Tag: Vivian Vance
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LUCY’S OPENING NIGHTS!
In 1962 & 1963, CBS launched their new season with a televised special celebrating their programming! CBS’s Opening Night September 24, 1962 Jack Webb (Host) “Dragnet” Hank Simms, Announcer Sunday “College Bowl” “The Twentieth Century” with Walter Cronkite “Password” “Lassie” “The Ed Sullivan Show” (clip promoting 15th season) “Dennis the Menace” (scene starring Jay North and…
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THE LUCY LIBRARY – Volume 1
Before television and the internet were the main evening’s entertainment, there was always the option of reading a good book! Lucy and friends did their share of reading. FICTIONAL FICTION The Mocking Bird Murder Mystery – “Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying To Murder Her” (S1;E4 ~ November 5, 1951) This is the very first image of Lucile…
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YOU CAN’T DO THAT ON TELEVISION!
Lucille Ball always prided herself on providing good, wholesome family entertainment, but “I Love Lucy” sometimes pushed the boundaries of what was allowed on the new and ever-growing medium. Some of the below moments seem tame by comparison to today’s television, but in the early 1950s, they raised some eyebrows! 1. WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! …
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THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY
Lucille Ball’s outrageous stunts have inspired other shows to get laughs from the same unlikely situations. These are some of my favorite Lucy inspirations (in no particular order)… WILL & GRACE (1998-2006 and 2016+) “Who’s Your Daddy?” (S9;E2 ~ October 5, 2017)Starring Debra Messing (Grace), Megan Mullalley (Karen) inspired by “The Lucy Show”“Lucy and Viv Put…
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CBS ON THE AIR: A CELEBRATION OF 50 YEARS ~ Part 1
March 26 – April 1, 1978 The origins of CBS date back to January 27, 1927, with the creation of the “United Independent Broadcasters” network. The fledgling network soon needed additional investors though, and the Columbia Phonograph Company, manufacturers of Columbia Records, rescued it in April 1927; as a result, the new network was renamed…
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STARS IN THE EYE
November 15, 1952 Producer and Director Ralph Levy Choreography by Donald Saddler Written by George Balzer, Al Schwartz, Si Rose, Hugh Wedlock, Howard Snyder, and the writers of the CBS shows represented. The closing credits indicate that the stars’ dialogue was written by the writers of their own shows. THE CBS SHOW AND STARS “I…
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LUCY’S BICENTENNIAL MINUTE
November 28, 1974 “The Bicentennial Minutes” Premiering July 4, 1974, the CBS series consisted of 732 one-minute programs, each recounting an authenticated piece of American history – everything from the momentous to the obscure. Each dealt with something that happened exactly 200 years earlier on the same date as the broadcast. The series was originally…
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LUCY on MIKE DOUGLAS
1968-1989 “The Mike Douglas Show” was a daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. Initially, it aired only in Cleveland during much of its first two years, followed by expansion to Philadelphia and nationwide. It went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1981. For much of its run, it originated from TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia. The show helped…
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LUCY on TONIGHT
1960-1985 “The Tonight Show” is a late night talk show first broadcast by NBC in 1954 and still airing as of this writing. It is the world’s longest-running talk show, and the longest running, regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States. It is the third-longest-running show on NBC, after the news-and-talk shows “Today” and…