Jenn McKinlay: There is no doubt in my mind that one of the reasons I write comedy is because as a kid I was one hundred percent smitten with Lucille Ball and the I Love Lucy show in particular.
So, it was amazing but not surprising to discover that today October 15th is National I Love Lucy Day! Woo hoo!!!
The writer in me learned so much about comic timing, slapstick humor, and quick wit by watching this show in reruns after school. But I also learned about the value of friendship, looking at life with an optimist's eye, and that humor really can get you through the darkest of days. Lucy was a role model for me then and now.
Naturally, I spent an afternoon revisiting this classic show and there were so many iconic moments to choose from, but here are three of my favorites:
The Chocolate Factory
Stomping Grapes
Harpo Comes to Visit
What about you, Reds and Readers? What is your favorite I Love Lucy moment?
There are so many wonderful “Lucy” moments . . . .
ReplyDeleteLucy Writes a Novel . . . Lucy reads about a woman who made a fortune writing a novel, so she writes “Real Gone with the Wind” which is about her life and the people in it. Ricky, Ethel, and Fred sneak a peek and decide they don’t want all the things she’s written about them to be printed . . . .
Lucy and Superman . . . Lucy wants to outdo her friend Carolyn with a special birthday party for Little Ricky. She gets Ricky to try to have Superman come to the party, but he can’t make it. So Lucy disguises herself as Superman . . . .
These sound hysterical Joan--must go watch!
DeleteOh, I forgot about the Superman episode! Loved it.
DeleteI love those three episodes, too, Jenn, and I also must have watched the many times because they're quite clear in my mind even though I haven't seen them in many years. I don't remember the ones Joan writes about.
ReplyDeleteBall was brilliant, and I'm so glad she was part of my formative years.
I keep remembering more. When she decided to bake bread and she put too much yeast in it, and the bread somehow baked out of the oven across the kitchen and out the back door. And of course the Vitameatavegemin one. There was another where Richard Widmer was a shriveled grapefruit and Lucy was trying to make her mouth like that. I'm sure I've fractured it but it was hilarious at the time. Can anybody set me straight about it?
DeleteShe really was ahead of her time - thank goodness!
DeleteI remember the baking one!
DeleteI love I Love Lucy as well. I've got the whole series on DVD. I had bought it for my mom but she never got a chance to watch it.
ReplyDeleteJenn, those examples you showed are great. I also love the episode where they had George Reeves guest star showing up a Little Ricky's birthday party. And the episode where Lucy has all the eggs in her shirt which leads to the longest sustained audience laughter in TV history was fantastic as well.
Another one to watch Jay! I'm sorry your mom didn't get to see the DVDs you bought for her. My mother was a huge fan too!
DeleteI'm sorry your mom didn't get to watch them. What a wonderful gift for you to give her. And now I have to go watch the egg episode! LOL - how could I forget?!
DeleteI watched some I Love Lucy episodes when I was a kid, and I can cite all the classics, including the ones you mentioned above, plus the "Vitameatavegemin" episode, but what I loved best about Lucy was Lucille Ball herself.
ReplyDeleteShe was a beautiful young woman who could sing and dance and looked good in a chorus line, but she realized she couldn't break out as a star that way, so she put her comedic talents to work. She was a brilliant physical comedian, as well as a fine comedic actress in an age when women were just supposed to stand there and look pretty. She was brave enough to put her marriage and partnership with Desi Arnaz out there in public view in an age when some people in her TV audience disapproved of such a "mixed marriage." She broke new ground in filming I Love Lucy before a live audience, using multi-camera setups, and putting each episode on film rather than using older, cheaper formats. She was the head of a major studio that gave us more than one classic TV show. Desilu was also the studio behind The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible, and Star Trek.
In short, I love Lucy because Lucy was a badass, multi-threat, actress, comedian, producer, businesswoman, and media mogul!
I love this Gigi--thanks for reminding us how wonderful she was!
DeleteOh Gigi, I couldn't have said that better! Thank you for making this important point. Lucy was, indeed, a total badass!
DeleteTotally agree with you, Gigi, Lucy was a powerhouse. But, we didn't know that as youngsters, sitting in front of the black and white tv back in the 50's. She just made us laugh.
DeletePerfectly said, Gigi. She was an icon.
DeleteI was thinking of a reply along the lines of what you said Gigi, your last line says it all. I watched her as a kid in the late sixties. I knew the studio she ran produced a lot of other tv shows even as a kid. Both my parents remarked on what a smart and savvy business executive she was at that time. My Mom was a fairly high ranking business executive in the banking industry.
DeleteThank you, Gigi, for reminding us what a great example (total badass!!) Lucy was!
DeleteLove this Jenn! I remember in high school telling people how much I loved Lucy. Funny the things you remember from cafeteria lunchtime. My favorite will be forever and always the John Wayne episodes!
ReplyDeleteHe was great! I loved it when she was star struck - it made her so relatable.
DeleteI watched it when I was too young to understand the humor. I did appreciate the Harpo mirror episode because I loved Harpo. Like Gigi, Truth, I really don't like situation comedies, more a Looney Toons kid. I appreciated her multi talents, and her ability to keep going in spite of her personal set backs. What impresses me today is her generosity with the younger women comedians such as Carole Burnett.
ReplyDeleteShe really was one to send the elevator back down. I love that about her.
DeleteI would say I am less invested in I Love Lucy than you are, Jenn, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the genius of it. (And am TOTALLY in awe of the genius and courage of Lucille Ball!) Your first two clips are ones that get referenced and replayed a lot, but I had totally forgotten about the Harpo Marx mirror scene. It was a delight!
ReplyDeleteHarpo is just so darn lovable.
DeleteShe worked on one of the Marx Brothers' movies when she was trying to get her big break. I'm going to guess that the Harpo Marx guest shot dates back to time they might have shared on set. At least, I'd like to think that.
DeleteComic genius, indeed. Who knew there was a national I Love Lucy Day? It's as it should be, though. As Gigi pointed out, she broke crazy new ground for women, including being pregnant on screen. That "delicate condition" was considered too risque' to show previous to her breakout performance. Heading her own studio was amazing for that time, and no other woman did so until Sherry Lansing in 1980 took the helm at 20th Century Fox.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, the show when she was about to give birth was also hilarious, and so sweet and poignant, since they really were having a baby together.
In my late 20s I had a friend who looked just like Lucille Ball, except with black hair. It was uncanny. She wasn't all that funny, but she married a guy who was.
My brother and I used to crack up at the twin beds, being children of the 70's & 80's and all it seemed ridiculous.
DeleteJenn, thank you for sharing some background on your own comic genius! I do laugh out loud when reading your books and now I have a bit of reference.
ReplyDeleteI can remember laughing so hard at the physical comedic situations and how Lucy was always having to explain things to Ricky. "Lucy, you have some 'splaining to do." I loved how she always roped Ethel into all her schemes. The guest appearances were so much fun. I wish I could remember them better. We were great Superman fans and seeing him on another show was wondrous.
Aw, thanks for the kind words - much appreciated!
DeleteI needed this! Two of my all time favorites and somehow I'd missed Lucy and Harpo. So terrific. So much of her comedy was physical. Very hard to convey in words on the written page.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is! But when it's done well, it's so fun!
DeleteThose are all good ones. I wonder how many times Lucy and Harpo had to rehearse that scene.
ReplyDeleteI've always meant to visit the Lucille Ball Museum in Jamestown, NY, which isn't far from where I grew up (or went to college).
And I love the story of how Ball funded the first season of "Star Trek." She was a woman of her own mind, that's for sure.
The Lucille Ball museum is definitely on my list!
DeleteI love all the ones you mentioned! My favs, in addition to yours, the birth of little Ricky and the one where the Ricardos and the Mertzes went on an RV trip to California. I'm going to have to seek out some of those old Lucy's - they would be just the ticket for today :)
ReplyDeleteThe RV episodes! LOL. I think they did a movie, too, in an Airstream. So much fun!
DeleteThe Long, Long Trailer...so funny.
DeleteThanks for letting me share my Lucy fan girl post. There is a wonderful clip of Lucy on the Dick Cavett show, talking about the Harpo episode. He never did his routine the same way twice - she loved him but said it was WORK to get that scene right. Also, the Italian woman in the grape vat didn’t speak English and was actually beating Lucy up. Even telling the story, she was hilarious. She was a Hollywood powerhouse and a role model for us all, absolutely.
ReplyDeleteHow about the Vitameatavegimite?
ReplyDeleteAll brilliant. I really lament that slapstick comedy like hers and physical comedy like Carol Burnett and Tim Conway has vanished to be replaced with cruel put downs and one liners
Yes! I have a fridge magnet with that scene from I Love Lucy.
DeleteAnd bad language, too, Rhys. I once went to a comedy club with girlfriends and did not laugh once. Using a four-letter word is no substitute for actual comedy.
DeleteI just had the visual of Tim Conway cracking everyone up with his elephant call. Hysterical. I miss all those comedy and variety shows.
DeleteAgreed, Rhys. It really was the golden age of comedy. I was a HUGE Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore, and Rhoda fan as well.
DeleteJenn, hope I am not late to the party.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember seeing these episodes. I remember seeing reruns of I Love Lucy on cable tv a few years ago. There is an episode that I remember very well. Lucy and Ethel are at ? Brown Derby ? when they discover that a celebrity is sitting in the next booth.
It's William Holden. Lucy is staring at William Holden. She is making a big deal about seeing him. She makes him really uncomfortable. Finally, William Holden gives Lucy a taste of her own medicine and that part made me laugh and laugh!
Diana
I remember that one - classic!
DeleteThe chocolate factory scene, for sure. That is one scene that has stuck in my mind over the decades since seeing it as a kid. That, and Lucy's facial expressions, often in response to something outrageous that Ricky did or said to her... I love I Love Lucy!
ReplyDeleteYes, her expressions and the way she'd say, "Aw, Ricky." I have a friend who does this with her husband's name and I'm positive it was a learned behavior from I Love Lucy since she is my most hilarious friend.
DeleteI like the episode when she tells Ricky they are going to be parents.
ReplyDeleteAw, that's a sweet one :)
DeleteThere were so many funny moments! Returning from Europe with either a cheese or a sausage disguised as a baby. Running a charity called Bundles to Britain to pay for her and Ethel’s trip. The time she thought everyone forgot her birthday and wound up joining a Salvation Army-type band. I don’t think they played Babaloo!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Friends of the Friendless episode!!!
DeleteOh yes, Vitameatavegemin will live forever in my mind. It's so tasty too!
ReplyDeleteAnd.... the episode where Lucy and Ethel play golf, with the help of golfer Jimmer Demaret. "You didn't say 'May I?'"
But my all time fave (oh, do I have to choose?) was where Lucy and Ethel drive to Florida with Elsa Lanchester, who may or may not be an escaped axe murderess.
The axe murderess! I have to rewatch that one!
DeleteI'm a huge I LOVE LUCY fan. It's one of the shows I knew I had to get the instant they started releasing TV on DVD. And it is next to rewatch on Saturday nights once I get through the Mary Tyler Moore Show.
ReplyDeleteFavorite moments? I love "The Ballet" where Lucy learns two things for Ricky's new show and combines them at the end. And the classic Vitameatavegimin. So many wonderful episodes in the show that are still making us laugh 60 years later. What more could you want?
Exactly. She was a genius.
DeleteLast summer we visited Jamestown, NY, Lucy’s birthplace. There is a wonderful museum of her career. We also were able to visit her grave and some other places significant to her. When Covid is over, Jamestown would be a great place to visit.
ReplyDeleteThat is on my list!
DeleteOkay, I'm not going to tell you about my fave episode, but about my real life family connection to Lucy and Desi! They bought a house in Rancho Mirage in the mid-fifties, specifically due to the excellent golf course at the Thunderbird Country Club. (Thunderbird was the first golf course in the Palm Springs area, which is now better known as the site of the Cochella Festival.)
ReplyDeleteMy husband's grandparents also bought a house in Rancho Mirage during that time, first as a winter break from Connecticut, then as their retirement home. They also were members of the county club.
Ross's grandparent's golfed with Lucy and Desi! We have pictures of Victor Hugo-Vidal making up a fourth with Desi, Bing Crosby and some other non-celebrity. Ross actually met Desi Arnaz and Bing Crosby when he was a kid visiting his grandparents. I asked him once if he had been impressed with the internationally renown stars. "No," he said, "They just seemed like really old guys to me at that point."
WHAT?! That's amazing. I love Palm Springs - the history, the architecture, etc. Usually people from CT head to FL - how original of the them to head to CA.
DeleteWHATT????? whoa.
DeleteOh, Jenn, thank you for making me laugh today. It's been years since I've seen these and I'd forgotten how funny she was. I can certainly see how she inspired you! I'm reminded of Sarah Cooper, as I was just reading a piece about her this morning, and now I'm wondering if Sarah was also inspired by Lucy. She is such a terrific physical comedienne, and also so smart, like Lucille Ball.
ReplyDeleteI adore Sarah Cooper and you're right. She absolutely has the Lucy vibe.
DeleteMy favorites will be recognized by Lucy fans:
ReplyDeleteLucy and Ethel steal John Wayne’s concrete footprints from the sidewalk at Grauman’s Chinese Theater and break them and replace them...over and over.
Lucy disguises herself to hide her identity from William Holden after causing a plate of spaghetti to land on him at The Brown Derby. She then lights her false nose on fire while lighting a cigarette.
And one that’s more obscure...Lucy and a Ethel are both claiming ownership of a washing machine until they cause it to fall off the back porch. “Look what happened to YOUR washing machine!” Her delivery of that line was priceless.
Ha! I remember the washing machine episode and the nose on fire. LOL! Such a great show.
ReplyDeleteSO late today! Ahhh. I will read the comments in a minute, but I have to say, it always upset me to watch Lucy. She was so humiliated the time, and was trying her best and being embarrassed and I always felt so sorry for her. I know, I'm nuts. xoxo
ReplyDeleteI alway wondered if that was the price she paid for being a powerful figure in the entertainment industry when women really didn't have that role. I always cringed when the show was on and I did not watch it often. I did not find it that funny, she was always the victim of each situation and circumstance. In my opinion she was made to appear stupid and was always humiliated. In any event, I agree with your opinion.
DeleteI alway wondered if that was the price she paid for being a powerful figure in the entertainment industry when women really didn't have that role. I always cringed when the show was on and I did not watch it often. I did not find it that funny, she was always the victim of each situation and circumstance. In my opinion she was made to appear stupid and was always humiliated. In any event, I agree with your opinion.
Delete