The unaired (and lost) pilot for the series.
William Holden guest stars in the first episode, Finally L.A. Lucy and Ricky’s arrival in Los Angeles during the season long arc about Ricky’s big jump to Hollywood. I Love Lucy fans will remember the iconic Brown Derby scene when Lucy tries to sneak a peek at Holden in a nearby booth and he turns the tables on her. Lucy and Ricky each make the acquaintance of movie icon William Holden, playing himself, and gamely taking a pie in the face. The second episode, “Lucy and Superman,” has Lucy trying to book TV’s Man of Steel, George Reeves, to appear as a surprise guest at Little Ricky’s birthday party, but when he can’t make it, she dons the Superman suit herself and as only Lucy can, becomes a heroin in distress. But not to worry, Superman saves the day. He ends up stopping by the party and making a superhero entrance to the delight of Little Ricky and all his friends.
It's the Mertzes' eighteenth wedding anniversary. Ethel longs to celebrate it by going to the Copacabana, while Fred wants to attend the fights. As can be guessed, an argument soon ensues among the couples. Ethel and Lucy decide that they will go to the club-with dates! Now, this is perfectly fine with Fred, but Ricky is worried. So he and Fred call an old friend, Ginny Jones, for dates so that they can go to the nightclub and spy on their wives. Coincidentally, Lucy and Ethel have also called Ginny about getting dates to go to the club. When Ginny tells the girls about the boys' plans, Lucy decides that she and Ethel will impersonate the boys' blind dates. Thus, the two of them enter the Ricardo apartment decked out like country bumpkins, which makes for some superb Lucille Ball schtick.
In order to keep the honeymoon from ending with Ricky, Lucy consults a book that leads to all sorts of hilarious situations as Lucy tries to follow the book's advice.
To her dismay, Lucy finds out that she's put on 22 pounds since marrying Ricky. Complications arise when one of the girls in Ricky's new show quits, making a vacancy for a dancer who can wear a size twelve costume. At the auditions the next morning, Lucy tricks Ricky into saying that if she loses enough weight (12 pounds) in four days, then she can be in the show. Thus, she starves and exercises, with Ethel as her coach. In one funny scene, she tries to steal food from the Mertzes' dog Butch, because she is so hungry! She finally resorts to using a steam cabinet, and manages to get down to the required 120 pounds. At the end, Lucy and Ricky perform "Cuban Pete/Sally Sweet." She's a hit, but at the end she collapses, suffering from malnutrition.
Lucy 's new whodunit and a misunderstood phone conversation work together to lead Lucy to think Ricky is trying to poison her. So with what she believes is her last burst of energy, Lucy hastens to the Tropicana to confront Ricky with a gun.
After hearing a radio quiz show, and having Ricky answer all the question correctly, Lucy manages to get herself and Ricky on the show. Little does she know that Ricky knew the answers beforehand. The show is called "Females are Fabulous," a title that Lucy justifies elaborately. In this episode, Frank Nelson makes the first of many cameos as Freddy Fillmore.
Ricky's band is to be auditioned for television, and Lucy is trying to "get into the act." When Lucy substitutes for Buffo the clown, the producers want to sign her, not Ricky, and Lucy is confronted with problems. Ricky sings his trademark "Babalu`" for the first time in this episode
Lucy suddenly becomes interested in numerology and superstitions. After advising Ricky that it's a good day for him to make deals, she realizes that she read yesterday's horoscopes and that today is actually a bad day for Ricky. She thus says "no" to a very important business call for Ricky from Mr. Meriweather. In the process of putting things right, Lucy conducts a seance. Classic Ethel quote: "Ethel to Tillie, Ethel to Tillie, come in Tillie."
"Men are nothing but a bunch of messcats," insists Lucy Ricardo, while Ricky insists that "a man's home is his castle." To make a point, Lucy divides the apartment in half, so that Ricky can be as messy as he likes on his side. But when Ricky's press agent, Kenny Morgan, lines up a publicity spread in Halfbeat Magazine, Lucy decides to teach her sloppy husband a lesson by turning the Ricardo apartment into a regular pig pen. Little does Lucy know that this photographer is not from the musician's journal, but is actually from Look magazine.
Ricky returns home with a $3,500 mink coat that he has rented for an act at the club. Lucy immediately jumps to the conclusion that it's her anniversary present. Lucy is so delighted with her "present" that she eats, sleeps, and even does the dishes wearing the mink. Ricky decides to get the coat back by having Fred dress up as a theif and "steal" it, but before he does, a REAL burglar almost makes off with the coat! When Lucy learns from Ethel of his plan, she decides to teach her hubby a lesson. Buying a cheap imitation mink, she decides to "restyle" it (with a pair of scissors)in full view of Ricky.
An item in the morning gossip column prompts Lucy to assume that Ricky is seeing another woman, namely Rosemary, one of his dancers. To keep an eye on Ricky, Lucy manges to wangle her way into the chorus line of "Jezebel" at Ricky's club and upstages Rosemary during the number. Later that night, Ricky tells Lucy that there was a "strange girl" in the chorus-ugly, and a terrible dancer. He knew it was Lucy all along. They kiss and make up.
When Lucy opens a telegram addressed to Ricky ordering him to appear at the Army's Fort Dix, she assumes that he has been drafted. Ethel suspects that Fred has been drafted as well. Their suspicions are confirmed when they see them drilling in the living room with brooms. They don't know, however, that Ricky and Fred are practicing a dance routine for a servicemen's show. To get their men "ready for the army," Lucy and Ethel take to knitting blankets and other things for them. They also plan a going away party for them on Sunday night. Ricky and Fred, meanwhile, think that the girls are pregnant. Chaos ensues when they plan a similar party (a baby shower) for that same night.
Aired after the episode "Drafted" in 1951
Lucy volunteers for Ricky's Parisian apache dance number for an upcoming Tropicana show. And Ethel finds the perfect person to teach her the basic aspects of Apache dancing-Jean Valjean Raymand, who is the nephew of the woman who runs the French hand laundry. This Frenchman has more than dance lessons in mind, however. When Ricky finds him hiding in the hall closet, fireworks commence. Jean challenges him to a duel behind Radio City Music Hall, but they ultimately decide to stage a fake fight in the bedroom to teach Lucy a well-deserved lesson.
Ethel wants Ricky to a headline a benefit show for her women's club, but Lucy refuses to ask him, unless she can be on the bill, too. After plenty of coaxing on the part of Lucy, Ricky finally says that he'll do it. But Lucy then gets a chance to look at the act that she and Ricky will be doing for the benefit. Ricky has all the punch lines! She decides to rewrite the jokes and teach her husband a lesson.
Lucy,as usual, spends too much money on a dress. So she tells Ricky that she will get a job babysitting in order to pay for it. The trouble is, she didn't know that she would be winding up babysitting a pair of rambunctious, spoiled twins. The twins do almost everything to Lucy besides burning her at the stake. The twins' mother eventually calls, and says that if Lucy performs at a variety show with the twins, she can keep the prize money $100.
Miss Lewis, the Ricardos' elderly neighbor, requests Lucy's assistance in getting the attention of Mr. Ritter, the elderly grocery man whom she is sweet on. Lucy readily agrees to give Mr. Ritter a dinner invitation for Miss Lewis. The first complication arises when Lucy shares the news with Ricky, who spanks Lucy for interfering and makes her promise to give the note back to Miss Lewis. But, when Lucy proceeds to give Mr. Ritter the note anyway, he misunderstands and thinks the invitation is from Lucy herself. This leads to an unsuccessful plan by Lucy to discourage Mr. Ritter and Ricky's telling Mr. Ritter that he can have her. In spite of all these unintended mishaps, Mr. Ritter and Miss Lewis do in fact wind up together, never to be seen on any future episode.
After all this time, Lucy has finally found what she believes to be the perfect solution for getting into show business. After Ethel gives her a book about diseases, Lucy decides that she will pretend that she is suffering from numerous psychological ailments so that Ricky will feel sorry for her and let her go into show business. To convince Ricky that she is really "ill," Lucy pretends that she doesn't know who she is, and at one point "thinks" that she is Tallulah Bankhead! When Ricky eventually gets wind of Lucy's trick, he hires a phony doctor to scare Lucy back to health.
Lucy is busily writing the script for the play that her women's club is going to put on, a little something called "A Tree Grows in Havana," and she needs Ricky to appear in it. When Ricky sees the script, he immediately declines. So Lucy is then left with no alternative but to get Fred to agree to do the role. Deciding that Fred wouldn't be very good for portraying a Cuban character, Lucy decides to rewrite the play so that it is set in England. Later, however, Ricky decides that he wants to be in the play when he hears that some very important sponsors are going to be at the women's show. So he manages to trick Fred into giving him back the role. But Ricky doesn't know that Lucy has rewritten the play. This leads to some pretty disastrous results.
The show opens with the Ricardos and the Mertzes sitting around the Ricardos' piano, singing songs together. After the Mertzes leave, Lucy and Ricky wind up in an argument: Lucy wants to leave the bedroom window open, while Ricky wants it closed. The Mertzes, who are trying to get some sleep, are most irritated by the noise. They angrily phone the Ricardos and demand that they cut down on the racket. This, as you can imagine, leads to a big quarrel between the Ricardos and the Mertzes. Lucy and Ricky decide that they can't take it anymore, and they want to move out. However, there is a slight problem--they've signed a lease. The Ricardos thus decide to become the most undesirable tenants ever so that they can break that lease. They succeed in doing so, but ultimately decide that they can't move away and that they must apologize to their friends.
Even after all this time, Lucy still longs to get into one of Ricky's shows. When she learns that there is an opening in one of Ricky's acts for a ballet dancer,as well as a burlesque comedienne, Lucy decides to take a ballet class-which leads to some pretty disastrous results. Fed up, Lucy then hires a teacher to teach her the art of burlesque comedy. It is then that Lucy learns that Ricky still has one spot available in his act. Falsely assuming that it is the burlesque comedienne, not the ballet dancer, that Ricky needs for his act, Lucy goes to the club and mayhem ensues.
A shy young teenager named Peggy has a major crush on Ricky. Ricky, however, is tired of all this "attention" that this girl is giving him, so asks Lucy to have a talk with her. During their conversation, Lucy asks Peggy to think of some other boys her own age that she might like to go out with instead. Peggy, it seems, also likes a boy named Arthur Morton. Unfortunately, Arthur is painfully shy and cannot dance, so Lucy volunteers to give him a dance lesson. But it is then that Arthur becomes infatuated with Lucy! To get the two off their backs, Lucy and Ricky come up with a solution: they will dress up and act like 90 year olds, and scare their "young fans" back to reality.
Lucy becomes afraid that one of her new neighbors is threatening to kill her and convinces the others that the neighbors are trying to kill them...which gets them into big trouble.
Fred and Ethel have been going at each others' throats for the past few days now, and aren't talking to each other any more. (Fred: She called my mother a weasel!)To get them back together, Lucy comes up with a plan: She will invite Ethel to dinner, while Ricky will invite Fred. Neither Mertz will know that the other is coming, Lucy hopes that she can bring the Mertzes together so they can talk out their issues. Lucy commences with her plan, but during dinner, she and Ricky start to bicker. By the end of supper, the Mertzes leave the Ricardos' apartment as happy as larks, but Lucy and Ricky are now at each others' throats. It's now up to the Mertzes to bring the Ricardos back together.
Lucy dislikes Ricky's new moustache. In order to take revenge, she glues a moustache and beard on to her face. Then, Ricky agrees to shave his moustache off, as long as Lucy gets rid of hers. Lucy tries to get the facial hair off, and is unsuccessful. They try to get a special substance to take the glue off, to find out that it is not made anymore.
Ricky is disgusted by Lucy's obsession with gossiping about other people. According to Ricky, Lucy acts as if it is her "life's blood." Fred, too, is disturbed by Ethel's love of gossiping. The two girls then point out that both Ricky and Fred have been known to gossip, also. The boys then challenge the girls to a bet: They will see who can go without gossiping the longest, and the winners will receive breakfast in bed for a month. The bet commences, and everything is going fine until Ricky comes up with a plan to cheat so that he and Fred can win.
Having been bet by their husbands that they can't do without modern conveniences, Lucy and Ethel churn butter and bake bread from scratch-an eighteen foot loaf! But then Lucy demands that Ricky live as if it's the turn of the century for him, too.
Lucy thinks she and Ricky aren't legally married because his name was misspelled on their marriage license. So she wants them to renew their vows at the same place in Connecticut where Ricky first proposed to her. But they run out of gas getting there.
When Ricky finds a closet full of valuables that Lucy has collected for a bazaar, he mistakenly thinks that she's become a kleptomaniac. He secretly calls in a doctor to hypnotize her, but Lucy is wise to his plan and feigns recalling a notorious past.
Lucy burns with jealousy when she gets an eyeful of Ricky's dance parter Renita (Lita Baron) from the "old days" in Cuba. She was a child then, but no more! Determined to keep them apart, Lucy heads to the club in disguise, and finds herself in the clutches of a wild man named Ramon.
Where's the beef? It's in Lucy and Ethel's new walk-in freezer (according to Lucy, the "human popsicle"). Of course, Ricky and Fred have a beef with their wives, because they paid $483 for it. The meat company won't take it back, and they can't sell it to customers waiting in the local butcher shop, so they're stuck with it. And speaking of stuck, Lucy gets herself locked in the freezer!
Desperate to be in Ricky's new television commercial, Lucy makes every attempt to get her way; which eventually pays off. But her one-and-only chance flops when she is forced to test the sponsor's product over-and-over, a vitamin syrup called Vitametavegimin, which is 25% alcohol.
Lucy poses as a princess for a publicity stunt.
Lucy secretly books Ricky on a radio quiz show.
Ricky puts Lucy on a rigid time schedule.
Ricky fears that he is going bald, so Lucy takes it into her head to help him: she stages a "bald people's party" to show him that he's not so bad, after all. But when that doesn't work, she resorts to showing some new "hair treatments" (or "torture tactics" as Lucy calls them) to show Ricky how silly he's been.
Ricky asks for a raise, but his boss (Gale Gordon) turns him down, prompting Lucy to prove just how popular a performer he is. Her scheme involves making a lot of bogus reservations at the club on the night that somebody else is playing, then show up in various guises(including Fred in drag) feigning indignation that Ricky's not performing--and leave in a huff.
Desi Arnaz greets the "I Love Lucy" studio audience and invites them to watch Lucille Ball and the cast film a special extended episode.
Ricky wants Lucy to try working for a week, so she and Ethel get jobs at a candy factory, where they are totally inept-especially at wrapping chocolates-due to a speeding conveyor belt that has them stuffing chocolates in their mouths, blouses, and hats.
When Lucy fails her saxophone audition for Ricky's band, she tries to stop him from going on the road by pretending there's another man in her life. Ricky gets back at her by hiring several "lovers," and hiding them in Lucy's closet. But Lucy gets the last laugh in the end!
Lucy thinks that Ricky is pitching woo with a sophisticated neighbor. The woman is actually a jeweler who Ricky has commissioned to fashion a pearl necklace to surprise Lucy with on their anniversary. Lucy takes to spying before the deal can go down and almost loses out on her big surprise.
After Lucy snaps a pair of antique handcuffs on herself and Ricky, they realize there's no key. A locksmith is found, but not before the Ricardos go to bed handcuffed together, and Ricky has to do a TV show with his "attached" wife trying to upstage him.
Lucy's women's club wants to stage an operetta, but they're completely broke. (Lucy, the treasurer, seems to have spent it all to pay her own bills.) Thus, Lucy and Ethel write and star in the musical, but when their postdated check bounces for the costumes and scenery, the rental company repossesses everything in midperformance.
The Ricardos and the Mertzes take a week off from their in-a-rut marriages. But each spouse misses the other too much, and despite a last-ditch attempt to make each other jealous, they all decide that they'd rather be in a rut with their mates.
The Ricardos give the Mertzes a television set for their anniversary, but Ricky's zealous tuning causes it to blow up. Fred retaliates by breaking the Ricardos' set (by kicking it!) The foursome end up in court, where they manage to destroy the judge's TV, too!
Waiting to find out if she has won a home furnishing contest, Lucy won't leave the house, much to Ricky's annoyance. He tells Fred to call her and say that she's won. In her joy, Lucy sells all the old furniture, leaving Ricky with the job of buying it back.
Ricky's laryngitis makes it impossible for him to perform in a big reopening show for the Tropicana. So Lucy substitutes herself, the ex-vaudivillian Mertzes, and a chorus line of middle-aged showgirls from the Flapper Follies of 1927. Look for Barbara Pepper as one of the showgirls.
Lucy is delighted to learn she is pregnant-but how to tell Ricky? At lunch, he's too preoccupied with work to listen to her, then it's off to the club-where Lucy finds the right moment and just the right way to tell him.
Lucy thinks Ricky cares more about the baby they're having than about her, especially after he buys her presents like bonnets and rattles. But when he takes her out for a night on the town, she thinks he's lost interest in the baby.
Despite her pregnancy, Lucy wants to appear in Ricky's Gay Nineties revue at the Tropicana. After a disastrous audition, Lucy disguises herself and sneaks into the barbershop quartet number, and then proceeds to ruin it.
Lucy hires an English tutor so that Ricky won't give their yet-to-be-born baby bad speaking habits. The lessons are free, but Lucy does promise the tutor a payback: he'll get to sing at the Tropicana. Of course, Lucy neglects to tell Ricky this.
Ricky develops "labor pains" because he is jealous of the attention being lavished on the expectant Lucy. So she decides to throw him a "daddy shower," which Fred turns into a "stag party," which Lucy and Ethel crash.
Lucy decides to explore her artistic side and takes up sculpting.
Ricky and the Mertzes rehearse for pregnant Lucy's trip to the hospital. It turns out to be predictably chaotic, but Lucy does deliver Little Ricky.
Convinced his wife is a sucker for a sales pitch, Ricky demands that she return the vaccum cleaner she bought from a door-to-door salesman. Instead, she tries (unsuccessfully) to sell it. Ricky insists that he'll return it-and ends up buying a refrigerator.
When no one laughs at her jokes or wants her to be their bridge partner, Lucy comes to the conclusion that she is inferior to everyone else. Worried by Lucy's behavior, Ricky goes to the psychiatrist (or "fizz-a-key-a-tryst" as Ricky pronounces it,) to find the remedy. But it turns out that this doctor's "remedy" isn't exactly what Ricky had in mind.
Because they both want to be president of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League, Lucy and Ethel both engage in cut-throat competition. Prior to the elections, Lucy and Ethel independently engage in a little "spywork." It seems that half the club plans on voting for Lucy and the other half plans to vote for Ethel. But there is one undecided vote--that of the new member, Ruth Knickerbocker. So Lucy and Ethel both go to extremes to sway Knickerbocker's vote.
Lucy misses catching a book tossed to her by Ricky, and winds up with a black eye that Fred and Ethel are convinced was intentional. Trying to patch things up for the Ricardos, Fred sends Lucy flowers, but inadvertently uses his own name instead of Ricky's.
Ricky is furious that his wife can't make up her mind and never finishes what she starts. To get even with Ricky, Lucy decides to pick up where she left off with an old boyfriend, but meeting her former beau after all these years turns out to be a major disappointment.
When a cranky tenant (Elizabeth Patterson, in her first appearance as Mrs. Trumble,) threatens to move because of Little Ricky's loud crying, Ethel makes it clear that her friendship with Lucy is more important than a rental agreement. But Ethel doesn't let the Ricardos forget her loyalty.
Lucy's sleepless nights with the new baby are exhausting, so the Ricardos hire a maid. Unfortunately, this new maid turns out to be a terrible shrew, who takes better care of herself than of Lucy or the apartment. Unable to get the gumption to fire her, Lucy wrecks the apartment, hoping it will make the maid quit.
Even the arrival of the baby hasn't dampened Lucy's showbiz aspirations. Wanting to get into the new Indian act at the Tropicana, Lucy pays off one of the performers and appears herself, carrying Little Ricky papoose-style on her back.
Convinced everyone has forgotten her birthday, a forlorn Lucy sits on a park bench and meets up with a group of musical "lost souls." To embarrass Ricky, she brings them to the Tropicana, only to discover that a surprise birthday party awaits her.
Now that they have Little Ricky, Lucy insists they need more room, and wants to change apartments with one of the other tenants (Mrs. Benson.) She convinces a reluctant Ricky by cluttering their apartment with baby things and assorted junk.
Lucy plays matchmaker when she meets a friend of the Mertzes (Hal March, as Eddie,) who happens to be an eligible bachelor. His line of work? He's a lingerie salesman, a fact that just *might* get her (and Ethel) into trouble when her matchmaking efforts inevitably backfire.
Lucy tries to hide some new furniture she bought without Ricky's permission in the kitchen. Discovering his wife's extravagant purchase, Ricky insists that Lucy pays for it from her allowance.
Lucy fears that she and Ricky don't have enough in common, so she decides to pursue one of his interests: camping. Ricky and Fred don't want her (or Ethel, for that matter,) horning in on their summer retreat, so Ricky decides to take Lucy on a "trial run" in the woods and make her life miserable. But Lucy is wise to his plan, and guess whose life is made miserable in the end?
With Ricky and Fred glued to a TV fight, their wives go to the local cafe, where service is so slow that Lucy makes change for herself at the cash register and the girls are arrested. They finally prove their innocence and get home to husbands who didn't know they were gone.
The Ricardos sell their old washing machine to the Mertzes for $35. When it breaks down the next day, the Mertzes want out of the deal. A tug-of-war ensues, however, when the Mertzes want the machine back after a repairman offers them $50 for it.
Lucy is upset because a 'Life' magazine feature on Ricky's home life didn't include a picture of her.
Lucy and Ethel are all set to go into business when they buy a new dress shop. But what to call it? Ethelu's? Lucyeth's? Unfortunately, naming the shop isn't their only problem when they are unable to sell any dresses and must sell the shop.
Lucy and Ethel buy the same dress for the upcoming talent show for the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League. True, they'll be doing a duet, and their number is Cole Porter's corny "Friendship," but wearing the same dress isn't exactly what they had in mind. Meanwhile, Lucy needs to persuade Ricky to host the show, so she decides to use a little reverse psychology.
Lucy and Ethel demand equal rights for women. Okay, say Ricky and Fred at the restaurant: separate checks for the four of them. Thus begins Lucy and Ethel's careers as restaurant dishwashers. So they plot revenge: they'll scare their husbands by claiming to have been robbed.
The Ricardos and the Applebys always brag to each other about their little sons. But when Lucy's and Caroline Appeby's exhanges turn hostile and sarcastic, Ricky worries that it will jeapordize a TV job that's been offered to him by Caroline's husband.
Ricky and the Mertzes bet Lucy that she can't go twenty-four hours without telling a lie. The outcome? Lucy insults all her friends and has to admit her real age, weight, and hair color. But she nearly gets a part on a TV show, by telling the truth, more or less.
Ricky is planning a French revue for the club, and since Lucy is determined to be in it, she hires a Frenchman to coach her. When Ricky forbids her to come near the place, she tries various disguises, and finally succeeds as a chorus girl.
It's redecorating time at the Mertzes', and Lucy and Ricky volunteer to help. But when Fred turns on a fan as Lucy is unstuffing a chair, the paint and feathers they were using go flying. Lucy feels responsible for the ruined furniture, so she gives Ethel her own living room furniture as a gift.
Lucy sneaks into the Mertzes' apartment to borrow one of Fred's suits so that she can order him a custom-made tweed suit for his birthday. This leads Ethel to think that Lucy is the notorious neighborhood burglar, "Madame X", and she goes spying on her friend to prove it.
Lucy and Ethel are disgusted by their husbands' old clothes, so they secretly give them away to a secondhand store. Unfortunately for them, the boys find out about their plan, and buy everything back. Later on, Ricky learns that a magazine has named Fred and him as two of the "Best-Dressed Men in New York City." He and Fred, dressed in tuxedos, invite the girls to meet them at the club for pictures. The girls arrive in their grubbiest attire.
Lucy finally gets her chance to be in show business, when she tricks Ricky into letting her do the "Jitterbug" in one of his shows. She's terrific during rehearsals, but problems occur when Lucy accompanies Ricky (who's been suffering from headaches) to the eye doctor just before the show. There, the doctor decides to examine Lucy's eyes, as well. He puts some eyedrops in Lucy's eyes which "relaxes" them, but Lucy's vision is blurry for the next twenty four hours. Naturally, this causes problems since Lucy has to perform that night.
Ricky is jealous when Lucy comes up with a long list of ex-boyfriends, so he invents an old flame-who just happens to be in town. Her name? Carlotta Romero, with whom Ricky DID perform years before.
The Ricardo household budget is in shambles (as usual) after Lucy decides to put her salad dressing on the market. Her plan? To market it on a TV morning show on the station her friend Caroline Appleby's husband runs. Home economist Mary Margaret McMertz (Ethel) will invite "an average housewife," (Lucy) to taste the dressing on the air.
Ricky agrees to watch is son, but while Daddy is engrossed in a football game, Little Ricky wanders off. Lucy finds him in the hallway, and calls Ricky to ask where the baby is. Panicking, Ricky searches everywhere, before Lucy walks in with his son.
It's time for charm school for Lucy and Ethel when their men eye a pretty woman at a party. But Ricky and Fred are anything but charmed by the results.
Lucy and Ricky want to spend their 13th wedding anniversary alone, but the Mertzes have another idea: a surprise party.
A reporter for a fan magazine, Eleanor Harris, spends an "average day" with the Ricardos. Of course, it's anything BUT average for the happily married couple. And they might not be one so happily married, thanks to a publicity stunt that Ricky's agent Jerry has cooked up.
The Ricardos and Mertzes as oil millionaires? Lucy and Ethel get a hot stock tip from their new neighbors from Texas. But Ricky and Fred say no. At first, anyhow. But are these neighbors swindlers? Lucy and the gang eventually think so, so they come up with a plan to find out.
Ricky explodes when Lucy buys an expensive hat. She offers to return it, and bets him he'll lose his cool over something else before she buys another hat. But no matter what she does to provoke him, the hot-tempered Cuban remains unruffled.
Ricky's home movies move the Mertzes to walk out, and prompt Lucy, Fred and Ethel to make a movie of their own, a "Western musical drama" shot in the Ricardo living room. But that's not to mixed up with a TV pilot Ricky's making, is it?
A dollar bill takes a zany trip-with the Ricardos and Mertzes in hot pursuit. It's a winning bill (worth $300) in a newspaper contest. It belongs to Ricky, but he gallantly slips it into Lucy's purse. Gallant isn't necessarily smart: Lucy unthinkingly gives the bill to the grocery delivery boy-who gives it to Ethel in change. The wild ride has only begun!
Ricky's band is to play in Hawaii-and guess who wants to go also? Lucy's plan: to go on a game show that gives away airline tickets. It calls for some trickery, and Lucy just *might* meet her match in the show's host, Freddie Fillmore, a prankster par excellence.
Lucy's past fibs to her rich and snotty ex-schoolmate are about to catch up with her when she unwittingly pledges $500 to a charity drive. In order to come up with the money, she and Ethel agree to a publicity stunt that puts them on top of the Empire State Building posing as women from Mars.
Lucy writes a novel in which the characters are thinly-veiled caricatures of Ricky, Fred and Ethel. Too thinly veiled, Ricky, Fred and Ethel think. So they burn it. But not before Lucy gets a copy to a publisher.
The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League forms a quintet (with Lucy on sax) as a fundraiser. It's no way to raise money (Ethel likens Lucy's sound to a "moose with a head cold"). Maybe bandleader Ricky can whip them into shape--but first, Lucy has some persuading to do.
Lucy plays a black-wigged temptress to test Ricky's fidelity. The result makes makes her see red so she schemes to get even. But she won't divorce him. Ethel agrees: "Yeah, stay married to him," she says. "That'll teach him."
The Ricardos and the Mertzes buy a diner, name it "A Little Bit of Cuba" and go to work. Well, the Mertzes go to work; the Ricardos "greet." Not surprisingly, relations are soon strained. Can a food fight be far behind?
The corn starts popping when Tennessee Ernie Ford comes to visit in Part 1 of a two-part episode. He's Lucy's "Cousin" Ernest, an earnest young man from Bent Fork, Tenn., who knows nothing of city ways and is inadvertently infuriating. He's got to go but he's so sweet that they can't just throw him out. What to do? Lucy will pose as a wicked city woman, and "vamp" him out of town.
Lucy gets sick of an extensive visit by Tennessee Ernie, who claims he is her cousin. She tries to get rid of the likable character by pleading poverty. The scheme backfires when Tennessee Ernie promotes a benefit hoedown to assist Lucy and Ricky. Look for "Ernie Ford and His Four Hot Chicken Pickers" in this episode.
Championship golfer Jimmy Demaret visits the Ricardos when Lucy and Ethel arrive at a bizarre scheme for combating their "golf widowship." The girls install a basketball court in the Ricardo living room and pretend to be as deeply absorbed in the game as their husbands are in the fairways.
The Ricardos are off to Maine for the summer, so they decide to sublet their apartment. Their landlords, the Mertzes, don't like the idea, and like the potential tenants even less. Nor are they wild about their new roommates.
Ricky hires a business manager, and Lucy finds him tighter with money than Ricky.
Fred's globetrotting old vaudeville partner, Barney Kurtz, shows up, so Fred says he's a real-estate tycoon (with a red-headed maid to prove it). Actually, Barney's a cook in the Bronx, but his grandson is coming for a visit, so it's on with the show.
Lucy cries wolf once too often when she decides to see whether Ricky would come to her aid in an emergency. He assures her that he'd rush home from the club "between the 'baba' and the 'lu' " if she were in danger, but that's not enough reassurance for her, and soon she's in a precarious position.
Lucy wants to nudge a shy couple to the altar. Lucy's idea: show them how wonderful her and Ricky's marriage is. Her plan: invite them to a quiet at-home dinner. A quiet dinner at the Ricardos'? Who ever heard of such a thing?
Ricky is initially reluctant to host a new TV show when he learns that the sponsor prefers a husband-and-wife format. Nonetheless, he agrees to do the show. But when Lucy learns that he hadn't wanted her in the show at all, she decides to get even by sabotaging the "Breakfast with Lucy and Ricky" dress rehearsal. What Lucy doesn't know is that the so-called rehearsal is actually being broadcast to the entire city of New York in an effort to achieve an unrehearsed, spontaneous look.
A Hollywood talent scout is coming over to the apartment to audition Ricky for a movie role. But Ricky won't be the only one looking to attract the scout's attention. (Who's that gal in the Marilyn Monroe getup?).
The term "helpmate" takes on a new meaning when Lucy appears on a Hollywood movie lot. The cameras roll for Ricky's screen test -- but when the big moment arrives, Lucy takes the cue.
Ricky's mother comes to visit, and poor Lucy can't speak Spanish. So she finds a Spanish-speaking mindreader and it works like a charm — as long as he's around.
Despite Ricky's qualms, Lucy decides to help Fred pick out a birthday present for Ethel. The present turns out to be toreador pants, which Ethel decides are not only unflattering but "unfitting." Relations between the two women become strained almost to the shattering point.
As Ricky paces the floor awaiting word from Hollywood about his screen test, Lucy enlists the Mertzes to distract him. The drastic steps taken by the trio to alleviate Ricky's tension boomerang into a king-sized headache for them all.
California, here they come: Lucy and movie-star-to-be Ricky, plus Fred and Ethel, who are tagging along. Their mode of transport: a used Cadillac that Fred bought. And used it is — it's 25 years old and California's a long way away.
Lucy learns to drive — then teaches Ethel everything she knows. The crash course begins as Ricky buys a brand new convertible for their California trip. Lucy wants to learn to drive it and Ricky reluctantly agrees to teach her. And with that experience under her belt (she can't really be blamed for that U-turn in the Holland Tunnel, can she?), she sets out to teach Ethel to drive. It's a good thing the car's insured. It is insured, isn't it?
The Ricardos and Mertzes head for California. But first, of coures, there are complications. The chief one: Lucy's mother, who shows up and wants to accompany them. Ricky objects (to put it mildly), and when Fred and Ethel overhear him complaining about too many people on the trip, they take it personally. And when the dust from that blowup finally settles, there's packing to do.
The Ricardos and Mertzes have a hard time finding accommodations that will please everyone on their trip to California. They finally hit a greasy restaurant where stale cheese sandwiches cost them a dollar apiece. Hoping to find something better elsewhere, Ricky pays the check. The couples leave -- only to return several hours later, fooled by some purposely misleading road signs.
The Ricardo-Mertz westward trek faces a delay — they're all thrown in jail for speeding — in Bent Fork, Tenn., home of Lucy's "cousin" Ernest, who'll do all he can to get them out of the pokey, even if it means marrying one of the sheriff's two daughters, Teensy and Weensy.
The Ricardos and the Mertzes stop at Ethel's hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico (Vivian Vance's real-life hometown). Under the impression that Ethel has been called to Hollywood and not Ricky, the townsfolk accord her a monumental ovation. When Ethel refuses to disillusion them -- and even goes so far as to put on a "celebrity act" -- Lucy takes matters into her own hands.
Lucy arrives in Hollywood with stars in her eyes. She heads for The Brown Derby, a celebrity hangout, where she encounters Eve Arden and William Holden -- and inadvertently presents Holden with a custard pie in the face. Hollywood legends William Holden and Eve Arden guest-star as themselves.
Lucy is forced to lend Ricky to five dazzling starlets for a proposed evening of publicity pictures. She tries to wait up for him but falls asleep on the sofa and doesn't awake until late the next morning. When she finds Ricky's bed unused, she jumps to the conclusion that he spent the night out with the starlets and decides she wants a divorce.
Lucy finally gets her shot at Hollywood stardom — as a chorus girl photographed in a lavish musical. But she had better not get a swelled head, because the headdress she has to wear is too big as it is.
Lucy's a model at a charity fashion show, but the redhead — wearing a scratchy tweed suit — is red all over from too much time in the California sun.
Lucy takes a dive in an effort to further Ricky's career by creating a big splash in Hedda Hopper's Hollywood column. Her scheme turns out to be "all wet" in an adventure that could only happen to Lucy and Ethel. Hedda Hopper, the renowned Hollywood gossip columnist, guest-stars as herself.
Lucy an Desi did a promotional spot for the Olympic Fund to help raise support for American Athletes competing in the Australia games the following year. It aired at the end of "The Hedda Hopper Story" original broadcast in 1955.
Ricky's movie is shelved, so Lucy schemes to get Ricky another role. The plan: impress MGM studio boss Dore Schary by any means necessary, even if it means that Schary must impress himself. But first, there are 500 fan letters to write.
Lucy literally blackmails Ricky into getting her a part in one of his guest appearances on television. He does get her a role -- as a bull. When Lucy is displeased with the turn of events, she transforms the bull's image from that of a snarling beast to a mincing creature resembling Elsie, the Borden Cow. Look for the classic scene where Lucy upstages Ricky in this episode.
Frantic over having forgotten the date of their wedding anniversary, Ricky tells Lucy that he has a big party planned in a famous nightclub. He doesn't tell her when it is, desperately wiring their marriage license bureau for the correct date. This episode is based on an actual surprise anniversary party that Desi Arnaz threw for Lucy.
Cornel Wilde becomes the one-hundredth movie star Lucy has seen in Hollywood; he is living in the penthouse directly above the Ricardo suite. Determined to get a glimpse of the handsome actor, Lucy disguises herself as a bellboy, then hides under the star's luncheon cart to gain entry into Wilde's suite. Things go smoothly until she finds herself locked out on Cornel's terrace and must make her way down the side of the building using a few blankets as rope. Swashbuckler Cornel Wilde guest-stars as himself in this episode.
Lucy and Ricky and Ethel and Fred are bored with each other so the gals head off to Palm Springs for a break. Rock Hudson guests as himself (and has a hand in getting the couples back together).
Lucy begs Van Johnson to let her dance a number with him at the nightclub to impress her rival Caroline Appleby, who is visiting from New York. Van accepts the challenge by waltzing her across the ballroom floor as his dance partner. Movie star Van Johnson guest-stars as himself.
Lucy decides to impersonate some Hollywood notables to impress nearsighted Caroline Appleby, who is visiting from New York. A mixup occurs when Lucy, having introduced her friend to "Gary Cooper," "Clark Gable," "Marlon Brando," and "Jimmy Durante," decides to impersonate Harpo Marx just as the real Harpo arrives at the apartment with Ricky.
Ricky needs an agent, Lucy figures, so she nominates herself (unbeknownst to Ricky, of course) and heads off to negotiate with a studio executive to land him a role in a movie. Her strategy: use a nonexistent Broadway musical as a bargaining chip. It works too well.
Lucy and Ethel are abandoned by their sightseeing bus tour when they try to get a grapefruit from Richard Widmark's garden. When Lucy is stranded inside the garden wall, she and Ethel, who is outside, launch plans to get Lucy out -- but without comparing notes on how. Film star Richard Widmark guest-stars as himself.
With only a week left in Hollywood, Lucy weeps about her lack of souvenirs. Her collection already includes a tin can run over by Cary Grant's rear tire, a napkin boasting Lana Turner's lip-prints, and a few other goodies. But when Lucy discovers that John Wayne's concrete block at Grauman's Chinese Theatre is loose, she decides to take home a souvenir to end all souvenirs.
Lucy is spotted while attempting to "collect" a cement block with John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theater. To avoid publicity and keep Lucy out of jail, Ricky enlists John Wayne's help in replacing the block. One mishap leads to another, and the plot thickens -- as does the cement. John Wayne guest-stars.
Lucy thinks she may have finally gotten her big break in Hollywood. It all centers on a posh party attended by studio execs. Ricky was invited to attend but begged off. But Lucy will fool ’em. She has a lifelike rubber replica of Ricky’s head, which she’ll attach to a dummy body — and she’ll dance her way to stardom with “Raggedy Ricky.”
Ricky sells his car, and the Mertzes think they are being stranded in California. Ricky buys train tickets for everyone, but a reservations mixup puts Lucy in an apparently compromising position with Fred Mertz. Watch for Fred and Ethel decked out in motorcycle gear and riding on a Harley.
Lucy gets mixed up with a jewel thief on a cross-country rail trip that marks the end of the series' Hollywood sojourn. That's not the only reason it's a bumpy ride. Another is that Lucy keeps pulling the emergency-brake cord.
Ricky returns from Hollywood as a celebrity, and even Lucy gets in on the hero worship. Can Ricky stand her brand of hero worship?
Ricky Ricardo's new fame leads to an invitation to appear on the popular interview program "Face to Face", and Lucy and Ricky consider moving. Ricky's agent arranges an appearance for him and suggests that they stage a fight so Lucy and Ricky won't have to stay. In the end the scheme falls flat while "Face to Face" is on the air.
Fred has a Western-themed show coming up at his lodge and he wants Ricky to perform in it. He can’t — but Lucy and Ethel volunteer (Lucy yodels “Home on the Range”). The reason Ricky can’t appear is that he has a “radio” show that night. Or is it a “rodeo” show?
Lucy’s objects, but Ricky insists that Little Ricky go to nursery school. All goes well until the boy gets sick. Then it’s hospital frolics — starring Nurse Lucy.
Ricky’s band is going on a European tour but he can’t afford to take Lucy — who’s not about to take this lying down. Her plan: raffle off a TV set to benefit “Ladies Overseas Aid.” “We’re ladies,” Lucy tells Ethel (who’s scheming to go, too). “We want to go overseas. And, boy, do we need aid.” The Pied Pipers perform the theme from Ball and Arnaz’s 1956 movie Forever Darling.
It's Lucy vs. bureaucrats (bureaucrats: watch out) when she can't find her birth certificate, which she needs for a passport so she can go on Ricky's European tour.
Fred's fear of becoming seasick threatens the Mertzes and Ricardos' plans for Ricky's European band tour. To prove that Fred won't get seasick, Ricky takes him down to the ship, which is anchored in the harbor. But Fred turns green and becomes more firm about his not going. Lucy and Ethel test some new, improved seasickness remedies on the Staten Island Ferry. The trial run leads to unexpected complications when Lucy gets seasick.
Ricky, Ethel, and Fred are aboard their ship to Europe when Lucy rushes down the gangplank for one last goodbye to Little Ricky, who will be in Lucy's mother's care while she is in Europe. The ship heads out to sea, leaving Lucy frantically trying to catch up with it.
Lucy schemes to tear Ricky away for a second honeymoon aboard the ocean liner taking them to Europe. The trouble is, Ricky's too busy with his band.
Lucy is thrilled at being in London and desperate to see the Queen. She misses the Queen at Buckingham Palace, where she gets involved in the changing of the guard. Ricky is invited to meet the Royal Family when they attend a special performance at the Palladium. Lucy is not included in the invitation, but she has no intention of letting it go at that.
Tally ho! In England, Lucy hounds a movie producer (Walter Kingsford) about her riding prowess and ends up on a fox hunt.
The Ricardos and Mertzes are on their way to Paris, but first Lucy wants to go to Scotland to seek members of the McGillicuddy family into which she was born. In a classic dream sequence, Ricky appears as Scotty MacTavish MacDougal MacCardo.
Equipped with an English-French dictionary, Lucy sets out to see Paris and "discover" an artist whose paintings will become very valuable -- she knows she has "the eye." Lucy's first encounter is indeed with an artist -- a con artist who changes her American money for French. Lucy's adventures land Lucy, Ethel, and Fred in jail.
Charles Boyer deals with a star-crazed Lucy in this guest appearance. The setting: Paris, where the Ricardos and Mertzes are lunching at a sidewalk cafe. Boyer is at a nearby table, and when Lucy and Ethel spot him they immediately repair to the ladies room to plot their approach. Ricky tries to stop the assault but nobody can defend against the star-struck Lucy.
Lucy decides to go on a hunger strike until Ricky agrees to buy her a designer dress. The plan works perfectly (even though Ethel has been smuggling food to Lucy) and Ricky finally gives in and buys her an expensive outfit. But when Ricky discovers what Lucy has been up to, he puts together a crazy outfit made of burlap and passes it off as a Paris original.
In Switzerland, the Ricardos and Mertzes are caught in an abandoned cabin during an avalanche. It’s one of Lucy’s own making (of course), and it leads to some soul-searching and confessions. But not by Ricky: “We might be saved!” They are — by an oompah band playing “La Cucaracha.”
Fred is conscience-stricken about the expense involved when he misrouted Ricky's band. He books second-class train passage for their overnight trip to Florence and a fourth-class hotel for their stay. Lucy wants to call home to see if Little Ricky has received the birthday presents she sent him from London, but the difficulties of calling from a fourth-class room almost prove too much for her. In the end, Lucy invites an Italian shoeshine boy and his friends to celebrate Little Ricky's birthday.
En route to Rome by train, Lucy is spotted by a famous Italian cinema director and chosen to play a part in his new movie "Bitter Grapes." Lucy sets out to immerse herself in the role. When she nonchalantly wanders into a vineyard inhabited by a motley assortment of Italian-speaking women, she is dispatched to the wine-making area to crush grapes with her feet.
The Ricardos and Mertzes pedal their way from Italy to the French Riviera. It's a bumpy ride, thanks (of course) to Lucy, who left her passport in her purse, which she locked in a suitcase, which she sent ahead to their hotel in Nice. That presents problems when they get to the Italian-French border.
Ricky is working in Monte Carlo, but Fred goofs and negotiates too little money for the engagement. Lucy and Ethel go to the casino to watch, and Lucy finds a chip that someone dropped. She picks it up and puts it on the table. The chip wins, and continues to do so, all by accident. Since Ricky warned Lucy to stay away from the casino, she hides the money in Ethel's trunk. Ricky finds it and thinks Fred has been holding out on him.
The Ricardos and Mertzes need to return to the U.S. by plane instead of ship. The 60-pound-per-person baggage limit taxes Lucy's ingenuity: she has bought lots of clothes and souvenirs, including a 30-pound cheese. She boards the plane wearing all the clothes at once and carrying the cheese as a "baby."
In "The Ricardos Visit Cuba", Lucy accidentally sits on Uncle Alberto's hat. But that's nothing compared to the strange way the hat seems to appear and disappear throughout the closing musical numbers.
In "Little Ricky's School Pageant", Lucy and Ethel help the youngster take off his jacket, and the front door to the apartment is standing wide open. A few seconds later, Big Chief Fred arrives-but he has to open the door. Oops!
Remember the night Little Ricky was born-and big Ricky dashed to the hospital still wearing his makeup from a voodoo number he was performing at his nightclub? In "Lucy and Superman", Lucy claims her son was born at 11 o'clock in the morning!
I Love Lucy's familiar "Heart on satin" wasn't created until the show was in reruns. This opening, featuring Sanka, began the original 1956 broadcasts of "Desert Island", "Christmas Show", "Lucy and the Loving Cup".
In November, 1956, Proctor and Gamble introduced this new animated sequence, featuring Lilt Home Permanent, with "Squeeze Bottle Magic". It opened the original broadcast of "The Ricardos Visit Cuba", "little Ricky's School Pageant", and "Lucy and Superman".
The "Five Santas" routine in the final scene of the "Christmas Show" was based on this special "Christmas Tag Scene", which first aired on December 24, 1951, at the end of "Drafted".
Editing for syndication in the late 1950s removed the animation leading into the middle commercial, and sometimes edited the music cues. For the special edition DVD, they restored most of these original elements to their original form, including this one from "Lucy Misses the Mertzes".
During I Love Lucy's original network run on CBS, Lucy and Desi occasionally appeared in commercial broadcast during the show. This spot for Instant Sanka Coffee aired only once-on January 29, 1957, at the end of "Lucy Wants to Move to the Country".
Ford Motor Company sponsored three episodes of I Love Lucy in March of 1957. To close CBS's original broadcast of "Lucy Does the Tango", the new sponsor asked Vivian Vance and William Frawley to perform this musical pitch-unseen since March 11, 1957.
Syndication editing also eliminated sponsor plugs (featuring the Lucy and Desi animated figures) leading into the closing credits. For the special edition DVD, they re-inserted many of these original elements, such as this plug for Sanka Instant Coffee at the end of "Lucy Hates to Leave".
An example of the ending credits with a sponsor background, this one for Lilt Home Permanent.
I Love Lucy's familiar "Heart on satin" wasn't created until the show was in reruns. This opening, featuring Sanka, opened the original network broadcasts of "Little Ricky Gets a Dog", "Lucy Hates to Leave", and "Lucy Gets Chummy With the Neighbors".
This animated sequence, featuring Lilt Home Permanent, with "Squeeze Bottle Magic". It opened the original 1957 broadcasts of "Lucy Wants to Move to the Country", "Lucy Misses the Mertzes", and "Lucy Does the Tango".
No animated sequence opens "Lucy Raises Chickens", the first of three episodes sponsored by Ford Motor Company in March of 1957. Instead, each show began with this Ford commercial featuring Lucy and Desi.
The episode Lucy Does the Tango with commentary by writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Schiller.
This episode, featuring guest stars Eleanor Audley as George's mother and Dick Crenna as the delivery boy, was broadcast on CBS Radio on October 14, 1950.
In this scene from "Building the Bar-B-Q", Desi Arnaz is so tickled by Bill Frawley's laugh line that he actually starts to mouth the words right along with him!
In "Country Club Dance', when the boys get up to dance with Diana, Fred's empty chair is between Lucy and Ethel. Then, suddenly, the two are right next to each other. Then they're two seats away again! Obviously Bill Asher moved the ladies to get a better close-up of the two of them.
On April 14, 1955, with the Ricardos already in Hollywood, CBS aired "Mr. and Mrs. TV Show"-set in New York. (It was supposed to have aired the previous fall, but was pre-empted.) To maintain continuity, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz filmed this recently-discovered new opening scene.
On May 27, 1957, with the Ricardos happily ensconced in their new home in rural Connecticut, CBS decided to air a rerun of "The Start Upstairs" - set in Hollwood. Once again, in order to maintain continuity, the cast filmed this new "flashback" opening.
During I Love Lucy's original network run on CBS, Lucy and Desi occasionally appeared in commercials broadcast during the show. For the special DVD edition, they re-inserted this spot for "Squeeze-Comb" Lilt Home Permanent into "Housewarming" and "Lucy Raises Tulips".
In the spring of 1957, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, under the direction of Wilbur Hatch, recorded this rarely-heard "short version" of the theme from I Love Lucy.
I Love Lucy's "heart on satin" opening wasn't created until the show was in reruns. This sequence, featuring Ford, opened the original 1957 broadcast of "Ragtime Band".
While no complete network prints remain of "Lucy's Night in Town", this animated sequence, featuring Lilt Home Permanent-"the only home permanent with Squeeze Bottle Magic", probably opened the episode.
This animated sequence, featuring Sanka, opened the original network broadcasts of "Housewarming" and "Lucy Raises Tulips".
In the spring of 1957, Proctor & Gamble changed its Lucy opening slightly, to mention new "Squeeze-Comb" Lilt Home permanent. This new animated sequence opened the original network broadcasts of "Building a Bar-B-Q", "Country Club Dance", and "The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue".
The episode Country Club Dance with Barbara Eden offering insight on her own look back.
This early, unsponsored episode, written by John Hayes, Madely Pugh, and Bob Carroll, Jr. and produced and directed by Gordon Hughes, was originally broadcast on CBS Radio on September 17, 1948.
This episode, originally broadcast on CBS on October 2, 1948, was the first script Jess Oppenheimer ever wrote for Lucille Ball. It won him a job as Lucy's head writer for the next seven and a half years.
A slide show of stills from production during I Love Lucy's6th season.
The "Lucy and Superman" episode with commentary from Keith Thibodeaux, Doris Singleton, and Steve Kay
Bios on the commentary participants, Keith Thibodeaux, Doris Singleton, and Steve Kay
Because of its seasonal themes and flashbacks, "Christmas Show" wasn't syndicated with the other episodes of I Love Lucy. The show was never rebroadcast until CBS aired it as a prime time special on December 18, 1989. When CBS reran the special a year later, the network decided to colorize the "wrap-around" segments, which are presented here.
In "Lucy Wants to Move to the Country", Lucy, disguised as a gun moll, visits the Spaulding's home in Westport. But why is the lamppost just outside the door leaning so far to one side? Are the Spauldings planning to take it with them?
In "Lucy Hates to Leave", the Ricardos move in with the Mertzes, bag and baggage. But it's still Fred and Ethels' apartment. So when Fred's phone rings, why does he hand it to Ricky?
In "Lucy Raises Chickens", Little Ricky comes in from playing outside and discovers a den full of baby chicks. But watch carefully, and you'll notice that when he enters the house, it's actually a stagehand who opens the front door for him!
Ricky is opening a new club, and he wants Bob Hope to appear at the grand opening. Lucy fears Hope won't appear because of her widespread reputation for monkey-wrench throwing, and wants to reassure him that this time she's butting out.
Little Ricky gets drums — and the Mertzes get headaches. So do Lucy and Ricky, but they're not about to evict themselves.
Lucy tries to get in a skit with Orson Welles at Ricky's club, thinking it is a Shakespearean play that he will be doing. When Orson Welles tells Lucy she can be in the show, she calls her old high school drama teacher to tell her the news. Lucy's old teacher sends her whole drama class to Club Babalu to see Lucy perform. But poor Lucy! It turns out Welles only wanted her to be his assistant for a magic trick.
Little Ricky is scheduled to play the drums in a children's orchestra. Although his parents and their friends the Mertzes are overcome with nervousness, Little Ricky seems calm until his big moment arrives; then he goes to pieces. His next performance is six months away, but Lucy feels she must do something about his stage fright now. Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber in "The Andy Griffith Show," guest-stars.
Mario, the Ricardos and Mertzes' gondolier in Venice, comes to New York to surprise his brother Dominic, but turns up at the Ricardos' apartment when he can't find him. Lucy is sure Dominic is in San Francisco and sets out to help Mario raise the bus fare. Her earnest efforts pay off in a surprising way.
When Lucy misplaces two train tickets to Florida, she and Ethel consult the classified section, hoping to share a ride with someone driving south. They team up with a peculiar middle-aged woman, Mrs. Grundy, who's bent on getting to Florida in record time.
It's Lucy and Ethel vs. Ricky and Fred in a fishing contest while they're on a Florida vacation. The wager: $150 (about what Lucy and Ethel had spent in hotel boutiques), so both sides do a little cheating to ensure a victory.
Lucy and Ethel will do anything to keep Ricky and Fred from judging a Miami Beach beauty contest (and end up being menaced on a seemingly deserted island as a result).
Still on their vacation, the Ricardos go to Cuba, where Ricky wants to introduce his relatives to Lucy and Little Ricky.
Little Ricky’s school pageant — “The Enchanted Forest” — is coming up and it’s coming up short on cast members, so the Ricardos and Mertzes volunteer. Ricky’s a hollow stump, Fred’s a frog and Ethel’s the fairy princess (because she can fit into the costume). And Lucy? She’s a witch.
It's Christmas Eve and Ricky warns his young son: "Santa won't bring the tree and the presents until you go to sleep." It takes some effort to cajole the boy, but after Lucy convinces him that Santa will have no trouble coming down the chimney ("he brings the North Pole with him and slides down it like a fireman."), he's off to bed. The coast clear, Fred and Ethel arrive with a Christmas tree. "It's a gift from me and Ebenezer," Ethel reveals about the five-dollar fir. The four friends begin to trim the tree until Lucy discovers "a branch on the right side that spoils the shape." Fred solves the symmetry problem with a pocket saw as Ricky says to Lucy, "Our lives have sure been different ever since you told me you were going to have a baby." We flash back to the sentimental moment at the Tropicana in 1952 when Lucy breaks the baby news to Ricky (from "Lucy is Enceinte"). This reminiscence over, we discover that Fred got carried away with his saw while listening to the baby tale - the tree is now a spindly stripling. While Fred goes off in search of a replacement, Ethel and Ricky start singing "Jingle Bells," but when Lucy joins in with her off-key rendition, they recall, once again in a flashback sequence, the barbershop quartet harmonizing of "Sweet Adeline" (from "Lucy's Show Biz Swan Song"). With the last note sung, we return to the Ricardo apartment just as Fred enters with a new tree - he got this "last minute" one for only fifty cents. The foursome starts decorating the tree and discussing Little Ricky's Christmas gifts, as Ethel realizes: "It seems like only yesterday he was born." This is the perfect lead-in to a flashback of Ricky, Fred, and Ethel rehearsing Lucy's trip to the hospital (from "Lucy Goes to the Hospital"). Finally, it's Christmas morning. The four principals are up early and wearing Santa outfits. When they hear Little Ricky approaching the living room, they hasten to the kitchen so the boy won't be disillusioned by seeing four Santas. Sudden
Colorized version of the Christmas show. It's Christmas Eve and Ricky warns his young son: "Santa won't bring the tree and the presents until you go to sleep." It takes some effort to cajole the boy, but after Lucy convinces him that Santa will have no trouble coming down the chimney ("he brings the North Pole with him and slides down it like a fireman."), he's off to bed. The coast clear, Fred and Ethel arrive with a Christmas tree. "It's a gift from me and Ebenezer," Ethel reveals about the five-dollar fir. The four friends begin to trim the tree until Lucy discovers "a branch on the right side that spoils the shape." Fred solves the symmetry problem with a pocket saw as Ricky says to Lucy, "Our lives have sure been different ever since you told me you were going to have a baby." We flash back to the sentimental moment at the Tropicana in 1952 when Lucy breaks the baby news to Ricky (from "Lucy is Enceinte"). This reminiscence over, we discover that Fred got carried away with his saw while listening to the baby tale - the tree is now a spindly stripling. While Fred goes off in search of a replacement, Ethel and Ricky start singing "Jingle Bells," but when Lucy joins in with her off-key rendition, they recall, once again in a flashback sequence, the barbershop quartet harmonizing of "Sweet Adeline" (from "Lucy's Show Biz Swan Song"). With the last note sung, we return to the Ricardo apartment just as Fred enters with a new tree - he got this "last minute" one for only fifty cents. The foursome starts decorating the tree and discussing Little Ricky's Christmas gifts, as Ethel realizes: "It seems like only yesterday he was born." This is the perfect lead-in to a flashback of Ricky, Fred, and Ethel rehearsing Lucy's trip to the hospital (from "Lucy Goes to the Hospital"). Finally, it's Christmas morning. The four principals are up early and wearing Santa outfits. When they hear Little Ricky approaching the living room, they hasten to the kitchen so the boy won't be d
Ricky's disapproval of Lucy's new hat leads to her trying on a loving cup which Ricky has planned to present to jockey Johnny Longden at a National Turf Association dinner. The problem is that Lucy can't get the trophy off her head.
When Stevie Appleby, Caroline's son, has a birthday party the same day as Little Ricky's, Lucy looks for unusual entertainment to lure the children. Ricky remembers that Superman is in town, and he invites him. But when Ricky is unable to corral Superman, Lucy is left with no choice but to dress as the Man of Steel herself. George Reeves makes a special guest-star appearance in this episode.
The Ricardos' apartment begins to resemble a pet shop when Little Ricky gets a puppy. Lucy and Ricky are both determined to get rid of the puppy after their son brings it home -- as are their landlords, Fred and Ethel. They have a hard time overcoming Little Ricky's arguments that a puppy would be a welcome addition to a home that already boasts a canary, a frog, a lizard, a turtle, and some goldfish.
Lucy decides that it would be nice to move to the country and prevails on Ricky to place a comfortable deposit on a big house. Ricky agrees and puts a down payment on a house in Westport, Connecticut. It is not long before Lucy changes her mind. Lucy, Ethel, and Fred put on disguises to try and help poor Ricky get his deposit back.
Lucy hates to leave behind her old friends Fred and Ethel, who also happen to be her landlords. But Ricky has told her to sell all their furniture. Lucy hates to part with her furniture almost as badly as she hates to part with the Mertzes. She persuades them to keep the furniture in their apartment, promising that it's "just until we can move."
Opening sequence aired 4/3/1960 - 11/25/1960 on CBS retitling the stories of Lucy and Desi in their home in Westport, Connecticut
As the Ricardos get settled in their new country home, they immediately wind up in a mix-up with their old friends Fred and Ethel Mertz. Missing their old friends already, Lucy and Ricky decide to visit the Mertzes. At the same time, the Mertzes decide to trek to the country to visit the Ricardos, and what began simply becomes complicated.
With the best intentions in the world, Lucy somehow causes a misunderstanding with her neighbors, the Ramseys. It all starts when Betty Ramsey offers Lucy some advice and a wholesale deal on furniture. For a time, the Ricardos' whole future at their Connecticut home seems threatened.
The Mertzes find a way to stay with the Ricardos: chicken farming. But the scheme puts Lucy over her head in chickens when she and Ethel bring home 500 baby chicks before the hen house is ready.
Chicken-raising and practicing a tango for Little Ricky's school PTA meeting combine to get the Ricardos and the Mertzes in a verbal battle. It's up to Ricky, Jr. and his neighborhood pal Bruce Ramsey to straighten things out.
Lucy decides to take part in the fundraising campaign of the Westport Historical Society, and offers to get her husband and his band to perform for their kickoff function. There's only one hitch -- Ricky won't do it. So Lucy decides to form her own band featuring herself, Little Ricky, and Fred and Ethel Mertz.
After spending six whole weeks in their new Connecticut home, Lucy dreams of a night in New York City and it turns into a nightmare. Four carefully hoarded tickets to the Broadway musical hit "The Most Happy Fella" are supposed to get the Ricardos and the Mertzes in to see the sold-out show. But difficulties arise when Fred Mertz gets nervous about pickpockets because he's carrying $500 in cash in his pockets.
Fred Mertz installs an intercom system between the Mertz guest-house and the Ricardo main house. The intercom causes some confusion when Lucy and Ricky overhear what they believe to be plans for a housewarming party given for them.
Lucy has a problem deciding what to do to get her vacationing husband, Ricky, out of her hair so she can do her housework. She and Ethel solve the problem by putting their husbands to work building a barbecue.
The Ricardos and the Mertzes go with their neighbors, Ralph and Betty Ramsey, to the country club dance. A pretty visitor quickly convinces the men they are Romeos in disguise. This development forces the women into glamorous clothing and beauty treatments to prove that they, too, can be glamorous. Barbara Eden guest-stars.
Suburban living gets Lucy into a flower-show competition, and she raises tulips with a vengeance as she tries to beat out her neighbor, Betty Ramsey, for first prize. Lucy asks Ricky to mow the lawn so that her garden will look just right. But he only mows half before taking off for a baseball game, leaving Lucy and Ethel to tiptoe through the tulips -- with the lawnmower.
Lucy joins a community effort to establish a Revolutionary War monument. She manages to shatter any dreams she may have had of becoming a community leader when the statue is broken. Her efforts to undo the damage put her in a unique position when the time comes to unveil the statue.
Even though the half-hour version of I Love Lucy ceased production in the spring of 1957, CBS continued to include weekly repeats of the series on its primetime schedule throughout the 1958-1959 season. To keep the series fresh, Desilu prepared a new animated opening and new graphics for the closing credits.
Short biographies for the I Love Lucy co-stars.
Various bits of trivia about Season 7 of the series production.
On October 12, 1951, three days before I Love Lucy premiered, Desilu filmed Episode #6, "The Audition". An enterprising member of the studio audience secretly brought a 16mm movie camera with him into the bleachers that evening, and when no one was looking, he managed to take a few "home movies" as the filming proceeded. Gregg Oppenheimer, son of Jess Oppenheimer, recently discovered and obtained this rare color footage, and has edited it together with scenes from the actual show. The gentleman on the set with the Arnazes between scenes is the show's director, Marc Daniels. This never-before-released film is the only known color footage of the Tropicana and Ricardo apartment sets.
Another example of the original credits with the sponsor, Sanka, in the background.
When Hedda Hopper arrives to interview the Ricardos on how Lucy and Ricky first met, everyone is anxious to begin. Even the Mertzes chime in. But no one moves faster than Hedda. Notice how quickly she takes off her fur wrap!
In "The Celebrity Next Door", Lucy and Tallulah have a fight, and Lucy storms out of her neighbor's kitchen. Note that there is no glass in the door, and when Lucy exits, the pull-string on the blind flaps back and forth through where the glass ought to be!
Lucy's tirade at Tallulah ends with the Redhead storming off...Note that as Lucille Ball turns and leaves, not only is her shadow visible on the painted backdrop, she gets so close to it, the backdrop itself starts to move!
When "The Celebrity Next Door" was repeated as a part of The Lucy Desi Comedy Hour, cuts were made to the original 35mm negative, and the material was discarded. The following footage was found recently in 16mm prints. Unfortunately, its condition was too poor to re-insert it directly into the episodes.
In this scene from "The Celebrity Next Door", Ethel fumes to Fred over how poorly they are being treated while posing as Lucy and Ricky's maid and butler. This footage was seen only in the original network broadcast of this episode, on December 3, 1957.
In this scene, Ethel and Fred have had enough of playing maid and butler to an ungrateful Lucy, and decide to call it a night. They help themselves to some of the Ricardos leftovers. Again, this footage was seen only in the original network broadcast of this episode, on December 3, 1957.
The original broadcast of "The Celebrity Next Door", on December 3, 1957, concluded with the Arnazes appearing in a commercial for Ford Motor Co. The commercial was followed immediately by the closing credits featuring Lucy-Desi stick figures.
"Lucy Hunts Uranium" originally aired under the series title The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show. It opened with Lucy and Desi saying hello, and with animated graphics featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures. The elements seen here were only used on the original broadcast of this episode on January 3, 1958.
Tennessee Ernie Ford was the spokesman for Ford Motor Co. in this commercial created especially for use in "Lucy Hunts Uranium". Note it was filmed on the same desert set used for some of the action in this episode. The commercial was used only in the broadcast of January 3, 1958.
In this long-lost scene from "Lucy Hunts Uranium", the Mertzes fret over having spent all day looking for uranium and finding nothing, and Ethel berates Fred for having rented an old jalopy. This footage was seen only in the original network broadcast of this episode, on January 3, 1958.
In this scene from "Lucy Hunts Uranium", Fred MacMurray joins the race back to Las Vegas, and Ricky discovers he is driving with the Emergency Brake engaged. Again, this footage was only seen in the original network broadcast of this episode, on January 3, 1958.
In this scene from "Lucy Hunts Uranium", Ethel fumes at Fred because the Ricardos and Fred MacMurray have pulled ahead of them in the race back to town. This footage was seen only in the original network broadcast of this episode, on January 3, 1958.
In "Lucy Hunts Uranium", the Mertzes move a detour sign, causing the Ricardos and Fred MacMurray to take the wrong road back to town. In this scene, Lucy and Ricky realize what has happened. Again, this footage was only seen in the original network broadcast of this episode, on January 3, 1958.
The original broadcast of "Lucy Hunts Uranium" on January 3, 1958, concluded with the Arnazes appearing in a commercial for Ford Motor Co. The commercial was followed immediately by closing featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures.
When Desilu was asked to edit "Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana" to fit a standard 60-minute format, the editors made the cuts as seamlessly as possible. Here are the "before and after" versions of the balcony scene in which Lucy and Susie discuss their new Cuban romances.
Networks traditionally call attention to programs with short promo pieces that air adjacent to other shows on the schedule. In the summer of 1958, CBS aired this long-lost promotion for The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
Even though I Love Lucy ceased production in the spring of 1957, CBS continued to include weekly repeats of the series on its primetime schedule throughout the 1957-1958 season. To keep the series fresh, Desilu prepared a new animated opening and new graphics for the closing credits.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were always most grateful for the talents and dedication of the people who worked "behind the scenes" on I Love Lucy. Two such craftsmen were film editor Dann Cahn and hair stylist Irma Kusely.
Various bits of trivia about hour-long episodes of the series production.
In the spring of 1958, Desi Arnaz signed a multi-million-dollar deal, extending the "Lucy-Desi" hour comedies two more seasons, and adding Desilu Playhouse, an hour-long weekly anthology series, both to be sponsored by the home appliance division of the Westinghouse Electric Corp. This is a promotional film made by Desilu for Westinghouse, telling of their new offerings.
In "Lucy Goes to Sun Valley", Ricky and Fernando Lamas fight over Lucy, but it's the crowd they attract that gets our attention. Notice how the same group of lookie-loos seems to be in every shot. (The blonde lady in the ski sweater is everywhere!)
When "Lucy Wins a Racehorse" was repeated as a part of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, cuts were made to the original 35mm negative, and the material was discarded. The following footage was found recently in 16mm prints. Unfortunately, its condition was too poor to be re-inserted directly into the episode.
In this scene from "Lucy Wins a Racehorse", Ricky decides he cannot face another breakfast of Korny Krinkles, however noble the cause. Little Ricky is tired of the cereal, too. This footage was seen only in the original network broadcast of this episode on February 3, 1958.
The original broadcast of "Lucy Wins a Racehorse" on February 3, 1958, concluded with the Arnazes appearing in a commercial for Ford Motor Co. The commercial was followed by closing credits featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures.
"Lucy Goes to Mexico" was the first episode of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show to air with Westinghouse sponsorship. Its opening featured Desi Arnaz and the animated stick figures. This original footage, found recently in a 16mm print of the show, was seen only in the broadcast of October 6, 1958.
Although Desi Arnaz was the official host of The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show and The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, the sponsor asked Lucy to participate as much as possible in the "wrap-around" segments, including this one from the original broadcast of "Lucy Goes to Mexico".
The original broadcast of "Lucy Goes to Mexico" on October 6, 1958, closed with Desi telling Lucy (and viewers at home) about the following week's presentation on Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. This led directly into the show's closing credits, featuring a voice-over by Roy Rowan.
"Lucy Goes to Sun Valley" originally aired on April 14, 1958, and was repeated December 22, 1958. To freshen the repeat, a Christmas-themed "flashback" opening was added to open the show. The new footage, however, was removed again when the show became part of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
In this scene from "Lucy Goes to Sun Valley", Fred scolds Ricky for being melancholy while Lucy is away. The scene was shortened slightly when the show was edited for The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. This footage was recently discovered in a 16mm print of the December 22,1958 rebroadcast.
The Christmas 1958 rebroadcast of "Lucy Goes to Sun Valley" closed with graphics featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures and a voice-over by Row Rowan.
When "Lucy Goes to Mexico" first aired on The Westinghouse Lucill Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, this animated transition featuring Lucy-Desi stick figures was used to lead into a commercial. This footage, found recently in a 16mm print of the show, was seen in the broadcast of October 6, 1958.
The Ricardos and the Mertzes returned to their traditional Monday night time slot during the summer of 1958, when CBS presented what 155 newspaper columnists considered to be the best I Love Lucy shows of all time. New opening titles and closing credits were prepared for this 13-week series.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were always most grateful for the talents of the people who worked "behind the scenes" on I Love Lucy. They were especially vocal in their praise of their writers.
Various bits of trivia about Season 7 of the series production, including original music by Arthur Hamilton.
In "Lucy Makes Room For Danny", everyone ends up in court, where Little Ricky seems to be every place at once. Notice how he is seated behind Ricky and Danny, but in the very next shot he is behind Fred and Ethel!
In "Lucy Goes to Alaska", Lucy has trouble making a bed out of a hammock. This sequence makes it look like she is a whiz at making up a bed. First the covers are all askew, we cut to a reaction shot from Ricky, then, presto! the hammock bed is ready!
When "Lucy Makes Room For Danny" was repeated as part of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, cuts were made to the original 35mm negative, and the material was discarded. The following footage was found recently in 16mm prints. Unfortunately, its condition was too poor to be re-inserted directly into the episode.
In this scene from "Lucy Makes Room For Danny", Lucy is having trouble closing a suitcase until Ethel arrives and quickly solves the problem. The scene was shortened when the show was edited for The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. This footage was found recently in a 16mm print of the broadcast.
The original broadcast of "Lucy Makes Room For Danny" included a closing wrap-around in which Desi tells the audience about next week's show, only to be interrupted by Lucy, saying they need to get their pictures taken for a new Westinghouse advertising campaign.
"Lucy Makes Room For Danny" originally aired as part of The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, and closed with graphics featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures. These closing credits were used in the original broadcast on December 1, 1958.
The 13 half-hour episodes of I Love Lucy chronicling the Ricardos' and Mertzes' relocation to suburban Connecticut were repeated as a special series on CBS during the summer of 1960. To keep the shows fresh, new graphics were used to open and close the broadcasts.
Short biographies for the two stars and their romance.
Details regarding the guest-star trade-off policy for the hour-long Lucy-Desi shows.
When "Lucy Wants a Career" was repeated as part of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, the original Westinghouse opening featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures was replaced with new graphics. This original footage, found recently in a 16mm print of the show, was seen in the original broadcast of April 13, 1959.
The original broadcast of "Lucy Wants a Career" included a closing wrap-around in which Desi thanks Paul Douglas and "those wonderful Mertzes" for having been on the show.
"Lucy Wants a Career" originally aired as part of The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, and closed with graphics featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures. These closing credits were used in the original broadcast on April 13, 1959.
When "Lucy's Summer Vacation" was repeated as part of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, the original Westinghouse opening featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures was replaced with new graphics. This original footage, found recently in a 16mm print of the show, was seen in the original broadcast of June 8, 1959.
The original broadcast of "Lucy's Summer Vacation" included a closing wrap-around in which Desi starts to tell the audience about next week's show, only to be interrupted by "the Mertzes", pushing their old refrigerator down to their Westinghouse dealer to take advantage of new trade-in allowances.
"Lucy's Summer Vacation" originally aired as part of The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, and closed with graphics featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures. These closing credits were used in the original broadcast on June 8, 1959.
When "Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos" was repeated as part of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, cuts were made to the original 35mm negative, and the material was discarded. The following footage was found recently in 16mm prints. Unfortunately, its condition was too poor to be re-inserted directly into the episode.
In this scene from "Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos", Ricky scolds Lucy for having used his name in her quest to land Milton Berle to star in a PTA benefit. She suggests Ricky ought to change his name" "Clark Gable. That's a nice name." the line was edited out of the show after Mr. Gable died in November, 1960.
The Westinghouse presentation of "Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos" included a closing wrap-around in which Lucy and Desi mention that they will be appearing on Berle's upcoming NBC special, and Lucy starts to tell Desi about Westinghouse's Round-Up Days.
"Milton Berle Hides Out at the Ricardos" originally aired as part of The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, and closed with graphics featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures. These closing credits were used in the original broadcast on September 25, 1959.
When "The Ricardos Visit Japan" was repeated as part of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, the original Westinghouse opening featuring Lucy-Desi stick figures was replaced with new graphics. This footage, found recently in a 16mm print, was seen in the original broadcast of November 27, 1959.
The Westinghouse presentation of "The Ricardos Visit Japan" included a closing wrap-around in which Desi thanks the cast and promises to tell the audience about next week's show, as soon as he takes a parasol over to Lucy.
"The Ricardos Visit Japan" originally aired as part of The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, and closed with graphics featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures. These closing credits were used in the original broadcast on November 27, 1959.
When "Lucy Meets the Moustache" was repeated as part of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, the original Westinghouse opening featuring Lucy-Desi stick figures was replaced with new graphics. This footage, found recently in a 16mm print, was seen in the original broadcast of April 1, 1960.
The Westinghouse presentation of "Lucy Meets the Moustache" included a closing wrap-around in which Desi starts to tell us about next week's show, only to be interrupted by Lucy, who is off to see the newest Westinghouse refrigerator.
"Lucy Meets the Moustache" originally aired as part of The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, and closed with graphics featuring the Lucy-Desi stick figures. These closing credits were used in the original broadcast on April 1, 1960.
In the late 1950s, when Desilu edited I Love Lucy for syndication, it removed the animation leading into the closing commercial break, inserting instead the familiar "heart on satin". For the special DVD edition, they restored many of these original elements, including this one in "Desert Island".
Editing for syndication also replaced the original "Tree Carving" transition at the end of "Little Ricky's School Pageant", which was restored to its original form for the special edition DVD (including announcer Roy Rowan's voice-over lead-in to the closing commercial for Instant Sanka).
In the original network broadcasts of I Love Lucy, Lucy and Desi occasionally appeared in commercials as spokepersons for the sponsor. This spot for Instant Sanka aired only once - on January 14, 1957, at the end of the original broadcast of "Lucy and Superman".
For years, Superman fans have complained that actor George Reeves isn't credited at the end of "Lucy and Superman". His voice-over credit was heard in the original broadcast, but was deleted from reruns. Now, for the first time since the 1950s, they restored the Reeves credit to the episode in the special edition DVD.
Newspaper columnist Hedda Hopper comes to the Ricardos' home in Connecticut to interview them about how they met. They then weave the tale about how Lucy and her best friend, Susie MacNamara, went on a cruise to Havana and Ricky and Rudy Vallee caught their eye. After much adventure, Lucy and Susie must figure out a way to get Ricky and Rudy to America.
Lucy and Ethel find out they have a new next-door neighbor moving in. When she comes to use their telephone, they find it's none other than Tallulah Bankhead, prolific stage and film actress. Suddenly, Lucy realizes this means she has a chance at getting Bankhead to appear at her local PTA benefit. To impress the star, she invites her to dinner, conning the Mertzes into posing as her hired help. The meal and a series of meetings after it, creates a riff between Ms. Bankhead and Lucy. With this riff, who will perform at the PTA benefit?
The Ricardos and the Mertzes head to Las Vegas' Sands Hotel where Ricky and his orchestra are performing. Lucy and the rest of the gang (including Fred MacMurray) catch the uranium hunting bug, but it's every man for himself as the race is on to see who will be the first to claim $10,000. MacMurray's wife June Haver also guest stars.
Lucy pesters Ricky about getting a horse for Little Ricky but he refuses because a horse is too expensive. She ends up winning a horse after entering a contest and there's a lot of horsing around as she now has to figure out a way for Little Ricky to keep the horse without sending the family to the poor house. Harry James and Betty Grable guest star.
Lucy and Ricky are about to go on a "second honeymoon," but it falls through when Ricky has to do a TV show. Can Ricky and Lucy put the romance back into their marriage? Fernando Lamas guest stars as himself, assuming the role as the Ricardos' unlikely marriage counselor.
Maurice Chevalier is slated to perform with Ricky's orchestra on the USS Yorktown, but soon finds himself smack dab in the middle of the Ricardos' and the Mertzes' misadventures as they head for Tijuana, Mexico.
The Ricardos prepare to go out of town for two months and decided to rent their home out to Danny Williams and his family. But when their plans fall through, Lucy and Ricky are forced to move in with Fred and Ethel in their guest house! Lucy, however, drives Danny crazy with her constant visits, and things get a bit out of hand. Danny Thomas, Marjorie Lord and Gale Gordon guest star.
The Ricardos and Mertzes head to Alaksa, but arrive a day early and their room is not ready; it is occupied by none other than Red Skelton, who generously shares his room with the foursome. Later, Ricky and Fred learn that they own land that is all ice and are constantly at each other's throats. Ricky and Fred's bickering causes Lucy to ask Red if he will buy the property, but chaos ensues.
Lucy gets tired of the same old daily routines that being a housewife has to offer, so she decides to get a job. While looking in the newspaper, she finds out that Paul Douglas is looking for a female assistant (a "Girl Friday"). Lucy lands the job; but on the first day, as usual, goofs up. However, the public thinks her blunders are scripted (and funny) and want more. She is signed into a contract with the show, but has mixed feelings when she begins to miss her family.
Harry Bailey, an agent of Ricky's, told the Ricardos that they can use his summer home for a vacation. But he also promises actors Ida Lupino and Howard Duff the same thing. Both the couples arrive at the cabin not knowing at first that the others are there. After the couples both decide to stay, the wives brew up a plan to spend more time with their husbands, who are more interesting in fishing than bonding.
In order to get Milton Berle to perfom at a benefit at Little Ricky's school, Lucy uses Ricky's name to spark his attention. When Ricky catches her, Lucy must act in secret and decides to visit Mr. Berle's office. At the office, she overhears Milton's agent saying that Mr. Berle needs a secluded place to work on his new book. After discussion, Milton's agent suggest he write his new book at Lucy's farmhouse. Later, when Fred catches a "mysterious man" visiting Lucy while Ricky is at work, Ricky becomes furious.
Ricky's band is scheduled to perform in Tokyo, Japan and when they get settled, they meet Bob Cummings. Lucy, from her mother's suggestion, wants to get some new genuine pearls in Japan. Bob Cummings, who end up rooming next to the Ricardos has pearls, so Lucy and Ethel sneak into Fred's money belt while he's asleep and snag some cash. While planning to pay it back to Fred when they get back, Lucy and Ethel buy the pearls, but they end up not being able to afford them. They need to hatch a plan to give the pearls back to Mr. Cummings.
Ricky is depressed because he hasn't gotten any movie or television offers lately. Lucy wants to cheer him up, and remembers that Ernie Kovacs and his wife, Edie Adams, live nearby -- and they have their own television show. Lucy invites them to dinner, and Ernie ends up inviting Ricky to appear on his TV show. Little Ricky, that is. When Lucy tries to remedy the situation, trouble ensues
This is the only known color footage of the Tropicana and Ricardo apartment sets. On October 12, 1951, three days before the filming of Episode #6 "The Audition," a member of the studio audience secretly brought a 16mm movie camera into the bleachers and managed to take a few "home movies." The gentleman on the set with the cast between scenes is the show's director, Marc Daniels.
To promote the relationship between Westinghouse and Desilu, Lucy and Desi appeared in this 1958 film that was shown to Westinghouse dealers around America. A special Desilu Studio tour is included as well as the Arnaz's plans for their new shows.
Includes several Bob Hope show episodes that Lucy and Desi were on including a rare "I Love Lucy" episode with Bob Hope playing Ricky and Desi playing Fred and Bill Frawley playing a captain. The highlights of it is the "Westing House" promotion with Lucy trying to get new things for her dressing room.
Original Closing from "Milton Berle Hides Out At the Ricardos"
This broadcasted special commemorates the 50th anniversary of the I Love Lucy Show with top celebrities sharing their memories and the impact of the series on their lives. Lucy's childhood home in Jamestown , NY is visited by her children and clips from the top 10 episodes chosen by fans are shown.
The Ricardos and Mertzes are on their way to Paris, but first Lucy wants to go to Scotland to seek members of the McGillicuddy family into which she was born. In a classic dream sequence, Ricky appears as Scotty MacTavish MacDougal MacCardo.---Colorized Version
The I LOVE LUCY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, a one-hour special featuring two newly colorized back-to-back classic episodes of the 1950s series, will be broadcast Friday, Dec. 20 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The two episodes---the seldom-seen "Christmas Episode" and "Lucy's Italian Movie" (aka "Grape Stomping")---were colorized with a vintage look, a nod to the 1950s period in which the shows were filmed. The main titles and end credits of the two episodes are seamlessly combined into one set---at the beginning and end of the hour---with no interruption between the episodes.
En route to Rome by train, Lucy is spotted by a famous Italian cinema director and chosen to play a part in his new movie "Bitter Grapes." Lucy sets out to immerse herself in the role. When she nonchalantly wanders into a vineyard inhabited by a motley assortment of Italian-speaking women, she is dispatched to the wine-making area to crush grapes with her feet.----"Lucy's Italian Movie" (aka "Grape Stomping")---were colorized with a vintage look, a nod to the 1950s period in which the shows were filmed.
From 1956
Includes colorized episodes of "The Christmas Show" and "Paris At Last"
Includes colorized versions of the Christmas Show and "Job Switching"
Desperate to be in Ricky's new television commercial, Lucy makes every attempt to get her way; which eventually pays off. But her one-and-only chance flops when she is forced to test the sponsor's product over-and-over, a vitamin syrup called Vitametavegimin, which is 25% alcohol. Colorized Version.
This short film accompanied a Fathom Events screening of five colorized I Love Lucy episodes on August 6, 2019. Excellent description of the colorization process with interviews and historical perspective.
"I Love Lucy and Lucy Loves Me" in colorized video
Before his conga drum numbers, Desi would remove his wedding band, which interfered with his playing. But in the rush to film the pilot, he simply forgot. Watch closely, and you'll see him take off the ring and slip it into his pants pocket, without missing a beat.
In this scene from "Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her", Desi walks to the desk so quickly that the camera on the right doesn't have time to get out of the way, and is briefly visible at the edge of the screen.
In this scene from "Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her", Lucy is supposed to end up with the doctored drink, despite her attempts at a switch. But watch carefully and you'll see that the one who actually end up holding the sedative is Desi!
One of the reasons why I Love Lucy remains so fresh is that you're seeing a truly "live" performance, filmed straight through, like a play. Second takes were rare, even if the actors made minor dialogue mistakes like this one.
The dogs' names are supposed to be "Ann, Helen, Mary, Cynthia, Alice, and Theodore." But the trainer calls one dog by its real name -"Yorky". Also watch Vivian Vance, who isn't supposed to yawn, but can't help herself when Lucy does it.
In the second season, CBS reran a few episodes so Lucy could take time off to have her baby. These new "flashback" scenes-created to open the February 1953 rerun of "The Diet" and the March 1953 rerun of "The Girls Want to Go to a Night Club"-haven't been seen in more than 50 years.
Each of these "flashback" scenes aired only once-the first during CBS's rebroadcast of "The Quiz Show" on October 20, 1952 (which may well have been TV's very first rerun), and the second during the November 1952 rebroadcast of "Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her".
I Love Lucy's familiar "heart on satin" wasn't added until the series was in reruns. See the original opening for the show.
A slide show of publicity stills and on-the-set shots.
When I Love Lucy rerunsbegan, much of the music at the beginning and ends of scenes were altered or cut. For the special DVD edition, the musical bridges were restore where possible. This is some of the restored cues, as example.
When "The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub" was edited for syndication, the closing music and applause were inexplicably replaced with canned laughter. For the special DVD edition, the original soundtrack was restored.
When CBS edited "The Quiz Show", for reruns, it deleted most of Ricky's and Arnold's reactions to Lucy's line: "Ricky, I'd like you to meet my second first husband." For the special DVD edition, the footage was restored.
In the original broadcast of "The Quiz Show", announcer John Stephenson named the guest cast members in a voice-over during the closing credits. For the special DVD edition, the voice-over was restored, which had been missing since the 1950s.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy.
The Ricardo's apartment is located on the fourth floor of the Mertzes' apartment building (Apartment 4A). So how exactly does Fred manage to get his ladder all the way up to their bedroom window in this scene from "The Fur Coat"?
The Ricardo's apartment is just a set, of course, but we're not supposed to see any evidence of that, as in the final scene of "The Fur Coat", when Desi faints and the camera reveals that the carpet ends in the middle of the floor!
If much of "The Audition" looks familiar, there's a good reason for it: The episode was a "remake" of the I Love Lucy pilot (which wasn't made for broadcast). But while the Pilot featured Ricky's agent, Jerry, "The Audition" gave his lines to Fred Mertz, as in this scene.
In I Love Lucy's second season, CBS reran some first season episodes so that Lucy could take time off to have her baby. These "flashback" scenes for reruns of "The Fur Coat", "The Seance", and "Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer", haven't been seen in more than 50 years!
In 1956, part of the first scene of "The Audition" (in which Lucy holds up a Phillip Morris pack) was cut from the negative and discarded. For the special edition DVD, they restored the original footage-unseen since the 1950s-from a rare 16mm print.
Part of the first scene of "Men Are Messy" (mentioning sponsor Phillip Morris) was deleted in the 1950s and hasn't been seen since then. For the special edition DVD, they restored the original footage-unseen since the 1950s-from a rare 16mm print.
Lucy and Ricky's lengthy kiss at the end of "Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer" made it past the censors once, but was drastically cut for reruns. Here is that familiar, brief kiss, followed by the original, longer version-seen for the first time since 1951.
When "Drafted" first aired on December 24, 1951, the show included this special Christmas "tag scene", which has been missing from all subsequent broadcasts and video releases of the episode-until the special edition DVD.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on May 13, 1949, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "The Fur Coat".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on May 14, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "The Seance".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on June 4, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Men Are Messy".
In "Lucy Plays Cupid", Lucy Ricardo is trying to help her spinster neighbor, Miss Lewis, get herself a husband. But Desi can't seem to remember her marital status. He keeps calling her Mrs. Lewis.
Desi's band was present even if it wasn't featured onscreen. Listen carefully just before Miss Lewis answers Lucy, and you'll hear a faint crash as the offstage drummer mistakenly hits the cymbal.
Audio and photograph stills from rehearsing the Pilot episode on March 2, 1951.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy Plays Cupid".
When Fred and Ethel leave the Ricardo's apartment at the end of the first scene of "Breaking the Lease", Ethel turns left in the hallway to return to her apartment, but watch Fred-instead of following Ethel, he heads in the opposite direction!
Fresh audience reaction was so important to I Love Lucy that a "no retakes" rule generally prevaield-even when, is in this scene from "Breaking the Lease", the shot was momentarily obliterated by an audience member's unauthorized flash photography.
In the final scene of "Breaking the Lease", there's a magazine sitting on the Ricardo's coffee table. Can you guess whose pictures are on the cover? That's right-Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz!
In the "Young Fans", Ricky is so startled by Peggy that he splashes cream on his lapel. It's still there as he leaves the kitchen. But when he gets to the living room, the cream magically disappears!
In I Love Lucy's second season, CBS reran several first season episodes so that Lucille Ball could take time off to have her baby. This new "flashback" scene was created to open the April 1953 rebroadcast of "Lucy Fakes Illness".
To make room for the new second season opening for "Lucy Fakes Illness", several shots were cut from the negative in 1953, and have been missing ever since. For the special edition DVD, they reconstructed the missing footage, using a rare 16mm print.
From I Love Lucy's premiere on October 15, 1951, through the end of February 1952, these animated sequences were used as transitions into commercials.
I Love Lucy's familiar "heart on satin" wasn't added until the series was in reruns. When the series originally aired on CBS, this animated sequence opened each episode, from the show's on October 15, 1951 premiere until the broadcast of "The Young Fans" on February 25, 1952.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run. This animated sequence opened each episode beginning with the broadcast of "New Neighbors", on March 3, 1952.
This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on February 17, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "The Young Fans".
This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on December 30, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy Fakes Illness".
"The Byrum River Beagle Club" is the actual location of Lucy and Desi's real-life wedding ceremony in 1940. So you'd think that Desi would be familiar enough with the place not to mess up the name during filming, right? Wrong. He calls it the "Bigger Vital River Club"!
To raise the Ricardo's coffee table into frame in an important shot in the last scene of "The Kleptomaniac", Director of Photography Karl Freund mounted it on blocks, which were supposed to remain out of view of the TV audience. But a later wide-angle pan revealed all to folks at home.
Short biographies of guest cast members in this episode and a list of their episode appearances.1
Starting in March 1952, during I Love Lucy's original network run on CBS, this animated sequence was used as the transition to commercials.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on January 21, 1949, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "The Marriage License".
When I Love Lucy reruns began, much of the music at the beginnings and ends of scenes were altered or cut. For the special edition DVD, they restored these original musical bridges wherever possible. Here are two examples.
The story behind the nightclub scene when Ricky finds out Lucy is expecting.
When you help your Heart Fund you help your heart.
In the first scene of "Cuban Pals", Desi inadvertently says one of his lines in English, then realizes his error and breaks up completely. He recovers quickly, however, and continues as though the mistake had been scripted.
As the final scene of "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" begins, Lucy Ricardo is nowhere to be found. If you look carefully, though, you can see Lucille Ball standing in the dark at the rear of the stage, taking a break before her entrance.
In 1956, Desilu re-edited part of "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" to cut all mention of sponsor Phillip Morris. Here is the familiar edited scene, followed by the original version, unseen since the 1950s.
Excerpt from audio from book by Jess Oppenheimer, writer for the show, featuring video clips from "The Freezer" and "Lucy Does a TV Commercial".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on My 28, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "The Freezer"
In "Lucy Gets Ricky On the Radio", Freddie Fillmore's "Showmanship Award" has an oddity buried in the fine print. The word that follows "OUR APPRECIATION FOR" is nothing but gibberish!
In "Ricky Asks For a Raise", Gale Gordon (Mr. Littlefield) decided he'd call actor Maurice Marsac (the Headwaiter) "Maurice" instead of "William" (as the script provided). Too bad nobody told the announcer, Roy Rowan, before he reads the guest cast credits aloud at the end of the program!
When "Lucy Gets Ricky On the Radio" was edited for reruns, footage of Freddie Fillmore holding up a poster for sponsor Phillip Morris was replaced by close-ups of Lucy, filmed by another camera. For the special edition DVD, they restored the original shots-unseen for 50 years.
To mark the end of their first season on CBS, Lucy and Desi bid farewell for the summer to the TV audience in this special end-of-season "tag scene". It was broadcast just once, on June 9, 1952.
When I Love Lucy reruns began, much of the music at the beginnings and ends of scenes were altered or cut. For the special edition DVD, they restored these original musical bridges wherever possible. Here are two examples.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on April 22, 1949, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy's Schedule".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on October 7, 1949, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Ricky Asks For a Raise".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on November 25, 1949, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy Gets Ricky On the Radio".
Help wipe out polio.
The need is great, so don't wait.
Lucy gets a sneak preview of the 1957 Ford Retractable Hardtop.
In re-editing "Job Switching" for syndication, CBS ended up showing the same "chocolate slap" twice (from two different camera angles)! Watch Lucy's right eye closely. The slap covers it in chocolate, then suddenly it's chocolate-free again!
In "Job Switching", Desi's first "slip and fall" was accidental, not scripted. But the move got such a scream from the audience that he promptly took two more pratfalls, just for good measure!
In "Job Switching", Lucille Ball wasn't supposed to eat any chocolates from the conveyor belt until she finished her last line of dialogue. But she popped one into her mouth too soon. Realizing her error, Lucy quickly removed the candy and dropped it to the floor without missing a beat.
In "The Handcuffs", when Lucy and Ricky go to bed handcuffed together, one of the few pieces of clothing Ricky manages to remove is his necktie.. But when they come back into the living room, the tie magically appears back on Ricky's neck again!
In re-editing "Job Switching" for syndication, CBS cut short Lucille Ball's priceless chocolate-drenched reaction shot at the end of the "chocolate dipping" scene. For the special edition DVD, they restored this deleted footage-unseen since 1952.
When these episodes were first broadcast on CBS in 1952, a variety of special animated sequences were used in order to provide a smooth transition into the middle commercial. For the special edition DVD, they reinserted these original sequences.
The familiar "heart on satin" opening wasn't created until I Love Lucy was in reruns. When the series originally aired on CBS, "Job Switching" and "The Saxophone" began with this animated sequence.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run. This animated sequence is from the original 1952 broadcasts of "The Anniversary present", "The Operetta", "Vacation From Marriage", and "The Courtroom".
The third animation sequence opened the original network broadcast of "The Handcuffs" on October, 6, 1952.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on December 30, 1949, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "The Handcuffs".
Question: In "Redecorating", when Ricky goes to check out the new wallpaper, why is Fred Mertz lurking in the Ricardo's bedroom hallway? Answer: William Frawley forgot to stay out of camera range while waiting to make his entrance!
In the opening scene of "Ricky loses His Vice', when Desi asked his accompanist, Marco Rizo, to call Lucy for him, Marco was supposed to answer, "Okay, Ricky." Instead, Marco used Desi's real name, saying, "Okay, Des."
During the filming of "Lucy is Enceinte", as he neared the final scene, Desi was so overcome by emotion that he forgot what he was supposed to do next-sing "We're Having a Baby". But the film crew came to the rescue, yelling at him to "Sing the baby song!"
For syndication, when the original animated transitions into the middle commercial were replaced by the familiar "heart on satin", the music was often cut to fit the shorter segue. For the special edition DVD, they restored both the animation and the original music. Here's an example.
Excerpt from audio from book by Jess Oppenheimer, writer for the show, featuring video clips from "Lucy's Showbiz Swan Song" and "Lucy is Enceinte".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on May 21, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy is Enceinte".
Lucille Ball often changed the names of characters in the show to those of real people she knew, such as Henry "Bud" Molin (one of the show's film editors). But sometimes these ad hoc name changes didn't make it into the voice-over credits at the end of the episode.
In "Ricky Has Labor Pains", you really can't blame Ricky for feeling neglected, now that Lucy has become the focus of everyone's attention. After all, even the cover of the McCall's magazine Lucy is reading declares "I Love Lucy"!
One of the reasons "I Love Lucy" remains so fresh is that you're seeing a truly "live" performance, filmed straight through, like a play. Second takes were rare, even for dialogue flubs like the one Lucy makes here. She chuckles at her mistake and keeps on going!
On January 19, 1953, the day that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz gave birth to their son, sponsor Phillip Morris included this heartfelt message at the end of the "Lucy Goes to the Hospital", congratulating not Lucy and Desi, but Lucy and Ricky!
CBS's original broadcast of "Sales Resistance" closed with the voice-over by announcer Roy Rowan, plugging the release of Desi's recording of "There's a Brand New Baby at Our House", which he sings in the episode's opening scene.
During I Love Lucy's second season, CBS rebroadcast several first season episodes so Lucille Ball could take time off to have her baby. This new opening "flashback" scene, created for the Febuary 9, 1953 rerun of "The Diet", was broadcast only a single time.
The February 23, 1953 rebroadcast of "Men Are Messy" (while Lucy was still on maternity leave) began with this special message from Desi, as well as a new "flashback" opening scene, neither of which has been broadcast in more than 50 years!
CBS's original broadcasts of "Sales Resistance" and "The Inferiority Complex" began with Desi Arnaz stepping out from behind a curtain to introduce the episode. Here is the original opening of each of these episodes.
I Love Lucy's opening changed during its original network run. this animated sequence opened CBS's original broadcast of "The Fine Arts Club".
Excerpt from audio from book by Jess Oppenheimer, writer for the show, read by Larry Dobkin.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on October 7, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy Becomes a Sculptress".
In "Lucy Hires a Maid", handwritten numbers mysteriously appear on the underside of Lucy's card table, just after she falls asleep. Is it the work of ghosts? Or just the Desilu prop man?
In "No Children Allowed", it's no wonder that Ethel feels closer to Lucy than to Mrs. Trumbull. Ethel can't even remember the elderly tenant's name! In this scene, Vivian Vance mistakenly refers to the Ricardo's upstairs neighbor as "old Mrs. Turnbull".
In the first act of "Lucy's Last Birthday", Ricky's band has two trombone players. By the second act, one of them has disappeared. Where did the musician go? Why, to join "The Friends of the Friendless", of course!
In 1953, CBS reran several episodes so that Lucy could take time off to have her baby. These scenes, created to open the spring 1953 reruns of "The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub", "The Seance", and "Lucy is Jealous of Girl Singer", haven't been seen for more than 50 years!
This "flashback" scene was created to introduce CBS's April 13, 1953 rebroadcast of "Lucy Fakes Illness".
At the end of the network's March 31, 1953 rebroadcast of "The Seance", Lucy and Desi made this special appeal for contributions to the Heart Fund.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run. This animated sequence is from the original broadcasts of "The Black Eye", "No Children Allowed", Lucy Hires a Maid", "The Indian Show", and "Lucy's Last Birthday".
This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on June 25, 1949, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy Changes Her Mind".
Your local Community Chest drive is underway, and your help is needed.
The script for "The Camping Trip" originally had Lucy pointing to her diamond ring to ask her partner, Ethel, whether to lead diamonds. This was later changed to hearts. But during filming, Vivian Vance inadvertently said, "diamonds". The word was dubbed in later.
When Ethel observes that Ricky and Fred are too wrapped up in the fights on TV to miss the girls if they go to a movie, Lucy is supposed to say, "After the fights are over, they'll miss us plenty!" Instead, she says, "After the movies are over, they'll miss us plenty!"
CBS aired this promotional spot on Monday evening, August 25, 1952, three weeks before I Love Lucy returned for its second season.
This animated sequence was used as a transition to the closing commercial on a number of second season I Love Lucy episodes
When "The Camping Trip" first aired, Caroline needled Lucy, saying, "Play it while you're still young." Ethel replied, "You leaver her alone-this is important." Both lines were cut (for time reasons) from all subsequent airings and have been lost for more than 50 years-until now.
For reruns, the familiar "heart on satin" replaced the lengthy animated transition into the middle commercial, and the music was often edited to fit the shorter seque. For the special edition DVD, they put back both the animation and the original music. Here's an example.
To mark the end of the second season on CBS, Lucy and Desi bid farewell for the summer to the TV audience in the special end-of-season "tag scene". It was broadcast just once, on June 29, 1953
This flashback scene was created to introduce the rebroadcast of "the Camping Trip" that CBS aired on December 20, 1954, just as the Ricardos and the Mertzes were preparing to drive to Hollywood so that Ricky could star in the movie Don Juan.
I Love Lucy's familiar "heart on satin" wasn't added until the series was in reruns. See the original opening for the show in Season 2.
A slideshow of stills and trivia from the second season's production.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on December 2, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy is a Matchmaker"
In filming I Love Lucy, the "no retakes" rules applied even when the shot included unwanted visitors. Iin this scene from "Lucy Tells the Truth", watch closely and you'll see a moth zoom into the shot from the lower left, then fly directly in front of Vivian Vance's face.
In "Ricky and Fred are TV Fans", Lucy and Ricky's Apartment number was 3B. But in "Lucy Tells the Truth", it's 3D. Why the change? Simple. The writers needed "3D" to make the joke work, and they figured that few viewers would remember the earlier reference.
In "Ricky's 'Life' Story", the prop man who dummied up the magazine started with an article about a typeface ("BODONI") and simply pasted in photos and a new headline. But he left in the old subtitle, thus describing Ricky Ricardo as a "Pleasing and Graceful Type".
CBS aired this promotional spot on the evening of September 28, 1953, exactly one week before I Love Lucy returned for its third season.
I Love Lucy's familiar "heart on satin" wasn't added until the series was in reruns. See the original opening for the show in Season 3.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on April 23, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress"
In "Redecorating the Mertzes' Apartment", Lucy's line was "there's just one thing to do-paint, and reupholster the old furniture." Instead, she said, "paint the furniture and reupholster the old furniture." Desi's clever ad-lib saved the take and allowed filming to continue.
In "Redecorating the Mertzes' Apartment", the final scene takes place several days after the feathers went flying in the Mertzes' apartment. By then of course, all the feathers are gone. But a lone feather (in the upper right-hand corner of the screen) apparently didn't get the message.
Many of Ricky Ricardo's "botched pronunciation" jokes were scripted, but in the final scene of "Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined", Desi's vain struggle to pronounce "homecoming" was strictly unplanned.
In "Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress", Ethel's name is "Ethel Louise", but in "The Million Dollar Idea", Lucy calls her "Ethel Roberta"!
"Changing the Boys' Wardrobe" originally opened without music. CBS later added music to the show, making it appear as if Ricky is raising his voice to be heard above the orchestra! For the special edition DVD, they restored the opening to its original form for the first time.
When it edited "Ricky's Old Girlfriend" for syndication, CBS inadvertently eliminated Lucy's Fred's, and Ethel's dialogue as Lucy offered the Mertzes coffee at the start of the show. For the special edition DVD, they restored the missing lines, using a rare 16mm print of the episode.
I Love Lucy's familiar "heart on satin" wasn't added until the series was in reruns. When the series originally aired on CBS, "Redecorating the Mertzes' Apartment", "Too Many Crooks", "Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined", and "The Million Dollar Idea" all began with this animated sequence.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. The familiar "heart on satin" wasn't added until the series was in reruns. This animated sequence is from the original 1953 broadcasts of "Changing the Boy's Wardrobe" and "Ricky's Old Girlfriend".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on September 2, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode, "Changing the Boys' Wardrobe".
While Lucille Ball normally pronounced the word "Tomato" as "Tomahto", she always took pains not to speak that way when playing "Lucy Ricardo". But in this scene from "Ricky Loses his Temper", her normal way of speaking slipped out momentarily.
In the final scene from "Ricky Minds the Baby", Lucy walks out of Ethel's apartment wearing a pair of slingback shoes (shown here on the left), takes a few steps down the hall, enters her own apartment, and is suddenly wearing ankle strap shoes (shown here on the right).
CBS's original broadcast of "Oil Wells", on February 15, 1954, ended with this special promotional message from Lucy and Desi, filmed on the set of their upcoming movie, The Long, Long Trailer.
When CBS re-edited "Fan Magazine Interview" for syndication, it replaced the musical bridge at the end of the first scene with an odd tune from its music library. For the special edition DVD, they restored the episode's original music for the first time in 50 years.
On February 1, 1954, at the end of the original broadcast of "Sentimental Anniversary", Lucy and Desi made this special pitch for donations to the March of Dimes in place of the usual commercial for sponsor Phillip Morris.
The folks who dubbed I Love Lucy into Spanish in the 1950s had no separate dialogue soundtrack, so they had to create a new soundtrack from scratch. Sometimes, they added their own "unique" touches, such as this fanfare for Lucy's stale brownies in "Ricky Minds the Baby".
I Love Lucy's familiar "heart on satin" wasn't added until the series was in reruns. When the series originally aired on CBS, "Ricky Minds the Baby", "The Charm School", "Sentimental Anniversary", "Fan Magazine Interview", "Oil Wells", and "Ricky Loses His Temper" all began with this animated sequence.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on December 9, 1949, inspired two I Love Lucy episodes, "The Adagio" (12/31/51) and "The French Revue" (11/16/53).
In "Bonus Bucks", Desilu's propman made sure that the crowbar mounted on the wall of the laundry plant was easily removable. But as soon as Ricky entered the room, the crowbar fell to the floor, forcing actress Patsy Moran to search for it later in the scene.
Lucille Ball was a master at handling props-she often spent hours rehearsing with them, just to avoid any problems when the cameras rolled. But in "Lucy is Envious', the star was no match for a simple cloth table napkin, which seemed to have a mind of its own.
While taping an episode of Lucille Ball's radio sitcom, My Favorite Husband, on December 1, 1950, actor Frank Nelson blew an important line so badly that director Jess Oppenheimer called for a retake-and another-and another.
Throughout the month of March 1954, Lucy and Desi ended each episode with this plug for their new movie, The Long, Long Trailer, which had premiered at Radio Music City Music Hall on February 18, 1954.
At the beginning of the original network broadcast of "Lucy's Club Dance" on April 12, 1954, Desi Arnaz stepped out from behind the curtain to introduce the show-as well as the sponsor's brand new "snap-open" packaging.
On March 22, 1954, CBS rebroadcast "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" with this introduction by announcer Roy Rowan, who refers to the series by its 1950s nickname-the "Lucy Show" (not to be confused with Lucy's 1960s TV series).
On December 26, 1955, as the Ricardos were preparing for their European trip, CBS rebroadcast "Lucy's Club Dance". To maintain story line continuity, the cast filmed this new "flashback" opening, seen here for the first time since its original 1955 airing.
A short in-between-programs network promo for I Love Lucy during Season 3.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. The familiar "heart on satin" wasn't added until the series was in reruns. This animated sequence is from the original 1954 broadcast of "Lucy Writes a Novel" .
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode features guests Frank Nelson, Bobby Jellison, Wally Maher, Jerry Hausner, and Sandra Gould, was originally broadcast on CBS Radio on December 9, 1950.
If you watch this scene from "The Sublease" closely, you can see that the shade pull swings through the windowpane!
One of the reasons that I Love Lucy remains so fresh is that you're seeing a truly "live" performance, filmed straight through, like a play. Second takes were rare, even when the actors made minor dialogue mistakes like this one in the "Sublease".
CBS's original broadcast of "Changing the Boys' Wardrobe" ended with this special Christmas message from Lucy and Desi, unseen since its original broadcast on December 7, 1953.
These animated sequences were used as transitions to the closing commercial on a number of episodes during I Love Lucy's third season.
I Love Lucy's original closing credits featured images of Phillip Morris cigarette packs. When the programs were edited for syndication, these images were replaced by the familiar "heart on satin".
A sort interlude that could be used to introduce an episode or even a commercial!
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. This slight variation on the "Pulling the Heart" opening began the original 1954 broadcasts of "The Golf Game" and "The Sublease".
A slide show of publicity stills and on-the-set shots from Season 3.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on April 9, 1950, inspired the I Love Lucy episode "The Golf Game".
From the I Love Lucy Treasure Chest collection, a CBS Video, Al Yankovich production Al produced this collection of the greatest musical moments from the “I Love Lucy” show, including the “Babalu Music” medley.
Includes Full-Length TV Sketches featuring the cast of ''I Love Lucy'' plus Skits, Promos, Bloopers and More!
CBS tribute to Lucille Ball highlights I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show & Here’s Lucy as well as highlights from her movie career, and excerpts from numerous other TV appearances. Guests Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, Gale Gordon, Jimmy Stewart, Richard Burton, John Wayne, Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., Dick Van Dyke, William Holden, Bob Hope, Harpo Marx, Dean Martin, Red Skelton and more.
Dan Rather hosts this CBS news special from the night Lucy passed away. Guests Ronald Reagan, Dick Van Dyke, Dinah Shore, & Bob Shiller.
From The Joan Rivers Show. I Love Lucy writers Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf, Author Bart Andrews, Lucy costume designer Irma Kusely, Little Ricky actor Keith Thibodeaux, and Desi Arnaz Jr. look back at the history of I Love Lucy.
Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. host this ‘real life’ special with a look through home movies of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
In "Mr. and Mrs. TV Show", Lucille Ball was supposed to say, "He has a sponsor who's looking for a show". But watch her lips. She actually says, "He has a show that's looking for a sponsor". Lucy later re-recorded this line and inserted the correction in place of the original audio.
In "The Ballet" back in I Love Lucy's first season, Fred told Ricky that his old vaudeville partner was "Ted Kurtz". So when Mr. Kurtz finally comes to visit, in "Mertz and Kurtz", why is he named Barney?
CBS's original 1954 broadcast of "Mertz and Kurtz" ended with this special message from Lucy and Desi on behalf of Community Chest, filmed on the set of the first scene of "Ricky's Screen Test", and featuring the world's biggest baby!
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on January 27, 1951, inspired the I Love Lucy episode "Drafted". English
In "Lucy's Mother-in-Law", Desi's line (telling Lucy about Professor Bonanova) was "We're thinking of putting him on the bill." But Desi forgot the line and instead ad-libbed, "We might use him at the club", forgetting that as he was saying this, he was sitting in the club!
Later in the same episode, Desi mistakenly said, "I got my fingers crossed", instead of his line ("I got my wires crossed"). Lucy couldn't resist pointing out her husband's error, resulting in this unscripted on-camera exchange between the two stars.
Where in New York did Ricky film his Hollywood screen test? Apparently it was just outside the Ricardo's kitchen, which you can see briefly in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
In "Lucy Learns to Drive", Ethel has her first driving lesson. But eighteen months earlier, in "The Camping Trip", she had no trouble driving a station wagon all the way to Lucy and Ricky's campsite!
On December 20, 1954, as the Ricardos planned their trip to Hollywood, CBS rebroadcast "The Camping Trip". To maintain storyline continuity, the cast filmed this new "flashback" opening. "Joanne" and "Greg" are the names of head writer Jesse Oppenheimer's kids.
When "Ricky's Contract" was edited for syndication, CBS cut short the closing music cue. For the Special Edition DVD, the episode's original ending was restored to the way it sounded in its original network broadcast on December 6, 1954.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. Many episodes in Season Four begin with this opening animated sequence.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. On January 3, 1954, I Love Lucy opened with this special introduction by Desi Arnaz, welcoming the show's new sponsor, Proctor & Gamble, followed by a new opening title sequence.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on July 1, 1949, features appearances by Gale Gordon, Bea Benaderet, Hans Conreid, and Frank Nelson.
In the final scene of "Ethel's Birthday", Lucy and Ethel made such a ruckus that some of the dialogue in the play they were watching (Over the Teacups) couldn't be heard. For any viewers who may be wondering what was being said onstage, here is the script for the play's first scene.
Throughout "First Stop", Lucy wears a light-colored coat over a dark pantsuit. But when she gets out of the car to check the "Aunt Sally's" sign, she's wearing a dress without a coat! Then, as soon as Lucy climbs back into the car, her original outfit reappears.
In "Ethel's Hometown", Ethel's hands are clasped together when Billy Hackett snaps her photo for the newspaper. But when the picture appears in print, her hands have magically changed position!
In "Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress", Ethel's middle name is "Louise" (William Frawleys' first wife's name). In "The Million Dollar Idea", it's "Roberta" (Vivian Vance's real middle name). And in "Ethel's Hometown":, it's Mae" (Vivian's mother's name).
In "L.A. at Last", after Lucy knocks the dessert tray onto William Holden, keep a close eye on the right-hand edge of the screen. One of the Desilu cameraman is in the picture! Although eliminated in the most recent remastering, this flub still appears in most syndicated broadcasts.
When "California, Here We Come!" was edited for syndication, CBS inserted the familiar "heart on satin" closing and changed the final music cue (eliminating Ricky's laughter from the soundtrack). For the special edition DVD, the show was restored to its original form for the first time since 1955.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on March 18, 1949, inspired the second season I Love Lucy episode "Redecorating".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on January 6, 1951, featured guests Gale Gordon, Bea Benaderet, Mary Shipp, and Herb Vigran.
In "Don Juan is Shelved", Mrs. McGillicuddy seems never to have heard of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio head Dore Schary. That's odd, because she had told Lucy that she wanted to go to Hollywood so Ricky could take her book manuscript "right to Dore Schary".
It's no wonder that Ricky has a lot of trouble remembering the date of his wedding anniversary-after all, the date keeps changing! In "The Anniversary Present", it was on the nineteenth of the month, but in "Hollywood Anniversary", it's on the seventh!
Actress Doris Singleton first appears as Lucy's friend "Lillian Appleby" in "The Club Election". For all the subsequent episodes, the character is referred to as "Caroline Appleby". But in "Lucy Gets in Pictures", Desi goes and changes her name back to Lillian!
In the last scene of "Don Juan is Shelved", keep an eye on the small high window of the Ricard's hotel suite as Dore Schary is saying goodbye. A Desilu stagtehand chooses that moment to cross behind the set, carrying a long pole.
After filming "Hollywood Anniversary", Lucy and Desi did a promotional spot for the Olympic Fund, which aired the following month at the end of "The Hedda Hopper Story". The special edition DVD restored this footage for the first time since its original network broadcast in 1955.
When "Bull Fight Dance" was edited for syndication, CBS shortened the final music cue and replaced the closing "stick figure" cartoon with the familiar "heart on satin". The special edition DVD restored the episode to its original form.
This is an example of the show's original ending credits, with the show's sponsor Proctor & Gamble and their product Cheer in the background.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. Many episodes in Season Four begin with this opening animated sequence.
This sequence opened "The Fashion Show" and "The Hedda Hopper Story", both of which wee sponsored by Proctor & Gamble, makers of Cheer.
This animated sequence, created to open CBS's original 1955 broadcast of "Hollywood Anniversary", featured a brand-new product from Proctor & Gamble: Lilt home permanent.
In "The Dancing Star", after Lucille Ball mistakenly says "vanced" instead of "danced", she silently chuckles at her mistake. (Hint: Watch her stomach muscles contract as she laughs.) Seeing his wife start to lose it, Desi eggs her on by playfully making fun of her goof.
Lucille Ball almost never ad-libbed on I Love Lucy, except when she was covering another actor's flub, as in this unscripted exchange with William Frawley in "The Dancing Star" (after he mistakenly says "jance" instead of "dance").
In the opening scene of "The Tour", Desi's unique pronunciation of the word "badger" is unscripted. So is Lucy's reaction.
When "The Star Upstairs" was edited for syndication, CBS shortened the final music cue and replaced the "stick figure" cartoon with the familiar "heart on satin". For the special edition DVD the show's ending was restored to its original form for the first time since the 1950s.
In "The Tour", the two "extras" crossing from left to right as Lucy and Ethel board the tour bus are none other than I Love Lucy's producer/head writer Jess Oppenheimer, and its director, William Asher. Here is a photo of the Arnazes and the duo.
In "The Tour", the two "extras" crossing from left to right as Lucy and Ethel board the tour bus are none other than I Love Lucy's producer/head writer Jess Oppenheimer, and its director, William Asher. Here is a video clip.
When CBS edited "The Tour" for syndication, it shortened the music cue going into the middle commercial break. For the special edition DVD, this music was restored to its original length.
In "The Tour", the exterior footage of Lucy and Ethel walking up to Richard Widmark's house was actually filmed at Lucy and Desi's just-purchased home in Beverly Hills.
An ad appearing at the of Lilt-sponsored episodes.
I Love Lucy's sixth season included reruns of several Season 4 episodes, in slightly edited form. Inexplicably, the cuts ere made to the original 35mm negatives, and the deleted material was discarded! The following footage, unseen for 50 years, was found recently in Jess Oppenheimer's 16mm prints. Unfortunately, the condition was too poor to re-insert directly into the episodes. Enjoy the 10 lost scenes.
This sequence opened "In palm Springs" and "Harpo Marx", both of which wee sponsored by Proctor & Gamble, makers of Cheer.
A slideshow of stills and trivia from the first season's production.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on November 20, 1948. This is an early episode, before the show had a sponsor and Liz and George's last was changed from "Cugat" to "Cooper".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, taped January 26, 1951 for original broadcast on CBS Radio on February 3, 1951, inspired the I Love Lucy second season episode "The Inferiority Complex".
Lucille Ball always hit her mark on the first take. Other actors blocked her path at their peril. In this scene from "Lucy and John Wayne", watch what she does to husband Desi when he inadvertently gets in her way.
In the late 1950s, when CBS edited I Love Lucy for syndication, it replaced the cartoon, voice-over, music, and applause that originally opened the first scene of every episode. For the special edition DVD, each element was restored to their original form.
CBS's syndication editing also replaced the animation at the end of each episode with the familiar "heart on satin", and sometimes altered the music as well. For the special edition DVD, the elements were restored to their original form, as in the ending from "Lucy and John Wayne".
Many of the voice-overs during the closing credits were also altered or eliminated after the initial broadcast. The special edition DVD includes the original voice-overs, including the extensive plug for John Wayne's movie, Blood Alley.
In the original broadcast of "Lucy and the Dummy", the studio emcee introduced a movie preview before the dance number, and there was an additional segment in the dressing room. Using a rare 16mm print , the special edition DVD restored these elements for the first time since 1955.
CBS's syndication edits also eliminated the animation going into the middle commercial break and sometimes edited the music cues. For the special edition DVD these elements were restored to their original form.
"The Great Train Robbery" originally included an additional scene in which Fred and Ethel go into the dining car. Using a rare 16mm print, the special edition DVD restored this scene to the episode for the first time since its original network broadcast on October 31, 1955.
Listen to the Desi Arnaz orchestra record the short version of the I Love Lucy theme.
This animated sequence, created to open CBS's original 1955 broadcast of "Ricky Sells the Car", and "Homecoming", featured another General Foods product: Fluffo shortening.
CBS's original 1955 broadcast of I Love Lucy's fifth season opener, "Lucy Visits Grauman's", opened with Desi Arnaz announcing the show's new sponsor lineup: General Foods and Proctor and Gamble.
This cartoon sequence, featuring Sanka instant coffee, opened the original 1955 broadcasts of "Lucy and the Dummy", "The Great Train Robbery", and " Face to Face".
I Love Lucy's familiar "heart on satin" opening wasn't created until the show was in reruns. This animated sequence, featuring Lilt Home Permanent, opened the original 1955 broadcast of "Lucy and John Wayne".
One of the reasons I Love Lucy remains so fresh is that you're seeing a truly live performance, filmed straight through, like a play. Retakes were frowned upon, even if an actor flubbed a line, as in this scene from "Ricky's European Booking", in which Lucy tries, twice, to say "How much will we need?"
In this scene from "The Passports", Desi is supposed to ask about the trunk as he reaches over to answer the phone, but he's so busy laughing at Bill Frawley's line that he forgets where he is! Lucy's ad-libbed reminder snaps Desi out of it, but then he asks about the trunk after he answers the phone.
In the final scene of "Bon Voyage", watch carefully as Desi grabs Lucy and is pulled up into the air with her. He inadvertently kicks Vivian Vance in the face! Luckily, Vivian's quick reaction allows her to escape uninjured.
In the late 1950s, when CBS edited I Love Lucy for syndication, it replaced animation going into the middle commercial break (inserting the familiar "heart on satin") and often edited the music. For the special edition DVD, these elements were restored to their original form. Here's an example.
On December 26, 1955, CBS aired a rerun of "Lucy's Club Dance", featuring this new opening "flashback" scene in which Ricky announces that his band has been booked to play the London Paladium. The scene, lost for decades, was recovered recently from a rare 16mm print.
"Bon Voyage" originally had an additional "tag scene", designed to promote Desi's new recording of "Forever Darling' (and Lucy and Desi's upcoming M-G-M movie of the same name). Using a rare 16mm print, this scene was restored to the episode for the first time since 1956.
This is an example of the show's original ending credits, with the show's sponsor General Foods and their product Fluffo in the background.
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. This cartoon sequence, featuring Sanka, opened the original 1955 broadcast of "Lucy Goes to a Rodeo".
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. This animated sequence, featuring another General Foods product, Fluffo, opened the original network broadcasts of "Nursery School", "The Passports", "Staten Island Ferry", and "Bon Voyage".
I Love Lucy's animated opening changed from time to time during its original network run on CBS. In December, 1955, General Foods introduced this new, animated "Sanka" opening, which was used on the original network broadcasts of "Ricky's European Booking" and "Second Honeymoon".
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on March 3, 1951. This episode features guest stars Sarah Selby and Jerry Hausner and it inspired the I Love Lucy episode of the same name.
In "Lucy Meets Charles Boyer", Ethel proudly shows off the stylish new bag she bought for herself on The Champs Elysees in Paris. If the bag looks familiar, it should. Three months earlier in New York, it belonged to Lucy Ricardo, who took it with her to Helen Kaiser's apartment in "The Passports".
On April 7, 1955, after wrapping "Ricky Needs an Agent", Lucy and Desi filmed a "tag scene" bidding viewers farewell till the fall. CBS aired the scene on June 27, 1955, at the end of the last show of the season-a rerun of "The Handcuffs". This long-lost scene is shown on the special edition DVD for the first time since 1955.
At the end of the original broadcast of "Paris At Last", on February 27, 1956, Lucy and Desi made this appeal to viewers to support their local Heart Association.
On February 5, 1956, at the end of the original network broadcast of "The Fox Hunt", Lucy and Desi took the opportunity to plug their new film, Forever Darling, which was set to premiere the next day. This extra scene made the show run so long that there was no time left to run the regular closing credits!
A soundstage snapshot of the I Love Lucy cast and crew members waiting patiently as Lucy and Desi prepare to hand out Christmas gifts.
I Love Lucy's familiar "Heart on satin" wasn't created until the show was in reruns. This opening, featuring Sanka, began the original 1956 broadcasts of "The Fox Hunt", "Lucy Goes to Scotland", "Lucy Meets Charles Boyer", and "Lucy Gets a Paris Gown".
This animated sequence, featuring another General Foods product, Fluffo, opened the original network broadcast of "Lucy Meets the Queen".
The original network broadcast of "Paris At Last" opened with this animated sequence, featuring Proctor and Gambles Lilt Home Permanent.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on February 10, 1951, and features Bobby Jellison-I Love Lucy's "Bobby the Bellboy". It inspired the second season I Love Lucy episode "The Black Eye".
In "Lucy's Italian Movie", actor Franco Corsaro ("Vittorio Phillipi") learned the script so well that when the other actors yelled, "Has she ever considered acting?!!" Corsaro simply couldn't resist mouthing the line right along with them!
When CBS prepared Season Five "heart on satin" end credits for syndication in the late 1950s, someone inadvertently spelled "Desi" with a "z" ("the Dezi Arnaz Orchestra"). The misspelling wasn't corrected until the recent remastering, and it can still be seen on many I Love Lucy broadcasts.
Syndication editing in the late 1950s removed many of the voice-overs originally heard during I Love Lucy's closing credits. For the special edition DVD, most of these original voice-overs, including this plug at the end of "Lucy Gets Homesick in Italy", for Lucy and Desi's spread in Look magazine, were restored.
Syndication editing also cut or altered the music, cartoon, voice-over, and applause that originally began the first scene of each episode, in some cases simply chopping off the opening notes of the music cue. For the special edition DVD, each of these elements were restored to their original form. Here is an example.
An example of the original credits with the sponsor, Sanka, in the background.
I Love Lucy's familiar "Heart on satin" wasn't created until the show was in reruns. This cartoon sequence, featuring Lilt, opened the original 1956 broadcasts of "Lucy in the Swiss Alps", "Lucy Gets Homesick in Italy", "Lucy's Bicycle Trip", and "Lucy Goes to Monte Carlo".
I Love Lucy's familiar "Heart on satin" wasn't created until the show was in reruns. This opening, featuring Sanka, began the original 1956 broadcasts of "Lucy's Italian Movie" and "Return Home From Europe".
A biography of I Love Lucy head writer Jess Oppenheimer is followed by a short audio interview with Oppenheimer, that plays along with a slideshow of references in the interview.
A slideshow of stills and trivia from the fifth season's production.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on February 10, 1950, features guest stars Hal March, Frank Nelson, Hans Conried, and Eleanor Audley (as George's mother).
Milton Berle extends his engagement at a Las Vegas night club for an extra 2 weeks along with his bandleader Ricky Ricardo. When Milton's wife gets upset at him missing their anniversary, Ricky's wife, Lucy, assists Milton in a crazy scheme to help Milton's wife forgive her. In the process, they get mixed up with 2 mobsters as hilarity ensues. This is basically a "lost" episode of "I Love Lucy."
In "Lucy and Bob Hope", Lucy Ricardo wears spiked baseball shoes for the song-and-dance number, "Nobody Loves the Ump", causing Ricky's new floor tiles to stick to her feet. But, if you watch carefully, you'll notice that as soon as the song is finished, the tiles mysteriously disappear!
It's the guys vs. the gals when the Ricardos and the Mertzes go "Deep-Sea Fishing", with Little Ricky teamed with his father and Uncle Fred. Notice how the youngster suddenly vanishes, however, the moment Ricky gets fished out of the water!
In exchange for Bob Hope's appearance on the first I Love Lucy of the 1956-57 season, Lucy, Desi, Viv, and Bill all appeared on Hope's NBC Chevrolet special a few weeks later, on October 21, 1956. Included in the Hope show was a sketch involving the Ricardos and the Mertzes-with Hope as "Ricky" and Desi as "Fred'. Here are the highlights.
I Love Lucy's familiar "Heart on satin" wasn't created until the show was in reruns. This opening, featuring Sanka, began the original 1956 broadcasts of "Lucy and Bob Hope", "Lucy Meets Orson Welles", "Visitor From Italy", and "Off to Florida".
This animated sequence, featuring Lilt Home permanent, opened the original 1956 broadcasts of "Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums" and "Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright".
In November, 1956, Proctor and Gamble introduced this new animated sequence, featuring Lilt Home Permanent, with "Squeeze Bottle Magic". It opened the original broadcast of "Deep-Sea fishing". (Note how announcer Roy Rowan call the series the "I Love Lucy Show".)
Five-year-old Keith Thibodeaux joined the cast of I Love Lucy at the start of the sixth season, playing the Ricardo's now-school-age son. At Desilu's suggestion, his stage name was changed to "Richard Keith", allowing them to call him "Little Ricky" both on and offstage. A short bio follows.
Audio of radio broadcast for radio series starring Lucille Ball, which was the basis for I Love Lucy. This episode, originally broadcast on CBS Radio on April 16, 1950, was one of two episodes to inspire the first season I Love Lucy episode "The Marriage License".
This episode, featuring guest stars Elvia Allman and Sheldon Leonard, was taped at Columbia Square in Hollywood on October 13, 1950 for broadcast on CBS Radio on October 21, 1950.
