topic Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts in Community Chat

I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

betteb — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:34:00 GMT

I thought there might be some other Lucy fans here that would enjoy this

At 9:00 EST, on October 15, 1951, CBS aired a little show called I Love Lucy for the first time. It's been 63 years, and even to this day, 40 million American viewers still watch the show every year.

What Were Some of the Major TV Innovations Pioneered by I Love Lucy?

While we will remember the show for its groundbreaking comedy, the fact of the matter is, the stuff they did on the other side of the camera broke a lot of ground too.

The show was one of the first to be shot on 35mm film, and the first ever to do so while being performed in front of a live studio audience. This produced several payoffs: 1) Because it was such a costly decision, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball took a $1,000-a-week pay cut just to get the show shot on film. In return for their paycut, the couple received 80% of the rights to the films of each episode. Needless to say, that was a smart tradeoff to make (see that part up above about still getting 40 million viewers a year). 2) Not wanting to have to shoot scenes over and over from different angles and risk losing the mojo of live audience reactions, they became the first sitcom ever to use three cameras (a methodology now quite popular with comedies). 3) Oh yeah, they also invented the rerun. Apparently carrying around a child in your stomach, and then passing that child through your body can be exhausting, and Ball needed some time off during the experience. Luckily for the show, they had all these films lying around of the show, so they just re-aired those. Turned out that the audience loved them and so was born the rerun, forever changing the face of television.

How Did They Deal With Lucy Being Pregnant Both in Real Life, and on the Show?Speaking of getting pregnant, that provided its own set of challenges. In case you haven't heard, the 50s were a more conservative time, and the show's sponsor, Philip Morris, wanted the pregnancy episodes of the show to be screened by a priest, a minister and a rabbi to make sure they didn't offend anyone (we really hope that trio would go to bars after screenings).

In fact, on the show, characters weren't even allowed to call Lucy pregnant. Instead, she was "expecting." Then, when she finally gave birth, Ball and Arnaz (who heretofore had slept in separate twin beds that were right next to each other) had to push their beds apart, just to make sure nobody got any crazy thoughts that in order to have that kid the couple might have, well, ya know, done whatever it is two adults do when their beds are right next to each other. For all the concern on the producers' end, viewers turned out to be shockingly okay with such a radical notion as a couple in wedlock having a child. The episode where Lucy had Little Ricky scored 44 million viewers.

Who Appeared on the First Cover of TV Guide Magazine?The first ever TV Guide was graced by none other than Lucille Ball (whose image was largely overwhelmed by that of her child). She went on to achieve the most covers ever in TV Guide history, showing up a whopping 39 times. No matter what the era, hers was always a face that would sell. Why? Well because if you ever uttered the phrase "I Love Lucy," you weren't alone.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

Say Nay — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:36:14 GMT

I'm a big fan. Thanks for sharing these fun facts!

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

croemer — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:39:44 GMT

Ah...I have heard these before. If you want to read a good book:

The Other Side of Ethel Mertz: The Life Story of Vivian Vance

really informative...she had a tough life and a hard time being able to get the good parts. I actually found her very pretty. Lucy btw made sure Vivian dressed to look frumpy she did not want the competition.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

betteb — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:42:36 GMT

On 10/15/2014 croemer said:
Ah...I have heard these before. If you want to read a good book:

The Other Side of Ethel Mertz: The Life Story of Vivian Vance

really informative...she had a tough life and a hard time being able to get the good parts. I actually found her very pretty. Lucy btw made sure Vivian dressed to look frumpy she did not want the competition.

HI croemer I did not know that about Lucy, I will have to look for that book.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

betteb — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:44:02 GMT

On 10/15/2014 MomTo2Dogs said:
I'm a big fan. Thanks for sharing these fun facts!

Your welcome. This is one of the first TV shows (other than cartoons) that I remember wanting to watch.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

croemer — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:46:37 GMT

On 10/15/2014 betteb said:
On 10/15/2014 croemer said:
Ah...I have heard these before. If you want to read a good book:

The Other Side of Ethel Mertz: The Life Story of Vivian Vance

really informative...she had a tough life and a hard time being able to get the good parts. I actually found her very pretty. Lucy btw made sure Vivian dressed to look frumpy she did not want the competition.<br />

HI croemer I did not know that about Lucy, I will have to look for that book.

Hello my friend. Its a very good book and rather sad.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

scotttie — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:47:23 GMT

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. If I remember correctly when Lucy had the baby it knocked Eisenhower's inauguration off the front page (Lucy's real baby that is, Desi, Jr).

I read Desi Sr.'s book many years ago. I think it was called "A Book" . Very good reading.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

croemer — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:54:03 GMT

I will have to check that out scottie

I read this book as wellesilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

Lucy and Desi loved each other until their deaths. They had one last phone call(Lucy called him) on his death bed. So poignant...and sad.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

scotttie — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:58:33 GMT

On 10/15/2014 croemer said:
I will have to check that out scottie

I read this book as wellesilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

Lucy and Desi loved each other until their deaths. They had one last phone call(Lucy called him) on his death bed. So poignant...and sad.

Oh yeah, I remember seeing a video of them when they were both old and still alive.

They were in a swimming pool with their grandchildren. It was so bittersweet.

Lucy was telling Desi he should teach them Spanish.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

LyndaGee — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:59:02 GMT

Once in awhile, on PBS, they show: "Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie." There's one part towards the end where there's a film clip of Lucy and Desi playing in their pool with their grandson, Simon. You could tell Lucy and Desi still had feelings for each other. So sweet.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

scotttie — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:00:05 GMT

On 10/15/2014 LyndaGee said:
Once in awhile, on PBS, they show: "Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie." There's one part towards the end where there's a film clip of Lucy and Desi playing in their pool with their grandson, Simon. You could tell Lucy and Desi still had feelings for each other. So sweet.

That's the one!

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

LyndaGee — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:00:23 GMT

Scottie: How funny we posted the same thing!!!

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

scotttie — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 02:04:04 GMT

On 10/15/2014 LyndaGee said:
Scottie: How funny we posted the same thing!!!

Jynx!

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

adelle38 — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 04:48:32 GMT

I don't think Desi has gotten enough credit for his innovations and contributions to television.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

adelle38 — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 04:49:37 GMT

On 10/15/2014 adelle38 said: I don't think Desi has gotten enough credit for his innovations and contributions to television.

I'll never forget him doing the conga on SNL.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

Nancy Drew — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 04:59:07 GMT

On 10/15/2014 croemer said:
Ah...I have heard these before. If you want to read a good book:

The Other Side of Ethel Mertz: The Life Story of Vivian Vance

really informative...she had a tough life and a hard time being able to get the good parts. I actually found her very pretty. Lucy btw made sure Vivian dressed to look frumpy she did not want the competition.

Vivian also did not like that ""Fred"" look so much older and that made her seem older.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

Cakers1 — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 05:18:02 GMT

There was nobody like Lucy. lol

She could make me laugh just by her expressions without speaking a word.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

sunshine45 — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 05:30:21 GMT

betteb......thanks for this nice thread!

also, thanks to everyone else for the book suggestions. i will be checking them all out on amazon.

who DIDNT love lucy and desi?

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

beach-mom — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 05:31:18 GMT

I'll add my "thanks for the memories"! I remember watching it at dinner time, and if we were REALLY lucky on Friday night, we could eat on TV trays and watch it! DD started watching it when she was in middle school and just loved it. One year for Christmas we found the Madame Alexander dolls of Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory. She was thrilled! There are so many classic episodes of the show.

I didn't know that about Vivian Vance. I always thought she and Lucy were best friends IRL. But I figured out she and Desi had a strong connection to the end. My mom used to talk about how Desi was one of the most intelligent men in Hollywood.

Re: I Love Lucy -Fun Facts

Sawn — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 11:55:34 GMT

What a nice post. Lucy and Desi were remarkably talented and very savvy businessmen. Loved growing up with that hilarious show!