I Love Lucy...A Few Reasons Why

Lucille Ball by Richard Amsel

This is my entry in the "Loving Lucy Blogathon" hosted by True Classics...for more, click here.

"Ewwww!"

One reason I love Lucy is that my mom always reminded me very much of her. Both were smart, attractive and there was more than occasionally something they kept from 'the man of the house' (how I remember the phrase, "don't tell your father"). Mom was talented, ambitious, determined and funny, like Lucy. There were times, in certain situations, that she would imitate Lucy's famous "Ewwww!" take. But mom was what was then called a "housewife," a homemaker extraordinaire and PTA queen - Lucy was the greatest comedienne television has yet known.

As has often been noted, Lucille Ball was in Hollywood for years before she broke out on TV. She'd been tagged "Queen of B-Movies," which is something, but clearly not enough for an actress who'd shared the screen with the likes of Tracy and Hepburn, Astaire and Rogers, The Marx Bros., Bob Hope and Henry Fonda. Her popular radio series, "My Favorite Husband" (CBS, 1948 - 1951) was the stepping stone that led to Lucy's television super-stardom on "I Love Lucy," which debuted on CBS TV in October 1951.

I've always been especially fond of the Lucy episodes from seasons 4 and 5, beginning in February 1955, when the Ricardos and Mertzes traveled to Hollywood. These shows included cameos by various stars (including John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Van Johnson and Harpo Marx) and industry legends (Hedda Hopper, Dore Schary) along with the usual Lucy hi-jinks. But I think some of my affection for these shows is also tied to the fact that Lucy and her gang had come to Southern California, my own home ground.

I don't know how many times I've seen this Lucy sketch with William Holden (Season 4, Episode 17, "L.A., at Last," first aired February 7, 1955), but it still makes me laugh out loud. It's my favorite Lucy routine of them all and one of her two or three very best. The lunacy begins when Bill Holden, whom Lucy has already accosted and made a scene over at the Brown Derby restaurant, arrives at the Ricardo's hotel room with Ricky. Lucy improvises...

Not long ago I watched the amusing Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949), in which Lucy and Holden co-starred. He hadn't yet collaborated with Billy Wilder, a teaming that would launch the actor's great film stardom, and Lucy was still a year or two from her move to TV.  I have to think that the two must've relished working together in this 1955 sitcom classic, two former B-stars now both firmly ensconced on the A List, and having a great time of it.

Click here for another of my favorite Lucy skits.

Turner Classic Movies Schedule of Lucille Ball Films, August 6, 2011
6:00 am Eastern/3:00 Pacific, Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)
8:00 am Eastern/5:00 Pacific, Panama Lady (1939)
9:30 am Eastern/6:30 Pacific, Without Love (1945)
11:30 am Eastern/8:30 Pacific, Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)
1:00 pm Eastern/10:00 am Pacific, The Fuller Brush Girl (1950)
2:30 pm Eastern/11:30 am Pacific, The Long, Long Trailer (1954)
4:30 pm Eastern/1:30 Pacific, Best Foot Forward (1943)
6:15 pm Eastern/3:15 Pacific, Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
8:00 pm Eastern/5:00 Pacific, Stage Door (1937)
9:45 pm Eastern/6:45 Pacific, The Big Street (1942)
11:30 pm Eastern/8:30 Pacific, Easy to Wed (1946)
1:30 am Eastern/10:30 pm Pacific, Lured (1947)
3:15 am Eastern/12:15 Pacific,The Affairs of Annabel (1938)
4:30 am Eastern/1:30 Pacific, Annabel Takes a Tour (1938)

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Saturday, August 6, 2011