Part 2 ~ The Movies of “The Lucy Show”

Lucille Ball was a famous film star who became one of the biggest TV stars of the 1950s. She continued her trailblazing TV career in the 1960s with “The Lucy Show” where her character, Lucy Carmichael, was a huge film fan. 

~FACTUAL FILMS~ 

“Lucy Goes To a Hollywood Premiere” (1965) 

Lucy is movie mad!  When her plans to go to a Hollywood premiere with Mary Jane fall through, she disguises herself as one of the theatre’s ushers to work the red carpet and get autographs from the celebrities.

Lucy’s movie poster collection includes: Radio City Revels (1938), which was filmed at RKO, the studio that became Desilu; The Overland Express (1938); and Suspicion (1941), another RKO picture.  

Kirk Douglas is introduced as “The star of two great films: ‘The Heroes of Telemark’ and ‘Cast a Giant Shadow.’” The Heroes of Telemark was released in the UK in November 1965, but would not premiere in the US for a month after this episode first aired. One month later (March 30, 1966), Cast a Giant Shadow premiered.

Memorabilia crazy Lucy says she bought a pink chiffon nightgown from Lillian Goodman’s Goodies for $75 that was worn by Doris Day in Pillow Talk (1959).  Mr. Mooney says he wouldn’t buy a second hand nightie if it had been worn by Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot (1959).

“No More Double Dates” (1963) 

Lucy and Harry (Dick Martin) and Viv and Eddie (Don Briggs) can’t agree on where to dine or what movie to see. They decide to pick out of a hat. 

Searching for possible movies to see, Eddie prefers Ben-Hur (1959) at the Ritz over Two for the Seesaw (1962), because you get more actors for your money. Ben-Hur famously had a cast of 30,000. The movie was also mentioned in “Lucy’s Sister Pays a Visit” (1962). Ralph Hart (Viv’s son Sherman) was an extra in Two for the Seesaw. Although the play lived up its title with a cast of two, the film was fleshed out with many more characters. 

Viv wants to see What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962), but Lucy thinks it will be too scary. The film starred Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, who will make a guest appearance on “The Lucy Show” in season 6. Lucy says she wants to see “the Cary Grant picture at the Danfield Theatre.”  She is probably referring to That Touch of Mink (1962). Herschel Graham, an extra in this episode, is also an extra in the film. Lucy notes that movie tickets are $1.50. 

CLEOPATRA ~ “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (1963)

At the Danfield Community Theatre, Lucy lands the plum role of Cleopatra. 

Lucy says she should get the part because she saw the film twelve times. Sarcastically, Viv says “She means the one with Theda Bera.” Lucy is referring to the 20th Century Fox’s 1963 extravaganza Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as Mark Antony. Viv is referring to Cleopatra, a 1917 silent film. All known prints of this film were destroyed in a Fox Studios Fire in 1937. The writers might have also referenced Cecil B. DeMille’s 1934 film Cleopatra starring Claudette Colbert.  

GASLIGHT – “Lucy Gets Mooney Fired” (1967)

Lucy and Mary Jane watch Gaslight  (1944) on TV. Lucy sums up the plot for Mary Jane: “Charles Boyer tries to convince Ingrid Bergman that she is seeing things that aren’t there.” This inspires Lucy to try to make Mr. Cheever think that he is going crazy, much like the plot of the film. The movie was based on Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play Gas Light (known in the United States as Angel Street). It inspired a 1940 British film before the 1944 Hollywood version.

WINGS ~ “Lucy and Carol Burnett: Part 2″ 

Lucy and Carol get their wings as flight attendants and perform a graduation revue about the history of aviation with the stars of the 1927 silent motion picture Wings, Buddy Rodgers and Richard Arlen. The film was the first to win an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1929. 

In Part 1, the in-flight movie unravels, causing Carol and Lucy to do live entertainment in the aisle. 

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA ~ “Lucy the Disc Jockey” (1965)

Listening to the hourglass (egg timer) to win a radio contest, a sleepy Viv makes a joke about hearing Lawrence of Arabia calling for help. Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 epic historical film based on the life of  T.E. Lawrence and taking place mostly in the desert. It won seven Oscars including Best Picture. The film was also mentioned in “Lucy the Stunt Man” (1965). 

GONE WITH THE WIND ~ “Lucy and Robert Goulet” (1967)

When Mr. Mooney helps Chuck Willis (Robert Goulet) get on a horse for his photo, he comments that there probably was not this much trouble making Gone with the Wind. Lucille Ball was considered for the lead role in the 1939 epic, which went to Vivian Leigh (right) instead.  

DANGER IN PARIS ~ “Lucy Dates Dean Martin” (1966)

Lucy admires (and later wears) a red beaded jacket she recognizes as one worn by Audrey Hepburn in Paramount’s 1937 film Danger in Paris (aka Cafe Colette aka K-33). She says it was sent over by Paramount. In reality, Danger in Paris did not star Hepburn and was not released by Paramount. This is likely something Lucille Ball wanted to wear so a story was made up for it.

MILDRED PIERCE ~ “Lucy and the Lost Star” (1968)

Viv calls Joan Mildred Pierce. This was the name of the title character of the 1945 film that won Crawford her only acting Oscar.

GOLDFINGER ~ “Lucy and the Starmaker” (1967)

When Mr. Mooney threatens to send Lucy to Fort Knox to be made into gold bars, Lucy says to Tommy (Frankie Avalon): “Who does he think he is? Goldfinger?” Goldfinger was a James Bond film released in the US in early 1965. 

In “Lucy and the Undercover Agent” (1965) Lucy, Rosie (Ann Sothern), and Mr. Mooney have just seen a James Bond film. Although the title is never mentioned, Goldfinger was released in the USA in January 1965. A few weeks after this episode aired, Thunderball premiered.

~FILM INSPIRATION~

MY FAIR LADY ~ “My Fair Lucy” (1965) 

LUCY: “Rosie, I have a plan. Did you see ‘My Fair Lady’?”

ROSIE: “Yes.” LUCY: “Now listen…” [fade to commercial]

The episode is inspired by My Fair Lady, a 1956 stage musical by Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe that was turned into a major motion picture in 1964. To con a rich couple into funding their charm school, Rosie claims that under her tutelage, she can transform an uncouth, slovenly woman into a refined lady at an elegant soiree. Lucy’s cleaning lady character is named Liza Lumpwhomper. Eliza Doolittle is the name of Audrey Hepburn’s character in My Fair Lady.  

The film starred Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, recreating the role he played on stage. The film won eight Oscars and was phenomenally successful at the box office. It premiered in New York City on October 21, 1964, five weeks before this episode was filmed. In the feature film, a couple of familiar faces from Lucy sitcoms appear: Walter Bacon, George Holmes, Barbara Morrison, Jerry Rush, Bert Stevens, Ben Wrigley, and Lucille Ball’s good friend, Barbara Pepper. Although set in England, the film was shot exclusively in Hollywood.

In 1965′s “Lucy Saves Milton Berle”, Lucy Carmichael disguises herself as a poor flower seller, bearing more than a passing resemblance to Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady. 

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT ~ “Lucy the Camp Cook” (1965)

After Mr. Mooney runs out of gas (because the last filling station didn’t give trading stamps), Lucy and Viv try hitchhiking. Viv says “Let’s give it that old Claudette Colbert try.”  Viv is referring to a scene from the 1934 film It Happened One Night in which Colbert ‘schools’ Clark Gable in how to get a driver to stop by hiking up her skirt above the knee. 

THE KID ~ “Lucy Meets Mickey Rooney” (1966)

In Mickey Rooney’s theatre school recital Lucy plays Charlie Chaplin and Rooney is the Kid. The sketch is inspired by The Kid (1927) a silent classic starring Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. Praising Mickey Rooney, Lucy tells him “Those father and son talks with Judge Hardy helped a lot.” Lucy is referring to Rooney’s portrayal of Andy Hardy in 16 films between 1937 and 1958.

FOLLOW THE FLEET / ROBERTA ~ “Lucy and George Burns” (1966) 

Lucy says that Ginger Rogers is her very favorite star. She describes a film she saw on “The Late Late Show” in which Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers fell in love despite her accidentally kicking him from the chorus line. Lucy is probably describing Follow the Fleet (1936) or Roberta (1935) in which Lucille Ball had supporting roles. Both films were made by RKO, which became Desilu Studios.

~FICTIONAL FILMS~

“Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere” (1965)

Dimitri Orloff (Sid Gould) is the composer of “I Left My Kidney with Dr. Sidney,” the theme song from the film Doctors and Nurses A-Go-Go.

Mimi Van Tysen (Beverly Powers) and Coconuts (George Barrows) are stars of the Love in the Jungle.

“Lucy and the Monsters” (1966)

Lucy tells Viv that Jerry and Sherman are at the State Theater to see the double-feature The Surfing Werewolf and The Eggplant That Ate Philadelphia, both made-up horror films. Their worries about the effect of the horror films on their boys leads them to have a shared horror film dream. 

“Lucy Meets the Berles” (1967)

To earn extra money Lucy takes a job working as a secretary for Milton Berle. When Lucy hears overhears him rehearsing a love scene with Ruta Lee, she jumps to the conclusion that he is being unfaithful to his wife.  The film they are rehearsing is titled The Friendly Skies, although the script he holds is titled The Friendly Sky. 

“Lucy and the French Movie Star” (1967) 

Lucy says she saw Jacques DuPre (Jacques Bergerac) in the film Kisses at Dawn where he did his own stunts playing a lion tamer. He even goes so far as to demonstrate, using an office chair and a whip (Lucy’s raincoat belt) with Lucy acting as the lion. When Mr. Mooney bursts in and sees the reenactment, he jumps to the conclusion that Lucy is attacking DuPre, instead of the other way around!  

“Lucy the Stunt Man” (1965) / “The Return of Iron Man” (1965) / “Lucy and Bob Crane” (1966)

In all three episodes, Lucy makes extra money appearing in films as gruff stunt man Iron Man Carmichael. The title of the films go unmentioned, but in Iron Man’s first outing he is in a barroom brawl in a Western. In his return he is shot out of a canon in a Pirate movie. And when she meets Bob Crane she parachutes in during a World War One epic resembling “Hogan’s Heroes”, Crane’s hit series filmed at Desilu Studios. 

~FILM HOMAGE~

DANCE, GIRL, DANCE ~ “Lucy the Gun Moll” (1966)

In an “Untouchables” parody, Federal Agent Briggs (Robert Stack) is in the dressing room of Rusty (Lucille Ball). Behind Stack is a photo of Lucy singing “Jitterbug Bite” in the 1940 film Dance, Girl, Dance. Ball met Desi Arnaz while filming this movie. It was filmed at RKO, the studio that became Desilu, producer of “The Untouchables”. 

Part 1 ~ The Movies of “I Love Lucy”

When “I Love Lucy” premiered in 1951, Lucille Ball was a bona fide movie star. By contrast, her creation Lucy Ricardo was a fan – idolizing film stars and Hollywood. 

~FACTUAL FILMS~ 

THE TALL MEN ~ “Lucy Visits Graumans” (1955) 

Other than this establishing shot, there is no mention of the film, which starred Clark Gable and Jane Russell. “Lucy” actors Will Wright and Harry Shannon were also in the cast. It premiered at Graumans on September 22, 1955. 

BLOOD ALLEY ~ “Lucy and John Wayne” (1955)

The film is promoted by Wayne approving of a large poster of the film, which co-starred Lauren Bacall. 

SABRINA ~ “Getting Ready” (1954)

LUCY: (on the phone) “Would you like me to give a message to any of the gang out there? You know, Clark or Cary or Van or Marlon? Oh, all right. (writing) Tell Bill Holden that Marion Van Vlack saw ‘Sabrina’ five times!”

Sabrina is a 1954 romantic comedy-drama directed by Billy Wilder, based on Samuel A. Taylor’s play Sabrina Fair. In addition to Holden, the movie starred Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. “I Love Lucy” character actors Ellen Corby and Nancy Kulp play supporting roles.

THE COUNTRY GIRL ~ “L.A. at Last” (1955) 

William Holden promotes his latest film co-starring Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. Also in the cast were “Lucy” actors Sarah Selby, Frank J. Scanell, Gene Reynolds, Paul Fix, and Harold Miller. 

THE BIG COMBO ~ “The Star Upstairs” (1955)

Cornel Wilde promotes his latest film co-starring Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, and Alan Wallace. Also in the cast were “Lucy” actors Jack Chefe and William Conaty. 

A PRIZE OF GOLD ~ “The Tour” (1955) 

Richard Widmark promotes his latest film, his first for Columbia Pictures. 

CAMILLE ~ “The Dancing Star” (1955)

While singing “How About You” with Van Johnson, Lucy mentions the 1936 film Camille, which starred Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor. Although Taylor never appeared on the series, Lucy claims to have met him at the Farmer’s Market and gotten his autograph on an orange. As for Van Johnson, he appeared with Lucy and Desi in Too Many Girls (1940) and with Ball in Easy To Wed (1946).  

There are several other mentions of the film throughout the series, but it is unclear if they are referring to the character from the Dumas fils book and play or the film. This is also true of Gone With The Wind. 

CAPTAIN LIGHTFOOT ~ “In Palm Springs” (1955)

Guest star Rock Hudson promotes his latest film co-starring Barbara Rush and Jeff Morrow. 

THE SHEIK ~ “The Hedda Hopper Story” (1955)

MRS. MCGILLICUDDY: “Oh, and I must see the house where Rudolph Valentino lived. Oh, I’ll never forget him in The Sheik. (sings) I’m the Sheik of Araby. Your love belongs to me…”

LUCY: “You know, they’re grooming Ricky to be another Rudolph Valentino.”

MRS. MCGILLICUDDY: “Ricky? Ricky who?”

RICKY: “Ricky me. That’s who.”

MRS. MCGILLICUDDY: “You? (mocking laugh) Why, you’re not fit to touch the hem of his bernouse!”

THE IRON PETTICOAT ~ “Lucy and Bob Hope” (1956)

As Hope enters Yankee Stadium, a young fan (David Saber) asks him for an autograph. Before granting it, he asks the boy “Have you seen my latest picture, ‘The Iron Petticoat?’”  The boy eagerly replies, “Yes, sir.”  However, the film, co-starring Katherine Hepburn, didn’t premiere in the USA until early January 1957, three months after this episode aired. It was produced and directed by Ralph and Betty! Not the Ramseys, but Betty Box and Ralph Thomas. Hope had appeared in two films with Lucille Ball, and would do two more. 

LIFEBOAT ~ “The Celebrity Next Door” (1957) 

Ethel gushes to Tallulah Bankhead that she saw her in Lifeboat (1944). 

SAYONARA ~ “The Ricardos Go To Japan” (1959)

Trying to be savvy about Japanese customs, Lucy says she sat through Sayonara twice. The 1957 film details a romance between an Air Force pilot (Marlon Brando) and a Japanese woman (Miyoshi Umeki), winning four Oscars.

FOREVER DARLING ~ “Ricky’s European Booking” (1955) 

The episode features the Pied Pipers singing the title song from Lucy and Desi’s upcoming fantasy film featuring James Mason. 

At the end of the original broadcast of “Bon Voyage”, there was a tag scene to promote the film (and record). Although cut for syndication, the DVD restores this tag scene. Lucy and Desi [or is it Ricky?] are seen sitting in deck chairs.

LUCY: “Did you see the ship’s newspaper? They just raved about your new MGM record of ‘Forever, Darling.’ They said it’s gonna be one of the top records of the year. Let’s get them to play it on the public address system. I know how modest you are, but think what a treat it would be for the passengers.”

SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS ~ “Lucy in the Swiss Alps” (1956)

LUCY:“You remember that picture ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’? Somebody shot a pistol and it caused a great, big avalanche.”

After getting trapped by an avalanche, Ethel asks “How’d they get out in ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’? Lucy replies that “They waited for the spring thaw!”

~FICTIONAL FILMS~

DON JUAN

The film that takes Ricky Ricardo to Hollywood is mentioned in dozens of episodes. 

“Don Juan is all about love. It’s got nothing to do with marriage.” ~ “Don Juan and the Starlets” (1955)

SIGNORA LORENZO: “Hark! Do I hear a footfall? Is that you, Don Juan?”

DON JUAN: “Yes, it is I, O lovely one. Would that I had the power to tell you what is in my heart tonight.”

SIGNORA LORENZO: “What do you mean, my dearest?”

DON JUAN: “I have come to say farewell.“

SIGNORA LORENZO: “No, say not so.”

DON JUAN: “Would that I could ask you to fly with me, but I know that you’re devoted to your husband, Count Lorenzo.”

SIGNORA LORENZO: “Yes, much as I love you, I must stay with him. He is old and feeble and he needs me.”

DON JUAN: “But for him, I would sweep you into my arms and carry you over yon garden wall.”

SIGNORA LORENZO: “Oh, that I could cut these ties that bind me!”

DON JUAN: “Do not cry, my dearest. It was not meant to be. I had no right to win your heart. I had no chance to win your love. So, now, I’m afraid I must say farewell.”

Lucy reads that Variety reports that Ricky’s Don Juan is scheduled to have a $3 million budget and be filmed in color. Errol Flynn played Don Juan in Adventures of Don Juan in 1948, which was also in color and budgeted at 3.5 million dollars. Douglas Fairbanks played the character in 1934, and John Barrymore was in a 1926 version that featured a young Hedda Hopper, before she turned to journalism.

MOON OVER BAGHDAD ~ “The Mustache” (1952)

A talent scout (John Brown) is casting a new film called Moon Over Baghdad, an Arabian nights-style Technicolor extravaganza. This is the first time we get a hint of Ricky’s movie aspirations, which will eventually take the foursome to Hollywood in season 4. Through tenuous connections (“My agent has a friend whose brother-in-law knows the talent scout’s wife.”), Ricky, Lucy (beard concealed), and the Mertzes all vie for his consideration. In the final scene, Lucy has finally managed to remove her whiskers and Ricky lands a screen test for the film, although we never hear anything about it again, even when he tests for Don Juan in season 4.  There’s also an offer for Lucy.

LUCY: “I don’t care what they pay me. I am not going to play the part of your father!”

WOMEN FROM MARS ~ “Lucy is Envious” (1953) 

Lucy and Ethel make money to fulfill a pledge by doing a stunt for an upcoming film, Women from Mars. The plot was most likely inspired by the 1953 film The War of the Worlds which is also about a Martian invasion. Two days before this episode aired, a British film called Devil Girl from Mars hit US cinemas. Also hitting the big screen in 1953 was Invaders From Mars, which featured Hillary Brooke (“The Fox Hunt”) and Richard Deacon (“The Celebrity Next Door”). America had Martian madness!

BITTER GRAPES ~ “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (1956)

On the train to Rome, Lucy is eyed by Vittorio Philippi (Franco Corsaro). Taking the title literally, Lucy investigates the wine-making business, leading to one of the funniest scenes in television history as Lucy stomps grapes. 

After a tussel in the vat, Lucy proves to ‘blue’ for the role – a typical American tourist – which goes to Ethel instead. Lucy one bitter grape! 

TROPICAL RHYTHMS ~ “Home Movies” (1954)

Ricky creates an audition film for a television project. Then Lucy and the Mertzes add their own home movie (a Western) to create a very chaotic film. 

GUYS & DOLLS ~ “Lucy and the Dummy” (1955)

When the episode was running short, a preview clip of the upcoming MGM film musical starring Frank Sinatra was inserted into the Executive Show sequence. After one airing, the sequence was removed and has never been restored. The morning after the original broadcast, fans phoned a bewildered Sinatra to tell him he was on “I Love Lucy” last night – which he knew nothing about! 

~UNMENTIONED TITLES~

Un-Titled Florida Project ~ “Desert Island” (1956)

Ricky announces that he’s going to be in a film about the history of the state of Florida. The movie will feature Claude Akins (as a giant native), Joi Lansing and Jil Jarman. Ricky says he will appear in the ‘modern’ scenes playing with his band in the hotel nightclub. In real life, Desi Arnaz got his start in showbusiness in a Florida nightclub.

CLUNY BROWN ~ “The Fox Hunt” (1956) 

A few seconds of establishing stock footage of Berkshire Manor was taken from the 1938 Ernst Lubitch film Cluny Brown, which was filmed by 20th Century Fox in a Hollywood studio, but takes place in England. In the film, the home is named Friars Carmel Manor, but with the exception of the lettering bearing the name, the footage is identical.

STAGE DOOR ~ “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (1956)

LUCY: “The calla lilies are in bloom again.”

This is a quote from Stage Door (1937), which Lucille Ball always called her ‘big break’. It was Katherine Hepburn’s first line in the play within the film, and was repeated throughout the movie. Ball always admired Hepburn, and it is possible the writers included the line as an homage to her.

BUS STOP ~ “Lucy and Superman” (1957) 

The Appleby’s come over for a social evening. As the scene opens, Caroline is in mid-sentence talking about a film.  

CAROLINE: “And he picked up Marilyn Monroe, slung her over his shoulder and carried her off!”

Although the title is never mentioned, the film they are discussing is Bus Stop, starring Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray. It was released in August 1956, two and a half months before this episode was filmed. Frequent “Lucy” character actor Hans Conried has a featured role in the film.

HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE ~ “Changing the Boys Wardrobe” (1953)

The gang is heading to the movies to see “That picture we’ve been trying to get to for weeks with Marilyn Monroe.” The movie is either Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which premiered in New York City in July 1953, or How To Marry A Millionaire, which premiered (just in Los Angeles) one day after this episode was filmed.

ETHEL: “Wasn’t that a wonderful dress she had on in the big number?”  

Both films were musicals, so this doesn’t narrow it down very much. In either case, it is likely that the title goes unmentioned because Lucy and Desi had just filmed The Long, Long Trailer for MGM Studios and How To Marry a Millionaire and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes were 20th Century Fox pictures.

~FILM INSPIRATIONS~

MURDER AT THE VANITIES ~ “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (1955)

Lucy finally gets a part as a murdered showgirl in an (un-named) Hollywood movie directed by Ricky’s friend Frank Williams (Lou Krugman). The film may have been inspired by 1934′s Murder at the Vanities, in which Lucille Ball had an uncredited role as a showgirl.

THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR ~ “The Kleptomaniac” (1952)

Under hypnosis (and with a knowing wink to Ethel), Lucy reverts to childhood, with a story and a voice doubtlessly influenced by Ginger Rogers in the 1942 film The Major and the Minor. 

LUCY: “It all started when I was a little girl. I was riding on the streetcar one day and I looked up and I saw a box and it said, ‘take one.’ So I took one. From then on, I took anything that came into my pretty head even though it didn’t say ‘take one.’  I took a bright new penny. I took a bicycle. I took a little boy. But my mother made me give him back.“

DUCK SOUP ~ “Lucy and Harpo Marx” (1955) 

The mirror routine between Lucy and Harpo was first performed by Groucho in Duck Soup (1933). Lucille Ball and Harpo had appeared together in Room Service in 1938 for RKO Studios. 

DANCE, GIRL, DANCE ~ “Bullfight Dance” (1955)

The final look for Lucy’s bull costume was no doubt inspired by Ferdinand the Bull, the story of the bull who’d rather pick flowers, than face the picador.  The character was integral to the story of Lucille Ball’s 1940 film Dance, Girl, Dance.

GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES ~ “Second Honeymoon” (1956)

The plot of this episode very closely follows the adventures of Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe) in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In common with this episode and the film is extra Monty O’Grady, who played a passenger on both vessels!  Also look for “I Love Lucy” actors Norma Varden (Mrs. Benson in “The Ricardos Change Apartments”), Elliott Reid (Edward Warren from “Face To Face”), and Bennett Green (Desi’s stand-in and veteran background player).

Lorelei’s dinner companion turns out to be a seven year-old boy, just like Lucy’s ping pong partner turns out to be young Kenneth Hamilton played by nine year-old Harvey Grant.

Lucy gets stuck in a porthole just as Lorelei did, also draping a blanket around her shoulders so passersby wouldn’t know what was really going on.

~FILM FUNNIES~

“Ricky Needs an Agent” (1955)

Trying to suggest possible film projects for Ricky, Lucy insert him into the titles of some of Hollywood’s best-known movies:

• “Ricky, Son of Flicka” / Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1945)
• “A Streetcar Named Ricardo” / A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
• “Gone With the Cuban Wind” / Gone With the Wind (1939)
• “Three Cubans in a Fountain” / Three Coins in the Fountain (1945)
• “It Happened One Noche” / It Happened One Night (1934)
• “Seven Brides for Seven Cubans” / Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
• “Meet Me in St. Ricky” / Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
• “The Ricardos of Wimpole Street” / The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957)
• “Andy Hardy Meets the Conga Player” / Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
• “Arsenic and Old Ricky” / Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

The Restaurants & Eateries of the Lucyverse ~ Part 3

 Eating out brought Lucy to a wide variety of dining spots: sit down resaurants, diners, cafés and lunch counters are all here – in Lucy’s Dining Guide!

Bradshawe Building Coffee Shop 

The Unique Employment Agency was located in the Bradshawe Building in Los Angeles, which had its own coffee shop, complete with counter service, booths, and tables. The eatery was featured in several episodes. Sid Gould played the regular waiter. 

Yang Sing Ching  ~ “Lucy’s Birthday” (1968)

Kim and Craig take their mother out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The (unseen) proprietor is named Irving. They even have matzoh ball soup on the menu. The waiters sing “Happy Birthday” to Lucy in Chinese. 

Pierre’s Restaurant ~ “Lucy’s Working Daughter” (1968)

To help Kim with her new job at a dress shop, Lucy turns fashion model, crashing a luncheon sponsored by Modern Miss Boutique.

The Theme Room at LAX  ~ “Lucy and the Great Airport Chase” (1969)

The Carters have lunch at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at the Theme Room (later Encounter), a real-life circular restaurant located atop the iconic Theme building. 

HARRY:“That was an excellent meal. Those were the best sand dabs I’ve ever had.”  

The Brown Derby ~ “Lucy and Johnny Carson” (1969) 

After playing Stump the Band on “The Tonight Show” Lucy wins a dinner for two at the Brown Derby. There she runs into Johnny and Ed McMahon.  In an homage to the classic “I Love Lucy” episode also set at the Brown Derby, Lucy manages to cause a tray of drinks to be spilled on Carson. 

Murphy’s Pizza Parlor ~ “Lucy and the Generation Gap” (1969)

The episode opens with Kim, Craig and their friends planning the school musical at a pizza place operated by an Irish Asian named Murphy Irving Wong (Victor Seng Yung). 

Café George ~ “Lucy and Wally Cox” (1970)

Lucy agrees to meet the son of Harry’s friend, Wally, who is afraid of girls. Harry also meets his father and old friend Moose at the same restaurant. 

Cafeteria ~ “Lucy Competes with Carol Burnett” (1970) 

Lucy and Carol meet at a cafeteria for lunch, where they plan to enter the Secretary Beautiful Contest representing their respective workplaces. 

Café ~ “Lucy and Jack Benny’s Biography” (1970)

Lucy recreates all the women in Jack Benny’s life. In the second flashback, set in 1915, Jack is in the navy and is smitten by Zelda (Lucy), a waitress at a café. 

The Red Devil ~ “Lucy and Ma Parker” (1970)

Lucy impersonates a femaile master criminal, confronting mobsters Joe Grapefruit and Muggsy at the Red Devil, which is mostly a bar, but also serves grapefruit!

Chez Moi ~ “Lucy Stops a Marriage” (1970)

At a French bistro, Lucy spies on Harry when he dines with Laura Trenton (Jayne Meadows), believing he is headed to the alter. Harry order imported champagne – imported from Fresno!  

Waikiki Dining Room on the S.S. Lurline ~ “Lucy Goes Hawaiian: Part 1″ (1971)

Lucy volunteers to assist Harry as cruise director on a ship bound for Hawaii. Viv, Kim and Craig come along. Although recreated on the Paramount lot, the ship was real, as was the Waikiki Dining Room. 

Country Club Restaurant ~ “Lucy’s Bonus Bounces” (1971)

Harry meets his analyst Dr. Cunningham (Parley Baer) at the Country Club for lunch. Cunningham orders an iced tea and Harry has half a cantaloupe – which he absent-mindedly pours catsup on! 

Harry’s Favorite Restaurant ~ “Lucy Makes a Few Extra Dollars” (1971) 

To teach Harry a lesson, Lucy takes Harry to lunch and has Kim wait on him. She is making 40 cents an hour. Lucy orders a hamburger and iced tea. Harry’s usual is a salad – which Kim spills all over him – deliberately.  She then dumps an ice cold glass of iced tea in his lap! 

Chasen’s ~ “Lucy and Eva Gabor are Hospital Roomies” (1972)  

In the hospital Gabor’s assistant Walter (R.G. Brown) brings Eva’s dinner on a silver tray. He says it was prepared especially for her by Chasen’s, a real-life West Hollywood restaurant frequented by entertainers. It first opened in 1936 and closed for good on April 1, 1995. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were regulars and had their own private booth there. No scenes are set there. 

Schwab’s Drug Store ~ “The Case of the Reckless Wheelchair Driver” (1972)

Kim says she saw Billy Joe Jackson (Jim Bates) at Schwab’s. Schwab’s Pharmacy was a drug store located on Sunset Boulevard and was a popular hangout for wannabe movie actors from the 1930’s through the 1950’s. Schwab’s had a soda fountain serving ice cream and light meals. It is Hollywood legend that actress Lana Turner was discovered at Schwab’s. Schwab’s closed its doors in October 1983 and five years later was demolished. Schwab’s was mentioned on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Wants to Get Into Pictures” (1955). 

Hotel Showroom ~ “Lucy and Donny Osmond” (1972)

Lucy’s niece Patricia (Eve Plumb) is a Donny Osmond fan. He is performing at the Hotel Showroom where he later orders a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk, even though the chef reccommends the escargot (snails). As a souvenir, Lucy takes the menu… and the ashtray… and the matches… and the flowers… and the vase… and the sugar cubes! 

Persian Restaurant ~ “Lucy and Her Prince Charming” (1972) 

Lucy is dating a handsome man (Ricardo Montalban) who turns out to be royalty. When Harry finds out that the Prince is in love with Lucy, he’ll stop at nothing to get the two married – including masquerading as a fortune teller during their date at a Persian-themed restaurant.     

Villa Roma  ~ “Lucy’s Last Blind Date” (1973)

When Harry finds out his cousin Ben (Don Knotts) is rich and single, he wants Lucy to go on a blind date with him. 

BEN (to Lucy, about the menu): “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this is all in a foreign language.” 

LUCY: “It’s Italian. You kinda have to expect that in a restaurant called the Villa Roma.”

Much of the episode also takes place at the Bradshawe Building Coffee Shop (see the first entry above). 

The Proud Penguin ~ “Lucy and the Franchise Fiasco” (1973) 

The Proud Penguin is a frozen custard stand on Citrus Boulevard across the street from the Los Angeles Zoo. Lucy and Mary Jane are partners in the business. The episodes also features scenes set in the Bradshawe Building Coffee Shop and on the dining terrace of the Westland Country Club, where a dinner of a whole albacore tuna is destroyed by baby penguins!  

Refreshment Stand at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ~ “Lucy and the Big Game” (1973)

Lucy and Harry recieve tickets to a football game between the USC ‘Trojans’ and the University of Oklahoma ‘Sooners’. Two visiting team fans (Cliff Norton and Al Checco) pass by singing the title song of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Although the Coliseum is a real place, the gate area was recreated on a Paramount soundstage. 

Restaurant ~ “Lucy and Andy Griffith” (1973) 

Lucy has coffee with Andy Johnson (Andy Griffith) to talk about his work with underprivileged youth. In the next scene, Kim and Harry meet at the same restaurant and sit in the same booth!  The red booths used in the episode were also seen in the Bradshawe Building Coffee Shop.

Dirty Jack’s Paradise Café ~ “Where is My Wandering Mother Tonight?” (1974)

While staying with Kim at her new apartment, Lucy decides to give her and her boyfriend some alone time and visits a nearby tropical-themed café where she drinks coffee and talks to the owner (Jack O’Brien). The famous red booths are back! 

Harvey’s Welcome Inn ~ “Lucy Fights the System” (1974)

To prove that a waitress Mary was let go because of her age, Kim goes undercover as a new hire. She deliberately turns the restaurant upside down to prove how capable Mary was. This is the last episode of the series. Fittingly, Harry gets a pie in the face. 

“I knew it would end like this.”

The Restaurants & Eateries of the Lucyverse ~ Part 2

Eating out brought Lucy to a wide variety of dining spots: sit down resaurants, diners, cafés and lunch counters are all here – in Lucy’s Dining Guide!

The Cavalier Restaurant ~ “Lucy is a Kangaroo for a Day” (1962)

When Lucy’s knit dress unravels, she has no choice but to don a kangaroo costume to deliver important papers to a fancy restaurant. A bowl of onion soup is spilled in her pouch! 

The Elm Tree Inn ~ “Chris’s New Year’s Eve Party” (1962) 

While Chris has a party for her teenage friends, Lucy and Viv bring their sons to the Elm Tree Inn for dinner and dancing. The boys especially enjoy the ice cream sundaes. 

When Chris’s party is a dud, Lucy, Viv and Harry (Dick Martin) come to the rescue with entertainment, a silent movie sketch featuring Charlie Chaplin at a café. 

The Pink Pheasant ~ “No More Double Dates” (1963)

When Lucy and Viv double date, there’s an argument about where to dine and the couples split up, fibbing about their plans. Harry suggests going to Tony DiBello’s for Italian food. DiBello’s will be featured in “Lucy Meets a Millionaire” (1964). Viv suggests The Country Kitchen in Ridgebury. Eddie wants to dine where George Washington slept – the 300 year-old Colonial Inn. Lucy makes one more suggestion: The Café Tambourine, which is probably a gypsy tea room.

Naturally they end up at the same classy restaurant: The Pink Pheasant. So that Viv and Eddie (Don Briggs) don’t discover their deception, Lucy hides under the table. [The Pink Pheasant restaurant is really just a re-dressed version of The Cavalier, a restaurant seen earlier in the season in “Lucy Is A Kangaroo for a Day”. They even use the same chairs!] 

Wilbur’s Ice Cream Parlor ~ “Lucy is a Soda Jerk” (1963)

When Chris can’t make it to work at Wilbur’s Ice Cream Parlor, Lucy and Viv fill in. While Lucy works the counter, Viv handles table service, waiting on patrons played by James Gonzales and Desi Arnaz Jr.

Charlie’s Café ~ “Lucy Visits the White House” (1963)

When the train to Washington DC stops in Greenview, Lucy darts into a trackside café to steal their sugar cubes to rebuld the model of the White House her cub scouts are bringing to President Kennedy. Charlie’s menu includes coffee, sundaes, hamburgers, and bacon & tomato sandwiches. 

Tony DiBello’s ~ “Lucy Meets a Millionaire” (1964) 

Lucy’s dates Umberto Fabrini, an Italian millionaire who doesn’t speak English. Naturally, he takes her to an Italian restaurant – Tony DiBello’s. Tony is played by Jay Novello. Novello is associated with Italian food having played Mario, the “Visitor from Italy” turned pizza chef on “I Love Lucy.”

Umberto (Cesare Danova) orders Tortellini Bolognese, which – thanks to Lucy – ends up in his lap!  

Fleeing the restaurant to make a phone call, Lucy and Mr. Mooney pass an un-named café . 

Four Corners Café ~ “Lucy and Viv Open a Restaurant” (1964) 

The abandoned and run down café offers Raviola (another name for ravioli) and has a Sugar Bowl Special. 

Despite their renovations, the café fails to bring in any customers. To rescue their investment, Lucy and Viv hastily reinvent their investment.

LUCY: “How about making it a Spanish restaurant?”

VIV: “Great! How about calling it El Fiasco.”

They settle on a Gypsy Tea Room, serving Hungarian fare.

OLGA the COOK: “Push the Hungarian goulash.” 

When the Gypsy Tea Room doesn’t work out, they transform it into The Colonial Inn, an Early American themed restaurant, complete with the George and Martha as greeters (aka Lucy and Viv).

OLGA the COOK: “Push the Yankee Pot Roast.”

Danfield Train Depot Snack Bar ~ “Lucy is a Process Server” (1964)

The chalkboard says they offer Roast Beef Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, and Hamburgers. Stafford Repp plays the bored counterman. Mr. Mooney orders a hot dog and accidentally squirts himself with mustard. [Oops! Gale Gordon actually is eating a hamburger, not a hot dog.]

Restaurant ~ “Lucy the Meter Maid” (1964) & “Lucy the Coin Collector” (1964)

The streets of Danfield featured these same no-name restaurant windows. 

The Park Royal Restaurant ~ “Lucy Meets Danny Kaye” (1964) 

Lucy pursues the star into a fancy restaurant, where she succeeds in dumping a tray of food on his head! 

Coffee Shop ~ “Lucy and the Ceramic Cat” (1965) 

After shopping for sales at Bigelow’s, Lucy and Viv duck into a coffee shop for a cup of tea. They run into Mr. Mooney, who is having liver for lunch. 

The Golden Greek ~ “Lucy and The Golden Greek” (1965)

Lucy and Mary Jane double date at a Greek restaurant. Lucy’s date Howard suggests the moussaka. Lucy thinks he is talking about the musicians!

International Supper Club ~ “Lucy and the Undercover Agent” (1965) 

After seeing a James Bond movie, Mr. Mooney takes Lucy and the Countess (Ann Sothern) for dinner at a fancy restaurant. There Lucy sees a man she believes to be a spy. 

Seafood House ~ “Lucy and Bob Crane” (1966)

Crane takes “simple and unassuming” Lucy out for a lobster dinner at a “simple and unassmuing” restaurant decorated in a nautical theme. Crane orders them both lobster. 

LUCY: “Lobster is so ‘simple and unassuming’.” 

The Studio Café ~ “Lucy and John Wayne” (1966)

While Wayne is filming a movie, Lucy has lunch with him at the commissary. Thanks to Lucy, Wayne ends up with a face full of catsup! 

Hamburger Hovel ~ “Lucy Visits Viv” (1966)

To find a wayward Danfield boy, Lucy and Viv visit the Sunset Strip, where they search a biker bar. Motorcycles are parked in front of a burger joint called Hamburger Hovel, home of the original Bikerburger!  The eatery’s name is a pun on the real-life Hamburger Haven on Santa Monica Boulevard. 

Doc Putnam’s Drug Store ~ “Main Street U.S.A.” & “Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map” (1967)

In Bancroft, Lucy and Mel (Mel Torme) order two Strawberry Ice Cream Sodas (Mel: “In a clean glass”). Doc Porter is played by Paul Winchell. 

Restaurant ~ “Lucy Meets the Law” (1967)

After shopping (and before getting arrested), Lucy and Mary Jane pass by an un-named restaurant on their way to the bus stop.

Phil’s Fatboy Burgers ~ “Lucy Gets Involved” (1968)

Lucy takes a part-time job as a carhop at a drive-in burger joint where she must deliver food on roller skates!  Lucy’s boss, Mr. Burton, is played by Jackie Coogan. 

The Dining Room of the Lafayette Men’s Club ~ “Lucy Meets Sid Caesar” (1968)

Lucy order. chicken cacciatore, baked lasagna and broccoli with Hollandaise sauce. Mr. Mooney orders roast turkey with oyster dressing, apple fritters, candied yams, and homemade cornbread. Sid Caesar (aka Frankie the Forger) orders cottage cheese and skim milk – because he’s on a diet. 

BONUS RESTAURANT(S)

“The Danny Kaye Show” (1962) 

In this Emmy Award-winning special, Kaye and Ball play three couples visiting three themed restaurants of different cuisines: Japanese, French, and Tahitian.

Kaye introduces all three sketches as himself. The first sketch is done without dialogue. At a Japanese Restaurant, Lucy has trouble with chopsticks, a bowl of fried noodles, and lychees. 

In the second sketch, this time with dialogue, co-workers Miss Naomi Dinsmore (Lucy) and Charlie(Kaye), are on a first date at an elegant French Restaurant.

Kaye: “Where the menu is in French, and the waiters are in French, and the prices are insane. The food is not only in French, but in Brandy, Cognac, and pure alcohol.  You can get drunk just by breathing the napkin.”

Lastly, married couple the Andersons go to a tropical restaurant named The Tahitian Typhoon.  

Kaye: “These are usually, the most exotic, the most authentic, the most uncomfortable, and… the most popular.”

It lives up to its name when a sudden downpour drenches the couple. On the way through the tropical foliage, Mrs. Anderson steps in quicksand.  

Mr. Anderson: “Don’t struggle, you’ll only sink faster. I learned that in the Amazon.” 

Mrs. Anderson: “The Amazon?” 

Mr. Anderson: “Yeah, it’s a restaurant in Cleveland.”

Refusing to pay the check since they didn’t eat anything, the angry tribal maître d’ claps his hands, mutters an incantation, and shrinks the Andersons to pygmy size!  

Look for Part 3 of LUCY’S DINING GUIDE

The Restaurants & Eateries of the Lucyverse ~ Part 1

Eating out brought Lucy to a wide variety of dining spots: Sit down resaurants, diners, cafés and lunch counters are all here – in Lucy’s Dining Guide!  

The Corner Drugstore ~ “Fred and Ethel Fight” (1952) /  “The Gossip” (1952) / “Redecorating” (1952)

Drugstores of the time frequently had lunch counters serving light fare such as ice cream sodas, milk shakes, egg creams, pies, and coffee.   

In “Fred and Ethel Fight” Ricky orders a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while  Fred orders a grape juice. 

The drugstore is seen again in “The Gossip” Fred drinks coffee and Ricky just reads the newspaper. In “Redecorating” Fred orders a double malted from soda jerk Hazel. 

Jubilee Club aka The Roof Garden ~ “Lucy Changes Her Mind” (1953)

The restaurant specializes in steaks, roast beef, and chops (”Pork chops, huh?”) as well as…

…breadsticks!  Lucy not only can’t decide where to sit, but what to order. 

WAITER: “Now, let’s see if I’ve got this straight. Lamb chops for you, sirloin steak for you, pork chops for you, pork chops for you… and a new eraser for me.”

Corner Coffee Shop ~ “Lucy and Fred Are TV Fans” (1953)

Lucy and Ethel duck into a corner coffee shop to make a phone call. The special of the day is Franks & Potato Salad and Tomato Soup. 

The menu board says they serve such diner fare as waffles, corned beef, French dip, Pork & Beans, plate lunch, toasted cheese, pie, and cake. They serve a variety of  sandwiches: Roast Beef, Ham & Cheese, Grilled Cheese, and Ham & Lettuce. Don’t forget cigarettes! 

French Restaurant ~ “The French Revue” (1953) 

Since nobody speaks fluent French, they all end up bluffing and stalling, finally requesting four orders of “closed on Sundays.” The only English on the menu is ‘Acme Printing Company’ (a Union shop, according to Fred). 

WAITER: “La specialite de la maison: un petit roti, des petits pois,”

Translation: “The specials of the house are small roast meats, peas, and some sort of fried potatoes.”

Italian Restaurant on 39th Street near 8th Avenue ~ “Equal Rights” (1953)

Ricky and Fred order meatballs, spaghetti, pizza, and coffee, with Fred ordering a green salad as well. Lucy and Ethel order steaks with spaghetti on the side. Lucy wants hers medium rare; Ethel orders hers well done. Ricky and Fred shave at the table to teach the girls a lesson about equal rights.

WAITER: “Something more for you? More coffee, dessert … after-shave lotion?”

When Lucy and Ethel can’t pay their half of the bill, they are forced to wash dishes, giving viewers a look at the restaurant’s kitchen. 

Bill’s Place / Little Bit of Cuba / Big Hunk of America ~ “The Diner” (1954)

The gang purchase a neighborhood diner but can’t agree on how to run it.  

The Little Bit of Cuba special is a hamburger patty smothered in Tabasco sauce and mashed banana between two tortillas.

RICKY: “We’re gonna have arroz con pollo, frijoles, paella, everything.”

Big Hunk of America serves up hamburgers, coffee, hot dogs, hotcakes, and of course pie!

Fred shares some diner lingo. 

• “Adam and Eve on a raft – wreck ’em!” (scrambled eggs on toast)
• “Walk a cow past the stove and don’t cry over it!” (a rare hamburger without onions) or – as Ricky interprets it – “Bring the bull in the ring and laugh in its face!”
• “There’s a gambler in the house!” (hash)

“The Diner” and the “The Black Wig” (see below) had their filming and broadcast order switched so that set for Bill’s Diner ended up becoming the set for Tony’s Restaurant. The wooden ice boxes were used in both sets, as well as in “Equal Rights” (see above). 

Tony’s ~ “The Black Wig” (1954) 

When Ricky doesn’t recognize Lucy with her new wig, she arranges a date with him at Tony’s, a small Italian eatery, bringing along a disguised Ethel as a date for Fred. The telltale signs of Italian American cuisine are the checkered tablecloths, breadsticks and chianti bottles. The waiter at Tony’s is played by Louis A. Nicoletti. 

One Oak Café ~ “First Stop” (1955) 

Driving through Ohio on the way to Hollywood, the gang are famished and forced to stop at One Oak Café. Their outdated menu offers such mouth-watering fare as steak sandwiches with French fries and coleslaw, roast beef with baked potato, and fried chicken with biscuits. 

Unfortunately for the foursome, all he has are stale Swiss cheese sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, which he buys from a salesman when he comes around.

The Hollywood Brown Derby ~ “L.A. at Last!” (1955)

The real-life Hollywood Brown Derby was founded by Wilson Mizner in 1926 on Wilshire Boulevard. Its distinctive exterior resembled a large brown derby to attract tourists and passing motorists. A second location on North Vine Street (not shaped like a derby) was opened in 1929. Due to its proximity to movie studios, it became the place to do deals and be seen. Its walls were decorated with hundreds of celebrity caricatures all drawn by resident artist Jack Lane. They are faithfully reproduced on the “I Love Lucy” stage, as are their distinctive derby-shaped wall sconces. The restaurant was destroyed by fire in 1987 but was licensed to the Walt Disney theme parks.

William Holden orders a Cobb salad and coffee. The Hollywood Brown Derby is the ‘birthplace’ of the Cobb Salad, which was said to have been hastily arranged from leftovers by owner Robert Cobb for theater owner Sid Grauman. One story says that it was a chopped salad because Grauman had just had dental work done, and couldn’t chew well!

Lucy and Ethel order spaghetti and meatballs. Fred orders the veal cutlet Marco Polo. In the original script he ordered the turkey Marco Polo, simply because it was the most expensive item on the menu, but the line was cut. Lucy gets spaghetti and meatballs with extra meat sauce, which was a specialty of the house according the the 1949 Brown Derby cookbook. Lucy also orders a tossed salad from the menu which the waiter explains is a mixed green salad with an oil dressing. 

Union Pacific’s City of Los Angeles Domeliner Dining Car ~ “The Great Train Robbery” (1955)

On the way back to New York, the gang takes the brand new Union Pacific Domeliner, which has a dining car with a view. Vivian Vance and William Frawley were sent to the actual train to film location footage, but it was cut before the episode aired due to problems matching the sequence of events with the studio footage. 

ETHEL: “I heard they had wonderful food on this train and I want to get in there before it’s all gone.”

The food served, however, shows up on their wardrobe instead of in their mouths.

La Porte Montmartre Café ~ “Paris at Last” (1956)

In Paris, the gang enjoys sidewalk cafés in all three episodes. 

At La Porte Montmartre Lucy orders Escargot Bourgogne (aka snails) and – much to the chagrin of the chef – covers them with sauce tomate (aka catsup). 

Café Du Monde ~ “Lucy Meets Charles Boyer” (1956)

ETHEL: “Oh, boy, this is good French pastry!”

Café Restaurant Le Plaisir ~ “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown” (1956)

The sidewalk café provides a perfect viewpoint for viewing Jacques Marcel’s models as they parade down the sidewalk after a fashion show. 

Martinelli’s Pizza ~ “Visitor from Italy” (1956)

To keep Mario from being deported, Lucy must substitute for him as a pizza chef.  Lucille Ball learned to throw pizza dough at the real-life Adolino’s Italian Restaurant in Azusa, California.

Hansen’s Café ~ “Off To Florida” (1956) 

When Lucy and Ethel share a ride to Florida with a suspected hatchet murderess (Elsa Lanchester), they make a pitstop at a roadside cafe. 

[The exact name of the café has been blurred out in post-production, but Hansen’s is the best guess by viewers. The establishing shot was likely done in Southern California.]

They want more than coffee – they want HELP!

Meeghan’s Chop House ~ “Lucy’s Night in Town” (1957) 

Before seeing “The Most Happy Fella” on Broadway, the gang goes to dinner. Lucy and Ethel order roast beef (medium) with mashed potatoes and Lima beans.

LUCY: “Everyone should chew their food 25 times before swallowing, just like the animals do, because hot food is bad for the stomach. You also should peel Lima beans to get the most out of them because the nutrients lie underneath the upper epidermis.”

The Westport Country Club ~ “Country Club Dance” (1957) 

Not strictly a restaurant, but buffet fare (rolls, olives, potato salad, pickles, and cold cuts) is served when Grace Munson introduces her beautiful young cousin Diana Jordan (Barbara Eden). 

Snow Valley Lodge Café ~ “Lucy Goes to Snow Valley”

When Lucy is photo-bombing Fernando Lamas by taking over for the waitress, she douses his sandwich with coffee.

HONORABLE MENTIONS 

Schraft’s ~ The famous ‘ladies who lunch’ spot was mentioned in “Lucy Does the Tango” (1957) and “Housewarming” (1957). 

21 ~ Manhattan’s iconic nightspot and restaurant was mentioned in “Vacation from Marriage” (1954), “Mr. and Mrs. TV Show” (1954), “Lucy Wants a Career” (1959), and “Lucy Goes Duck Hunting” (1963). 

ETHEL:“We’ve been to 21 four times. That’s 84!” 

Romanoff’s ~ was mentioned in “The Tour” (1955). The episode opens with Lucy begging Ricky to let her accompany him to Romanoff’s for lunch with Richard Widmark. Romanoff’s became known for their chocolate soufflés, strawberries Romanoff and Noodles Romanoff.

LUCY: “I’ll be as quiet as a mouse. I won’t eat very much, just a little piece of cheese. I’ll even pick up the check for the whole lunch.”

Lindy’s ~ a Manhattan deli and restaurant first opened in 1921 by Leo “Lindy” Lindermann was famous for it’s New York style cheesecake and sandwiches named in honor of celebrities. Ricky takes everyone to Lindy’s when he hears about getting the part in Don Juan during “Ricky’s Contract” (1954) and then again in “Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos” (1959). 

BERLE:“Lindy promised to name a sandwich after me if I gave up my table by the door.”

The Golden Drumstick ~ In “First Stop” Mr. Skinner tells the gang about  a restaurant down the road that serves a turkey dinner with all the trimmings – dressing, cranberry sauce, green salad, and homemade peach shortcake – for only one dollar! But then dashes their hopes by telling them that they went out of business due to the low price.

Don’s Beachcomber ~ In “Lucy Goes to Grauman’s” (1956), Lucy takes stock of her souvenir haul, including chopsticks from the Beachcomber, a South Seas meets Cantonese style venue that exceeded the menu of most standard Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles at the time.

SEEN BUT NOT HEARD

Restaurant au Mont Cenis ~ While Lucy and Ricky lived in their first apartment (Seasons 1 and 2) a painting by Maurice Utrillo “Restaurant au Mont Cenis” (1922) was hung prominently on the back wall of the living room above the piano or the desk. 

The actual print was gifted to Lucille’s costume designer Elois Jennsen and auctioned off upon her death.

Look for Part 2 of LUCY’S DINING GUIDE

Teachers, Instructors & Coaches of the Lucyverse

Here’s a tribute to all the teachers at the Lucyverse University! 

Jean Valjean Raymond (Apache Dancing) played by Shepard Menken in “The Adagio” (1951). Ethel suggests the recently-arrived cousin of someone at the French laundry to teach Lucy how to dance the Apache. He turns out to be more interested in amore than apache! 

Percy Livermore (English / Grammar / Elocution) played by Hans Conried in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (1952). Naturally, tutor Livermore has show business aspirations. Conried also played various teachers and instructors on Ball’s radio sitcom “My Favorite Husband.” 

Madame LeMond (Ballet) played by Mary Wickes. LeMond was the premiere ballerina of the French Ballet. She puts Lucy through her paces at the barre. 

Arthur ‘King Cat’ Walsh (Jitterbug) played by Arthur Walsh in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (1953). In real life, Walsh was one of Hollywood’s most popular Jitterbug dancers / actors. His first film role was as a Jitterbugging soldier in Stage Door Canteen (1935). 

Robert Dubois (French) played by Alberto Morin in “The French Revue” (1953). A waiter moonlighting by giving French lessons, DuBois is really in show business and wants to audition for Ricky at the Tropicana. In reality, Morin was not French, but born in Puerto Rico! 

Kitty Winslow (Dance) played by Lucille Ball in “K.O. Kitty” (1958), an episode of the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. The dance instructor turns boxing coach when she ‘inherits’ a prize fighter. Lucy Carmichael also coached a prize fighter (played by Don Rickles) in a 1967 episode of “The Lucy Show.” 

Henry Taylor (Math) played by William Windom in “Lucy Digs Up a Date” (1962). Although Jerry calls him ‘Old Man Taylor’, he is a new young bachelor recently relocated to Danfield from San Francisco. He replaced teacher Mr. Lucas (a character we never see). In various episodes of “The Lucy Show” Jerry also talks about teachers named Mrs. Lopus and Miss Clementine. 

Vito (Fencing Instructor) played by Vito Scotti, also in “Lucy Digs Up a Date” (1962). He gives lessons at the new Danfield YMCA. 

Professor Gitterman (Singing and Acting) played by Hans Conried in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (1963) and “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (1963). The roles are reversed when Lucy uses his breath control techniques in “Lucy Teaches Ethel Merman to Sing” (1964). 

Dr. Adrian Vance (Chemistry) played by Lou Krugman in “Lucy and Viv Take Up Chemistry” (1963). Vance teaches night school at Danfield High. 

Mr. Sheldon (Judo & Karate) played by James Seay in “Lucy and Viv Learn Judo” (1964). Sheldon runs a Judo and Karate studio in Danfield. During the lesson he is assisted by his prize students, Louis Coppola and Ed Parker, who were real-life martial arts experts hired for the episode. 

Professor Guzman (Art) played by John Carradine in “Lucy Goes To Art Class” (1964). Guzman teaches Beginning Art Class at Harold’s Stationery and Art Store in Danfield.    

Mickey Rooney (Acting) in “Lucy Meets Mickey Rooney”. The school Mickey Rooney wants to open is called The Players Showcase. 

When “Lucy Gets Her Diploma” (1967) she attends Wilshire High School. There she has several teachers (top left to bottom right):

• Larry Wilcock plays the Math teacher
• Barbara Babcock plays the English teacher
• Olive Dunbar plays the Biology teacher
• Donald Randolph plays the History teacher

Ken Jones (Dance) played by Ken Berry in “Lucy Helps Ken Berry” (1968).  Jones teaches a course of tap and soft shoe for $25. 

Sister Mary Alice (Grade School Teacher) played by Mary Gregory in the film Yours, Mine and Ours (1968). Sister teaches Lucy’s son Philip and objects to him using his adopted name Beardsley, insisting he is still legally a North. 

Buddy Rich (Drums) coaches Craig in “Lucy and the Drum Contest” (1970).

Mike Howden plays a Ski Instructor in “Someone’s On the Ski Lift with Dinah” (1971). 

Freddy Martin coaches Lucy Carter in the saxophone in “Lucy and Her All-Nun Band” (1971). Martin was a saxophonist and band leader who first gained national attention in 1940 and continued on through the 1970s.

Professor Dietrich and Professor John Kleindorf played by Murray Matheson and John Davidson in “Lucy and the Professor” (1973). Kleindorf is the head of the music department of the college Kim attends. Dietrich is the author of the best-selling book Sex and the College Girl.

Jack Scott (Auto Mechanics) played by Robert Rockwell in “The Not-So-Popular Mechanics” (1973). Scott teaches night courses at Valley Trade School. Rockwell is probably best remembered as biology teacher Mr. Boynton on “Our Miss Brooks” (1952-56) opposite Gale Gordon and Mary Jane Croft, a series filmed at Desilu Studios. 

Mr. Tweed (Pottery) played by Roger Twedt in “Lucy and Uncle Harry’s Pot” (1973). Twedt was a real-life art teacher from Palm Springs, California. He also  was Lucille Ball’s adviser for using the pottery wheel.

Classes, Lessons & Other Tutorials

The Lucy character was one of the most inquisitve characters on television. A basic education did not prevent Lucy from furthering her education.  Here are some lessons learned by Lucy!

HIGH SCHOOL

“Lucy Gets Her Diploma” (1967) ~ When Lucy Carmichael finds out the bank has a new policy of only employing high school graduates, she must go back to school to get her diploma in order to keep her job. 

Lucy takes the usual classes – with a fair amount of physical comedy for extra credit. Her teachers include Dave Willock (Math), Donald Randolph (History), Olive Dunbar (Biology), and Barbara Babcock (English). The principal of Wilshire High School is played by George E. Carey. 

MATH

“Liz Goes To Night School” (1950) ~ Liz’s arithmetic skills are so bad, George sends her to night school where she somehow winds up in a math contest.  

CHEMISTRY 

“Lucy and Viv Take Up Chemistry” (1963) ~ Viv regrets letting Lucy talk her into joining her for a night school chemistry class. Lucy gets carried away trying to invent a youth serum and develops a huge ego between explosions. The frustrated biology teacher is played by Lou Krugman. 

To teach her a lesson, Viv and the professor make her drink her own concoction. She’s horrified by the results of her youth formula.

AUTO MECHANICS

“The Not-So-Popular Mechanics” (1973) ~ Lucy Carter and Mary Jane take an adult school course in auto mechanics so they can change the oil on Harry’s vintage Rolls Royce. Their teacher is played by Robert Rockwell, who played biology teacher Mr. Boynton on “Our Miss Brooks” opposite Gale Gordon and Mary Jane Croft.

MUSIC

“Piano and Violin Lessons” (1949) ~ Liz takes up the piano to win a radio talent contest. To get even, George starts learning the violin. Who will win?

“The Benefit” (1952) ~ When Lucy wants to get into Ricky’s new act, she’s determined to improve her singing.  

Lucy Carmichael was given singing lessons by Dr. Gitterman (Hans Conried) in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (1963). She used those same techniques on Agnes Schmidlap (aka Ethel Merman) when “Lucy Teaches Ethel Merman to Sing” (1964). 

DANCE

“Lucy Helps Ken Berry (1968) ~ Ken Jones (Berry) teaches a course of tap and soft shoe for $25. Lucy signs up a dozen truck drivers to  participate – not your typical dance students! 

“Dance Lessons” (1950) ~ After a disastrous experience at a club dance, Liz and Iris send their husbands to Professor Crawford’s School of the Dance. Instead of being greeted by  a befuddled old Professor, they meet his daughter, a breathless sexpot who immediately agrees to be their instructress.

RUDOLPH: “I’ve seen those girls who teach at Arthur Murray’s.”

“Liz Teaches Samba” (1950) ~ George talks Liz into teaching Wally, the son of the bank’s newest director, how to dance the Samba, and Wally gets a crush on Liz. The radio show served as the basis for…

“The Young Fans” (1952) ~ Lucy gives private dance lessons to Arthur Morton (Richard Crenna) so he can better woo Peggy Dawson, but he turns out to be more attracted to Lucy.

“The Ballet” (1952) ~ Thinking Ricky’s new act requires ballet, Lucy attends a class led by Madame LeMonde (Mary Wickes). “Abbas!  Abbas!”

“The Adagio” (1952) ~ Fred teaches Lucy to do the Apache dance for Ricky’s new act. When Fred’s lessons prove unhelpful, Ethel suggests Jean Valjean Raymond (Shepard Menken), a Frenchman who is more interested in amour than apache. This episode was partly inspired by….

FRENCH

“The French Lessons” (1949) ~ Liz and Iris are humiliated when they can’t read the menu at a French restaurant, so they decide to take French lessons. The lessons lead to the prospect of a duel between her favorite husband George and her amorous French teacher, Jacques Duval (Rolfe Sedan). The radio episode inspired…

“The French Revue” (1953) ~ A trip to a French restaurant makes Lucy think she should take French lessons from the waiter Robert DuBois (Alberto Morin) so she can take part in Ricky’s new show. Lucy later taught herself French when preparing for her trip to Europe. 

DUBOIS: “In French, everything it is either masculine or feminine. You Americans don’t have that.” 

LUCY: “You haven’t been in this country very long, have you?”

ENGLISH

“The English Tutor” (1952) ~ So that her baby will be surrounded by proper elocation, diction and grammar, Lucy recruits tutor Percy Livermore (Hans Conried) to teach them how to speak properly – for free. Naturally, he has ulterior motives.

LIVERMORE (to Ricky): “In lieu of the remuneration for my tutelage, I am to be permitted to introduce my talents into your nocturnal bistro.“

ART

“Lucy Goes To Art Class” (1964) ~ To impress handsome bachelor John Brooks (Robert Alda) Lucy and Viv join him at an art class. The art teacher is played by John Carridine. 

BROOKS: “I do believe that all of us have some sort of creativity bottled up inside of us.”

LUCY: “I think this class might be just the thing to pop my cork!”

“Lucy and Uncle Harry’s Pot” (1973) ~ When Lucy breaks a vase which has great sentimental value to Harry, she goes to a ceramics class to make him a new one – with dubious results!  Her teacher is played by Roger Twedt, an actual high school art teacher from Palm Springs. 

ACTING

“Lucy Meets Mickey Rooney” (1966) ~ Mickey Rooney takes out a loan from Mr. Mooney’s bank to open an acting school. Lucy and Mooney each wangle free acting lessons.

EQUESTRIANISM

“Horseback Riding” (1949) ~ George’s female co-chair for his horseback riding club’s upcoming breakfast ride has Liz so jealous that she’s determined to overcome her fear of horses and learn to ride herself.

COLLEGE 

Fictional Pottawatomie College in New Mexico is the setting of Too Many Girls (1939), the film in which Lucille Ball first met Desi Arnaz, although their characters never meet on screen. 

“Lucy’s College Reunion” (1963) ~ Lucy Carmichael (nee Taylor) goes back to her alumnus, Milroy College. 

“Lucy and the Professor” (1973) ~ Lucy hears her daughter is dating an older man, so she goes to Kim’s college to see for herself. Unfortunately, Lucy mistakes an elderly professor (Murray Matheson) for the younger one (John Davidson) that Kim is actually dating!

PROFESSOR KLEINDORF: ”Thanks Professor Dietrich. You’re really groovy.”

PROFESSOR DIETRICH: (points to his frown lines) “These aren’t grooves. They’re wrinkles.”

At Desilu Studios, Lucy opened the Desilu Playhouse, recruiting promising young performers to practice their craft under her tutelage, much in the same way Lela Rogers taught her at RKO. Some of the more famous graduates were Robert Osborne, Carole Cook, and Majel Barrett. 

In the early 1980s Lucille Ball become Professor Ball, lecturing on comedy at UCLA.  

Grade school students listen to Lucie Arnaz talk during Lucy Lessons, educational modules built around episodes of “I Love Lucy.”  

Lucille Ball & Precipitation

Lucille Ball was not just a fair-weather comedienne, she braved the elements to make us laugh. 

Here are a few soggy examples of Lucy in the rain. Open your umbrellas!

On “Bob Hope’s Unrehearsed Antics of The Stars” (September 28, 1984) Lucille Ball recounted her soggy 1938 audition for the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind, reading for producer David O’Selznik. 

“I climbed into my old rattletrap car and as I reached Culver City I got caught in the biggest cloudburst I ever saw. The streets were flooded. My car stalled. I had to get out and wade six blocks to the studio. I got to the Selznick office looking like a drowned rat. My hair was down over my face and the henna was running and so was my mascara. I was soaked clear through.”

Lucille was not asked to screen test and – as everyone knows – the role went to English actress Vivien Leigh. 

On June 14, 1944, columnist Howard Carroll reported that Lucille Ball was in the running to play Sadie Thompson in the Broadway musical adaptation of the play Rain by Vernon Duke and Howard Dietz. Instead, the role went to Ethel Merman, who (probably smelling a flop) left the production after a week and a half of rehearsals and was replaced by June Havoc. The show opened at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon) on November 16, 1944 and ran just 60 performances. Lucy (and Merman) were right!  Lucille Ball would eventually get to Broadway in the 1960 musical Wildcat at (coincidentally) the Alvin Theatre. 

Rain was based on a short story by W. Somerset Maugham about a prostitute on a tropical island. A persistant rainstorm is both symbolic and literal. The story was dramatized in 1922 and was a big hit on Broadway and London’s West End. Ethel Mertz says she saw Bankhead in the play in “The Celebrity Next Door” (1957) with guest star Tallulah Bankhead, the second episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”.  Bankhead starred in a 1935 revival of the play, which closed after just 47 performances. 

Costume designer Elois Jenssen sketched this design for Lucille Ball’s character, a dancer based in London, in the film Lured (1947). London is famous for its rainy weather, so this raincoat (with tartan plaid scarf and lining) would be key. 

“Valentine’s Day” is episode #30 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on February 11, 1949. Liz (Lucille Ball) finds herself in court over a love triangle between her, Katie the Maid (Ruth Perrott), and Mr. Dabney the butcher (Hans Conried). Judge Skinner (Gale Gordon) metaphorically pointificates before hearing the case.

JUDGE: “There is no problem too big to solve. Into every life a little rain must fall. Every cloud must have a silver lining, and it is always darkest before the dawn.” 

LIZ: “Well, now that we’ve had the weather report, let’s get on with the case.”

In 1952′s “Vacation from Marriage” Lucy and Ethel get stranded on the roof in their nightgowns. Huddling together against the elements, it starts raining!  

LUCY: “Oh! Ethel, it’s raining.”

ETHEL: “Oh, fine. Of all the things, it has to rain too.”

LUCY: “Look! (points) It isn’t raining out there.”

They look up and see Ricky and Fred spraying them with a hose!

The “I Love Lucy” Raincoat by Monsanto, made of Ultron vinyl. 

“Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation” (1954) finds the Ricardos on a radio quiz show. Ricky is tasked with singing songs that will trigger things to be dumped on Lucy. First up is 1928′s “I Get the Blues When It Rains” by Marcy Klaubner and Harry Stoddard.  

FREDDY FILLMORE: “Mrs. Ricardo, every time he says the word ‘rain’ you pull that cord. You got the idea?

LUCY: “Yeah, I got it.”

RICKY: (sings) “I get the blues when it rains…”

LUCY: “Yeah, boy! (Lucy pulls the cord and a spritz of water hits her in the face) Wait a minute, wait a minute. What’s he got the slicker on for?”

FREDDY FILLMORE: “Well, I was afraid some of that rain might splash and get on him.”

“In Palm Springs” (1955), the girls decide to go to Palm Springs while the boys stay in Los Angeles to go to a ballgame. 

ETHEL: (reading the newspaper) “It says here this is the first time it’s rained in Palm Springs during this month in 20 years.”

LUCY: “No kidding. Well, leave it to us to pick this time.”

ETHEL: “Any break in the clouds?” 

LUCY: (staring out the window) “Oh, I wasn’t looking at that. I thought maybe a movie star would float by.”

Meanwhile, back in Hollywood…

RICKY: (staring out the window) “Is it ever gonna stop raining?”

FRED: “Aw, what’s the difference? The ball game’s called off.” 

RICKY: “Well, we can’t play golf and we can’t go swimming. What are we gonna do?”

FRED: “Well, if this rain keeps coming down, we might as well start building an ark.”

In “Paris at Last” (1956) Lucy meets a counterfeiter (Lawrence Dobkin) outside the American Express Office. A travel poster in the window reads No Rain In Portugal, But Tourists Pour In. 

In “Lucy and Superman” (1957) Lucy crawls out onto the ledge to pretend to be Superman for Little Ricky’s birthday party. Little does she know the real Superman is inside. When it starts raining, Superman comes to her rescue. The downpour is set up by the writers when a prospective tenant (Ralph Dumke) closes and locks the window Lucy crawled out of. 

HERBERT: “Oh, it’s raining in. I’ll close the window for Mrs. Mertz.”

The final clinch between Nicky (Desi) and Tacy (Lucy) in The Long, Long Trailer (1954) happens in the pouring rain. 

Lucy and Desi drenched but happy as they wrapped filming. 

Lucille Ball guest-starred on “The Danny Kaye Show” in 1962. A trilogy of sketches skewering fine dining finds Lucy and Danny soaked to the skin while eating in a jungle rainforest.

“The Lucille Ball Show aka Mr. and Mrs.” (1964) ends with Lucy and Gale Gordon tracking down Bob Hope entertaining the troops in a jungle where it starts to pour. 

“My Fair Lucy” (1965) was a satire on the stage and screen hit My Fair Lady. The famous elocution rhyme from the original is “The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.”  Here it is “The rain in Maine stays mainly on the grain.” 

“Lucy the Rain Goddess” (1966) ~ While at a dude ranch, Lucy discovers her head at the top of a totem pole. The Native Americans who live on the property think she’s the incanation of their rain goddess!  In the end, it does rain – but it is a shower of oil!

“Lucy’s Safari” (1969) ~ To track down a rare escaped Gorboona, the Carters dress in native outfits and perform a dance routine. Harry’s dance steps conjure up a rain storm that only falls on him – not once but twice. The rule on “Here’s Lucy” is that where there’s water – Harry will get wet!

“Lucy and Carol Burnett aka The Unemployment Follies” (1971) ~ As the finale, the entire ensemble is dressed in rain slickers and performs “Singin’ in the Rain” written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown in 1931. It was most famously featured in the film Singin’ in the Rain in 1952. Jack Benny strolls in at the end selling umbrellas! 

“Lucy and Aladdin’s Lamp” (1971) ~ Lucy, Kim and Craig discover what they believe to be a magic lamp at their garage sale. A series of coincidences convince them it might be real. Kim mentions her favorite flavor of ice cream. After a clap of thunder, Harry (Gale Gordon) enters from a driving rainstorm carrying the exact same flavor of ice cream! 

“Lucy and Curtis Are Up a Tree” (1986) ~ In this unaired episode of “Life With Lucy”, Lucy and Curtis (Gale Gordon) get stuck in a treehouse. When the family finally rescues them, it starts to pour!  

Being The Ricardos (2021) features a scene where Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) walks blankly through a torrential rain in her pajamas. She has just realized that Desi has been unfaithful. Lucy’s stroll through the storm is symbolic of her choice to carry on despite the flaws of her marriage and of her ability to weather the storm of Desi’s affairs.

Lucy’s Plants, Flowers, and other Botanical Delights

Plants and flowers bloomed and grew as fast as Lucille Ball’s career!  Here are just a few moments that feature our botanical world.

One of (blonde) Ball’s first roles in Hollywood was as flower store clerk in Top Hat (1935) selling flowers to Fred Astaire to send to Ginger Rogers.

In real life, Lucille Ball loved plants and flowers and grew them in gardens in all her homes. 

Her favorite flowers were peonies and lilacs which grew quite well in the East where she was raised.

Lucille Ball at home watering the houseplants in her rose pattern dress. 

“Mother-in-Law” (1949) ~ George’s allergic mother comes to visit. Liz hopes to drive her out by spreading ragweed and other allergy-inducing plants around the house. Katie the maid is angry because Mother Cooper has burst into her room to confiscate her roses. Liz reminds her that Mother Cooper is allergic to roses. 

KATIE: “Four Roses?”  

Four Roses Whiskey, that is!  

“I LOVE LUCY”

“We have real furniture, real plumbing, and a real kitchen where we serve real food. Even the plants are really growing; they’re not phony.” ~ Desi Arnaz, about the ‘I Love Lucy’ set

Some glimpses of plants and flowers on the set of “I Love Lucy.” 

“The Operetta” (1952) ~ Ethel as Lily of the Valley, singing in front of a windowsill of flowers at the Inn on the River Out.

“The Black Eye” (1953) ~ In order to patch things up between Lucy and Ricky (who he believes are feuding) Fred orders Lucy some flowers from Ricky with the help of Pete the florist (Bennett Green). Before shutting the box of roses and hastily scribbling the card, Fred tells Pete to put in some gladiolas, too. 

When Lucy later opens the box of flowers, however, the gladdies are nowhere to be seen! We discover that Fred has accidentally signed his own name to the card, instead of Ricky’s. 

The episode opens with Lucy reading a thriller novel with a large houseplant behind the sofa. 

“Ethel’s Hometown” (1954) 

“Hollywood at Last!” (1955) ~ To see the star, just move the plant!

“Lucy Raises Tulips” (1957) ~ When the Ricardos move to Westport, Lucy throws herself into gardening. She competes with Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft) for Westport Garden Club’s ‘Best Garden,’ a title that Betty has held for three years running. 

Lucy experiments with wax tulips. Although there is a genus of flower known as waxflower (chamelaucium), in this the term refers to actual wax!

Both women are growing tulips. We are told that Lucy’s are pink, and Betty’s are yellow. It’s a shame this episode is not in color! 

When Lucy takes charge of the rider mower, the landscape changes for the worse… including the garden! The replacement wax tulips wilt in the summer sun!

“Lucy Makes Room for Daddy” (1958) ~ When subletting their home to the Williams’ Lucy worries they won’t take care of her houseplants. When Ricky finds out she’s been secretly caring for them against his wishes, she physically demonstrates how badly wilted they’d become.

“Lucy Takes a Cruise To Havana” (1958) ~ Lucy and Katie (Ann Sothern) drop flower pots off their hotel balcony, which leads them to serving time in a Havana jail! 

“THE LUCY SHOW”

TV Guide – September 1962

“No More Double Dates” (1963) ~ Frequent background performer Bess Flowers sits in front of a centerpiece of flowers while Lucy and Harry stand in front of a spray of fresh flowers.

“Ethel Merman and the Boy Scout Show” (1964) ~ Merman sing “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” surrounded by roses!  She originally sang the song in the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy, where her character name was Rose.

“Lucy Saves Milton Berle” (1965) ~ To track down the star, Lucy disguises herself as a poor but humble flower seller, much in the manner of Eliza Doolittle, a character from the 1956 Broadway musical and 1964 film My Fair Lady.  

“Lucy and the Soap Opera” (1966) ~ To spy on the writer of her favorite show, Lucy disquises herself as a gardener, spraying insecticide on his plants and flowers. 

“Lucy Gets Trapped” (1967) ~ Lucy’s plan to skip work to go shopping backfires when she becomes the 10-millionth customer. She’s draped in roses like a winning racehorse!

“Lucy the Fight Manager” (1967) ~ Lucy helps a washed-up boxer (Don Rickles) get in shape to win a bout so he can open a flower shop.  

EDDIE: “This plant has a bad case of root rot!”

LUCY: “We’ll root out the root rot later!”

“Lucy’s Mystery Guest” (1967) ~ Lucy Carmichael is plant-sitting for a neighbor when her health nut Aunt (Mary Wickes) sprays the plant for bugs, and it promptly wilts.

“Lucy Gets Mooney Fired” (1967) ~ To make Mr. Cheever believe he’s overworked to the point of delusions, Lucy makes his potted palm grow like a beanstalk! 

“HERE’S LUCY”

“Lucy Protects Her Job” (1969) ~ Harry gives Lucy roses, despite saying he was allergic to them in “Lucy and Harry’s Tonsils”. He says they cost $12.50 a dozen.

“Lucy and Mannix are Held Hostage” (1971) ~ Lucy Carter suddenly starts naming and talking to her plants. Their names are Ruthie, Hugo, and Priscilla. Ruthie meets an untimely end when she is tossed out a window in an attempt to stop a robbery.  

“Lucy’s Vacation” (1971) ~ Lucy water the boss instead of the plant!

“Lucy and Donny Osmond” (1972) ~ Flowers for Kim!

“Lucy and Her Prince Charming” (1972) ~ To marry off Lucy to a handsome prince (Ricardo Montalban), Harry has the house bedecked in an explosion of flowers for the ceremony. 

“Lucy and Eva Gabor are Hospital Roomies” (1972) ~ Harry brings flowers to the hospital. Lucy mistakenly believes they are for her!  

“Lucy and the Chinese Curse” (1972) ~ When Lucy saves the life of a laundry owner (Keye Luke), he first shows his gratitude with a bouquet of flowers. 

“Lucy Goes To Prison” (1973) ~ Lucy’s cellmate Mumsie (Elsa Lanchester) calls the scrawny potted plants on her cell windowsill her ‘family’ and has named them Cynthia and Heathcliff. She hopes that by putting them side by side they will give her grandchildren!  

“Lucy and Danny Thomas” (1973) ~ An eccentric artist paints Lucy with a bouquet of flowers – and very little else. 

“Tipsy Through the Tulips” (1973) ~ Although the tulips of the title were nowhere to be seen, Lucy’s home was decorated with plants and flowers for the visit of a famous author (Foster Brooks) with a propensity for drink.  

“Mary Jane’s Boyfriend” (1974) ~ Mary Jane has a new boyfriend (Walter Butley) – who happens to fall for Lucy. He brings her a big bunch of flowers – while Mary Jane gets just a few blooms. [Note: This looks like the same flowers used in “Lucy and the Chinese Curse” two years earlier!]

“LIFE WITH LUCY”

“Lucy’s Green Thumb” (1987) ~ In this unaired episode of “Life With Lucy”, Lucy Barker raises plants that grow at a rapid pace. She names them Melvin, Agnes, and Helga. 

LUCY (To Melvin) “The free ride is over!  You either get growin’ or get goin’!”  

The very first time Lucille Ball was seen on “Life With Lucy” she was moving into her daughter’s home carrying a potted plant (a schefflera). Lucy was afraid it had spider mites. This clip was part of the series opening credits montage.

Lucy’s plants grow so quickly they threaten to take over the hardware shop, much in the style of Little Shop of Horrors. Coincidentally, Lucy is mentioned in the lyrics of the song “Somewhere That’s Green” from the 1982 musical. 

The Lucy Ball flower aka Allium

In 1991, a hybrid tea rose was christened the Lucille Ball Rose, doubtless because it’s distinctive apricot color is reminiscent of Lucille Ball’s hair!  

“Ricky! It’s time!”

(S2;E16 ~ January 19, 1953) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr.  It was filmed on November 14, 1952 at General Service Studios. It was the 51st episode filmed. Rating: 71.8/92

Note: This episode is sometimes identified as “Lucy Goes Into Labor”.

Synopsis ~ With the baby due at any moment, Ricky and the Mertzes carefully rehearse the trip to the hospital. But when the fateful moment actually comes, things don’t go quite so smoothly.

PRE-NATAL CARE

This show’s action takes place all in one evening. This was Desi Arnaz’s favorite episode. At the time of filming, Lucille Ball was seven months pregnant. 

For five episodes after this one, any scene featuring Lucy was filmed in advance to accommodate Ball’s leave, with book-ending scenes featuring only the other cast members filmed closer to the actual air date.

This is the episode that made “I Love Lucy” a national phenomenon. It is estimated that 72% of the American public who owned a television tuned in to see the birth of Little Ricky. To put that number into perspective: the “M*A*S*H” finale is the highest rated non-Super Bowl program of all-time with over 50 million viewers, but the percentage of households that watched the episode was just over 60%. The Beatles’ first performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964 was seen by 73 million people, which accounted for roughly 60 to 70% of American households, slightly lower than “Lucy’s” 72%.

On April 3, 1953, infant Desi Arnaz, Jr. graced the cover of the very first national edition of TV Guide.

On January 19, 1953, Newsweek made Lucy’s baby the cover story – even though the article had to be written several weeks in advance. 

When Desi told Jess Oppenheimer that Lucy followed his script and had a boy, he replied:  

“Terrific! That makes me the greatest writer in the world! Tell Lucy she can take the rest of the day off!”

• “Lucy Sticks To Script: A Boy It Is!” ~ New York Daily Mirror 
• “TV Was Right: A Boy For Lucille” ~ New York Daily News
• “What The Script Ordered” ~ Life Magazine

This episode aired the day before the inauguration of President Eisenhower and five months before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. More people watched this “I Love Lucy” episode than either one of those televised historic events! 

On the morning of Monday, January 19, 1953, the “I Love Lucy Comic Strip” dealt with the birth of the Ricardo baby, and announced “It’s a BOY!”, about 14 hours BEFORE the episode aired at 9pm. Additionally, the baby’s sex was announced in many papers in a syndicated column the day before Lucille Ball had her baby and Lucy Ricardo had her Little Ricky.

RICKY: Opening a show on the night that you going to have a baby. What lousy planning.

Ricky has a short memory, three weeks earlier, in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (S2;E13), Percy Livermore instructed them that there are two words they should never use: “One of them is swell, the other one is lousy.”

Lucy’s obstetrician is Dr. Joe Harris, named after Lucille Ball’s real-life baby doctor. Lucy already knew she would have to have a C-section, since her first baby (Lucie) was born by Caesarean. Since Dr. Harris scheduled all of his C-sections to be done on Mondays, they were able to plan their second baby’s birth to coincide with this episode. Little Ricky and Desi, Jr. were both born on January 19, 1953. So many fans sent Lucy flowers and cards that her hospital room was filled, as was the hallway outside. Lucy and Desi sent thank-you notes to every fan.

It had been pre-decided that the Ricardo baby would be a boy, no matter what the gender of the Arnazes’ real-life baby turned out to be. Desi hoped Lucy would have a son, because he was the last male in his family line and wanted an heir to carry on the family name. Lucy and Desi thought that if they had a daughter on the show that it would confuse Lucie, their real life daughter, who would wonder why she wasn’t on TV with her parents. Had Lucy given birth to a girl, she would have been named Victoria Dolores. The night before Desi Jr. was born, Vivian Vance had a dream that Lucy came to her in a white dress and said, “Vivian, I had a boy.”

THE BLESSED EVENT

The scene of the gang trying to get Lucy to the hospital is included in flashback clips in the Christmas special during season six.

In recent airings, the scene was colorized, although the complete episode has not. The same scene was also used in a season 3 teaser trailer aired to get people excited about the new season. 

Ironically, had Lucy’s address not put their apartment in the East River in real-life, she would only have one block to travel to the Weill-Cornell Medical Center, located at 525 East 68th Street.

The Desilu prop department must have been fans of the then-popular Paper-Mate Deluxe Ballpoint because a pen aficionado has spotted it as the pen Ricky uses to sign the hospital register. The eagle-eyed pen fan also spotted the same Paper-Mate in six other episode! 

The fathers’ waiting room at the hospital is outfitted with a candlestick phone without a dial. For businesses with a central switchboard like a hospital, this type of phone often remained in use throughout the 1950s, despite being replaced by desktop rotary telephones for residential use. The waiting room also permits smoking and Ricky nervously lights up (probably a Philip Morris cigarette) while waiting for the big news. It wasn’t until 1993, 40 years later, that smoking inside hospitals was banned by a Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO).

This is the first appearance of character actor Charles Lane (Mr. Stanley, the other father in the waiting room). He was one of several actors considered for the role of Fred Mertz. Lane later went on to create memorable characters like Mr. Hickox in “The Business Manager” (S4;E1) as well as the clock-watching passport office clerk in “Staten Island Ferry” (S5;E12). He made a total of four appearances on “I Love Lucy” and two more on “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.” In 1962, Lucille Ball cast him as banker Barnsdahl in the first season of “The Lucy Show.” He died at the ripe old age of 102.

The waiting room scene was inspired by one of Lucille Ball’s early films, Carnival (1935) starring Jimmy Durante. Lee Tracy (left) plays a nervous man who’s wife is about to give birth to their first child. He encounters a calmer man, who has already had six children! Lucille Ball plays a nurse who locks lips with Durante while Tracy smuggles his child out of the hospital. 

Mr. Stanley’s triplets are the second example of multiple births on the series in two weeks. In the previous episode, “Lucy Becomes a Sculptress” (S2;E15), Ethel tells Lucy a story about how their friend Jane Sebastian ended up having twins. In real life Jane Sebastian was the name of Vivian Vance’s good friend. In 1934, the Dionne Quintuplets made international headlines. Ultrasound was not used for medical purposes until 1956 and did not become widely used in gynecology until the 1970s.

The Tropicana Maitre D’ is played by William R. Hamel. This is his second of three appearances in this role during season two. 

The nursing staff includes Barbara Pepper (in her fourth of nine appearances on the show), Ruth Perrott (second of three appearances), Peggy Rea (first of four appearances), Hazel Pierce (Lucy’s stand-in and frequent extra), Adele Longmire (first and only appearance), and Marti Riel. Desi’s stand-in and frequent extra Bennett Green plays the orderly. Ralph Montgomery (the Policeman) had appeared with Lucy in the 1949 film Sorrowful Jones.

James John Ganzer plays newborn Enrique Alberto Ricardo IV (aka Little Ricky). Although he was technically the first of eight actors to play the role, this is his first of only two appearances, the other in the flashback opening of “The Club Election” (S2;E19) likely taken from this same shoot. He was five days old at the time.  The above closeup was shot earlier and still pictures were projected for the studio audience to see. 

The scene of Ricky singing in his voodoo costume was filmed the following week because there wasn’t enough room on the sound stage for the hospital set and the Tropicana set. 

Oops! In “Lucy and Superman” (S6;E13), Lucy tells Caroline that Little Ricky was born at 11 o’clock in the morning, but here Ricky is in mid-performance at the Tropicana NIGHTclub when the baby is born! 

When this episode originally aired, Philip Morris had a special announcement regarding the birth of the Ricardo baby after the episode ended and before the credits rolled. The film shows baby Ganzer in a bassinet as Little Ricky.

“Yes, there’s a new baby, a wonderful baby at the Ricardos’, and we at Philip Morris rejoice in the blessed event. We know that all our millions of friends join us in extending congratulations and good wishes to the Ricardos. May their lives together be filled with as much joy and laughter and carefree happiness as they have brought all of us week after week. To Lucy, to Ricky, and to the new baby: love and kisses from Philip Morris and from all America.”

POST-NATAL EXAM

In Washington DC it was innaugural evening, and publisher Colonel Robert McCormick was hosting a ball. His wife insisted that they take a break in the proceedings to watch the episode! 

Edie Adams, who was then performing on Broadway in the musical Wonderful Town, recalled watching the episode backstage in New York. “We had a television set in the back for when Lucy had the baby. And the entire evening everybody was running back [asking] ‘Is it there? Is it?’”. Adams, wife of Ernie Kovacs, went on to be featured in the very last episode of the Ricardos and Mertzes in April 1960.

In 1969′s “Lucy and Harry’s Tonsils” (HL S2;E5), expectant father Mr. Phillips (Jack Collins) is similar to the character of Mr. Stanley (Charles Lane). 

The events leading up to the birth of Little Ricky are dramatized in L.A. Theatre Works’ Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom by Gregg Oppenheimer, son of the original writer.  The play is also available on audio. 

In a strange coincidence, on January 19, 1996, exactly 43 years later, Marlee Matlin gave birth to her daughter at the same time that the evening’s episode of “Picket Fences” was being aired in which her character on the show, Mayor Laurie Bey, was giving birth! 

In 2006, the Ricardo baby was used to define the excitement surrounding the Tom Cruise / Katie Holmes baby by ABC News. In a lengthy discussion, ABC News acknowledged “The hoopla over the baby girl born Tuesday to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes recalls another highly anticipated birth 53 years ago arguably, one of the most-covered births of the 20th century.” 

TV Guide and TV Land rank this episode #59 out TV’s 100 most memorable moments.