Lake Placid for the summer. Lake
Placid is a resort community in the
Adirondack mountains of Essex County, New York, approximately 290
miles due north of Manhattan. It was the site of the 1932 and 1980
winter Olympic Games.CALLBACKS!
Harry Bartell played a Process Server in “The Courtroom” (ILL S2;E7) delivering the summons from the Mertzes to appear in court over their damaged television set. The character pretends to be a fan wanting Ricky’s autograph.
Mr. Mooney tells Lucy Carmichael she’s used up her allowance until 1972. In “The Million Dollar Idea” (ILL S3;E13), Lucy tells Ethel she’s used up her allowance until June the 12th, 1978!
Lucy
Carmichael mentions her prior experiences at Acme Employment Agency.
This is the same name of the employment agency that found Lucy
Ricardo and Ethel Mertz jobs at Kramer’s Candy Kitchen in “Job
Switching” (ILL S2;E1).
Missed
connections and mistaken identity at the depot also happened at the
Westport train station in “Lucy Misses the Mertzes” (ILL S6;E17).
The series previously visited the Danfield Train Station in “No More Double Dates” (S1;E21). Although the station looks to have had a bit of a face lift, the double doors to the platform and the newsstand are in the same place. A candy machine replaces the taxi call machine on the wall.
Lucy
also had encounters with a moving train in “Lucy Visits the White
House” (S1;E25) and “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5).
Mr. Mooney’s wife Irma misses the ship because she had to buy one last sundress. Lucy Ricardo famously misses the S.S. Constitution by going back for one last hug with her son in “Bon Voyage” (ILL S5;E13).
Fast Forward!
Lucy Carter also worked as a process server in a 1968 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” She mixes up a summons and a bank deposit!
Blooper
Alerts!
Burger Blooper! When
Mr. Mooney is eating a hot dog at the train station he says that he is
eating a hamburger. The joke of Mr. Mooney squirting himself
with mustard works better than it would with ketchup since Mr. Mooney
is wearing a dark coat. The yellow mustard reads better on camera,
and everyone knows that mustard is the proper condiment for hot dogs!
Why Gale Gordon didn’t just say “hot dog” remains a mystery.
Touch Typing! In
this episode Viv says Lucy hasn’t touched a typewriter since high
school but in “Lucy the Babysitter” (S5;E16) Lucy say she has two
years of business college. She was previously
seen typing in “Lucy is a Kangaroo for a Day” (S1;E7) where she
was also sent out on deliveries in lieu of being fired for
incompetence.
Any Port in a Storm! Mr.
and Mrs. Mooney’s cruise on a freighter to the Caribbean is for six
weeks and the ship doesn’t make its first port for 28 days. Any ship
leaving New York harbor (even a freighter) would not need four weeks
to reach a Caribbean port. A ship in motion would also need to
refuel.
Sitcom Logic Alert! Lucy practices her typing and shorthand with a book of Mother Goose nursery rhymes. Her children are not toddlers anymore, so it is unclear why this book is so handily available on the bookshelf.
“Lucy is a Process Server” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5
-
Lucy and the Scout Trip
S2;E26 ~ March 30, 1964
Synopsis
When
one of the dads can’t go on the Cub Scout camping trip, Lucy and Viv
step in. Unfortunately, they lose the canoe, topple the tee-pee, and
get lost in the wilderness as well!Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart
(Sherman Bagley)Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael) does not appear in this episode.Guest
Cast
Barry
Livingston (Arnold
Mooney, left) is
probably best remembered as Ernie, the adopted son on “My Three
Sons.” His first appearance on that series was just one week after
he first played Arnold Mooney in “Lucy Gets Locked in the Vault”
(S2;E4). Unlike most child stars of the era, Livingston is still
acting today.Arnold’s
mother is named Irma. He has two brothers (Bob and Ted Jr.) and an
older sister who lives in Trenton, New Jersey.
Desi
Arnaz Jr.
(Billy Simmons, center) is the real-life son of Lucille Ball. His 1953 birth was
worked into the plot of “I Love Lucy” although Desi Jr. never
played the role of Little Ricky Ricardo. He did, however, appear on
the final half-hour episode of the series “The
Ricardos Dedicate a Statue” (ILL S6;E27)
in
a crowd scene. His first series appearance was as one of the pee-wee
football players in “Lucy
is a Referee (S1;E3).
Here he plays Billy Simmons for the last time, although he will
return in the background of the season four opener. Desi Jr. also
appeared with his mother and sister on “Here’s Lucy.”Billy
is the son of Audrey and Harvey Simmons.
A
dozen other uncredited young boys play the cub scout troupe.
This episode was filmed in color but first aired in black and white. CBS aired repeats for the next two Mondays before airing the final two episodes of the season.
The morning this episode originally aired (March 30, 1964), the game show “Jeopardy” premiered with Art Fleming as host. The quiz show, now airing evenings, is still on the air today.
The
Cub Scouts have to perform a number of Indian lore activities to win
tickets to the World’s Fair. The New
York World’s Fair was
held in Flushing Meadow, Queens, New York, opening on April 22, 1964,
just three weeks after this episode first aired. It closed on October
17, 1965, although it was not open during the winter months of
1964/65. A
12-story-high, stainless-steel model of the earth called the
Unisphere
is all that remains on the site today. The Boy Scouts of America
presented “The Wonderful World of Scouting” at the Fair.
Monday, August 31, 1964 was “Lucy Day” at the World’s Fair!
The
boys are members of Pack 57, Den 8. Lucy and Viv are their Den
Mothers. This was established in “Lucy Visits the White House”
(S1;E25). Desi Arnaz Jr. (Billy Simmons) is also in that episode, although Barry Livingston (Arnold Mooney) is not.
According
to his wife, Margaret, Joe Davis could come on the trip because he
had to have his appendix out. Lucy and Viv come in his place.
Writer Madelyn Martin’s first husband was named Davis, so it is
possible these names refer to members of her extended family.
Lucy
calls Mr. Mooney “sagamore” which she says is Indian for “leader
of the clan.” Lucy later shouts “Akela!” This is the scouting
term for the den leader. Akela
is
a symbol of wisdom, authority, and leadership.
The
founder of the Scouting movement chose Rudyard
Kipling’s
The
Jungle Book
(1894)
as
a source of symbolism
and
allegorical framework for the cub scouts.
When
dressed in his ‘Indian’ regalia, Mooney compares himself to a cigar
store Indian. In the 18th and 19th centuries, life-size wooden representations of Native American chiefs
were used as advertising symbols for tobacconists, often erected just
outside the door for easy identification. The Native Americans are
credited with the first use of tobacco products for smoking. Lucy
says Mr. Mooney could have modeled for the nickel. The Indian Head
Nickel coin was currency for five cents from 1913 to 1938. The
reverse side featured an American Buffalo. It was preceded by the
Liberty Head nickel and succeeded by the Jefferson Nickle still in
circulation today.
Each
time Lucy, Viv and Mr. Mooney appear in their ‘Indian’ costumes, the
studio audience greets them with a round of applause.
Mr.
Mooney demonstrates for the boys the Indian Stride, walking heel to
toe. In reality, Native Americans perfected the technique of walking
toe to heel to pursue their prey stealthily without excessive noise. They also used this skill for working on high rise skyscrapers in order to keep their footing on narrow beams.Mr.
Mooney compares his tracking skills to that of Daniel Boone. After
following him around in circles, Lucy says they would have been
better off with Pat Boone! Daniel
Boone
(1734-1820) was
an American
pioneer,
explorer,
and frontiersman, whose
exploits
made him one of the first folk
heroes
of
the United States.
He was immortalized in books, films, radio, and television. Six
months after this episode aired, the TV series “Daniel Boone”
starring Fess Parker began airing on NBC. Daniel Boone was also mentioned on “The Matchmaker” (ILL S4;E4).
Pat Boone
is
a successful pop singer during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold
over 45 million records, had 38 top-40 hits, and appeared in more
than 12 Hollywood films. Pat Boone was also mentioned in “Country Club Dance” (ILL S6;E25) and “Harrison Carter, Male Nurse” (HL S5;E3).Callbacks!
The outfit and wig that Lucy wears in this episode is the same one
she wore on “The
Indian Show”
(ILL S2;E24).
When Lucy, Viv and Mr. Mooney are lost, hungry, and feeling that the end may be near, the episode feels very much like “Lucy in the Swiss Alps” (ILL S5;E21) where they go through pretty much the same range of emotions while trapped in a mountain cabin after an avalanche.
This
is the second time Lucy Carmichael has had to be both mother and
father to Jerry. The first time was when she became referee of his
football team in “Lucy is a Referee” (S1;E3).
This
is the third episode to be centered on the activities of Jerry and
Sherman’s cub scout troupe. The first was “Lucy Visits the White
House” (S1;E25) and the second was “Ethel Merman and the Boy
Scout Show” (S2;E19).Blooper Alerts!
Stool Tosser! While the scouts are all giving Mr. Mooney the ‘grand howl’, Lucille Ball suddenly feels a camp stool is in her way so she picks it up and tosses it aside without much regard for where it lands!
Sitcom Logic Alert! When Mr. Mooney comes up with the idea to draw straws to determine who gets to take the canoe back to camp and who stays behind, Viv is first to pick. She immediately exclaims “I got a long one!” without seeing the size of the other two straws! How does she know the one she is holding is a long one?
WTF Happened? Lucy doesn’t trust that Viv and Mr. Mooney will return for her so she jumps in the water, capsizing the canoe – end of episode! We never discover how they were rescued. From the time Lucy leaves to find the canoe, the episode is basically about three adults getting lost – not once, but twice – while a dozen scouts fend for themselves unbothered. Thirteen minutes of screen time is dedicated to Lucy, Viv, and Mr. Mooney walking in circles and splashing around in water!
Fast Forward!
The plot of “Lucy and the Scout Trip” was pretty much recycled eight months later (minus the scouting theme) for “Lucy Becomes a Father” (S3;E9) in which Lucy takes the place of Jerry’s dead dad on a father / son camping trip. While Gale Gordon comes along as Mr. Mooney, there is no sign of Barry Livingston who played his son Arnold. In November 1964 Livingston had already joined the cast of “My Three Sons”. If one of the five uncredited boys playing the sons is supposed to be Arnold (Mr. Mooney’s other two sons Ted and Bob would have been older) he is never identified as such.
Lucy Carter dons Native American regalia (this time in her favorite color, blue), in “Lucy, The Rain Goddess” (HL S4;E15). She even got her face on a totem pole!
Lucy, Kim and Craig Carter all dressed to blend in with the Navajo Tribe, when they filmed “Lucy and the Indian Chief” (HL S2;E3) on location in Arizona in 1969, the first television sitcom to film on Native American land.
“Lucy and the Scout Trip” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5
1964, 1964 Worlds Fair, American Indians, Barry Livingston, Boy Scout, CBS, Cigar Store Indian, Cub Scouts, Daniel Boone, Desi Arnaz Jr., Gale Gordon, Indian Head Nickel, Jimmy Garrett, Lucille Ball, Lucy and the Scout Trip, Native Americans, New York Worlds Fair, Pat Boone, Ralph Hart, The Lucy Show, tv, Vivian Vance, World’s Fair -
Lucy Goes Into Politics
S2;E25 ~ March 23, 1964
Synopsis
When
Mr. Mooney runs for Danfield City Comptroller, Lucy and Viv volunteer as
campaign staff. They make a mess of Mr. Mooney’s billboard and then
forget to confirm the Scottish Pipers for the rally, causing them to go undercover as bagpipers at the last minute.Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney)Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael) and Ralph
Hart (Sherman Bagley) do not appear in this episode.Guest
Cast
J.
Pat O’Malley
(Major MacFarland) was born in England, despite his Irish name. He
played the music hall circuit there before moving to the United
States after World War II. From 1944 to 1954 he appeared in half a
dozen Broadway shows. He was a Disney voice artist who worked on
such animated classics as Peter
Pan
(1951), One
Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
and The
Jungle Book
(1967). To this day, he can be heard as several voices on the Disney
parks attraction The Pirates of the Caribbean. O’Malley was a
regular on the TV series’ “My Favorite Martian” and “Maude,”
as Mrs. Naugatuck’s fiance Bert. He later appeared on a 1973 episode
of “Here’s Lucy.”MacFarland
was born in the Scottish village of Glencairn, a real-life location. On “I Love Lucy” Lucy Ricardo says that her great-great-great-grandfather, Angus MacGillicuddy, lived in the [fictional] town of Kildoonan in Northern Scotland, located between [non-fictional] Golspie and Ullapool.
Howard
Caine (Paul
Roney, Campaign Chairman) was
last seen in “Lucy Goes to Art Class” (S2;E15) as Art Store owner
Harold. Caine was master of 32 foreign and American dialects. He was
featured on Broadway in Wonderful
Town, Inherit the Wind, Lunatics and Lovers, and
Tiger
at the Gates.
He also replaced Ray Walston as Mr. Applegate in Damn
Yankees.
On screen he played Lewis Morris, the representative from New York,
in 1776.
Sid
Gould (Sid,
Campaign Worker) was
first seen in “Lucy
is a Kangaroo for a Day” (S1;E7).
He made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all as
background characters. He also did 40 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”
Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by
marriage to Gary Morton. Gould was married to Vanda Barra, who also
appeared on “The Lucy Show” starting in 1967, as well as on
“Here’s Lucy.”Hazel
Pierce (Campaign
Worker, uncredited) was
Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in throughout “I Love
Lucy.” She also made frequent appearances on the show. Of her many
on-camera appearances on “The Lucy Show” only once was she given
a character name and credited, in “Lucy
Plays Cleopatra” (S1;E1).
She was also an uncredited extra in the film Forever
Darling (1956).Jean
Vachon (Woman at Rally, uncredited) makes
the third of her six appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all but one
uncredited.
The Tammy-Shanter Caledonian Pipe Band (The Scottish Pipers, uncredited) are a real-life bagpipe group from Southern California. Members of the band in the episode are: Jack McNicoll, Dan Hood, Jim Cairney Sr., Jim Johnson, Jim Cairney, Jr., Robby Conacher, Alec Walter, Trevor Atkinson, and Bill Lumsden.
“The Lucy Show” would often source Southern California community-based sports and musical groups to be featured on the show when the plot required it.
Other
background players play the remaining Campaign Staff and Rallyers.
As still photo from the episode was used for the collage on the cover of the season 2 DVD box set.
CBS originally aired this episode in black and white, depriving viewers of the colorful tartans of the bagpipers. Luckily, it was filmed in color.
On the date this episode first aired, actor Peter Lorre (Casablanca) died at age 59. Although he never worked with Lucille Ball, he did do a 1957 episode of “Playhouse 90″ opposite Gale Gordon.
Mr.
Mooney’s opponent in the city comptrollers race is named Ed Holly.
Edwin Holly was the name of a Desilu Studio Executive
(appropriately) in charge of accounting.
Lucy
says she has influence with several women’s groups:- Volunteer Fire
Department – 24 votes - Danfield
Women’s Club – 32 votes - Gardening
Society – 50 votes
While
there have been many episodes involving the Volunteer Fire Department,
no prior story lines have involved the Women’s Club or the Gardening
Society.
Lucy’s
suggested campaign slogans for Mr. Mooney:“Tippecanoe
and Theodore Too!”- “Tippecanoe
and Tyler Too!”
was
a very popular and influential campaign
song
of
the 1840
presidential election.
Its lyrics sang the praises of candidates William
Henry Harrison
(the
"hero of Tippecanoe”)
and John
Tyler,
while denigrating incumbent Martin
Van Buren.
“A
Chicken in Every Pot and a Mooney in Every Garage!”- “A Chicken in Every Pot and a Car in Every Garage”
was the slogan of 1928 presidential candidate Herbert Hoover.
Lucy
and Viv brag that they have experience producing shows for the PTA
and the Scout Groups. In “Chris’s New Year’s Eve Party” (S1;E14)
Lucy and Viv repeat the Charlie Chaplin silent movie sketch they did
at the PTA show the year before. “Ethel Merman and the Boy Scout
Show” (S2;E19) shows the results of their efforts and discusses the
previous year’s production.
While volunteering for Mr. Mooney, Lucy starts calling him “Chief”! After the third time, he barks “Please don’t call me Chief”! This was the same cry of Superman’s Perry White, editor in chief (!) of the Daily Planet in both the comic books and the television series. Young Jimmy Olsen was in the habit of calling White Chief, which he hated. The expression “Don’t call me Chief” has since become somewhat iconic, even being uttered by “The Simpsons.”
We
learn that Mr. Mooney is of Scottish decent, despite the fact that
his surname is Irish in origin. In honor of his roots, Mr. Mooney has
arranged for the World Famous Scottish Pipers for his campaign rally.
Mr.
Mooney’s election billboard is erected in the middle of town on top
of the Curry Building. Unusually for “The Lucy Show” there is an establishing shot of the building (above) before the scene to set the location.When
Lucy visits Major MacFarland to beg them to come to the rally despite
her failure to confirm the booking, she calls herself Lucy MacPherson
hoping to engender Scottish solidarity. She further fibs that she
has a 93 year-old grandmother named Jeannie MacFarland.
At the rally, Mr. Mooney is dressed in full Scottish regalia. He apologies for his kilt, saying he hopes his legs don’t deter anyone from voting for him.
MR. MOONEY: “After all, I’m running for comptroller, not Miss America.”
The Miss America Pageant, a beauty (now scholarship) contess was first held in 1921 and continues today. It was first mentioned by Lucy Ricardo while trying to think of a way of getting Ricky’s name in the papers during “The Publicity Agent” (ILL S1;E31) 1952 and then again when Ethel tries to bolster Lucy’s sagging ego after hearing “Ricky’s Old Girlfriend” (ILL S3;E12) is in town.
Lucy
mis-uses the name Robert Burns, saying “the Robert on the Burns”
as a description of the Scottish landscape. Robert Burns
(1759-1796) was a Scottish poet. He wrote the lyrics to “Auld Lang
Syne.”
Lucy,
Viv and Major MacFarland harmonize on a chorus of
“The
Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond,“
a well-known traditional Scottish
song
first published in 1841.
Its authorship is unknown. The
lyrics “You take the high road and I’ll take the low road”
have been widely quoted throughout pop culture, even Lucy Ricardo.
In 1954′s “Million Dollar Idea” (ILL S3;E13) Lucy and Ethel skate off to deliver their carts of Aunt Martha’s Old Fashioned Salad Dressing saying:
LUCY: “You take the East Side and I’ll take the West Side and I’ll be in Jersey a-fore ya!”
Callbacks!
Lucy
and Viv have to lick 3,000 envelopes and stamps.
Lucy
Ricardo licks a lot of stamps in “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (ILL
S4;E18). With Fred, Ethel, and Mrs. McGillicuddy she writes and
stamps 500 letters to Dore Schary in “Don Juan in Shelved” (ILL
S4;E22).
The
scene with Lucy and Viv putting up the billboard is reminiscent of
when Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz haphazardly wallpapered the bedroom
in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8).
When
hanging the section of the billboard photo of Mr. Mooney’s nose, Lucy
says “It looks like it was put on hot and it ran!”
In
“Staten Island Ferry” (ILL S5;E12) Lucy looks at her passport
photo and says “It
looks like my face was put on hot and it ran!” Although probably unintentional, Mr. Mooney’s pieced-together image makes him a bit like Adolf Hitler!
With
its Scottish-themed second half, the episode is very reminiscent of
“Lucy Goes to Scotland” (ILL S5;E17).
LUCY ON THE BALLOT!
The closest Lucy Ricardo comes to political activity is running for President – of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League – against Ethel! “I Love Lucy” episodes featured mentions of Ike and Mamie Eisenhower and Harry and Bess Truman, the two US Presidents and First Ladies that held office during the run of the series. There were also mentions of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and both Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, to name a few!
During the first season of “The Lucy Show” Lucy writes to Senator John R. Dodds to complain about the lack of a fire department in Danfield. John Dodds is actually the name of Vivian Vance’s second (and at the time, current) husband.
A few weeks later (in March 1963), Lucy and Viv visit President John F. Kennedy to bring him a model of the White House that their scouts created from sugar cubes. A voice double plays JFK from off-camera.
In “Lucy the Stockholder” (TLS S3;E25), Lucy Carmichael is so grateful for her tax refund that she says she wants to write “Lyndon” a thank you letter. In the same episode, Mr. Mooney has a framed photo of
President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) above his desk.
In 1971, Lucy Carter spoke to the President of the United States on the telephone in “Lucy and the Astronauts” (HL S4;E5). Although his name was not spoken, Lucy does, however, ask about his daughters. Richard Nixon had two daughters, Tricia and Julie.
President Jimmy Carter and his family figured prominently in the CBS Special “Lucy Calls The President.” Carter’s mother, Miss Lillian, even taped a cameo for the program!
This Carter-themed special even mentions President Ronald Reagan, who was previously mentioned in several episodes of “Here’s Lucy” during his stint as Governor of California. During his presidency, he was also mentioned on “Life With Lucy” (1986). A year later, Lucille Ball formally met Reagan when she accepted her Kennedy Center Honor.
Although no US President has actually appeared on a Lucy sitcom, charismatic and controversial Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty made a cameo appearance on a 1972 episode of “Here’s Lucy.”
On a 1969 episode of “Here’s Lucy,” Kim finds a ‘Win With Willkie’ button between the sofa cushions. Wendell Lewis Willkie (1892–1944) was the 1940 Republican nominee for President. His Democratic opponent, incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, handily won a third term (pre-term limits).
Five years earlier on “The Lucy Show”, Lucy Carmichael finds a ‘Vote for Dewey’ button under her couch. Thomas P. Dewey, was a Republican who lost the US presidential election of 1948 to Democrat Harry S. Truman. This episode was broadcast right after the 1964 Presidential election.
Blooper
Alerts!
In Sync! When
Lucy is disguised as a Scottish drummer, she stops beating the drum
but the sound of the off-stage drummer continues for several seconds.
“Lucy Goes Into Politics” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5
- Volunteer Fire
-
I love Lucy Screen Used Prop (1954) – Post Card Season 4 episode 18 Very RARE! | eBay
$3,500
on Ebay! Prop from “Lucy
Gets Into Pictures” (ILL S4;E18).Desi Arnaz made an error and called Carolyn Appleby “Lillian”
Appleby, her name in her first appearance. The props people
followed suit.I love Lucy Screen Used Prop (1954) – Post Card Season 4 episode 18 Very RARE! | eBay
-
Lucy Meets a Millionaire
S2;E24 ~ March 16, 1964
Synopsis
When
Lucy gets a flat tire, a handsome rich Italian man comes to her
rescue. On a date night out, Lucy accidentally spills pasta on him
and she must break in to a local cleaners to retrieve his other suit
so they won’t miss the St. Patrick’s Day dance. Breaking in through
the skylight, Lucy falls into vat of green dye.Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney)Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael) and Ralph
Hart (Sherman Bagley) do not appear in this episode.Guest
Cast
Cesare
Danova
(Umberto Fabriani) was born in Italy in 1926. He appeared opposite
Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra,
but much of his role was cut to highlight the romance between Taylor
and Richard Burton. Danova was on the short list to play the lead in
Ben-Hur
(1959) but Charleton Heston was cast instead. In 1978, he played the
Mayor in National
Lampoon’s Animal House.
This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.Umberto
is a millionaire (several times over, according to Mr. Mooney) who is with the firm of Fabriani and Fabriani,
partnered with his elderly father.
Jay
Novello
(Tony DiBello) was
born Michael Romano in Chicago in 1904 to Italian parents and was
fluent
in the language before learning English. He played Mr. Merriweather
in “The
Seance” (ILL S1;E7)
and
returned to the series to play the nervous Mr. Beecher in “The
Sublease” (ILL S3;E31)
and
Mario Orsatti, the “Visitor
from Italy” (ILL S6;E5).
Novello previously played ex-con candy store owner Mr. Bundy in “Lucy
and the Safecracker” (S2;E6). Coincidentally, Novello’s second
wife went by the nickname ‘Lucy’. In 1965 he played the recurring
character Mayor Mario Lugatto on “McHale’s Navy.”Tony
DiBello is the proprietor of Tony DiBello’s Italian Restaurant.Steve
Carruthers (Maitre
d’, uncredited) was one of the passengers on the S.S. Constitution in “Second
Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14). He was seen in
the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film The
Facts
of Life. This
is the first of his two
appearances on “The Lucy Show.”
James
Gonzales
(Restaurant Patron, uncredited) was
a popular Hollywood extra who first acted with Lucille Ball in the
1953 film The
Long, Long Trailer.
He was previously seen on the series as Stan Williams in “Lucy
Digs Up a Date” (S1;E2).
He was seen in more than 20 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 3
episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”Bert
Stevens
(Restaurant Patron, uncredited) made
many appearances as background players on the series. He was the
brother of actress Barbara Stanwyck, whose given name was Ruby
Stevens. He was seen in the Tropicana audience for the Flapper
Follies when “Ricky
Loses His Voice” (ILL S2;E9)
but probably appeared on other
episodes as well. He often appeared with
his wife, Caryl Lincoln, one of Lucille Ball’s friends from her
Goldwyn Girl days.Jean
Vachon (Restaurant Patron, uncredited) makes
the second of her six appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all but one
uncredited.A
other dozen other uncredited background actors play the diners at Tony
DiBello’s.
This episode was filmed on February 6, 1964.
As
season two goes on, the plots feature less of Vivian Vance, who was
tiring of her commute from Hollywood to her Connecticut home.
Coincidentally,
the day before this episode first aired (March 15, 1964) Richard
Burton and Elizabeth Taylor married. They had just starred as lovers
in the film Cleopatra (above),
which also featured Cesare Danova (Umberto). Lucy Carmichael played
Cleopatra on the season two opener of “The Lucy Show.” Burton
and Taylor would appear with Lucille Ball in a 1970 episode of
“Here’s Lucy.”
In
another coincidence, the episode of “Make Room for Daddy” that
followed “The Lucy Show” on CBS on March 16, 1964, also had an
Italian theme. The guest star was Italian born singer singer Piccola
Pupa, a young performer Danny Thomas claims to have ‘discovered.’Ironically, when this episode was filmed, Lucille Ball herself was a millionaire. Lucy and Desi were the first millionaire TV stars in history.
Dede’s
Dress Shop is mentioned for the second episode in a row. Dede Ball
was Lucille Ball’s mother.
The name ‘Tony
Di Bello’ was created by the writers as a nod to the name of
their secretary Elaine’s father, Mr. Tony Di Bello.Mr.
Mooney invites Umberto and Lucy to join him and his wife Irma at the
St. Patrick’s Day dance. This episode was first broadcast on St.
Patrick’s Day eve 1964. In real-life, Cesare Danova was a fan of all
things Irish. He ever carried a small leprechaun around with him
wherever he went.
When
Lucy spills pasta in Umberto’s lap, he says his other tux is at
Oscar’s Cleaners. Lucy Carmichael says that she has known Oscar for
years. He is unmarried and a trophy-winning bowler for his team,
Oscar’s Tigers. Reading from a distance, Lucy mistakenly thinks his
name is Oscar Stigers.
Oscar’s
Cleaners is next door to a Florist shop owned by Meryl. Lucy does not
know Meryl’s surname either. Mr. Mooney says the one person who
knows everyone’s last name in town is George the mailman.
Lucy
asks Mr. Mooney for a dime for the pay phone. In New York, it cost
ten cents to use a payphone until 1982, when it was raised to twenty
five cents. In the early 1950s (during “I Love Lucy”) the cost
was only five cents. Today, pay phones are nearly obsolete due to the
proliferation of mobile (cell) phones.
Lucy
ends up getting covered in green dye. Unfortunately, although filmed in color, CBS originally
broadcast this episode in black and white!Callbacks!
In “Bullfight Dance” (ILL S4;E23) Fred and Ethel croon “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” by Ernest R. Ball (no relation). This is the closest the series gets to a St. Patrick’s Day mention. Fred Mertz was said to be of Irish extraction.
The
finale of “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (ILL S5;E23) had Lucy dyed
purple when she had a fight in a wine vat of grapes.
That episode,
too, was originally broadcast in black and white, but was colorized
in 2013.
When
the gang went to Europe on “I Love Lucy” it was Ethel (Vivian
Vance) who was in charge of learning Italian, while Lucy learned
French.
The
note Lucy Carmichael writes on the back of her check reads: “Dear
cashier, be a love and clear this before you-know-who gets back.” The message is very similar to the note Lucy Ricardo wrote on the back of a
check in “Job Switching” (ILL S2;E1), “Dear teller, be a lamb
and don’t put this through until next month.”
A heavily disguised Lucy and Ethel meet their husbands at Tony’s Italian Restaurant in “The Black Wig” (ILL S3;E26).
In “No More Double Dates” (S1;E21) Lucy’s boyfriend Harry (Dick Martin) suggests going to Tony DiBello’s for Italian food.
There was trouble at the cleaners (in this case Chinese Laundries) on “Here’s Lucy” in both “Lucy the Laundress” (HL S2;E17) and “Lucy and the Chinese Curse” (HL S4;E18).
It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green!
Lucille Ball may also have been green when playing a woman from Mars in “Lucy is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) in 1954, but since the episode was filmed in black and white, we will never know for sure!
LUCY RICARDO: “My face! My hair! Oh, no! I’m looking at the world through green colored eyeballs!”
Green light bulbs turn Lucy (and everyone else) green when “Lucy Fakes Illness” (ILL S1;E16). Again, because the episode was filmed in black and white, viewers never see the effects of the ‘gobloots’ (aka green bulb)!
LUCY CARMICHAEL: “Who’d they make these pajamas for – the Jolly Green Giant?”
Stuck in isolation in “Lucy and the Astronauts” (TLS S4;E5) Lucy has to wear over-sized men’s green pajamas. The Jolly Green Giant is the advertising character used to promote Green Giant Frozen Vegetables.
VIV: “Take off that hat! It looks like a fresh crop of crab grass!”
When “Lucy Goes To Vegas” (TLS S3;E17), she wears the emerald green spangled gown and matching green feathered hat won for being Bigelow’s Department Store’s one millionth customer.
Fast Forward!
A year later, Lucy will wear this same salmon colored gown (with a different red wrap) in “My Fair Lucy” (ILL S3;E20) when she goes to a fancy soiree with the Countess (Ann Sothern).
The backdrop used for the Danfield street depicts the Iris Theatre. This same backdrop will be used again outside of Madame Fifi’s Fur Shop when “Lucy Gets Amnesia” (S3;E4).
This may be an homage to Los Angeles’ legendary Iris Theatre, which reportedly had the first electric sign in Hollywood. It may also be an homage to the character Iris Atterbury, Liz Cooper’s sidekick (played by Bea Benadaret) on Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband.”
Lucy Carter dated a prospective millionaire played by Don Knotts in “Lucy’s Last Blind Date” (HL S5;E16).
When Lucy Carter meets a homeless man in the park, she believes him to be a ‘Howard Hughes-like’ millionaire she read about in the newspaper and “Lucy, The Philanthropist” goes into action!
Blooper
Alerts!
Stolen Valor? Mr. Mooney speaks Italian quite well. He says he “picked up a few words in the Army." In “Lucy and the Submarine” (S5;E2, above), however, Mr. Mooney says he was actually a Navy housing officer stationed just outside of Wichita during World War II. Is he a pathological liar of the victim of forgetful writers?
Noises Off! When Umberto arrives unexpectedly (with Lucy in pajamas and curlers) a high pitched voice in the audience clearly says “Oh, no!” Lucy’s husband Gary Morton can also be heard laughing on the soundtrack. Later, when Umberto mentions having taken a taxi, a voice from the audience clearly echos “Taxi!”
Boom Shadows! When Lucy drops to the floor behind the sofa upon Umberto’’s sudden appearance at her front door, the shadow of a boom microphone passes over Lucy.
Fickle Furniture! For this episode, the large oval dining room table has been replaced by a smaller round table for Lucy’s ‘ghostly’ get-away gag. Although it is nearly identical, the living room sofa was either adapted or duplicated to allow Lucille Ball enough space to freely roll underneath it.
Let Your Fingers Do the Walking! When
Lucy is trying to remember Oscar’s last name to look him up in the
telephone directory, Mr. Mooney is looking through the Yellow Pages,
which are organized by business names, not surnames. They would not
need to know Oscar’s last name to find his work phone number, just his home number.
Broken Fingers! When Mr. Mooney roughly drops the phone book the second time it comes loose from the hard blue cover that connects it to the phone and the book breaks in two! When Gale Gordon needs to look up “George the Mailman” he has to bend down (out of frame) to pick it up off the floor and scoop up the tattered book to complete the scene.
Sitcom Logic Alert! Lucy immediately knows that Oscar’s bowling trophy must have been made by the National Bowling Company in Chicago. Lucy is a font of useless knowledge!
Dry Dye! As
Umberto races into the back room of the cleaners to rescue Lucy, he
bumps into the vat of green dye and it moves quite easily. If it was
actually full of liquid, the weight would prevent it from moving at
all. Also, when Lucy is fished out she isn’t
dripping wet, despite the sloshing sound effects to the contrary.
Color Correction! When Lucy is lifted out of the vat, viewers can see that her tights and the soles of her shoes are not green!
Gimme a Sign! Why is there a sign with prices for cleaning services posted in the back room of the laundry, where no customers will ever see it?
“Lucy Meets a Millionaire” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5
-
Lucy is Her Own Lawyer
S2;E23 ~ March 9, 1964
Synopsis
Lucy
complains when Mr. Mooney’s barking sheepdog Nelson keeps her up all
night. He tells her to sue him, and she does. After making a mockery
of the court proceedings by acting as her own attorney, she finally
wins her case by cross-examining Nelson.Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy
Garrett (Jerry Carmichael)Candy
Moore (Chris Carmichael) and Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley) do not
appear in this episode.Guest
Cast
John
McGiver
(Judge) is a recognizable character actor who appeared in such hit
films as Breakfast
at Tiffany’s (1961),
The
Manchurian Candidate (1962),
and Midnight
Cowboy (1969).
He did one previous episode of “The Lucy Show” playing a lawyer
in “Lucy is a Kangaroo for a Day” (S1;E7). He appeared opposite
Lucille Ball as Mr. Babcock in the movie musical Mame
(1974).
Joe
Mell
(Joe, the Bailiff) played the Butcher in “Together for Christmas”
(S1;E13) and will make
three more appearances as a background player on “The Lucy Show.”
He also appeared in a 1969 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” In 1964 he
appeared in the TV special “Mr. and Mrs.” (aka “The Lucille
Ball Comedy Hour”), which featured many of the Desilu regulars and
was directed by Jack Donohue, who also directed this episode. In
1971, he was a Taxi Driver on “Lucy and the Lecher,” a cross-over
episode of Danny Thomas’s “Make Room for Granddaddy” in which
Lucille Ball played Lucy Carter, her character from “Here’s
Lucy.”
James
Westerfield
(Mr. Weitzman, Mr. Mooney’s Lawyer) was seen in such films as On
the Waterfront (1954),
True
Grit (1969)
and Hang
‘Em High
(1968).
Between 1944 and 1960 he appeared in half a dozen Broadway plays.
This is his only appearance opposite Lucille Ball.in real life, Bernard
Weitzman was the name of a Desilu Production Executive.
Pinto
Colvig (Dog
Voices) was the original voice of Disney’s Pluto and Goofy, until his
death in 1967. In
1993, the Walt Disney Company honored him as a ‘Disney Legend.’ On May 28, 2004, he was inducted into the International Clown Hall of
Fame in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Robert
E. Blair
(Court Official / Dog Trainer) was the dog trainer responsible for
Nelson on the set. Blair worked extensively with Frank Inn training
animals for TV and film. A decade later, Blair and his sons would
form the Blair Bunch, specializing in dog and cat training for
commercials.
Lord Nelson (Nelson) makes his first appearance as Mr. Mooney’s dog. He will also appear in “Lucy’s Contact Lenses” (S3;E10) and would go on to appear on “Here’s Lucy” as Bogie in “Lucy and the Bogie Affair” (HL S2;E13). From 1965 to 1967, he played Ladadog (aka Lad) on “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” and reprised the role of Nelson on “The Doris Day Show” from 1968 to 1971.
The
court spectators are played by:- Sam
Harris was born in Australia in 1877
and did a dozen films with Lucille Ball before appearing in the
audience of Over the Teacups in
“Ethel’s
Birthday” (ILL S4;E8) and
playing a subway passenger in “Lucy
and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12).
In between he was a wedding guest in Lucy and Desi’s film Forever
Darling (1956). He was in the airport when “The
Ricardos Go to Japan” in
1959. - Hazel
Pierce was Lucille Ball’s camera
and lighting stand-in throughout “I Love Lucy.” She also made
frequent appearances on the show. In the opening of season two, “Lucy
Plays Cleopatra” (S2;E1), she received screen credit as Mary Lou,
the only one of her many appearances on “The
Lucy Show” where she had a character name. She was also an
un-credited extra in the film Forever
Darling (1956). - Bert
Stevens
made
many appearances as background players on the series. He was the
brother of actress Barbara Stanwyck, whose given name was Ruby
Stevens. He was seen in the Tropicana audience for the Flapper
Follies when “Ricky
Loses His Voice” (ILL S2;E9)
but
probably appeared on other episodes as well.
He often appeared with his wife, Caryl Lincoln, one of Lucille Ball’s
friends from her Goldwyn Girl days.
A
half dozen uncredited background actors play the other court spectators.
Writer Howard
Ostroff joins Madelyn Martin and Bob Carroll Jr. for this and
two future episodes.
The
title refers to the quote by Abraham Lincoln
about acting as your own lawyer: “He
who represents himself has a fool for a client.”
In
“Lucy and the Bank Scandal” (S2;E7, above) we learned that Mr. Mooney
had a dog because there were bones buried in the back yard, although
the dog was featured on screen and the wasn’t named in the episode.
Jerry calls Nelson “Mr. Mooney’s new dog” so it may not have been
the same pet.
In Danfield, Lucy
and Viv live at 132 Post Road. The
Mooneys live at 429 Elm Street.When
Lucy asks Viv why she didn’t follow the dog when he ran away, she
calls Lucy Simon Legree and sarcastically says she
“lost the scent when he crossed the river.”
This is a direct reference to the plot of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
(1852) in which a runaway slave is chased by dogs and escapes by
crossing a river. In future episodes, both Mr. Mooney and Harry Carter will often be compared to Simon Legree, a ruthless owner of slaves.
Nelson’s
bark triggers the other dogs in the neighborhood to join in the
chorus:- Howard
McAdams’ Pomeranian - Audrey
Simmons’ Beagle – Audrey Simmons is usually played by Mary Jane
Croft. - Grandma
Sutton’s Airedale – Grandma Sutton has been mentioned in several
previous episodes, but never seen. She is, however, usually associated with cats. - The
Hamilton’s Police Dog
Lucy
says she picked up a lot of legal tips from Perry Mason. This
is reference to the fictional layer made famous in books by Erle
Stanley Gardner and the CBS TV series “Perry
Mason” (1957-66)
starring
Raymond Burr.
In the opening of the courtroom scene, the theme music from “Perry
Mason” is suggested in the underscoring. James Westerfield (Mr. Mooney’s Lawyer) did two episodes of the courtroom drama. Joseph Mell (the Bailiff) did three episodes. Background actors Bert Stevens and Sam Miller played courtroom spectators in many “Perry Mason” episodes, and also do the same on this installment of “The Lucy Show”. Raymond Burr played Perry Mason on “The Jack Benny Show” in 1961, and Hazel Pierce showed up on the jury! It seems that outside of Lucy, Viv, and the dog, only John McGiver (Judge) was had no relation to Perry Mason!
Lucille Ball and Raymond Burr (Perry Mason) had appeared together on screen in the 1951 film The Magic Carpet.
A few of the many other actors on “Perry Mason” who were also seen on “Lucy” shows include:
Mike Connors, Barbara Eden, Roy Roberts, Barbara Pepper, Herb Vigran, Paul Winchell, Claude Akins, Shirley Mitchell, Parley Baer, Joseph Kearns, Harvey Korman, Richard Reeves, Eleanor Audley, Jay Novello, Vito Scotti, Norma Varden, Elvia Allman, Ellen Corby, Paula Stewart, John Banner, Elliott Reid, Benny Rubin, Max Showalter, Fifi D’Orsay, Phil Ober, Lou Krugman, Alan Hale Jr., Jonathan Hole, Norman Leavitt, Barbara Perry, Jackie Coogan, Ray Kellogg, Stafford Repp, Bruce Gordon, William Schallert, Paul Picerni, Bill Quinn, Juney Ellis, Phil Arnold, Jerome Cowan, Tyler McVey, Joey Faye, Byron Foulger, Jessyln Fax, Hal Smith, Gail Bonney, Lawrence Dobkin, Rhodes Reason, Vivi Janiss, Barbara Morrison, William Lanteau, Paul Debov, Janos Prohaska, Stanley Farrar, Amzie Strickland, Stanley Adams, Doris Packer, Flower Parry, Bess Flowers, Leoda Richards, Jerry Rush, and many uncredited background actors!
Viv
says that due to the barking she overslept and missed a sale at
Dede’s Dress Shop. Alligator bags were half price! In real life, Dede
was Lucille Ball’s mother’s first name, an affectionate contraction
of “Desiree Evelyn”. This is the first mention of Dede’s Dress
Shop.
Lucy
does the old vaudeville gag of cross-examining herself by jumping in
and out of the witness box. When the lawyer, she often grasps her
jacket lapels to complete the picture. [Note: The above image was created for amusement and does not reflect what was seen on screen. For Lucy to actually meet Lucy on one screen, viewers must wait until the final season of “Here’s Lucy.”]
As unlikely as cross-examining yourself may be, Lucy also cross-examines Nelson the dog proving anything is possible in Lucyland!
Callbacks!
This is the second time an episode is set inside a Danfield Courtroom. The first was “Lucy and the Runaway Butterfly” (S1;E29).
Fred the dog’s barking woke the tenants of 623 East 68th Street on “I Love Lucy”. In this episode, the barking was also provided by an off-screen voice – June Foray.
Lucille
Ball and Vivian Vance were seen in the witness box in “The
Courtroom” (S2;E7) and “Lucy Makes Room for Danny” a 1958
episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” that featured Gale Gordon
as the Judge.
Although the dogs of the neighborhood are only heard in this episode, they actually all turned up in the flesh (or fur) during the finale of “Lucy and Viv Learn Judo” (S1;E22).
Blooper Alerts!
What For? Lucy sues Mr. Mooney in court, but it is never stated what she is seeing from her lawsuit. No monetary or other compensation is ever mentioned. Could she be suing just to prove she’s right?
Fast Forward!
Two years later, Lucy Carmichael landed the role of a juror on a TV soap opera, but couldn’t sit back and let the lawyers do the talking. Here she quotes one of the most famous female lawyers in fiction, Portia from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.
Lucy (Carter) is her own lawyer, defending herself against charges of running an illegal raffle in a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy.”
Lucy (Barker) is her own lawyer when she sues to regain custody of her grandson’s teddy bear in “Lucy, Legal Eagle” (LWL S1;E8) in 1986. She is still tucking her thumbs under her lapels to complete the image!
“Lucy is Her Own Lawyer” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 51964, Bernard Weitzman, Bert Stevens, CBS, Courtroom, Dede Ball, Desilu, Disney, dogs, Gale Gordon, Goofy, Hazel Pierce, Howard Ostroff, James Westerfield, Jimmy Garrett, Joe Mell, John McGiver, Judge, Lucille Ball, Lucy is Her Own Lawyer, Perry Mason, Pinto Colvig, Pluto, Robert E. Blair, Sam Harris, Sheepdog, The Lucy Show, tv, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Vivian Vance - Sam
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Viv Moves Out
S2;E22
~ March 2, 1964
Synopsis
When
Lucy’s economizing leads to an argument between Lucy and Viv, Viv and
Sherman move out and Mr. Mooney insists that she rents Viv’s room to
a nightclub singer and her drummer son who practice at all hours of
the day and night.Regular
Cast
Lucille
Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon
(Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Candy Moore
(Chris Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley)Guest
Cast
Roberta
Sherwood
(Roberta Schaeffer) started
her career, in a vaudeville and nightclub act, with her sister, Anne
Sherwood.
Red
Buttons
became
a fan and brought columnist Walter
Winchell
to
see her; he gave her rave reviews. Soon she was performing in clubs
nationwide and had a contract with Decca
Records.
In November 1956 DJs picked her as the 19th most popular album
artist and #8 on a list of “Most Promising Female
Vocalists.” Sherwood was usually described as a torch
singer;
she appeared on stage in a sweater and glasses, and used a cymbal
held
in her hand for accompaniment (although she does none of those on
this episode). With husband Don Lanning, she had three
sons: Don, Robert and Jerry, performers who all appeared with her on
“The
Donna Reed Show” in 1962.
Robert co-stars with her in this episode of “The Lucy Show.”
Sherwood died in 1999 at the age of 86.
Robert
Lanning (Bob Schaeffer, drummer) was the real-life son of Roberta
Sherwood and brother to Jerry and Don Lanning, also performers. He
mostly appeared alongside his mother, including on “The Donna Reed
Show” (1962) and “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Marl
Young
(Marl, pianist, left, uncredited) formed
a strong professional bond with Lucille
Ball
and
frequently worked as a pianist and arranger on “The Lucy Show”
during the 1960s, including do pre-show studio audience warm-ups. He
later became the music director of “Here’s Lucy” in the
early 1970s. Marl was
the first African-American music director for a major television
network in the United States.Bill
Schaeffer (trombonist, center, uncredited)Two
uncredited actors play the men from the Copacabana.
Roberta
Sherwood,Robert Lanning,
and Gale
Gordon
had
previously co-starred in a 1962 episode of “The Donna Reed Show”
titled “Donna Meets Roberta” that was a possible spin-off titled
“The Roberta Sherwood Show” where the trio played residents of a
boarding house. The plot of that episode (and the possible series)
was similar to this story. In addition to the usual sitcom stories
each episode would feature Roberta Sherwood performing a musical
numbers. If the episode had been picked up for a series, Gale Gordon
would not have been available to portray Mr. Mooney, changing “The
Lucy Show” and Ball and Gordon’s career paths.Lucille
Ball and Roberta Sherwood both are performers with sons who play
drums and both appeared on TV with their mothers. Lucy and Roberta
also both use their own first names in their acting gigs.
In
the opening scene, Jerry and Sherman’s lunchboxes
are on the table, ready to be taken to school. Sherman’s is a by
American Thermos Products Co. featuring US
Navy Submarines
including the USS Seawolf, the USS George Washington and the USS
Skipjack. It was seen in the episode “Vivian Sues Lucy”
(S1;E10). Jerry’s is
a
1961 King Seeley Thermos tin lunchbox featuring images from the
television western “Lawman,”
which
ran on ABC from 1958-1962. It
was featured in “Lucy’s Sister Pays a Visit” (S1;E15).
When
he overhears Lucy and Viv talking about the color of their roots, Mr.
Mooney drily says “Now
only me and your hairdresser know for sure.”
This line is paraphrased from a tremendously popular ad campaign for
Miss Clairol Hair Color Bath that began in 1956. The catchphrase
was “Does
she…or doesn’t she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure.”
The phrase has entered into common parlance and is still recognizable
today.
To
escape the incessant band rehearsals, Jerry says he is going over to
Peter’s house, where everyone is tone deaf. In the next scene he says
he is going over to Randy’s. This is the first mention of Peter and
Randy.
Roberta
and her son are playing in Danfield at the Elm Tree Inn. Ethel
Merman also stayed at the Elm Tree Inn in “Lucy Teaches Ethel
Merman To Sing” (S2;E18).
Roberta’s
signature song is
“(Up a) Lazy River” by
Hoagy
Carmichael
and
Sidney
Arodin,
first published in 1930.
Lucy says that they have rehearsed it 32 times! It is considered a
jazz
and pop standard and
has been recorded by many artists. Bobby Darin took the song to #14
on the charts. This was Roberta Sherwood’s only charting hit,
landing at #57 in 1956.
Roberta
auditions for a gig at the Copacabana in New York City.
The
Copacabana
opened in 1940 at 10 East 60th Street, New York City. The popular
night spot had Brazilian décor and Latin-themed orchestras, although
the menu featured Chinese food. The club was also known for its
chorus line of Copacabana Girls, who had pink hair and elaborate
sequined costumes, mink panties and brassieres, and fruited turbans!
It was mentioned in the very first episode of “I Love Lucy” in
1951, “The Girls Want To Go To A Nightclub” (ILL S1;E1).
Chris
says Les Brown and Stan Kenton both turned down playing at her Junior
Hop. Lester
Raymond “Les” Brown, Sr.
(1912–
2001)
was
a musician,
composer, and big
band
leader
best known for his nearly seven decades of work with the
Les
Brown and His Band of Renown.
Stanley
Newcomb “Stan” Kenton
(1911–
1979)
was a jazz
pianist,
composer,
and arranger
who
led an innovative, influential, and often controversial progressive
jazz
orchestra.
Because
Bob, Bill, and Marl have agreed to play for Chris’s Junior Hop, Lucy
(playing the drums), Mr. Mooney (playing the trombone) and Viv
(playing the piano) must substitute for them at Roberta’s Copa
audition. This is the first time we have seen Lucy Carmichael
attempt to play the drums. Mr. Mooney infers that he was he used to
play the trombone. Vivian has played keyboards several time in the
past, and Ethel Mertz also played the piano.
Roberta
auditions with
“Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” which
is a
popular song published in 1902 with
words and music by Hughie
Cannon (1877–1912).
It is still a standard with Dixieland
and
traditional jazz
bands.Although
Vivian Vance will eventually leave the series, Viv returns to live
with Lucy at the end of this episode.Callbacks!
Having a drummer in the house should be nothing new to Lucy. Both Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy” and Craig Carter on “Here’s Lucy” were drummers!
Just
two episodes earlier, Lucy rented Viv’s room out to another singer,
Ethel Merman, in “Lucy Teaches Ethel Merman How To Sing”
(S2;E18) and “Ethel Merman and the Boy Scout Show” (S2:E19). Coincidentally, Merman also had a failed pilot for a series, “Maggie Brown.”
“Viv Moves Out” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5
1964, Bill Bailey, Bill Schaeffer, Bob Lanning, Candy Moore, CBS, Copacabana, Ethel Merman, Gale Gordon, Jimmy Garrett, Lazy River, Les Brown, Lucille Ball, Lunch Boxes, Marl Young, Miss Clairol, Ralph Hart, Roberta Sherwood, Stan Kenton, The Donna Reed Show, The Lucy Show, tv, Viv Moves Out, Vivian Vance
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