COLORIZED LUCY (2024)

“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

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 Ballwas 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 toldJess 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 Eisenhowerand 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.

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. 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! Sadly, the mother dies in childbirth. 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 newbornEnrique 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 hereRicky 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, andpublisherColonel Robert McCormick was hosting a ball. His wife insisted that they take a break in the proceedings to watch the episode!

Meanshile, in New York City, Edie Adams was performing on Broadway in the musical Wonderful Town. She recalled watching the episode backstage between scenes. “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,“Lucy Meets the Mustache”.

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 Sitcomby 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.

(S5;E14 ~ January 23, 1956)Directed by James V. Kern. Written byJess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed December 8, 1955 at Ren-Mar Studios. It was the 141st episode filmed.Rating: 51.5/66

Synopsis ~ Aboard the S.S. Constitution headed to Europe, Lucy is hoping for a second honeymoon, but unfortunately Ricky is busy working to pay their fare.

The episode opens with Lucy contentedly singing “Sailing Sailing Over The Bounding Main” a song written in 1880 by Godfrey Marks, a pseudonym of British organist and composer James Frederick Swift (1847–1931).The Desi Arnaz Orchestra incorporated the tune into the underscoring of this and the previous episode,“Bon Voyage” (S5;E13).

The S.S. Constitution (29,500 tons; 683 feet; speed 26.1 knots; capacity 1,000 passengers) was a real ocean liner owned and operated by American Export Lines. Christened in 1951, it had a nearly identical sister ship, the S.S. Independence.

Four months after this episode aired, Grace Kelly sailed aboard the Constitution from New York to Monaco for her wedding to Prince Rainier.

The ship was also featured in the 1957 film An Affair to Remember starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.

In 1959, the ship was enlarged to handle an additional 484 passengers. The Constitution was retired in 1995 and while being towed to the scrapyard sank off the Hawaiian Islands on November 17, 1997. American Export Lines reportedly paid Desilu Productions $12,000 to be a part of the episodes. The actual ship, however, was only used for establishing shots. The rest of the scenes on board were filmed on a sound stage in Hollywood.

A postcard for the ships describes it thus:

“Modern American living at sea is yours aboard the S.S. Independence and her sister ship, S.S. Constitution. First completely air-conditioned trans-Atlantic luxury liners, these great ships provide frequent, rapid service to all Europe via the Mediterranean. Sailing the pleasant Sun-Lane Route to Europe with 87% rain-free days. American designs, American fabrics, even an American soda fountain and true American hospitality characterize the friendly informality and fine service on the S.S. Independence and the Constitution. The stunning Sea Island Club, charming Independence (or Constitution) Lounge, the gay Boat ‘n Bottle Bar, set the scene for many good times.”

Since his busy schedule has him playing at the Boat 'n Bottle (right), we can rightly say that Ricky Ricardo and his Orchestra played at a “gay” bar!

The romance of the sea has even affected the Mertzes, who use the voyage as a chance to rekindle their romance, as unlikely as that seems.

While Lucy wants to do all the activities she’s read about in the ship’s newspaper “The Sun Lane News,” Ricky has an itinerary of his own.

RICKY: Come on.Smile.

Naturally, Lucy has a plan to get Ricky all to herself, but her plan gets stuck – literally!

The first couple to sign up for activities is Mrs. and Mrs. Theodore Osterlander III, played by unidentified extras. The reason their name is announced is to set up Lucy’s next joke.

LUCY: Ethel, what’s the name of this boat?
ETHEL: The S.S. Constitution, why?
LUCY: From the way everybody’s paired up, I thought maybe it was the S.S. Noah’s Ark!

The plot of this episode very closely follows the adventures of Lorelei Lee (Marilyn Monroe) in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

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*. Grant had played the youngest son in CBS TV’s“Life With Father” from 1953 to 1955.

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.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes the motion picture premiered on July 1, 1953, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and was based on the long-running Broadway musical of the same name starring Carol Channing. The show closed just one month before “I Love Lucy” premiered in October 1951. It is probably best remembered for the song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” by Jule Styne. In common with this episode and the film is extra Monty O'Grady, who played a passenger on both vessels! When watching the film, 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).

This is the second time Lucy wears this Elois Jennsen blue chiffon dress. She’d also wear it when she visits the English countryside and in Havana, Cuba.

In the Boat 'n’ Bottle Bar, while Lucy dances with Kenneth Hamilton, Ricky sings “Cielito Lindo”, a Spanish folk song written by Quirino Mendoza y Cortes. This version is done with a Samba tempo. Ricky previously sang it in “The Freezer” (S1;E29) and “The Publicity Agent” (S1;E31).

Ethel calls Fred“King of the Samba” and he replies“Arthur Murray look out!” This is one of many mentions of dancer and dance studio owner Arthur Murray on the series.He had a television program from 1950 to 1960 called “The Arthur Murray Dance Party.”

At the end, Ricky is discovered on the ship’s deck singing Lucy a romantic ballad:

My love is true, amor tierno,
I promise you amor eterno,
So cling to me, dear,
And say you’ll never let me go.
Because I love you so,
Querida mia.

The camera pulls back to show viewers that Lucy has no feet - she is still stuck in the porthole and welders are trying to cut her free.

When Ethel and Fred come up and Ricky is trying to explain that Lucy is stuck, first Ricky says “She’s stuck!” Then Ethel says “She’s stuck?”. Right before Fred delivers his line, you hear someone in the studio audience say “Yeah, she’s stuck!"

The passengers and crew were played by:

• Bennett Green*(voice of the Welder), Marco Rizzo (Pianist), and Louis Nicoletti*are series regular extras.
  
• Tyler McVey* (Activities Director) makes the third of four appearances on the series.
• Monty O’Grady was only on the series once, but returned for 14 episodes of“The Lucy Show” and 6 episodes of“Here’s Lucy.”
  
• Harold Miller had been in the audience of“Over the Teacups,” the play the foursome see on“Ethel’s Birthday” (S4:E8). Coincidentally, he was also in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Eerily, Miller played one of the passengers who went down with the Titanic in the 1953 film. Of his more than 630 film and TV appearances, eight of them were alongside Lucille Ball.
  
• Joseph La Cava (bartender) returned to work with Lucy in an episode of“Here’s Lucy” and was seen as a restaurant patron in Mame (1974).
  
• Paula Winslowe* was one of two actors to play Gale Gordon’s wife, Mrs. Martha Conklin, on the Desilu series “Our Miss Brooks.” She was later seen in an episode of “The Lucy Show.”
  
• Herbert Lytton*(Man in Deck Chair) later sailed the high seas again, as Admiral Reynolds on“McHale’s Navy.”
  
• Steve Carruthers was also in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope film TheFacts of Life and was seen in two episodes of “The Lucy Show.”
  
• George Bruggeman was also in the The Facts of Life and “The Lucy Show” as well as joining Lucy and Desi for a 1959 Milton Berle TV special.
  
• Flower Parry was also glimpsed in“The Dancing Star” (S4;E27) and“The Homecoming” (S5;E6). In real life, she was the first wife of Jackie Coogan.
• Virginia Barbour*had played the mind reader’s assistant in“Lucy’s Mother-in-Law” (S4;E8) and a waitress in“Lucy Goes To Vegas” (TLS S3;E17).
• Louis A. Nicoletti(Owner of Rocky, the Bloodhound) was an“I Love Lucy” regular, both on screen and off. He was married to Virginia Barbour, who he dances with in this episode.
• Joan Carey (Boat 'n’ Bottle Bar patron) was a frequent series background player. She would later become Lucille Ball’s stand-in on“The Lucy Show.”
• Rocky the Bloodhound
• French Poodle who leads Rocky astray

The name of the Captain is Jacobson, although we never meet him.

* = verbally credited by announcer Johnny Jacobs over the final credits.

The episode was sponsored by Sanka and Lilt.

April 3, 1953

Lucille Ball is the TV Guide Cover Queen with a record 39 covers to her credit! Here’s a look at that very first issue and the magazine’s various appearances on“I Love Lucy.”

The national TV Guide’s first issue was released on April 3, 1953, accumulating a total circulation of 1,560,000 copies that were sold in the ten U.S. cities where it was distributed. Desi Arnaz Jr. and Lucille Ball were on the cover.The initial cost of each issue was 15¢ per copy (equivalent to $1.43 in 2019). The price of each issue has gradually risen over the years, selling for $4.99 per copy as of 2020.

The inside article “Lucy’s $50,000,000 Baby”.

The back cover also included a mini version of the issue.

The all-new national TV Guide was promoted in the local editions the week prior to its debut, including mentions of Lucy and her baby.

It was also promoted in newspaper ads nationwide.

The cover was part of Lucille Ball’s scrapbook (page 15) featuring coverage of the birth Desi Arnaz, Jr. From the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Collection, Music Division, of the Library of Congress. Donated by Lucie Arnaz / Desilu, too, LLC.

On April 17, 1953, just two weeks after the first edition was published, Lucy and Little Ricky were on the cover of TV Guide in a drawing by Jack Weaver. Lucy was depicted as the top of a TV totem pole featuring Cid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Milton Berle, and Arthur Godfrey - all TV pioneers. Lucy is holding a pack of Philip Morris cigarettes and Little Ricky’s rattle has a TV antenna on it!

The back cover of the April 17, 1953 edition featured the premiere issue with Lucy and Little Desi on top of a television set.

Mother and son were back on the cover 20 years later on March 31, 1973.

TV GUIDE & I LOVE LUCY: On the Air!

But before that, Lucille Ball was on the cover of a local edition of TV Guide (January 25, 1952), which was casually left on the coffee table during“Breaking the Lease” (1952).

TV Guide turns up again in “Rickyand Fred are TV Fans” (1953) which features Queen Elizabeth on the cover of its May29, 1953, issue. It is worth noting that the birth of Little Ricky had better ratings than Her Majesty’s coronation!

“RickyLoses His Temper” (1954) features yet another TV Guide, this one with “I’ve Got A Secret” on the cover on January 12, 1954. Two years later Lucille Ball made the first of her four appearances on“I’ve Got a Secret.”

This same issue turns up again in “Lucy’sClub Dance” (1954) where it joins the March 12, 1954 edition (featuring Maria Riva, daughter of actress Marlene Dietrich) and the February 26, 1954 issue (featuring Liberace) as set dressing for a corner news stand!

Liberace’s cover features his famous candelabra, which would be pivotal to the plot of his 1970 appearance on“Here’s Lucy.” Inside, it contained a review of“I Love Lucy” as Program of the Week.

Lucille Ball appeared in a thoughtful pose on the cover of TV Guide on October 9, 1954.

While this issue was never seen on“I Love Lucy,” it did turn up frequently on“The Andy Griffith Show”, a series filmed on the Desilu backlot.

Perhaps the most conspicuousTV Guide appearance is in “MiltonBerle Hides Out at the Ricardos” (1959) in which ‘Mr. Television’s’ January 10, 1959, cover by Al Hirschfeld is blown up to poster size to decorate Berle’s office!

In 1991, a commemorative edition of TV Guide dubbed Lucille Ball a TV Legend.

On October 13, 2001, TV Guide paid tribute to “I Love Lucy” with eight collectible covers and a cover story“The 50 Funniest Moments of I Love Lucy”!

Of the eight covers, two were portraits of Lucille Ball from the 1950s, and 5 were from episodes….

“Job Switching” (1952)…

“Redecorating the Mertzes’ Apartment” (1953)…

“L.A. at Last!” (1955)…

“Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (1955)…

“Lucy’s Italian Movie” (1956)…

In 2005 this cover was recreated by Reba McEntire as Lucy Ricardo marking the last of the small-sized editions of TV Guide.

“Lucy and Superman” (1957).

Interestingly, the covers do not include“Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (1952), which includes the memorable Vitameatavegamin sequence.

In addition, there was an individually numbered, limited edition, wrap-around cover collector’s issue, not sold in stores (note the inverted color logo), featuring“Lucy Gets a Paris Gown”(1956).

The November 10, 2001 Canadian TV Guide chimed in with this cover featuring“Lucy Tells The Truth” (1953).

TV Guide teamed up with the Paley Center for Media in New York City to salute Lucille Ball in her centennial year (2011) with a multi-dimensional exhibit titled “Loving Lucy.”

On April 8, 2013 TV Guide’s 60th anniversary reprised a Lucy cover from January 12, 1957 which marked TV’s first ten years.

Needless to say, there are many other Lucille Ball appearances on / in TV Guide, these are just a select few.

The “I Love Lucy” Christmas Special Returns

On December 20, 2019 at 8pm, CBS will once again re-broadcast the“I Love Lucy” Christmas Show back to back with a newly colorized classic episode. This year, that episode is“Paris at Last”(S5;E18 ~ February 27, 1956)in which the Ricardos and Mertzes visit the European capital, and nearly wind up in jail! Along the way, Lucy runs into a counterfeiter – and inadvertently orders a lunch of escargot!

Every holiday season since 2013, CBS has presented a colorized“I Love Lucy” special centered around the 1956 Christmas Special, which was first aired in 1989 and 1990.

“Paris at Last” brings the total number of colorized episodes of“I Love Lucy” to 17, including the Christmas Show.

1. “PioneerWomen” (S1;E25)
   
2. “LucyDoes a TV Commercial” (S1;E30)
3. “JobSwitching” (S2;E1)
4. “TheMillion Dollar Idea” (S3;E13)
5. “BonusBucks” (S3;E21)
6. “L.A.at Last!” (S4;E17)
7. “LucyGets Into Pictures” (S4;E19)
8. “TheFashion Show” (S4;E20)
9. “TheDancing Star” (S4;E27)
10. “Lucyand Harpo Marx” (S4;E28)
11. “LucyVisits Grauman's” (S5;E1)
12. “Lucyand John Wayne” (S5;E2)
13. “LucyGoes To Scotland” (S5;E17)
14. “Parisat Last” (S5;E18)
15. “Lucy’sItalian Movie” (S5;E23)
16. “Lucyand Superman” (S6;E12)
17. “The‘I Love Lucy’ Christmas Show” (1956)

January 25, 1952

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz appeared on the cover of TV Guide (pre-National edition, volume V, #4) on January 25, 1952. The inside article “Why I Love Lucy” was written by Desi Arnaz. This was Lucille’s second of five covers of the pre-national edition before she graced the cover of the very first national edition on April 3, 1953.

In the New York region (above) the black and white photograph was colorized against a white background.

In other regions, a different color background was used. In New England (above) it was yellow.

Not all regions used the same images or published material at the same time. The Washington-Baltimore region didn’t use the story“Why I Love Lucy” by Desi Arnaz until February 7, 1952, two weeks after most other regions. They also used a different image, this one a press photo from“Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying To Murder Her” (ILL S1;E4) first aired on November 5, 1951.

The December 8, 1951 issue of “TV Forecast” used the same photograph but here Desi is cropped out and the image is reversed. Lucy’s teardrop earring also failed to make the cut!

The uncropped black and white photograph.

The photograph also appeared on the cover of Ric Wyman’s book For The Love of Lucy.

Desi was cropped out of the photo when it was used on a special edition of Newsweek in 2017.

Among the letters to the editor, a viewer of“I Love Lucy” points out that an on-screen photographer didn’t follow the usual procedures for the press camera used in the episode!

The shutterbug viewer is probably referring to the photographer played by Harry Shannon in“Men Are Messy” (ILL S1;E8), first aired on December 3, 1951.

The episode listed in this issue of TV Guide was“Lucy Fakes Illness” (ILL S1;E16) aired on Monday, January 28th.The episode earned a rating share of 57.4/77.

“I Love Lucy: You Would Too, If You Were I” by Desi Aranz. [Sadly, no legible scans of the text were available for perusal.]

This issue was casually left on the coffee table while Lucy was packing during “Breaking the Lease” (ILL S1;E18), filmed on January 5th and aired on February 11, 1952.

January 25, 1952, the date this issue hit the newsstands, was also the date that“I Love Lucy” filmed“The New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E25).

The back cover advertises the January 1952 daytime schedule for WNBT, the flagship station of NBC, now known as WNBC-TV.“I Love Lucy” was a CBS-TV show.

“Television! We’ll go on television!”

(S3;E13 ~ January 11, 1954) Directed by William Asher. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr.Filmed November 28, 1953 at Ren-Mar Studios.Rating: 62.7/83

It was the 79th episode filmed. This is the first new episode of the series in calendar year 1954.

Synopsis ~ Lucy dreams of making millions by selling her homemade salad dressing. To help sales, Lucy and Ethel go on television, which brings in more orders than they can handle!

This ‘get rich quick scheme’ hearkens back to “The Girls Go Into Business” (S3;E1), where Lucy and Ethel buy a dress shop, combined with elements of“Lucy Does a Television Commercial” (S1;30, above) where Lucy pitches Vitameatavegamin and (in her living room) Philip-Morris.

The episode opens with the foursome having dinner. This allows an opportunity for jokes about Ethel’s weight. At dinner Lucy is wearing the Elois Jenssen dress she previously wore in“Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (S3;E11) and will wear twice more in 1954.

Lucy’s leaf print tablecloth was made by Calaprint. This tablecloth was seen in several episodes and even appeared later in the Westport house in a kitchen scene when Lucy is ironing it.

Lucy’s ivy patterndishes were from the Franciscan Ivy dinnerware from California-based Gladding, McBean, & Co. The set was first sold in 1948, so it was only a few years on the market when “I Love Lucy” series began filming in June 1951. Lucy had the full dinner service including salt and pepper shakers, butter dish, and tea set with teapot (which is used in the next scene, set in the kitchen at breakfast the next day).

The Ivy set was used throughout the series as well as on “Bewitched” (above, also directed by William Asher) and “The Donna Reed Show.” It even turns up used in the Lucy / Desi film Forever Darling (1956).

For dessert, Lucy brings out a plate of bite sized pastries. When Ricky wants to talk about her being overdrawn at the bank, Lucy doesn’t want to discuss it while she’s eating. Rather than have to‘splain her finances, Lucy eats a dozen of the treats while Ricky waits patiently! What the props department used for the sweets is unknown, but they make an audible crispy crunch when Lucy bites into them. Luckily for Lucille Ball re-takes were a rarity on“I Love Lucy!”

Ricky:“There’s lots of wonderful salad dressings on the market made by people who know what they’re doing!”

~ A BRIEF HISTORY OF SALAD DRESSING ~

• 1896 ~Joe Marzetti opened a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, and began to serve his customers a variety of dressings developed from old country recipes. He began packaging his dressings to sell to restaurant customers in 1919.
  
• 1912 ~ Richard Hellmann, a deli owner in New York, began to sell his blue ribbon mayonnaise in wooden containers. One year later, in response to a strong consumer demand, Hellmann began to market the mayonnaise in glass jars.
  
• 1925 ~ The Kraft Cheese Company entered the salad dressing business with the purchase of several regional mayonnaise manufacturers. This led to Kraft’s initial entry into the pourable dressing business with French Dressing as its first flavor.

Everyone agrees that Lucy’s salad dressing is delicious so ‘the million dollar idea’ is born! They decide to call their new product 'Aunt Martha’s Old Fashioned Salad Dressing’ because it was Lucy’s family recipe. Curiously, Lucy and Ethel both have an Aunt Martha. We learn of Lucy’s Aunt Martha in this episode, and we learn about Ethel’s in “Face to Face” (S5;E7).

To sell the salad dressing they go on “The Dickie Davis Show,” a four-hour (!) daily TV program produced at the station run by Caroline Appleby’s husband, Charlie. [Neither Appleby appears in the episode, although both have previously been seen on screen.] Although unheard of today, commercials like this, often done live, were frequently part of television shows. In fact, Lucy and Desi did many such commercials in character as the Ricardos promoting their sponsors like Philip-Morris, Sanka, or (later) Westinghouse.

Dickie Davis is played by Frank Nelson, who seems to have cornered the market on radio and TV hosts in the Lucy-verse, having already appeared as Freddy Fillmore twice as of the date of this episode. Fillmore will make one more appearance in“Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation” (S4;E22) in March 1954. He also played talent scout Ben Benjamin and Westport neighborRalph Ramsey. It seems the writers had a penchant for alliterative names when it came to Nelson! The actor has the distinction of being the only performer to play more than one running character (two or more appearances) on the series.

Nelson’s own surname is used for the show’s main sponsor, The Nelson Photo Finishing Company, whose clever slogan is 'Our Business is Developing.’ They are located at Leed and Hickox, non-existent NYC cross streets that likely reference Martin Leeds, a Desilu Executive, and Andrew Hickox, the Arnazes business manager.

Speaking of business, Lucy tells Ethel she’s used up her allowance until June the 12th — 1978! Ironically, in the previous episode Lucy had a nightmare that Ricky left her for a sexy Cuban dancer and she was reduced to begging outside their theater, 25 years in the future - 1978! [The episode was filmed and aired in late 1953.] For information on what Lucille Ball was really doing in1978click on the date!.

In their early ‘infomercial,’ Ethel plays 'one of the country’s leading home economists’ Mary Margaret McMertz, a spoof on Mary Margaret McBride(1899-1976), a pioneering broadcaster and one of the nation’s most popular voices on radio. McBride was first heard on WOR as the host of a daily woman’s program.

Under the pseudonym 'Martha Deane’ McBride portrayed a fictional grandmother telling stories, offering advice, interviewing guests, and skillfully pitching products. During her career, she was heard on all three networks: CBS, NBC, and ABC, retiring the year this episode aired.

To test the salad dressing, McMertz brings on an 'average housewife selected at random’: Lucy, calling herself Isabella Clump, a nasal-voiced frump.

Product Placement ~ On Lucy’s stove top are three shakers: salt, pepper, and Accent, a seasoning blend comprised primarily of MSG.

Owens of Illinois marketed a three-shaker set, which Lucy owned. As the series soared in the ratings, subliminal placement of such products became more common - even if the item was never used or mentioned.

Lucy and Ethel charge 40 cents a quart for their dressing. After Ricky subtracts the cost of the ingredients they are left with a profit of just three cents, which they promised to Caroline. They quickly realize that they have more orders than they can keep up with and aren’t making any money, so they go back on the show to 'un-sell’ their product.

When Fred brings up the first sack of mail filled with order for the Salad Dressing, he says it is the“morning mail.” There was a time when the US Post Office made two deliveries a day: Morning Mail and Afternoon. The practice gone the way of the morning and evening editions of the newspaper.

Lucy then uses her maiden name to become 'average housewife selected at random'Lucille McGillicuddy (“Cancel! Cancel! Cancel!”).

When that, too, backfires, they buy store-made salad dressing at 50 cents a quart, 10 cents more than what they were originally charging, and affix their own labels on them!

Oops! Lucille Ball makes a rare dialogue error towards the end of the episode. She says they have 1,153 orders, but later tells Ricky there are 1,133 jars.

• On their way to deliver their orders, Lucy calls Ethel by her middle name, Roberta, which was Vivian Vance’s real middle name.
• Previously, in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (S3;E3), Ethel’s middle name was Louise (William Frawley’s ex-wife’s first name).
• When she visits her hometown in season 5 her middle name is Mae (Vivian Vance’s mother’s middle name).“Ethel Mae Potter – We Never Forgot Her”.

Apparently, someone 'forgot her’ middle name!

Sitcom Logic Alert! Lucy lives on the fourth floor walk-up brownstone. How will she and Ethel (on skates) manage shopping carts full of glass jars?!?

As the two Salad Dressing Delivery girls skate out the front door, Lucy says to Ethel:

LUCY:“You take the East Side and I’ll take the West Side and I’ll be in Jersey a-fore ya!”

Lucy is paraphrasing"The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond“, a well-known traditional Scottish song first published in 1841. The original lyrics are: “O ye’ll tak’ the high road, and I’ll tak’ the low road, and I’ll be in Scotland a'fore ye.” To make sure the spoken reference is understood by viewers, the orchestra plays the song with a Scottish sound as the episode ends.

FAST FORWARD!

Lucy also got her skates on in an episode of“The Lucy Show” and in the feature film Mame.

Nearly two years later, in November 1955, Jackie Gleason’s“The Honeymooners” also did a memorable spoof on television commercials when Ralph Kramden (Gleason as ‘Chef of the Future’) and Ed Norton (Art Carney as ‘Chef of the Past’) try to sell their newest‘get rich quick’ gadget, the “Handy Housewife Helper.” The question is,“Can it core a apple?”

In 1938, while a contract player with RKO, a brunette Lucille Ball contributed her recipe for salad dressing to a cookbooktitledFamous Stars Favorite Foods. Onions, oil, and salt are also ingredients in Aunt Martha’s Salad Dressing. Not being much of a cook, chances are this entry was handled by RKO’s publicity department.

On April 19, 2019, CBS broadcast a colorized version of this episode in primetime along with“Bonus Bucks” (S3;E21) under the umbrella title of“Funny Money Special”.These two episodes bring the total number of colorized half hours to 16.

Nostalgia merchants and marketeers have produced a variety of Lucy merchandise and collectibles based on this episode:

• a heart-shaped plate;
  
• various holiday ornaments;
  
• kitchen aprons;
• video boxes;
• tin signs;
• a picture puzzle in a Aunt Martha’s Salad Dressing jar (above);
  
• foreign postage stamps
  

(LDCH S1;E2 ~ December 3, 1957) Directed by Jerry Thorpe. Written by Madelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller, and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed September 27, 1957 at Ren-Mar Studios.

Synopsis ~ Stage and screen star Tallulah Bankhead has moved in next door to the Ricardos and Mertzes! Once Lucy discovers that a celebrity is in her midst, she tries to win her friendship by inviting her to an elegant dinner party - with Fred and Ethel Mertz posing as hired help. Before long Lucy has gotten Bankhead and the entire gang involved with a local PTA show.

This is the second of 13 episodes of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.” After "I Love Lucy” ended its six season run in May 1957, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz convinced CBS to allow the program (using the same principal cast) to return as occasional one hour specials. In addition to the new hour-long format, the shows would be centered on a celebrity guest star, feature more music, and location shoots. The first season presented five episodes sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, under the title “The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show.”

This is the last new episode aired in 1957.

Before the action begins, Desi Arnaz steps in front of a curtain to thank the viewers for their support of their first episode, “Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana,” aired a month earlier. This is something he would do for most of the series, although in re-runs these intros are usually cut to make time for extra commercials. This is one of the few “Comedy Hours” that takes place entirely in Connecticut with no musical interludes. Of the 13, it also feels the most like an episode of “I Love Lucy.”

The celebrity of the title was stage and screen star Tallulah Bankhead, although it was originally intended to be Bette Davis, a drama school classmate of Lucille Ball’s. While the script was being developed, names also considered were William Holden and Gary Cooper. Davis requested $20,000, equal billing to Lucy and Desi, and the cost of her return airfare after filming. Lucy and Desi were considering the offer when Davis had a home accident and then fell off a horse and had to drop out. Bankhead was their second choice.

Tallulah Bankhead was born in 1903 in Huntsville, Alabama, and left home at the age of 15 to appear on the New York stage. Like Lucille Ball, she was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind(1939). She was briefly married to John Emerywho had appeared on “I Love Lucy” as Harold the Tramp in “The Quiz Show” (ILL S1;E5) and as angry neighbor Mr. Stewart in “Little Ricky Gets a Dog” (ILL S6;E14). Bankhead died in 1968.

Lucy Ricardo had impersonated Bankhead on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy’s Fake Illness” (ILL S1;E16) and then quickly imitated her husky voice on the telephone in “Ricky Asks for a Raise” (ILL S1;E35). In this episode Bankhead angrily says to Lucy, “You do a revolting imitation of me!”

Although Lucille and Desi feared the studio audience would not immediately recognize stage star Bankhead, her entrance applause was so enthusiastic that it had to be edited for time!

The episode opens with Ricky and Little Ricky about to rehearse their number for the PTA show. Ricky gets distracted by the fact that Lucy is using binoculars to spy on the star’s moving men, just as she did in “New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21), so we never know what the number is, but Little Ricky wears a Havana sombrero, so it had to have a Cuban theme.

It is also unclear exactly what house Bankhead is moving into, since it has been established that the Ramseys live next door to the Ricardos. Ralph and Betty Ramsey will not be featured in “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” but will be occasionally mentioned in the dialogue.

Lucy asks Fred and Ethel to play their ‘couple’ (maid and butler) when she invites Bankhead to dinner. Lucy had played maid to impress Fred’s old vaudeville partner in “Mertz and Kurtz” (ILL S4;E2). Both Lucy and Vivian pretend to be maids again in a 1964 episode of “The Lucy Show.”

'Ethel Mae’ gushingly admits that she has seen Bankhead on stage in Dear Charles, The Green Hat, The Skin of Our Teeth, Rain, They Knew What They Wanted, Camille, Private Lives and The Little Foxes, which she saw five times! Ironically, Bette Davis did the 1941 film version of The Little Foxes,so the reference may be left over from an earlier script.

When Ethel Mae tries to leave the dining room at the same time that‘Mertz’ is coming in with a strawberry pie, the resulting gag is instantly reminiscent of“The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5, left) two years earlier.

It’s a good thing that Tallulah never got to eat the strawberry pie, because it is revealed later in the episode that she is allergic to strawberries!

Oops! The writers must have cribbed from Bankhead’s resume for a list of her stage credits, but they neglected to notice that several of these plays were London productions only, not Broadway. When the gang visited England in season five of “I Love Lucy,” Ethel makes no mention of previously visiting London. The conversation then turns to the 1944 film Lifeboat, which Ethel says she saw in her hometown of Albuquerque.

During rehearsal for a telephone scene, Bankhead proclaimed that it was the first time a stage phone worked and she could actually hear someone on the other end! This is ironic considering that that a non-working stage phone had been the cause for a rift between Desi and Jerry Hausner (Jerry the Agent) which led to his departing the series.

Oops! After Tallulah Bankhead storms out of the Ricardo kitchen, Lucy slams the kitchen door. As she does this, the drawstring to the blind hanging on the door sways back and forth through the window, indicating that there is no glass in the window. This same blooper occurred in“The Sublease” (ILL S3;E31).When Lucy passes by the kitchen window after slamming the door, she walks into the backdrop making it move.

For the scene in which Lucy serves Bankhead a Southern dinner, packages of frozen fried chicken (some of the first to be marketed) were used as food props. Bankhead, thinking it was homemade, raved that it was the best fried chicken she’d ever eaten!

Tallulah Bankhead attending a PTA meeting is likened by Ricky to Marilyn Monroe attending a Girl Scout rally. Movie star Bankhead has never even heard of the PTA (“PT-what?”) or a hardware store. When Bankhead shows up at the meeting, they abruptly cancel their planned musical in favor of a dramatic play called “The Queen’s Lament” starring (of course) Miss Tallulah Bankhead. This plot point is probably a hold-over from when Bette Davis was intended to be the 'celebrity’ as she had recently played Queen Elizabeth I in film in The Virgin Queenin 1955 as well as in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essexin 1939.

“THE QUEEN’S LAMENT” produced by the Westport PTA

• The Queen ~ Miss Tallulah Bankhead
• Her Lady in Waiting ~ Mrs. Ricardo
• The Duke of Farthington ~ Mr. Ricardo
• Genevieve, The Royal Cook ~ Mrs. Mertz
• A Knight ~ Mr. Mertz
• Musical Entertainment by the Westport Glee Club
• Directed by Mrs. Ida Thompson
• Written by Mr. Thompson
• Costumes by Mrs. Wilson

When Fred is in his “Buster Brown bob” and knight’s armor, Ricky makes a joke about getting a can opener to let out the pants. This is reminiscent of when Ricky was in full amour at MGM for Don Juan and a joke was made about opening a‘canned ham’ in“Hollywood at Last!” (ILL S4;E16, right).

A running gag throughout the second half hour is Ricky’s mispronunciation of“Queen” as“Quinn”. Particularly funny is when he addresses Bankhead as“My nubble Quinn”!

Naturally Lucy gets jealous of Bankhead playing the lead and arranges for her to be locked in the bathroom, just as she did to the original Sally Sweet dancer in “The Diet” (ILL S1;E3).

It’s a good thing Lucy learned how to curtsy when meeting the real Queen when she traveled to London so she can do it effortlessly for Miss Bankhead in“The Queen’s Lament”.

When the school glee club marches on prematurely during a rehearsal singing “Camptown Races,” Bankhead quips “Who are these children, left over from 'The King and I’?” Chalk up yet another Rodgers & Hammerstein reference for Desilu. The Broadway musical had closed three years earlier, but the film version was barely a year old and earned five Oscars that year.

Stories about the clash between Lucille Ball and Bankhead mostly center on work ethic. Kathleen Brady’s biography Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball says that Bankhead rehearsed in a haze of alcohol and refused to learn her lines. Lucy was a stickler for rehearsals so naturally their styles clashed.

At one point, it is reported that Vivian Vance admired Bankhead’s slacks during a production meeting so Tallulah took off her pants, gave them to Viv, and sat down naked!

LUCY:“As a peace offering, I’ve brought you some of my homemade jam.”
TALLULAH:“I’ve already been in one of your homemade jams.”

When the script called for Bankhead to get covered in paint by a paint sprayer, she surprised everyone by entering the scene wearing sunglasses and a head covering to protect herself from the spray. Physical comedy was not Bankhead’s forte. The verbal fireworks between Lucy and Bankhead in the kitchen scene are, however, palpably realistic! Bankhead later said "She’s divine to work with! And Desi! He’s brilliant! He has a temper, however. But that’s because he’s fat! It worries him.” Adding to the tension was the fact that it was during rehearsals for this episode that the Arnazes decided to purchase RKO, the studio where they first met, for $6.15 million.

In the dressing room scene, Lucy wears the same bathrobe she wore during“Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums” (ILL S6;E2, right) a year earlier.

The dressing room is decorated with pennants that say Manchester and Dalewood, but none saying Westport!

Elvia Allman (Ida Thompson) is probably best remembered as the barking forewoman of Kramer’s Kandy Kitchen in “Job Switching” (ILL S2;E1). She made two more appearances on “I Love Lucy.” She would make one more appearance on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in 1959 and would be seen on "The Lucy Show” as well.

The character is likely named in honor of Maury Thompson, who was the show’s long-time camera coordinator. In“The Benefit” (ILL S1;E13), Ethel thanks an off-stage character named Mrs. Thompson!

Richard Deacon(Winslow, Miss Bankhead’s Butler) was employed again by Desi as a regular on "The Mothers-in-Law” (1968). He also made two appearances on "Here’s Lucy” in the early 1970s.

Phyllis Kennedy (Elsie, Miss Bankhead’s Maid) was a good friend of Lucille Ball’s, the two having appeared together in Stage Door(1937) and Joy of Living(1938).

Mrs. Wilson, who is in charge of the costumes, is mentioned, but never seen.

The Glee Club members are played by a dozen pre-teen boys who are uncredited and unidentified.

FAST FORWARD!

The brown silk taffeta day dress with a rounded mink lapel collar dress Lucille Ball wears in the kitchen showdown with Bankhead was gifted to her friend Carole Cook. Lucysits on a chair with wet paint, accusing Bankhead of tricking her into doing it to ruin the dress so it is likely that there was more than one dress made for this scene. Cook says that Lucy gave her this dress when she was hired to be in “The Desilu Review.” Cook first wore this dress leaving for her honeymoon in 1964 when she married Tom Troupe. Ball was matron of honor.

Cooke wore it on a December 9, 1974 episode of“Maude” titled“Walter’s Ex”. She later wore it as Mrs. Dobrun in the 1980 Paramount film American Gigolo starring Richard Gere. Cook wore it to a number of private events and outings before putting it up for auction in 2021. It fetched more than $7,500!

Just as Tallulah is allergic to strawberries that make her break out in hives and have to scratch in public, Lucy Carmichael is allergic to caviar and broke out in hives in public in“My Fair Lucy” (TLS S3;E20). To help soothe her itching, Lucy finds respite in the‘arms’ of a modern art sculpture!

To mark the 65th Anniversary of“I Love Lucy”, the Hamilton Collection issued a collectible figure based on the outfit Lucille Ball wore in this episode.

Lucy’s Lady-in-Waiting dress was on display at The Hollywood Museum in April 2019.

(S6;E27 ~ May 6, 1957) Directed by William Asher. Written byMadelyn Martin, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed April 4, 1957 at Ren-Mar Studio.Rating: 35.6/56

Synopsis ~ Ricky has been chosen to dedicate a new Revolutionary War statue in the Westport Town Square. There’s a problem: Lucy has accidentally destroyed the one-of-a-kind sculpture!

After 179 episodes, “I Love Lucy” comes to an end, although the characters would continue to appear for three seasons in a series specials later known as "The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.”

Even through this was the last regular episode, it still ended with the announcer saying "Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz will be back next week.” It was, however, about six months before the the first “Comedy Hour” aired. Feeling they had taken the current format as far as they could, Desi Arnaz had pursued the idea of one hour specials with CBS for several seasons. Because the show was number one in the ratings, naturally they were reluctant. In the opening dialogue Lucy presciently says to Ethel that “Ricky’s getting mellow just as I’m running out of tricks.” Over 35 million viewers tuned in to watch this episode, not knowing it would be the end of an era.

This is the only time that Desi Arnaz, Jr. ever appeared on the show. In the final scene he stands in front of Vivian Vance, who asks him, “Are you having fun, honey?” Desi, Jr. went on to appear in the first few seasons of “Here’s Lucy” along with Lucie Arnaz. Despite persistent rumors, Lucie is not one of the little girls in the final scene. She never appeared on the series, unless you count the pilot episode, where Lucille Ball was several months pregnant!

Also in the crowd at the unveiling is actor Mike Lally, who appeared with Lucille Ball in 10 films between 1934 and 1963. He also was seen at the “Country Club Dance” (S6;E25) that featured Barbara Eden as Diana Jordan. Lally went on to appear in a 1965 episode of "The Lucy Show.” Lucy and Desi’s stand-ins Hazel Pierce and Bennett Green, both dressed in colonial costumes, are in the final scene, as well as background player Art Howard and Joan Carey, who later became Lucille Ball’s stand-in during“The Lucy Show.”It is unconfirmed, but some say that little Lucie and Desi Jr.’s nanny, Willie Mae Barker, is in the crowd. If this is true, she would be only the third black actor to appear on the show, after William McDaniel and Betty Allen. It is also rumored that Lucie Arnaz’s childhood friend Susie Meyer is in the crowd, but again - no official confirmation of that can be made.

Although this is the last episode of the half-hour series, Little Ricky (Keith Thibodeaux aka Richard Keith) will appear in all but one of the hour-long specials. In the above moment, Little Ricky has been getting into his daddy’s make-up kit!

This plot was inspired by the real Minuteman Statue that was dedicated in 1910 and still stands in Westport, Connecticut, today. When the Ricardos made the move to Connecticut, a reconnaissance mission reported back to Hollywood about real-life Westport locations that might be included in the storyline, and the Historical Society and the Minuteman Statue were among them. “After all,” writer Madelyn Pugh said, “if you have a real town, you don’t want to make a real boner.” The referenced Battle of Compo Hill was also taken from history, taking place on April 28, 1777.

The Yankee Doodle Day Celebration is staged by the Westport Historical Society on Jessup Green, just as it is in real-life (except that the actual location is spelled ‘Jesup’). In reality, the Minuteman Statue sits in the middle of an intersection two and a half miles away from Jesup Green, which is adjacent to the town library. The song "Yankee Doodle” was played by the 'town band’ at the start of the unveiling ceremony.

Fred the dog finally gets a subplot! Ricky threatens to take Fred back to the pound “where we got him.” But Fred didn’t come from the pound. In “Little Ricky Gets a Dog” (S6;E14) we learn that he was one of the puppies from Billy Palmer’s litter.

Here Fred the dog gets extensive air time and is required to run up onto the sofa with Ricky’s chewed up speech in his mouth and hide his head under a cushion. He does the trick successfully, but after a quick cut to Lucy, the dog is suddenly on the other side of the sofa, indicating that there may have been a few attempts at getting the stunt right. Although the Ricardos continued to live in Westport for three more seasons of “Comedy Hours,” this is the last time we see Fred the dog. The canine character was played by Danny, a Cairn Terrier trained by Bob Blair and owned by Frank Inn.

When Fred the dog graduates from obedience school, Lucy warns Ricky that he’s learned obedience but that “he’s not ready for 'The Ed Sullivan Show.'” Ed Sullivan hosted an immensely popular variety show on CBS from 1948 to 1971. Up until 1955 it was called “Toast of the Town.” In 1954, Sullivan’s show devoted an entire hour to “I Love Lucy.” Ed Sullivan was mentioned by Ricky in “The Ricardos Are Interviewed” (S5;E7).

The unseen sculptor is named Mr. Silvestri because Silvestri Studiosof Los Angeles made the prop statues for the show. They specialize in making mannequins. The company is still in business today.

We learn that the Harry and Grace Munson live almost a mile away from the Ricardo house. There is a reference to next door neighbor Bruce Ramsey, whose parents Betty and Ralph live next door. Despite a public gathering of Westport citizens in the final scene, none of these characters show up! [It was more economical to hire background performers than featured actors!]

The last line of the series has Lucy paraphrasing a quote from John Greenleaf Whittier’s 1864 poem, “Barbara Frietschie,” about a Civil War Unionist who taunted Stonewall Jackson’s troops by waving the Union flag: “Shoot if you must this old gray head.” Lucy replaces the word “gray” with “red,” removing her tricorn hat and wig as she does so. Painted completely gray to resemble a statue, the reveal of Lucy’s flaming red locks (her trademark despite the hit series never being broadcast in color) gets a laugh from the studio audience.

Lucy Ricardo previously made herself into a sculpture - if only her head - in “Lucy Becomes a Sculptress” (S2;E15) back in 1953.

FAST FORWARD!

The Revolutionary War was fought again at the Colonial Inn, a new themed eatery in“Lucy and Viv Open a Restaurant” (TLS S2;E20). Lucy is George Washington, and Viv his wife Martha.

Genealogists say that the Father of Our Country is the 8th cousin 7 times removed to the Queen of Comedy!

Lucille Ball guest-starred on 1964′s“The Jack Benny Program” (S15;E2) as Mrs. Paul Revere. Benny played her husband.

In 1963′s “Lucy’s College Reunion” (TLS S2;E13) Lucy Carmichael and Viv steal a statue of the college’s founder during homecoming weekend.

In real life, Lucille Ball has been celebrated in statuary several times…

The new Lucille Ball statue (left) in Memorial Park, Celoron, New York, replaced the old one (right), a controversial installation dubbed“scary Lucy.”

Lucy waits patiently on a park bench located at 100 North Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California. Palm Springs was Lucille Ball’s second home.

Although first found at a Disney Theme Park, these statues of Lucy and Ricky can now be found at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza.

S3;E14~ December 14, 1970

Directedby Ross Martin ~ Written by Larry Rhine and Lou Derman

Synopsis

Harryis panicked when he thinks an old college girlfriend wants to marry him, so he recruits Lucy to pretend to be his wife – complete withtwo teenage kids and another one on the way!

RegularCast

LucilleBall (LucyCarter), GaleGordon (HarrisonOtis Carter), LucieArnaz (KimCarter)

DesiArnaz Jr. (CraigCarter) does not appear in this episode. He is, however, mentioned inthe dialogue and his name appears in the opening credits. Harryclaims Craig is “on vacation.”

GuestCast

JeanWilles(Gertrude Krebs) appeared in TheFuller Brush Girl(1950) and AWoman of Distinction(1950) with Lucille Ball. This is her only series appearance.

Gertrudeis a college friend of Harry’s.

CaroleCook(Lillian Rylander) playedThelma Green on “The Lucy Show” as well as a host of othercharacters. She was a protege of Lucille Ball’s during the DesiluPlayhouse years. Although born as Mildred Cook, Ball suggested shetake the name Carole, in honor of Lucy’s great friend, CaroleLombard. Cook appeared in five episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Lillianis a member of Lucy’s bridge club. The surname Rylander has beenused many times by Gale Gordon when dictating letters to Lucy in both“Here’s Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.”

EddieQuillan(Cab Driver) appeared in the Lucille Ball film AGuide for the Married Man(1967) and in two episodes of “The Lucy Show.” This isthe first of his two “Here’s Lucy” installments.

BillyBenedict(Delivery Man) played Whitey in the original Bowery Boys / East SideKids film serials. He marriedfor the first time at age 52 while working as an extra on Hello,Dolly(1969) – coincidentally to a girl named Dolly! This is his only time (in more than 300 films and television shows)working with Lucille Ball.

GaryMorton(Airport Announcer Voice, uncredited) wasa comedian who worked the famed ‘Borscht Belt’ in the CatskillsMountains. He met Lucille Ball shortly after her divorce from DesiArnaz and they married in November 1961. At her request, Morton gaveup his nightclub career and became a producer of “The Lucy Show.”Morton also served as a warm-up comic for the show’s studioaudience. He appeared in“Lucyand the Andrews Sisters” (S2;E6)and“Lucy and Sammy Davis Jr.” (S3;E3). Morton passed away in 1999.

Thevoice delivers the news that Gertrude’s flight has been delayed fivehours.

Lee Bergere (Doctor Brogan, uncredited) worked at Desilu in “Star Trek”, “Mission: Impossible,” and “Mannix”. He is probably best remembered for playing Joseph on“Dynasty” (1981-83).

Unusually,Bergere, who has dialogue in the episode’s finalscene, is not identified in the end credits. It may be the result of‘artistic differences’ with Lucille Ball a LBP, or it may just have been an oversight.

Joan Carey (Airport Traveler, uncredited) was one of the few performers to be seen on“I Love Lucy,”“The Lucy Show” and“Here’s Lucy.” She was also one of Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-ins. [Thanks to The Lucy Lounge for spotting her!]

Other airport travelers are played by uncredited background performers.

Thisis the first episode to be directed by actor RossMartin,who was a good friend of Lucille Ball’s. In a 1970 TV special (twoweeks before this episode first aired) titled “Swing Out, SweetLand” - a history of America hosted by John Wayne - Lucille Balldid the voice of the Statue of Liberty and Martin played AlexanderHamilton. He will direct one more episode of “Here’s Lucy.”

Thetitle of this episode is often listed without the article: “Lucy,Part-Time Wife.”

GaryMorton’s loud laughter from the studio audience is particularlynoticeable in this episode. Perhaps, as her husband, he was wildly amused atthe idea of Lucille being pregnant?

WhenHarry pleads with Lucy saying “it’sa matter of life or death”Lucy immediately assumes he’s been drafted. From1940 until 1973 men were drafted to fill vacancies in theUnitedStates Armed Forcesthatcould not be filled through voluntary means. The draft came to an endwhen the United States Armed Forces moved to anall-volunteermilitaryforce. In 1970, the Vietnam War made the draft a hot button issue on TV andpolitics.

To get Lucy to play along as his expectant wife, Harry bribes Lucy with a steam cabinet and an all-expenses paid trip to the Grand Canyon.

Gertrudeis in Los Angeles on a layover on her way to Honolulu. At the end ofseason three, Lucy and Vivian will go to Hawaii, but by cruise ship,not plane.

Gertrude’scollege nicknamed was ‘Blood and Guts’, the nickname of GeneralPatton. GeneralGeorgeSmith Patton Jr.(1885-1945)was a seniorofficeroftheUnitedStates Armywhocommanded in theMediterraneanandEuropeantheaters of World War II,but is best known for his leadership inFranceand GermanyfollowingtheAlliedinvasionof NormandyinJune 1944. A biopic of his life starring George C. Scott (inset) opened in spring 1970making this reference topical.

LillianRylander says she’s at the airport on her way to Chicago with Hildaand Jane for a bridge tournament. WhenLucy’sBridgeClubwasintroduced in“Lucyand Eva Gabor” (S1;E7)itconsisted of Dolores, Maude and Nelly. Hilda was mentioned as aBridge Club member in “Lucy the Helpful Mother” (S2;E15). Thisis the first mention of a member named Jane.

Lucytells Gertrude that she’s had cravings for pickles and ice cream, theusual TV trope craving for expectant mothers.

WhenLucy is reading baby names from a book, she stops on the name‘Anabell.’ Lucille Ball starred as Annabel Allison in the films TheAffairs of Annabel (1938)and AnnabelTakes a Tour(1938).

Luciebreaks out the doll she had as a child, which was named Clarabelle.

Atthe end of the episode, Lucy kisses Harry, her brother-in-law, on thelips!

Interestingly, the last time Lucille Ball was pregnant on camera was with Desi Arnaz Jr., who is coincidentally absent from this episode of“Here’s Lucy.”

In 1952, when Lucy Ricardo was expecting, CBS censors forbade the writers from using the word ‘pregnant.’ Throughout this episode – eighteen years later – the word is still not used!

WhenLucy Ricardo was pregnant she craved pistachio ice cream andsardines.

LucyRicardo also worried about picking a name for the baby, wanting namesthat were “unique and euphonious.”

LucyRicardo spends some time in a steam cabinet in “The Diet” (ILLS3;E1).

SitcomLogic GapChasm! LucilleBall was 59 years old when she filmed this episode!

Also,Harry tells Gertrude that Lucy is having a baby “anyday now.” Could they not simply tell Gertrude that the baby came early anddisguise a doll (or a cheese!) as the baby?

“Lucy, the Part-Time Wife” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

Thisepisode has the shoe on the other foot: Harry has a wild scheme thathe must convince Lucy to go along with. Despite the preposterouspremise, the episode proves to be funny. The last scene, however,fails to build to a climax quite in the way it should have. But Lucygets to do a good amount of her trademark physical comedy, including her funny faces when eating the pickles and ice cream!

1922 - 2024

Janis Paigewas bornDonna Mae Tjaden in Tacoma, Washington. Moving to Hollywood after high school, she made her screen debut in 1944. She made her Broadway debut in 1951 and three years later starred in “The Pajama Game” with John Raitt. The show won the 1955 Tony Award for Best Musical. When the film was made, her role went to Doris Day. But when the film of “Silk Stockings” was made in 1957, she landed the role of Peggy Dayton.

On television, Paige started working for Desilu on their variety show “Shower of Stars” in 1958. The following year she appeared in “Chez Rouge” for the Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse, introduced by Desi Arnaz.

In 1960 she appeared on an episode of the Desilu sitcom “The Ann Sothern Show” (above left with Ann Tyrell). That same year she also appeared on Desilu’s “Here’s Hollywood.” In 1963, she did a week of the Desilu game show “You Don’t Say” with Gale Gordon. She returned to the show several more times through 1969.

In 1966 Paige finally appeared with Lucille Ball in the Bob Hope Special “My Leading Ladies”. With Hope and Ball Paige also appeared in “Women I Love: Beautiful But Funny” (1982) and “Bob Hope’s Road to Hollywood” (1983).

Paige was married three times. She died at her Los Angeles home on June 2, 2024, at the age of 101.