#Frank Nelson

[amazonykamiaba]

Just created a Michael Emerson tier list 🚶‍♀️

(I know there's plenty more characters but I ranked just the ones I have watched :))

[oldshowbiz]

Frank Nelson explains to Werner Klemperer that he isn't all that special in San Francisco

[weirdlookindog]

Voodoo Devil Drums (1944) - Lost film

[citizenscreen]

Birthday remembrance - Frank Nelson #botd

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY AT THE JUNCTION

"Petticoat Junction" and The Lucycoms

Although thematically the shows created by Lucille Ball were worlds apart from the quaint antics in Hooterville's Shady Rest Hotel, there were artistic and creative commonalities that are worth discussing.

"Petticoat Junction" ran from 1963 to 1970, while "The Lucy Show" ran from 1962 to 1968, both on CBS TV. "Petticoat Junction" was filmed at General Service Studios, where "I Love Lucy" began filming until it moved to larger quarters.

Like Kate Bradley, Lucy Carmichael and Lucy Carter are widows raising teenage girls while trying also to earn a living, a popular trope of the 1960s and '70s.

To vary storylines, "I Love Lucy" added a dog and a baby, as did "Petticoat Junction." Animal trainer Frank Inn worked on both shows, as well as on "Here's Lucy."

Both shows went from black and white to color in October 1965. Although "The Lucy Show" had filmed its second season in color, CBS declined to air it in color.

SHARING THE TYPEWRITER

Writer Seaman Jacobs penned six episodes of "Petticoat Junction" in 1963-64 and three of "The Lucy Show" in 1967. Fred S. Fox co-wrote one of those episodes with Jacobs. Fox also wrote one 1965 episode of "Petticoat Junction." Fox's co-writer for that episode was Irving 'Iz' Elinson, who wrote a dozen episodes of "The Lucy Show."

SHARED CASTING

Their "Petticoat Junction" characters are in parentheses, followed by their Lucycom / Desilu credits.

Bea Benadaret (Kate Bradley) first starred with Lucille Ball on her radio series "My Favorite Husband" (1948-1951), primarily as best friend Iris Atterbury. Benadaret was Ball's first choice to play Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy," but she was already contracted to play Blanche Morton on "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show", another best friend character. Ball still managed to cast her as a one-off character, Miss Lewis, an elderly spinster, on season 1 of "I Love Lucy."

Edgar Buchanan (Uncle Joe Carson) appeared with Lucille Ball on a 1971 "Merv Griffin Show" saluting director George Marshall, for whom both worked. For Desilu, Buchanan appeared on a 1958 episode of "The Adventures of Jim Bowie" and a 1959 episode of their helicopter series "Whirlybirds".

Frank Cady (Sam Drucker) appeared for Desilu in "December Bride" (1956), "Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse" (1959), "Guestward Ho!" (1961), "The Untouchables" (1962), "The Danny Thomas Show" (1960), "Glynis" (1963), and a 1963 unsold pilot titled "Swingin' Together."

Charles Lane (Homer Bedloe) appeared in 7 films with Lucille Ball between 1933 and 1949. He was also heard on her radio show "My Favorite Husband". On "I Love Lucy," he played 4 characters and 2 more on "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." He was cast as banker Barnsdahl on "The Lucy Show," but was released after 4 episodes so that Ball could hire Gale Gordon. He went from Desilu to Hooterville.

Byron Foulger (Banker Guerney / Wendell Gibbs) first appeared with Lucille Ball in the Westinghouse industrial film Ellis in Freedomland (1952). On "I Love Lucy" he played the spokesman of The Friends of the Friendless in “Lucy’s Last Birthday” (ILL S2;E25) in 1953. in 1965′s “My Fair Lucy” (TLS S3;E20) he played henpecked husband Fred Dunbar.  Two years later, Foulger was back on “The Lucy Show” to play Mr. Trindle, owner of a jewelry store supposedly robbed by Lucy in “Lucy Meets the Law” (TLS S5;E19), his last appearance opposite Lucille Ball.  For Desilu, he was seen in "December Bride" (1957 & 1958) and "The Untouchables" (1959).

Elvia Allman (Selma Plout / Gladys Stroud / Cora Watson) was heard with Lucille Ball on "My Favorite Husband" before playing the strident Candy Factory Forewoman on "I Love Lucy." Allman returned to the show as one of Minnie Finch’s neighbors in “Fan Magazine Interview” (ILL S3;E17) in 1954 and prim magazine reporter Nancy Graham in “The Homecoming” (ILL S5;E6) in 1955. She made two appearances on “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour“ - first as Ida Thompson, Westfield’s PTA director, then as Milton Berle's private secretary. Allman would also be seen on two episodes of “The Lucy Show" as a customer in a department store and the manager of an employment agency. Allman’s final screen appearance with Lucille Ball reunited her with Bob Hope: “Bringing Back Vaudeville” in 1971. For Desilu, Allman was seen on "December Bride" (1954-59), and "The Ann Sothern Show" (1958).

Kay E. Kuter (Newt Kiley) made an appearance in the 1970 TV movie Swing Out, Sweet Land with Jack Benny and Lucille Ball.  He was seen on "Here's Lucy" as a singing Canadian Mountie in 1971. For Desilu he was seen on "The Adventures of Jim Bowie" (1957 & 1958).

Jack Bannon (Roger Budd / 9 Others) was the real-life son of Bea Benadaret. He was briefly seen on "Here's Lucy" in 1971.

Eddie Albert (Oliver Wendell Douglas) first co-starred with Lucille Ball in The Fuller Brush Girl (1950). Albert played himself on a 1973 episode of “Here’s Lucy” titled “Lucy Gives Eddie Albert the Old Song and Dance” (HL S6;E6). He also appeared with Ball on an episode of "The Carol Burnett Show" (1968). For Desilu, he appeared on "The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse" (1958) and "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1963).

Eva Gabor (Lisa Douglas) played romance novelist Eva Von Graunitz in “Lucy and Eva Gabor” (S1;E7) in 1968 as well as herself in a 1972 epsidoes set in a hospital room.

Hank Patterson (Fred Ziffel) appeared in an episode of the Desilu western "The Sheriff of Cochise" in 1957, "The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse" (1958), "Guestward Ho!" (1961), and "The Untouchables" (1960-1962).

Barbara Pepper (Doris - aka Ruthie - Ziffel) was a Goldwyn Girl with Lucille Ball making 6 films together and becoming good friends. On the list of possible actors to play Ethel Mertz, she was in 10 episodes of "I Love Lucy" as various characters.

Roy Roberts (Norman Curtis / Game Warden Hughes) was first seen with Lucille Ball was in an uncredited role in Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949). Roberts joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” at the start of season five, but not as the role he would become known for, bank president Mr. Cheever in 14 episodes, but as the Admiral in “Lucy and the Submarine” (TLS S5;E2) in September in 1966. Roberts returned to Lucille Ball Productions for 5 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” For Desilu he appeared in a 1955 episode of "December Bride."

Paul Wilbur (Bert Smedley) played Mr. Wilbur, owner of the ice cream parlor, in "Lucy is a Soda Jerk" (1962). For Desilu, he was seen on a 1963 episode of "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Parley Baer (Judge Madison / Judge Turner / 3 Others) did four episodes of the radio version of "Green Acres" “Grandby’s Green Acres” starring Bea Benadaret, a summer fill-in for Lucille Ball’s “My Favorite Husband.” Baer appeared in 2 episodes of "I Love Lucy," and 5 of "The Lucy Show." On “Here’s Lucy” he played Dr. Cunningham, Harry Carter’s psychiatrist. For Desilu he was seen in "Whirlybirds," "December Bride," and "Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse."

Olan Soule (Stanley Benson / 3 Others) played Little Ricky's doctor Dr. Gettelman on "I Love Lucy". For Desilu, he appeared on several episodes of "The Untouchables," "The Ann Sothern Show," and "December Bride."

Sarah Selby (Mrs. Frisby / Mrs. Grundy / 3 Others) was heard as Liz's mother on Lucy's radio show "My Favorite Husband." She played bachelorette Dorothy Cook on "I Love Lucy."

Barry Kelley (Sheriff Crandall / Hurley Feasel) played the Mayor of Bancroft on "The Lucy Show". For Desilu he appeared on "The Untouchables," "Whirlybirds," and "Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse."

Jonathan Hole (Hank Thackery / Mr. Bunce / Mr. Earnshaw) was in 3 episodes of "The Lucy Show" and 2 of "Here's Lucy." For Desilu he was seen in "The Adventures of Jim Bowie."

William O'Connell (Martin Evans / Mr. Agnew) was seen as a Beverly Hills hotel manager on "The Lucy Show" in 1967.

Herbie Faye (Jack Stewart / Doodles / 2 Others) was in a 1968 episode of “The Lucy Show.”  and 4 episodes of “Here’s Lucy”. Ball did a 1959 cameo on "Sergeant Bilko" on which he played Fender for 139 episodes. He also did an episode of "Mothers-in-Law" for Desi Arnaz.

Shirley Mitchell (Mae Belle Jennings) became friends with Lucille Ball in the late 1940s when she was featured in 4 episodes of “My Favorite Husband.” Mitchell reunited with Lucille Ball on “I Love Lucy” playing Marion Strong, member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League.

Jean Vander Pyl (Agnes Frisby / Gladys Miller / Alice Tuttle) was heard with Bea Benadaret on Lucille Ball's radio show "My Favorite Husband." Benadaret and Vander Pyl voiced Wilma and Betty on "The Flintstones."

Peter Leeds (Syd Sparks / Gus Clegg) was heard on “My Favorite Husband." On "I Love Lucy" he was the reporter questioning the Maharincess of Franistan in “The Publicity Agent” (ILL S1;E31). He starred with Lucy in the films The Long, Long Trailer (1953) and The Facts of Life (1960). Leeds also appeared in “Lucy and Bob Hope” (ILL S6;E1) as well as an episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1971.

Hugh Beaumont (Donald Elliott / Ronnie Beackman) is best known as Ward Cleaver in "Leave it to Beaver," but also appeared uncredited in Du Barry Was a Lady (1943) starring Lucille Ball. For Desilu, he was seen in "Whirlybirds".

Hal Smith (Ben Miller / 2 Others) is probably best remembered as Otis Campbell, the town drunk, on “The Andy Griffith Show” (filmed at Desilu). He appeared with Lucille Ball in the 1963 film Critic’s Choice. He was seen on 3 episodes of "The Lucy Show" and 1 episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1972.

Maxine Semon (Mabel Snark / Lena Fenwick) played a nurse on “I Love Lucy” in “Nursery School” (ILL S5;E9) then a Yankee Stadium spectator in "Lucy and Bob Hope" (1955). She was a Las Vegas chambermaid on "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour".

Benny Rubin (Chief Fleeteagle / 2 Others) played the Beverly Hills tour bus driver on "I Love Lucy." He was seen on 2 episodes of "The Lucy Show." For Desi Arnaz he was seen on "The Carol Channing Show." For Desilu, he was in "December Bride."

Lurene Tuttle (Adelaide Keane / Henrietta Greene / Mary Alice Perkins) played the outgoing president of The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “The Club Election” (ILL S2;E19) in 1953.  

Burt Mustin (Grandpa Jenson) did 3 episodes of "The Lucy Show" and played a juror with Joan Rivers on "Here's Lucy."  Mustin played Uncle Jeff in Mame (1974).

Gail Bonney (Mrs. Tomley / Mrs. Robinson / 1 Other) was seen in 2 1950 films featuring Lucille Ball.  She played mother of twins Mrs. Hudson in “The Amateur Hour,” (ILL S1;E14). She also did 1 episode of "The Lucy Show" and 1 episode of "Here's Lucy."  

Eve McVeagh (Miss Hammond) played Bert, Lucy Ricardo’s hairdresser, in “The Black Wig” (ILL S3;E26).  She also made an appearance as a store clerk on "Here's Lucy."

OTHERS FROM LUCYLAND WHO VISITED THE JUNCTION:

Rolfe Sedan, Frank Aletter, Milton Frome, Herb Vigran, Amzie Strickland, Ray Kellogg, Bob Jellison, Frank Wilcox, Eddie Quillan, Robert Carson, J. Pat O'Malley, Florence Lake, Ernest Truex, Dorothy Konrad, George O'Hanlon, Jack Collins, Ross Elliott, Iris Adrian, William Lanteau, Joi Lansing, Bernie Kopell, Lyle Talbot, Stanley Addams, Doris Packer, Don Brodie, Frank Nelson, Rich Little, Joan Blondell, Nancy Kulp, Sid Melton, Keith Andes, Hayden Rorke, Dick Patterson, Irwin Charrone, Rudy Vallee, Lloyd Corrigan, Jackie Joseph, and Barbara Morrison.

HOOTERVILLE & THE LUCVERSE

There were several Lucycoms that took place aboard trains, but the most notable is "The Great Train Robbery" (1955). Lucy and Desi took a publicity photo in front of the infamous emergency break wearing crumpled conductors caps. On this trip, Frank Nelson played the conductor pushed to his limit by Lucy Ricardo, a role he reprised when Lucy Carmichael took the train to Washington DC in 1963.

Coincidentally, Nelson appeared on "Petticoat Junction" in 1967, but not as a conductor, as the manager of the Flamingo Room in Springdale. He has the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring characters (Freddy Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey) on "I Love Lucy."

In "Joe Saves the Post Office" (1969), Joe, Janet and Bobbie Jo travel to Washington DC to talk to their Congressman. They end up meeting the President. At the time, the office was occupied by Richard M. Nixon, who is represented only by an extended hand for Joe to shake and he does not speak nor is he mentioned by name. In 1963's "Lucy Visits the White House", Lucy, Viv, and their scout troupe travel to Washington DC to present the President with a sugar cube White House. In this case, the episode mentions the President's name: John F. Kennedy. He has a few off screen lines at the end of the episode, voiced by Elliott Reid. In retrospect, both these episodes conjur unhappy memories. Kennedy was asassinated and Nixon resigned in scandal.

Hooteville's train depot can best be compared to the whistle stop of Greenview in "Lucy Visits the White House" (1963). Greenview was a remote stop located somewhere between Danfield and DC.

Bancroft, California, the small town featured in "Main Street USA" and "Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map" (1967) was a town somewhat bigger than Hooterville, but smaller than Pixley. Lucy and Mr. Mooney arrived there by train to save their main street from becoming a superhighway.

Bancroft had a general store run by Doc Putnam. It featured a large red coffee grinder, just like Sam Drucker's general store in Hooterville.

The Mayor Bancroft was played by Barry Kelley, who appeared on "Petticoat Junction" as Sheriff Crandall. Bancroft citizens included Burt Mustin, who played Grandpa Jenson in three 1968 episodes of "Petticoat Junction" and Hal Smith, who played Mr. Richardson / Ben Miller / Jug Gunderson on "Junction."

During the series' last season, the character of Jerry Roberts was introduced as a possible boyfriend for Billie Jo - until she finds out he's already married. In real life, actors Greg Mullavey and Meredith McRae were man and wife. On "Here's Lucy," Lucie Arnaz's husband Phil Vandervoort was also part of the cast. Sadly, both marriages were short-lived.

A railroad handcar was prominently featured in "Lucy Hunts Uranium" (1958) featuring Fred MacMurray. In Hooterville, it was generally manned by Homer Bedloe (Charles Lane), who was also featured as a Claims Officer in "Lucy Hunts Uranium." Also in the hour-long "Lucy-Desi" episode Bob Jellison plays a Las Vegas bellboy. In Hooterville, Jellison played a salesman in 1968 and Ben Miller in 1970, the 4th and final actor to play that role. That episode also featured Lucyverse performers Sarah Selby and Parley Baer. It was directed by Elliott Lewis, producer of "The Lucy Show" and Desi Arnaz's "Mothers-in-Law" as well as husband of Lucy sidekick Mary Jane Lewis.

In 1969's "One of Our Chickens Are Missing" (S7; E4) of the final season, Hooterville is plagued by chicken thieves in the former of a biker gang. Harry Dean Stanton plays Ringo, who is 'saving up for a pillow'. Lucy and Viv also encounter biker gangs in a 1967 episode of "The Lucy Show" set on the notorious Sunset Strip.

In 1969's "The Camping Trip" (S7;E5), the entire family packs up and goes camping in the woods. They go fishing and Uncle Joe comes face to face with a bear, "The Camping Trip" was also the title of a 1953 episode of "I Love Lucy" where Lucy and Ricky also go fishing. In "The Lucy Show's" "Lucy Becomes a Father" (1964) Lucy Carmichael also comes face to face with a bear.

"Goodbye, Mr. Chimp" (S7;E12) introduces a chimpanzee to the Shady Rest. Uncle Joe buys the chimp as a gift for his infant niece. Two years earlier on "The Lucy Show," Lucy Carmichael also featured a chimp - actually three - in "Lucy The Babysitter". The popularity of chimpanzees on sitcoms can be attributed to The Marquis Chimps, the (non-human) stars of the sitcom “The Hathaways” (1961-62) in which a suburban couple kept three performing chimps as their children.

The iconic Shady Rest Hotel is reminiscent of The Eagle Hotel, where Lucy and Ricky stayed in "The Marriage License" (1952). Running the Eagle Hotel are Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby (played by Irving Bacon and Elizabeth Patterson), who are reminiscent of Uncle Joe and Kate Bradley, who run the Shady Rest. In season one, Uncle Joe schemes to market the Shady Rest as a 'honeymoon hotel.'

Richard Arlen and Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, the stars of the 1929 silent film Wings, the first film to win an Academy Award, were guest stars as themselves on both "Petticoat Junction" (1968) and "The Lucy Show" (1967). Both appearances revolved around their appearance in the film.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced in 1923 by the nephew of suffragette Susan B. Anthony. Thirty years later "I Love Lucy" tackled female equality, culminating in the boys insisting the girls pay their own dinner checks. In 1967 The National Organization for Women (NOW), pledged to fight tirelessly for the ratification of the ERA. On February 7, 1970, "Petticoat Junction" finally got around to the subject by inventing WITCH (Women In True Cultural Heritage) and having Billy Jo storm a barber shop in tailored suit. That same month, twenty NOW leaders disrupted hearings of the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments, demanding the ERA be heard by the full Congress.

"Petticoat Junction" and "The Lucy Show" were both part of a DVD set titled The Best of Family TV.

[filmmap]

matt murdock is an insufferable human and I recognise all my worst traits in him. I love him.

[myfavoriteredheadpodcast]

Lucy really had us playing musical chairs (and husbands) in this week's episode, "Lucy Changes Her Mind," out tonight!

[retrotariotr]

Jack Benny and Frank Nelson for Kodak Cameras (Old Time Radio Ads)

Jack Benny ingeniously intertwined the advertising messages of his sponsors into his radio comedy narratives.

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

It Should Happen to You

Pauline Kael used to say that screwball comedy was killed by pressure groups that didn’t want to see their demographics held up to ridicule. I don’t know how true that is, but certainly the more serious bent in American life following World War II helped create a world where nobody wanted to see themselves as screwballs. Then along came Judy Holliday. She had no trouble assuming Carole Lombard’s mantle as “the daffy Duse,” even if her films kept making us pay for laughing with her. For most of George Cukor’s IT SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU (1954, Criterion Channel, Tubi), she’s deliciously demented as a young woman determined to become famous for being famous. Unlike in BORN YESTERDAY (1950), where we’re asked to pay for all the fun by having her learn the error of her ways, this film’s resolution isn’t all that traumatic. In fact, she’s allowed to remain as screwy as she was at the start.

Gladys Glover (Holliday) originally came to New York to make a name for herself. When she loses her job as a girdle model, instead of using her savings to return to Binghamton, NY, to marry the second man who proposes, she rents a billboard on Columbus Circle and plasters her name on it. A big-time soap magnate (Peter Lawford), who wants the sign for his company, trades her six other prominent billboards, and suddenly she’s a celebrity. That doesn’t sit well with her boyfriend (Jack Lemmon, in his first billed film role), a documentarian who finds her thirst for celebrity distasteful, but it lands her an unscrupulous manager (Michael O’Shea) only too happy to make a fortune off her.

Garson Kanin’s screenplay is smart. He takes his potshots at celebrity culture, TV and advertising without lingering over them, and having written three earlier films with Holliday knows exactly the kinds of lines that work for her high-pitched, perpetually surprised delivery. Cukor directs all this gracefully. His tracking shots are almost musical. And he helped Lemmon adapt to film acting by showing him how to keep his performance grounded in reality. The two stars work beautifully (they’d reunite later that year for the very good divorce comedy PHFFFT). His offhand line delivery matches up with her pixilated line readings to give their scenes an improvisatory sense. Most of them feel lighter than air. Even Lawford comes off well, in a mostly thankless role. When he tries to seduce Holliday, his physical grace is sexy but also funny.

It's a curious thing, though. Holliday was typed as dumb blondes, but it’s really grating to hear her called “dumb” on screen. Broderick Crawford had to pay for it big time in BORN YESTERDAY, as do the crooked executives who don’t take her seriously in THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC (1956). So, when her fight scenes with Lemmon lead to his calling her stupid, it feels wrong. She’s given us too much fun for us to accept that she’s merely stupid, particularly since she’s been smart enough to get what she wanted. It’s a major accomplishment that Kanin and Cukor get the film back on track quickly and regain the buoyancy of Holliday’s earlier scenes. With Connie Gilchrist as a wise-cracking landlady, Whit Bissell as an advertising executive, Jack Benny foil Frank Nelson as, what else, a floorwalker, John Saxon in an early bit as a teen in Central Park, and Constance Bennett, Ilka Chase and Wendy Barrie as themselves. It’s some kind of comment on celebrity that even cast as herself, Barrie can’t play a believable human being.

[thinkbolt]

How Many Licks? - Tootsie Pops commercial (1968) - ft. Frank Nelson, Paul Frees, Paul Winchell

I've been seeing this commercial literally all my life. I HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS AN EXTENDED VERSION

[melonnabar]

Shenanigans

[thirstybitchs]

…. Do I even need to say their names?

[oldshowbiz]

Frank Nelson confronts Cary Grant, Ray Walston, Jayne Mansfield, Werner Klemperer in Kiss Them For Me (1957)

[letterboxd-loggd]

You Never Can Tell (You Never Know) (1951) Lou Breslow

December 28th 2022

[citizenscreen]

Frank Nelson (May 6, 1911 – September 12, 1986)

[papermoonloveslucy]

TV on TV!

Part 1 ~ The TV Shows of the Lucyverse

Although it may seem redundant, the worlds created by Lucille Ball on radio and television frequently created and mentioned other TV shows!  Here are a few. 

“Television” (1949)

Liz and George’s visit to their next-door neighbors, the Stones, turns into a disaster when George tries to repair the Stones’ new television set by himself.

“Television throws ‘My Favorite Husband’ for a loss, and the whole neighborhood into night courts.” ~  Mason City Globe-Gazette radio listing

“Too Many Television Sets” (1949) 

Liz (Lucilll Ball) can’t get George (Richard Denning) interested in buying a television set, until they spend an evening at the Atterburys, who have one. With his interest piqued, George arranges one be sent over on trial. Little does he know Liz has done the same thing - as have the Atterbury’s!  

LIZ: “I never know who won the fights or what Kukla and Fran are doing to Ollie.”

“Kukla, Fran, and Ollie” was a children’s television show created by Burr Tillstrom that aired from 1947 to 1957. Kukla and Ollie were puppets and actress Fran Allison interacted with them. The show won a 1949 Peabody Award and went on to win two Emmys.

IRIS: “I did my knitting last night with Ed Wynn; I had breakfast with Tex and Jinx; and this afternoon I took a bath with Hopalong Cassidy!”

“The Ed Wynn Show” was a variety show broadcast from September 22,1949 to July 4, 1950 on the CBS Television Network. Comedian and former vaudevillian Ed Wynn was the star of the program. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz made their television debut as a couple on the show on Christmas Eve 1949, just a few weeks after this episode of “My Favorite Husband”.

“Tex and Jinx” were Eugenia “Jinx” Falkenberg and her husband John “Tex” McCary. The couple were popular radio hosts who began on television in January 1947.

“Hopalong Cassidy” made the leap from books and movies to the small screen on June 24, 1949, kicking off the legacy of the Western on television. These were not new, but simply cut-down versions of the feature films that were in cinemas from 1935 to 1948. 

Joe warns the Coopers not to sit behind Iris because they only have a ten inch screen. (Liz adds that Iris has a 16″ neck.) He advises that they visit the Schraders who watch “Pantomime Quiz” and serve sandwiches. “Pantomime Quiz” (later titled “Stump the Stars”), was a television game show hosted by Mike Stokey. Running from 1947 to 1959, it has the distinction of being one of the few television series to air on all four TV networks during the Golden Age of Television. Lucille Ball is reported to have been on the series in December 1947, which would make it her television debut.

“Liz Appears on Television” (1950)

Liz and Iris (Bea Benadaret) make an appearance on a television show celebrating Friendship Week. Their friendship is tested, though, when they discover they've bought the same dress for the occasion. The name of the show is  “Love Your Neighbor” the host of which is played by Frank Nelson. The episode mentions two of the same television programs as “Too Many Television Sets” a year earlier. 

GEORGE: “I can see it now: ‘Kukla, Fran and Lizzie!”

LIZ: “Try Hopalong Cassidy. He looks good next to a horse!”

“Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (1952)

RICKY: “You’ve never even been on a television show!” LUCY: “Maybe not, but I’ve watched them a lot.”  

Lucy gets hired to do a TV commercial on Ricky’s new show, not realizing the health tonic she has to consume is full of alcohol!

LUCY: “When Ricky comes home tonight you’re going to turn on that television set, and you know who’s going to be on it?”  FRED: “Well, I can only hope it’s Faye Emerson.”

Faye Emerson was a very glamorous stage and screen actress turned TV hostess who had her own variety show. She wore low-cut gowns bedecked with jewelry and had bleach blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun.

The TV show Ricky hosts is titled “Your Saturday Night Variety”.  You can see Lucille Ball waiting in the wings, with the living room set behind her!  The TV camera has had its identifying information redacted and replaced by TVC (Television Camera)! 

“Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio” (1952)

When their TV breaks down, the gang tunes in to a radio quiz show. Surprisingly, Ricky correctly guesses the answers to all of the questions, so the next day Lucy signs them up to be on the show. Sitting the radio atop the malfunctioning TVV set, the gang stares intently at the radio, just as they would television. Before the TV breaks down, the foursome are watching a movie, despite poor reception. 

LUCY: “That little girl is Margaret O'Brien, isn’t it?” RICKY: “Look again - it’s Shirley Temple.” FRED: “Look again - it’s Mary Pickford!”

“New Neighbors” (1952)

“That’s pretty corny dialogue, even for television. Well, it’s a living!”

New neighbors have just moved in to 323 East 68th Street. When Lucy gets stuck hiding in their closet, she overhears the couple practicing their lines for a TV show and jumps to conclusion that they are foreign spies! Hayden Rorke and K.T. Stevens play the acting couple. 

“The Handcuffs” (1952)

To keep Ricky home, Lucy handcuffs them together - but then doesn’t have the key. Ricky needs to host a TV show that evening - “Your Favorite Celebrity Guest Stars on TV”.  Lucy has no choice but to be part of the act - if only her left arm!

Ricky is interviewed and introduced by Veola Vonn, real-life wife of Frank Nelson.

“Readers keepers, losers go look at television!” ~ The Black Eye (1953)

“Ricky and Fred Are TV Fans” (1953) 

Lucy and Ethel feel the boys are ignoring them to watch the fights on television. They go to elaborate lengths to stop their obsession. The championship boxing match that Ricky and Fred are watching pits 'The Kid' against Murphy. A heavyweight boxer named Irish Bob Murphy famously fought Jake LaMotta in June 1952. Kid Gavilán was a welterweight boxer from (unsurprisingly) Cuba, who was world champion in 1952. Naturally Ricky bets on 'The Kid', while Irishman Fred is in Murphy's corner.

“Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (1953)

“We have a whole half hour on television!”

Lucy and Ethel are excited to appear on TV with their club, until they buy the same dress, which tests their “Friendship”.

Ricky’s solo on the TV show is "Vaya con Dios.” When Ricky is introducing his song, he says “It’s become quite popular in the last couple of months.”

“Baby Pictures” (1953) 

Trying to impress the Ricardos about his TV station’s offering of motion pictures Charlie Appleby says:

CHARLIE: “We’ve got the newest moving pictures in town. I bought a block of films yesterday, and I want to tell you that they’re going to make television stars out of some of the actors. Now, just remember their names: Conway Tearle and Mabel Normand.”

Both were silent film stars and died in the 1930s! 

“Million Dollar Idea” (1954) 

Lucy bottles her own salad dressing, then she and Ethel go on TV to sell it. 

They appear on “The Dickie Davis Show,” a four-hour daily TV program produced at the station run by Caroline Appleby's husband, Charlie. Frank Nelson plays Dickie Davis. 

“The Charm School” (1954)

The episode opens with a party where the men are in one room and the women in the other. At the party, the men talk about how soon color might be introduced on television. 

BILL: “Well, there are two schools of thought on that matter. Some people think it’s just around the corner. Others think it’s gonna be a year or two.”

In reality, it was just six months away - but not on CBS and not on “I Love Lucy.”  Ricky says he read an article by Harry Ackerman, a  TV producer who supported the filming of “I Love Lucy” in front of a live studio audience.

“Home Movies” (1954) 

“If I want to see old movies, I’ll watch television.”

When his feelings get hurt that no one is interested in his home movies, Ricky refuses to include Lucy, Fred and Ethel in his new TV pilot film. Lucy, however, has a plan to get into the action anyway!

“Ricky’s Hawaiian Vacation” (1954) 

Lucy plans to win a trip to Hawaii on a television quiz show so that she can go with Ricky on a work trip. 

The TV show is called “Be A Good Neighbor” and it is hosted by Freddy Fillmore, who has finally made the leap from radio to television. In reality, many radio shows made the transition to television during the early 1950s. 

“The Black Wig” (1954) 

When Ethel tries on Lucy’s wig, Fred says it looks more like life with Luigi. 

“Life With Luigi” was a radio comedy that transferred to television. It premiered on CBS one season after “I Love Lucy,” but was not a success, lasting only a year before briefly returning to radio. One of the 'Italian' characters was played by Alan Reed, who later voiced Fred Flintstone. Two years earlier, both “Luigi” and “Lucy” were part of “Stars in the Eye”, a 1952 CBS special that celebrated the opening of Television City Studios.

“Tennessee Ernie Hangs On” (1954)

The gang and Ernie sing on television to make money to send him home. 

“Millikan's Chicken-Mash Hour” was a fictional country music TV program, but there were real-life examples as well, the first ever called “Village Barn,” broadcast from 1948 to 1950 from a New York City nightclub. Others included “Hayloft Hoedown,” “ABC Barn Dance,” “Saturday Night Jamboree,” “Windy City Jamboree,” “The Old American Barn Dance,” and “Midwestern Hayride” - all on rival networks. The most famous entry into the genre, “Hee Haw,” did air on CBS, but didn't come along until 1969.  

“Mr. and Mrs. TV Show” (1954)

“This is going to be one of the biggest television programs to hit town in years!”

Ricky has a chance to do an ‘at-home' TV breakfast show, and naturally Lucy wants to be in it. Things go well until Lucy discovers Ricky only let her do the show because the sponsor insisted. Then revenge is what is served for breakfast!  The live show is named “Breakfast with Ricky and Lucy.” 

“Breakfast with Ricky and Lucy” was inspired by "Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick."  This daily radio chat show aired from 1945 through 1963, and starred Dorothy Kilgallen, journalist and reporter, and her husband Richard Kollmar, a Broadway actor and producer. There was another popular husband and wife radio breakfast show called “Hi Jinx” that starred model and actress Jinx Falkenburg and publicist Tex McCrary, which made the leap to television in 1948.

“Bullfight Dance” (1955)

When Lucy is asked to write an article for Photoplay about what it's like being married to Ricky, she uses it to blackmail him to get to perform in a TV benefit for the Heart Fund.

The scenes of the benefit television show "Coast-to-Coast" for the Heart Fund, hosted by Ricky and featuring Lucy in the bullfight number of the episode's title, are introduced with an establishing shot of the newly-opened CBS Television City building at 7800 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Although “I Love Lucy” was one of CBS’s strongest shows, Desilu was already happily ensconced at Ren Mar Studios.

“Face to Face” (1955)

Lucy and Ricky appear on a TV interview show from their apartment. But his new agent says the apartment is a dump, and urges them to move into ritzier quarters. The agent tells Ricky that he thinks he’s got him “planted on the Sullivan show next month”.  “The Ed Sullivan Show” (aka “Toast of the Town”) was a Sunday night staple on CBS. In addition to hosting performers on the stage of their New York theatre, celebrities would also be in the audience, and get introduced by Sullivan to get camera time. This is what is meant by “planted” on the Sullivan show.

Ed Warren (Elliott Reid) is a parody of Edward R. Murrow (right), who hosted the interview show “Person to Person” from 1953 to 1959. Just like Murrow, Warren signs off by bidding the audience “Good night, and good luck!”

“Lucy Meets Charles Boyer” (1956)

Lucy thinks every man she sees is film star Charles Boyer. When she spots the real Boyer, Ricky convinces him to pretend to be a second rate actor who just happens to look like the star. Boyer mentions “Four Star Playhouse” (1952-56), an anthology series sponsored by Singer and Bristol Myers. The premise of the CBS series was that Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes.

“Lucy and Superman” (1957)

Lucy brags that she can get Superman for Little Ricky’s birthday party. When he isn’t available, Lucy dresses up as the man of steel instead. 

As the episode opens, Ricky and Little Ricky are watching “Adventures of Superman” on TV. Superman fans have said that this excerpt was not from the original series, but created for “I Love Lucy” using Reeve’s double. The wires holding Superman up are clearly visible in the shot and it was commonly known that Reeve disliked using wires because of an incident early in the show’s creation.  

“Lucy Gets Chummy with the Neighbors” (1957)

When a misunderstanding about the between Betty (Mary Jane Croft) and Lucy spreads to the boys, Ralph (Frank Nelson) rescinds his offer for Ricky to appear on one of his advertising agency's TV shows, saying “We'll get Cugat!”  For Ricky, this is the ultimate insult. In the early days of television, advertising agencies could dictate whether a show would be aired or not. Such was the case with “I Love Lucy” in 1951. Biou Advertising represented Philip Morris, the show’s sponsor during the first several years. 

“Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (1958)

When Ricky, Little Ricky and Fred have to stay home to work on a television show, Lucy reluctantly takes Ethel to Sun Valley. 

“Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1959) 

The Ricardos and Merztes go to Alaska where Ricky and Fred have bought some land and Ricky is doing a TV show. When Red Skelton’s partner fails to appear, Lucy is recruited to perform with him. 

“Lucy Wants a Career” (1959)

“I can’t believe it!  Lucy on television!” 

Looking for fulfillment outside the home, Lucy takes a job as a Girl Friday for Paul Douglas on the morning TV show “Early Bird.”  

The first morning news program on television was “Three To Get Ready,” a local show hosted by comedian Ernie Kovacs that aired in Philadelphia from 1950 to 1952. Although it was mostly entertainment-oriented, the program did feature news and weather segments. Its success prompted NBC to look at producing something similar on a national basis and in January 1952 the "Today Show” premiered. CBS (Lucy's network) entered the field in 1954, but was never able to compete in the ratings. 

“Lucy Meets the Mustache” (1960)

Near the end of the episode, Ernie Kovacs tells Ricky to "take a good look" at Crandall (aka Lucy in disguise). 

“Take a Good Look” was the name of a TV quiz show Kovacs moderated at the time. It involved a panel guessing answers based on short skits.