#Shep Houghton

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have If a Man Answers 1962

[papermoonloveslucy]

MURDER AT THE VANITIES

May 18, 1934

Director: Mitchell Leisen 

Producer: E. Lloyd Sheldon for Paramount Pictures

Writers: Carey Wilson and Joseph Gollomb, based on the play by Earl Carroll and Rufus King

Synopsis ~ Shortly before the curtain goes up at Earl Carroll's Vanities, someone is attempting to injure leading lady Ann Ware, who wants to marry leading man Eric Lander. Stage manager Jack Ellery calls in his friend, policeman Bill Murdock, to help him investigate. They find the corpse of a murdered women. Bill suspects Eric of the crime, especially, after the second female lead Rita Ross told him she saw the women leaving from Eric's room. Rita is shot onstage with Eric's gun. 

PRINCIPAL CAST 

Carl Brissson (Eric Lander) was a Danish-born actor and singer making his only appearance with Lucille Ball. He would only make two more films before leaving film acting. 

Victor McLaglen (Bill Murdock) would win an Oscar in 1936 for The Informer. He would be nominated again in 1953 for The Quiet Man. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Jack Oakie (Jack Ellery) would be seen with Lucille Ball in That Girl From Paris (1936) as well as both Annabel films (1938). 

Kitty Carlisle (Ann Ware) made her film debut in this movie. She later married playwright Moss Hart and became an arts advocate.  She was also frequently seen on talk, quiz, and panel shows. This is her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Dorothy Stickney (Norma Watson) was a stage and screen actress making her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Gertrude Michael (Rita Ross) was also seen with Lucille Ball in Hold That Girl, released two months earlier. 

Jessie Ralph (Mrs. Helene Smith) was also seen with Lucille Ball in the 1934 films The Affairs of Cellini and Nana. In 1936 they appeared together in Bunker Bean. 

Charles Middleton (Homer Boothby) was also seen with Lucille Ball in The Bowery (1933), followed by Nana and Broadway Bill, both in 1934. 

Gail Patrick (Sadie Evans) would also be seen with Lucille Ball in 1937′s Stage Door. 

Donald Meek (Dr. Saunders) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Whole Town’s Talking and Old Man Rhythm (both in 1935), as well as Having Wonderful Time (1938), and Du Barry Was A Lady (1943). 

Toby Wing (Nancy) makes her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Duke Ellington (Himself) was a composer, orchestra leader, and one of music’s most legendary personalities. This is his only time performing with Lucille Ball. 

UNCREDITED CAST 

Lucille Ball (Earl Carroll Girl) makes her ninth film since coming to Hollywood in 1933. Although she started out as a Goldwyn Girl at RKO, here she is a Earl Carroll girl at Paramount. 

Ann Sheridan (Lou, Earl Carroll Girl) went on to a successful acting career known for her roles in the films San Quentin, Angels with Dirty Faces, They Drive by Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Kings Row, Nora Prentiss, and I Was a Male War Bride.

Virginia Davis (Earl Carroll Girl), as a child actress, was Walt Disney’s original Alice in Wonderland in a series of silent shorts from 1923 to 1925. 

Other Earl Carroll Girls: Ernestine Anderson, Lona Andre, Marion Callahan, Nancy Caswell, Marguerite Caverley, Juanita Clay, Helen Curtis, Virginia Davis, Dorothy Dawes, Winnie Flint, Barbara Fritchie, Nora Gale, Zumetta Garnett, Gwenllian Gill, Ruth Hilliard (film debut), Inez Howard, Billie Huber, Diane Hunter, Constance Jordan, Evelyn Kelly, Patsy King, Iris Lancaster, Blanche McDonald, Leda Nicova, Wanda Perry, Rita Rober, Laurie Shevlin, Gwynne Shipman (film debut), Anya Taranda, Beryl Wallace (film debut), Dorothy White, Vivian Wilson, Gladys Young

Alan Ladd (Chorus Boy) found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in Westerns, such as Shane and in films noir. He was often paired with Veronica Lake in films such as This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, and The Blue Dahlia.

Shep Houghton (Chorus Boy) also appeared with Lucille Ball in such films as Too Many Girls (1940), Lured (1947), Easy Living (1949), and Critic’s Choice (1963). On TV he appeared on two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and one “Here’s Lucy.”  He was one of the Winkie Guards in The Wizard of Oz  and a Southern Dandy in Gone With The Wind, both in 1939.

Other Chorus Boys: Dave O'Brien, Dennis O'Keefe, Frank Sully

Dancers in Ebony Rhapsody: Lucille Battle, Mildred Boyd, Gladys Henderson, Cleo Herndon, Ruth Scott, Carolynne Snowden

The King's Men (Lovely One Quartet)

OTHERS

Colin Tapley (Stage Manager)

Roy Crane (Assistant Stage Manager)

William Arnold (Treasurer)

Arthur Rankin (Assistant Treasurer)

Betty Bethune (Charwoman)

Howard M. Mitchell (Detective)  

Mike Donovan (Police Sergeant)

Stanley Blystone (Policeman)

Mary Gordon (Assistant Wardrobe Woman)

Mildred Gover (Pearl)

Hal Greene (Call Boy)

Otto Hoffman (Walsh)

Mitchell Leisen (Orchestra Leader)

Charles McAvoy (Ben)

Ted Oliver (Murdock's Chauffeur)

Teru Shimada (Koto)

Cecil Weston (Miss Bernstein)

Many of the Earl Carroll Girls featured in the film were authentic cast members from Carroll's stage show, which ran on Broadway from November 1933 to March 1934. These cast members were brought out to Hollywood from New York especially for this film, and many stayed to pursue film careers.  Earl Carrol Girls who appeared in the stage version of Murder at the Vanities, but not this film version, included Dudone Blumier, Eunice Coleman, Muriel Evans, Evalyn Knapp, Helene Madison, Lorna Rode and Marion Semle. Also in the cast was a Ruth Mann, who was probably Helen Mann.

The film was based on a Broadway production of the same name, but completely rewritten for the screen and with all new musical numbers.

In “The Audition” (ILL S1;E6) aired on November 19, 1951 Lucy says to Ricky:  “I’ll bet if Ziegfeld or Earl Carroll had seen me, they’d sign me up like that!” She then puts a lampshade on her head and struts about the room in a moment recycled from the (then) unaired pilot. 

This film contains a song and dance number called “Sweet Marijuana”. It got past the censors because at the time the film was made, the drug was not illegal. Today, many prints omit this production number all together.

The film also introduced the standard “Cocktails for Two” by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow. 

Gimbels in New York did a promotion in connection with the film, selling Mojud Clari-phane stockings using images of some of the Earl Carroll Girls. Sadly, Lucille Ball is not among them!

The film was a box office disappointment for Paramount.

[agentkatie]

for writer asks: backstory, notepad, critic, houghton, if you've not done them

I’ve not answered any of them! Thank you! :D

backstory: how did you come to love writing?

I honestly have no idea. I just can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. When my parents moved house recently and clearing out the attic we found a bunch of ‘books’ I made when I must have been… 5 or 6? Just bunches of A4 pages folded in half and sellotaped together and filled with whatever it was that occupied my 5/6 year old mind that week. I would like to present to you one of the earliest examples of my work, a vaguely threatening poem on bikes:

This was, inexplicably, in a book entitled ‘cars’, which I specified on the front cover is for ages 3-17. I also distinctly remember leaving a book I wrote about how much I loved whales in the school library.

So yeah, always loved it, no idea why :’)

notepad: can you write anywhere or do you have to be in a specific place and mood to write?

I can write pretty much anywhere, but I’m not good at writing everywhere. I prefer to be on my sofa with my laptop, or sometimes at my desk.

critic: what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about writing?

I don’t know because no-one ever critiqued my bike-related masterpieces.

But seriously, I don’t really know :’) I never got a lot of constructive criticism (or any sort of encouragement, really) on my writing when I was younger, and I don’t use a beta now. I do think “write what you love” is really good advice though.

houghton: what’s something you love that people compliment your pieces on?

The thing that I love the most is when people say nice things about my girl Shep. I know I call her dumb constantly but like… the character feels very alive to me, she’s what keeps the story going, I love her and writing her is so much fun. So it really means a lot when other people say they like her too.

[miss-flapper]

Success 51!! This came yesterday. Actor and dancer Shep Houghton who at 101 is one of the last surviving actors to have appeared in silent films and many sound films. Shep never had a starring role- but he has over 150 uncredited parts to his name in not only film but television as well. He had roles in Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. He even taught Greta Garbo how to waltz for her role in the 1937 film Conquest. He currently lives in Washington. This one took 11 days. (I couldn't find any HQ photos of him so I sent him a film poster of one of my favorite pre-code films that he appeared in and an index card.)

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY & GONE WITH THE WIND

In one of the biggest publicity stunts in Hollywood history, over 1,400 actresses were considered for the role of Scarlett O’Hara in MGM's Gone With The Wind. Producer David O. Selznick had the rights to the book, but did not have the money to make it. To keep interest alive in the project during pre-production, he auditioned nearly every starlet in Hollywood: Paulette Goddard (the favorite), Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Jean Arthur, Lana Turner, Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert, Susan Hayward, Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead and Lucille Ball, who read for the role but never made a screen test.  

On “Bob Hope's Unrehearsed Antics of The Stars” (September 28, 1984) Ball recounted - with a fair amount of embellishment for comedic effect - her audition.

I had to audition for Mr. David O. Selznick and it was for Scarlett O'Hara in ‘Gone With the Wind’. Everybody knew it was just a huge publicity gimmick. But I was just a young starlet when you're a under contract to a studio you do what you're told to do.

After working six dreadful weeks with a dialogue coach who had a southern accent that just dripped molasses, the big day finally arrived.  I knew it was ridiculous, but I had to go. I climbed into my old rattletrap car and as I reached Culver City I got caught in the biggest cloudburst I ever saw. The streets were flooded. My car stalled. I had to get out and wade six blocks to the studio. I got to the Selznick office looking like a drowned rat. Marcella, Selznick's girl Friday, didn't even recognize me. My hair was down over my face and the henna was running and so was my mascara. I was soaked clear through. Marcella made me take off all my clothes, gave me a big towel and a huge brown sweater and put me on the floor in front of a roaring fireplace in Mr. Selznick's private office. And she gave me a big brandy snifter with brandy in it.  

A half hour and four slugs of brandy later I was still a mess and still on my knees at the fireplace. Suddenly Mr. Selznick came in and said “Well, what have we here?” I said, “Well, I ain't Scarlett O'Hara. I'm Lucille Ball and I wanna go home.” He said “Now, now. We have to do the scenes.” I said “I can't.  I can't stand up.” I couldn't stand up because what I was wearing didn't cover me - and the four shots of brandy didn't help either. But he said “Alright then, do it from there.” I had to audition on my knees.

Now the first scene was Scarlett as a sixteen year-old. When I tried to bat my eyes my eyelashes stuck together and they wouldn't bat. Scarlett said something like “Well, I do declare! I do declare! You boys are so handsome in your gray uniforms. I swear, I'm just gonna miss you all so very, very much.” I'm still on my knees. Then I had a scene with Rhett Butler. I said “Rhett Butler, you're nothing but a no-good low-down Yankee spy and you can go back to where you come from and you can stay there!”

Selznick said “You were very interesting. Very interesting.” I said “I was not and you know it.” And then I just crawled out of the office on my knees holding onto the sweater trying to keep all the vital parts covered.

Although some of Ball's recounting sounds plausible, she remarks that her henna (red hair dye) was running down her face. Ball didn't dye her hair red for the first time until asked to do so by MGM for DuBarry Was a Lady in 1943. She was a natural brunette who was a blonde in some of her early work in order to stand out from the crowd.

During the time period that Gone With The Wind shot (January through July 1939), Lucille Ball made five films for RKO, with the fifth (That's Right – You're Wrong) released just three weeks before Gone With The Wind.

But this was not the last time Lucy would encounter Scarlett and Gone With the Wind. In the 1954 “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Writes a Novel” (ILL S3;E24) Lucy Ricardo is inspired to write a roman a clef about her life called “Real Gone with the Wind.” Fred replies “Yeah. Real gone!”

In 1971's “Lucy and Carol Burnett: The Hollywood Unemployment Follies” (HL S3;E22) Lucy and Carol encounter mannequins of Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh dressed in costumes from Gone With The Wind. Carol, using a high pitched Southern accent, imitates Scarlet O'Hara. After the network premiere of the movie in 1976, Carol Burnett produced one her most famous sketches ever, playing Scarlett (re-named Starlett) in the parody “It Went With The Wind” on “The Carol Burnett Show.”

In September 1971, in “Lucy and Flip Go Legit” (HL S4;E1), Lucy Carter convinces Flip Wilson to play Prissy in her daughter Kim's community theatre version of Gone With The Wind. Kim (Lucie Arnaz) plays Melanie, Uncle Harry (Gale Gordon) is Rhett, and Lucy finally gets to play Scarlett. Although Flip Wilson wearing an Abe Lincoln t-shirt as Prissy is very funny, the sketch does not hold a candle to Burnett's 1976 endeavor.

In “Lucy's Lucky Day” (HL S4;E15) Lucy Carter finds an overdue library book - Gone With The Wind – which she says took out when it was first published. The novel by Margaret Mitchell dates from 1936, which means that in 1971 Lucy has had the book out for 35 years!  Imagine the fines!

In the 1958 promo film “Lucy Buys Westinghouse” Desi takes a Westinghouse representative on a helicopter tour of Desilu Culver (formerly RKO), a back lot located in Culver City, also known as Forty Acres. This is where MGM made Gone With The Wind. They pass over a destroyed Tara, twenty years after the film was made. Ironically, it is now owned by Lucille Ball!  

Although Lucille Ball did not get cast, actors who did get roles in the film and later worked for Lucille Ball included:

George Reeves, Stuart Tarleton in GWTW / Superman in “Lucy and Superman” (ILL) [Reeves is incorrectly credited as Brent Tarleton in the film and only credited as ‘Superman’ on “I Love Lucy.”]

Olin Howland, Carpetbagger Businessman in GWTW / Mr. Skinner in “First Stop” (ILL)

Irving Bacon, Corporal in GWTW / Will Potter in “Ethel's Home Town” (ILL) and Mr. Willoughby in “The  Marriage License” (ILL)

Alberto Morin, Rene Picard in GWTW / Waiter Robert DuBois in “The French Revue” (ILL) and Carlos in “Cuban Pals” (ILL)

Shep Houghton, Southern Dandy in GWTW / Courtroom Spectator in “Lucy and the Raffle” (HL) [That same year, Houghton was also a Winkie Guard in The Wizard of Oz.]

Ralph Brooks, Gentleman at 12 Oaks Barbecue in GWTW / Casino Patron in “Lucy Goes to Vegas” (TLS)

Hans Moebus, Party Guest in GWTW / Man on Dock in “Bon Voyage” (ILL), Riverboat Patron in “Lucy and Arthur Godfrey” (TLS) and Spectator in “Lucy at Marineland” (TLS) [Lucy wore the same dress in “Lucy and Arthur Godfrey” as she did as Scarlett O’Hara in “Lucy and Flip Go Legit.”]  

Hattie McDaniel (Mammy in GWTW, inset) was the first black actress ever to win an Oscar, but she wasn’t the only McDaniel to have a ‘first ever’ recognition in show business.  Her brother Sam McDaniel played the Porter in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL), and was the first and only black actor to have dialogue on “I Love Lucy.” 

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY AND THE RAFFLE

S3;E19 ~ January 18, 1971

Directed by Ross Martin ~ Written by Ray Singer & Al Schwartz

Synopsis

Kim wins a fast sports car in a raffle, but Lucy won't let her keep it. To pay the taxes on her win, they hold another raffle not knowing that it is illegal. Lucy, Kim, and Harry are all arrested and hauled in to court!

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)

Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter) does not appear in this episode, but he does receive opening title credit.

Guest Cast

Hayden Rorke (Judge Gibson) played one of the “New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21), Tom O'Brien, who moved into the Mertz apartment building and are believed to be spies (but actually are just actors).  Rorke trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and made his television debut on “I Love Lucy.” Ironically, so did Barbara Eden, who played the title role in the sitcom that Rorke is best known for, “I Dream of Jeannie.” In 1947, he appeared on stage with Lucille Ball in Dream Girl. Rorke played the incredulous Dr. Alfred Bellows from 1965 to 1970, even returning for a “Jeannie” reunion special in 1985, his last screen project. He died in 1987.

Although the Judge’s name is not spoken aloud, his daughter, Betty Gibson, is named earlier in the episode as the winner of the raffle. 

SPOILER: The Little Old Lady (Florence Lake) is his mother!  

Paul Picerni (IRS Agent Frank Williams) makes the second of his four appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” He also appeared with Lucille Ball in the 1975 TV movie “Lucy Gets Lucky.” Picerni was a cast member of Desilu's “The Untouchables” from 1959 to 1963.

Picerni introduces this episode on the series DVD.  

Rhodes Reason (Lieutenant Egan) marks the fourth of his five episodes of “Here’s Lucy” having previously appeared in “Lucy, the Matchmaker” (S1;E12) and “Lucy and the Gold Rush” (S1;E13). He also appeared with Lucille Ball (and Little Old Lady Florence Lake) in the 1974 TV movie “Happy Anniversary and Goodbye.”

Although the character identifies himself as Lieutenant Egan, the end credits list him as Detective Haggerty.  

Robert Foulk (Permit Office Clerk at Window D) played the policeman on the Brooklyn subway platform in “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12) and a Los Angeles Detective in “Lucy Goes To A Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20).  This is the first of his six characters on “Here’s Lucy,” two of which are also policemen. 

Sid Gould (Permit Office Clerk at Window C) made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” and nearly as many on “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton and was married to Vanda Barra (Waitress). 

Irwin Charrone (Permit Office Clerk at Window B) made five appearances on “The Lucy Show.” The expressive character actor also did an equal number of “Here’s Lucy” episodes. He died in January 2016 in Maplewood, New Jersey, at the age of 93.  

Jody Gilbert (Woman in Permit Line aka “Mrs. Kong”) appeared with Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon on the 1952 special “Stars in the Eye” celebrating the opening of CBS’s new Television City studios.  She played a prison matron in her only appearance on both “The Lucy Show” and in her next and final appearance on “Here's Lucy.”  

Larry J. Blake (Man at the Front of the Permit Line) appeared as a Native American Medicine Man in “Lucy the Rain Goddess” (TLS S4;E15). He was an ex-vaudevillian making the third of his eight “Here’s Lucy” appearances. 

Florence Lake (Little Old Lady aka Mrs. Gibson) did four films with Lucille Ball between 1936 and 1938. This is her second and final episode of the series – both times as a classic Little Old Lady.  She went on to appear in the 1974 TV movie “Happy Anniversary and Goodbye” starring Lucille Ball and Rhodes Reason (Lt. Egan).  

Emile Autuori (Officer Collins, First Bailiff) makes the second of his six appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”  He passed away in early 2017.  He was the uncle of writer / director P.J. Castalleneta.

Although not spoken aloud, his name tag reads “Collins.”  

John J. 'Red' Fox (Second Bailiff) was best known for playing policemen, which is what he did on five of his eight appearances on “The Lucy Show” as well as three of his five episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Vanda Barra (Waitress) was Lucille Ball’s cousin-in-law and married to Sid Gould (Permit Office Clerk at Window C). This is just one of her over two dozen appearances on “Here’s Lucy” as well as appearing in Ball’s two 1975 TV movies “Lucy Gets Lucky” (with Dean Martin) and “Three for Two” (with Jackie Gleason). She was seen in half a dozen episodes of “The Lucy Show.” 

Jack Berle (Detective, uncredited, right) was the older brother of Milton Berle. This is one of his eleven uncredited appearances on the series. He previously did two episodes of “The Lucy Show.” 

Berle plays the Detective who arrests Harry, but has no dialogue.

Leon Alton (Courtroom Spectator, uncredited) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Facts of Life (1960) and Critic’s Choice (1963). He was in two episodes of “The Lucy Show.”  This is the last of his three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Shep Houghton (Courtroom Spectator, uncredited) began working as an extra while still a teenager, taking background jobs on weekends and attending high school during the week. Between 1934 and 1947 he made three films with Lucille Ball, including Too Many Girls, the movie that brought together Lucy and Desi Arnaz. He did two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and this, his only episode of “Here’s Lucy.” Houghton was one of the Winkie Guards in 1939���s The Wizard of Oz and a Southern Dandy in Gone With the Wind (1939).  

Joan Carey (Woman in the Permit Line, uncredited) was one of the only performers to appear on “I Love Lucy,” “The Lucy Show,” and “Here’s Lucy,” even serving as one of Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-ins. [Thanks to the Lucy Lounge for this siting!]

Others at the Permit Office and in the courtroom are played by uncredited background performers.

January 19, 1971, the day after this episode first aired, Desi Arnaz Jr. (Craig Carter) celebrated his 18th birthday. Ironically, he does not appear in this episode.

When Lucy complains that the car her daughter won goes too fast (160mph!), Kim promises to put a governor in the car. Lucy says “Ronald Reagan has enough to worry about without riding around with you!”  Former Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan had been elected Governor of California in 1967, a position he held until 1975. He was later elected 40th President of the United States and served until 1989. He was previously mentioned in the second episode of the series, “Lucy Visits Jack Benny” (S1;E2).  

We learn that Harry plays croquet.

When the woman at the back of the line (Jody Gilbert) gets snide with Lucy, she says “Thank you Mrs. Kong. Give my regards to your son, King.” King Kong (1933) was a Hollywood film about a giant gorilla that attacked Manhattan.  A sequel titled Son of Kong was released that same year.

When Lucy and Kim stack up the money they've made from their raffle, Lucy says “Oh, ho ho!  You jolly green giant!”  The Jolly Green Giant was the advertising character used to promote Green Giant Frozen Vegetables.  Their ubiquitous TV commercial jingle went: “In the valley of the giant – ho ho ho – Green Giant!”  The character was previously mentioned in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie's Fun Farm” (S1;E23).

The winning raffle ticket belongs to Betty Gibson, a college friend of Kim's. 

This episode is primarily based on "Ricky's European Booking" (ILL S5;E10) in which Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz illegally raffle off a television set to fund their trip to Europe. 

The Lucy character has been in the courtroom in front of many judges over the past 20 years:

“The Courtroom” (ILL S2;E7) in 1952, in which Moroni Olsen was the judge.

“Lucy Takes a Cruise To Havana” (LDCH) in June 1957, in which Jorge Trevino was the judge.

“Lucy Makes Room for Danny (LDCH) in December 1958, in which Gale Gordon was the judge.

“Lucy and the Runaway Butterfly (TLS S1;E29) in 1963, in which Ernest Sarracino was the judge.

“Lucy is Her Own Lawyer” (TLS S2;E23) in 1964, in which John McGiver was the judge.

“Lucy, the Metermaid” (TLS S3;E7) in 1964, in which Parley Baer was the judge.

“Lucy and the Soap Opera” (TLS S4;E19) in 1966, in which Sid Gould (who appears here as one of the Permit Office Clerks), played a judge in a TV soap opera.  Which neatly brings things full circle!  

FAST FORWARD!

Alan Rich plays Judge Cameron Potter in “Lucy, Legal Eagle” (S1;E7) aired on November 8, 1986.

Props! When Kim is shaking up the basket full of raffle tickets for Lucy to pick the winner, one ticket pops out. Lucie Arnaz says “Woops!” and pops it back in again.

“Lucy and the Raffle” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

This episode isn't as compact and well-written as its inspiration, but it does feature a large cast of terrific actors and has a few laughs, too. 

[papermoonloveslucy]

GEORGE REEVES

January 5, 1914

George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa. He is best known for his role as Superman in the television program “Adventures of Superman” (1952-58). His birth date is often listed as April 5, 1914, but that was born only five months after his parents' wedding and it was not until adulthood that he learned the truth. To further confuse matters, his mother made a mistake when having the urn containing his ashes inscribed and it reads January 6 instead of January 5.

Reeves began acting and singing in high school and continued performing on stage as a student at Pasadena Junior College. 

Reeves's film career took off in 1939 when he was cast as Stuart Tarleton (incorrectly listed in the film's credits as Brent Tarleton), one of Scarlett O'Hara's suitors (with Fred Crane, above left) in Gone with the Wind. Reeves dyed his hair red to portray one of the Tarleton twins. Lucille Ball read for the role of Scarlet O’Hara, one of hundreds of Hollywood starlets that vied for the role. References to the novel and iconic film can be found throughout her sitcoms.  Had she gotten the part, she would have been in the film with her future “I Love Lucy” actors Olin Howland, Irving Bacon, Alberto Morin, Shep Houghton, Ralph Brooks, and Hans Moebus. Sam McDaniel, brother of Mammy portrayer Hattie McDaniel, would be the first and only person of color to speak on “I Love Lucy” as the Porter in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5). Lucille Ball would one day own the back lot where the movie was filmed! 

Although Gone With the Wind was his first credited role in a feature film, a Warner Brothers short film titled Ride, Cowboy, Ride and the feature Espionage Agent were actually released three months earlier. 

While studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse in 1940, Reeves married Ellanora Needles, granddaughter of circus magnate John Robinson. They had no children and divorced 10 years later.

Before his television fame as Superman, Reeves enlisted in the US Army and  appeared on Broadway in Winged Victory (1943) by Moss Hart (center).  The cast featured actual service members, including Sergeant George Reeves (above, behind Phyllis Avery).  He also appeared in the film version. 

Reeves made his television debut on September 29, 1949 in an episode (now lost) of the suspense anthology series “The Clock.”  Three weeks later he appeared in a second episode. 

His first episode of “Adventures of Superman” was “Superman on Earth” aired on September 19, 1952. Ross Elliott, who played Ricky Ricardo’s Press Agent on “I Love Lucy”, was cast as Jor-El, Superman’s father, but was replaced by Robert Rockwell, famous for playing Mr. Boynton on “Our Miss Brooks”.  Strangely, Elliott still receives screen credit. This first “Superman” also features Dani Sue Nolan, who was the wife of “I Love Lucy” director William Asher. Ironically, Asher did not direct the episode of “I Love Lucy” starring Reeves, which was staged by James V. Kern. 

Reeves appeared in all 104 episodes over 6 seasons of the ABC TV series. 

Initially shot and aired in black and white, the series (like “The Lucy Show”) was filmed in color starting with season 3. The first 26 episodes were filmed in 1951, the same year “I Love Lucy” started airing, but did not appear on television until 1952, when Kellogg's Cereals agreed to sponsor the show. Reeves was 44 years old during the filming of the sixth and final season, making him the oldest actor to have ever played Clark Kent / Superman in live-action. Although the Superman costume was padded to make it appear that Reeves had greater bulk, he did most of his own stunts.  The first season of the series was shot on the 40 Acres back lot that was part of RKO / Desilu Studios. 

On November 15, 1956, Reeves filmed the now-iconic “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy and Superman” (ILL S6;E13), which premiered on January 14, 1957.  The episode was colorized on May 17, 2015. 

Keith Thibodeaux (Little Ricky) has said that this was his favorite episode of the series. He later talked about meeting Reeves...

Reeves is never mentioned by name in the dialogue or in the original credits. Lucie Arnaz later theorized that this was in order not to destroy the illusion that Superman was real to the many children who watched the show. In syndication, an announcer end credit was added for Reeve. The logic about the absent billing, however, is odd since Reeves was always credited on his own show. 

The final episode of the series was also Reeves’ final screen appearance. “All That Glitters” was also directed by Reeves, as were the previous two episodes. 

His death on June 16, 1959, from a gunshot remains a controversial subject; the official finding was suicide, but some believe that he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting. He was 45 years old. 

[papermoonloveslucy]

CRITIC’S CHOICE

April 13, 1963

Directed by Don Weis 

Produced by Frank P. Rosenberg for Warner Brothers

Written by Jack Sher, based on the play by Ira Levin

Synopsis ~ Parker Ballantine is a New York theater critic and his wife writes a play that may or may not be very good. Now Parker must either get out of reviewing the play or cause the breakup of his marriage.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball (Angela Ballantine) marks her 80th feature film since coming to Hollywood in 1933. This is her fourth and final film with Bob Hope. 

Bob Hope (Parker Ballantine) was born Lesley Townes Hope in England in 1903. During his extensive career (in virtually all forms of media) he received five honorary Academy Awards. He died at the age of 100. In 1945 Desi Arnaz was the orchestra leader on Bob Hope’s NBC radio show. Lucille Ball and Hope made four films together: Sorrowful Jones (1949), Fancy Pants (1950), The Facts of Life (1960), and Critic’s Choice (1963). In between the first two and the second two, he appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy and Bob Hope” (ILL S6;E10) in1956. Hope made a cameo appearance in a 1962 episode of "The Lucy Show” that starred Jack Benny. Lucy and Hope appeared together in dozens of television programs, including Ball’s final appearance at the 1989 Oscars. 

Marilyn Maxwell (Ivy London) appeared with Bob Hope in “The Colgate Comedy Hour” (1950, 1951, 1953, 1953), The Lemon Drop Kid (1951), Off Limits (1952), “The Bob Hope Show” (1954) and with Lucille Ball in DuBarry Was A Lady (1943), Thousands Cheer (1943), Forever Darling (1956), as well as “Here’s Lucy: Lucy The Co-Ed” (1970). 

Rip Torn (Dion Kapakos) was nominated for an Oscar in 1983. This was his only film with Lucille Ball. 

Jesse Royce Landis (Charlotte Orr) makes her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

John Dehner (S.P. Champlain) also appeared with Hope and Ball in the television special “Mr. and Mrs.” in 1964. 

Jim Backus (Dr. von Hagedom) is most famous for playing millionaire Thurston Howell III on “Gilligan’s Island.”  He appeared in Easy Living (1949) with Lucille Ball and was heard on her radio show “My Favorite Husband.” 

Ricky Kelman (John Ballantine) was a child actor who later appeared as a teenager on “Here’s Lucy” in “Lucy and Andy Griffith” (HL S6;E8) in 1973. 

Dorothy Green (Mrs. Champlain) makes her only appearances with Lucille Ball. 

Marie Windsor (Sally Orr) also appeared with Lucille Ball in The Big Street (1942).

Evan McCord aka Joe Gallison (Phil Yardley) makes his only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Richard Deacon (Harvey Rittenhouse) is probably best remembered as Mel Cooley on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961-66). He appeared as Tallulah Bankhead’s butler in “The Celebrity Next Door,” a 1957 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” He was employed again by Desi Sr. as a regular on “The Mothers-in-Law” (1968). He made two appearances on "Here’s Lucy.”

Joan Shawlee (Marge Orr) also appeared with Lucille Ball in Lover Come Back (1946). 

Jerome Cowan (Joe Rosenfield) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Fuller Brush Girl (1950). He was featured in such films as 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street (with William Frawley) and as Miles Archer in 1941’s The Maltese Falcon. He appeared in one episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1966 and one episode of “Here’s Lucy.”

Donald Losby (Godfrey) makes his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Lurene Tuttle (Mother) played the president of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “The Club Election” (ILL S2;E19) on February 16, 1953.

Emestine Wade (Thelma) makes her only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Stanley Adams (Bartender) made  three appearances on “The Lucy Show.”

UNCREDITED CAST (who shared credits with Lucille Ball)

Leon Alton (Audience Member) appeared with Lucille Ball in The Facts of Life (1960), two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Walter Bacon (Audience Member) was seen in “Lucy Wins a Racehorse” (LDCH 1958) and “Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map” (TLS S5;E18) in 1967.

Paul Bradley (Audience Member) made six appearances on “The Lucy Show” and two episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Charles Cirillo (Audience Member) was also an uncredited extra in 1968 film Yours, Mine and Ours.  He did a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy” and a 1968 episode of “The Lucy Show.” 

Paul Cristo (Audience Member) was seen on an episode of “I Love Lucy,” two episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” and two of “The Lucy Show.”

George DeNormand (Party Guest) appeared in three films with Lucille Ball from 1937 to 1963.  He also appeared on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.”

James Flavin (Security Guard) played Sgt. Wilcox two episodes of “The Lucy Show” including “Lucy and the Safe Cracker” (TLS S2;E5). He appeared in four films with Lucille Ball, including playing a police sergeant in Without Love (1945).

Bess Flowers (Audience Member at 'Sisters Three') was hailed as Queen of the Extras in Hollywood. She appeared in more films with Lucille Ball than any other performer. She often was seen on “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.”

Sid Gould (Cab Driver) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton. He appeared in more than forty episodes of “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy” in small roles. 

George Holmes (Spectator) was in the studio audience in “Lucy and Art Linkletter” (TLS S6;E4).  He also did an episode of “Here’s Lucy” and two more films with Lucille Ball: The Facts of Life (1960), and Mame (1974).

Shep Houghton (Audience Member) made three films with Lucille Ball, including Too Many Girls. He did two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and one episode of “Here’s Lucy.” Houghton was one of the Winkie Guards in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz and a Southern Dandy in Gone With the Wind (1939).  

Breena Howard (Girlfriend) also played a waitress in “Lucy Goes to Vegas” (TLS S3;E17) in 1965.

Joseph La Cava (Bellhop) did an episode of “I Love Lucy” and returned to work with Lucy in an episode of “Here’s Lucy.” He was also seen as a restaurant patron in Mame (1974).

Mike Lally (Audience Member at 'Sisters Three') was seen in two episodes of “I Love Lucy,” one “The Lucy Show,” and eight films starring Lucille Ball.  

William Meader (Audience Member) appeared as an airport extra in “The Ricardos Go to Japan” in 1959. He made many appearances on “The Lucy Show,” most times as a clerk in Mr. Mooney’s bank.

Harold Miller (First Nighter in Audience) did eight films with Lucy and two episodes of “I Love Lucy”.

Monty O'Grady (Audience Member) was first seen with Lucille Ball in The Long, Long Trailer (1953) and played a passenger on the S.S. Constitution in “Second Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14). He was a traveler at the airport when “The Ricardos Go to Japan” (1959). He made a dozen appearances on "The Lucy Show” and a half dozen more on “Here’s Lucy.”

Murray Pollack (Audience Member) was one of the party guest in “Country Club Dance” (ILL S6;E25). Like Monty O'Grady, he was at the airport when “The Ricardos Go to Japan” (1959). He made two appearances on “The Lucy Show” and returned for three episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Paul Power (Audience Member) was seen in two episodes of “I Love Lucy” and two films with Lucille Ball.  

Beverly Powers (Girl with Dion) played Mimi Van Tysen in “Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20) in 1966. In that episode, she had a gorilla on her arm, not Rip Torn! 

Alan Ray (Hotel Doorman) was seen on “I Love Lucy” as the clapstick boy at “Ricky’s Screen Test” (ILL S4;E6), a Brown Derby waiter in “Hollywood at Last” (ILL S4;E16), and a male nurse in “Nursery School” (ILL S5;E9). He made four appearance on “The Lucy Show,” including once as a hotel doorman! In 1950 Ray was also in the film A Woman of Distinction in which Lucille Ball had a cameo.

Frieda Rentie (Audience Member) made two appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” 

Victor Romito (Audience Member) was seen as the Bartender in “Lucy Meets John Wayne” (TLS S5;E10) as well as one more episode of “The Lucy Show.”  He appeared in four episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Bernard Sell (Audience Member) made three appearances on "The Lucy Show”. He was also an extra with Lucille Ball and Bob Hope in their film The Facts of Life (1960). He turns up on a 1971 two-part episode of “Here’s Lucy.”

Hal Smith (Drunk) is probably best known around the Desilu lot for playing Otis the drunk on “The Andy Griffith Show”.  He made three appearance on “The Lucy Show” including the role of Mr. Weber in “Main Street U.S.A.” (S5;E17). He did one episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1972.  

Norman Stevans (Clerk) was in the audience of “Over The Teacups” during “Ethel’s Birthday” (ILL S4;E8) and at the airport when “The Ricardo’s Go To Japan,” in 1959.  He appeared in two episodes of “Here’s Lucy” and in the 1974 Lucille Ball film Mame.

Arthur Tovey (Audience Member) did one episode of “The Lucy Show” and the TV special “Swing Out, Sweet Land” in 1970 in which Lucille Ball is the Statue of Liberty.  

Ralph Volkie (Audience Member) is best remembered for playing John Wayne’s masseuse in “Lucy and John Wayne” (ILL S5;E2) in 1955.  As Wayne’s trainer, he also appeared in sixteen films with the Duke. 

‘CRITICS’ TRIVIA

Lucille Ball’s costumes for the film were designed by Edith Head.  Irma Kusely, Lucille’s long-time hairdresser, did her hair design.

Lucille Ball and Bob Hope break the fourth wall and appear as themselves in the film’s trailer. 

Because of poor audience reaction at test screenings, this film sat unreleased for a year before being sent to theaters. The delay did not help, as it received generally unfavorable reviews.

"It is pleasing to look at in its expensive décor, color and scope, ably played by its experienced stars and ingratiating in its quieter insights into a sophisticated marital relationship. So long as it meanders modestly through some above-average repartee, it provides an agreeable way to pass an evening. Instead of leaving well enough alone, unfortunately, the director, Don Weis, has tried to upholster the shaky plot with slapstick and broad burlesque...Both stars, old hands at this sort of thing, go through their paces with benign good humor, but their subtler comic talents remain untapped. At this rate, the critics' popularity seems unlikely to improve." ~ The New York Times

Angela's play opens at the 46th Street Theatre. This is an actual Broadway theatre, though it has since been renamed the Richard Rodgers Theatre and since 2015 has been home to Hamilton. At the time of filming it was host to the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical How To Succeed in Business...Without Really Trying. Lucille Ball was on Broadway just one year earlier at the Alvin (now the Neil Simon) Theatre in Wildcat. 

The collage of stylized posters for Broadway plays (The Music Man, Life With Father, Fanny, Gypsy, Camelot) that appeared under the opening credits, were all productions that had (or in the case of Camelot, would later be) filmed by Warner Bros.

Ira Levin's original play had been produced on Broadway in 1960, when it enjoyed modest success under the direction of Otto Preminger. The play starred Henry Fonda in the Bob Hope role of Parker Ballantine, and also featured Georgann Johnson (in Lucille Ball's role). 

Angela and Dion fly from New York to Boston in an American Airlines Lockheed Electra, registration number N6102A. By the time the movie was released in 1963, the plane no longer existed - on August 6, 1962 (Lucille Ball's 51st birthday) it was wrecked in a landing accident during a thunderstorm at the Knoxville, Tennessee airport. Fortunately, all aboard the plane survived.

The casting of Marilyn Maxwell as Hope's first wife was a kind of ironic joke, as their long-time affair was well enough known in the industry for her to be often referred to as "the second Mrs. Hope."

The Ballantines were based on renowned theatre critic Walter Kerr and his playwright wife Jean Kerr. As an inside joke, Hope mentions one of her plays, "Mary, Mary."

The film’s music orchestrations are credited to Arthur Morton (inset photo). Not only is Morton Ball’s married name, Arthur Morton was the name of the character played by Richard Crenna who had a crush on Lucy Ricardo in “The Young Fans” (ILL S1;E20)!

The film is mentioned on “What's My Line?” featuring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball on May 5, 1963. Lucy and Bob are on a promotional tour, New York being the eleventh of their 19 cities. They had just come from being on “The Ed Sullivan Show” earlier that evening, also to promote Critic’s Choice.

Lucille Ball mentions the film on “Dinah!” featuring Bob Hope on April 15, 1977. About Critic’s Choice (1963), it is clear that this was a film Lucy didn’t want to do. Lucy and Hope were obliged to do a 11-theatre promo tour to “sell” the film. Hope calls it their only flop.  

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TOO MANY GIRLS

October 8, 1940

Too Many Girls was an RKO film musical based on the stage musical of the same title. It was produced and directed by George Abbott, who had also directed the Broadway production. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book was by George Marion, Jr. although the screenplay was adapted by John Twist. 

Too Many Girls opened on Broadway on October 18, 1939, at the Imperial Theatre, running to April 21, 1940, and transferred to the Broadway Theatre on April 22, 1940, closing on May 18, 1940. The cast featured Desi Arnaz, Diosa Costello, Marcy Westcott, Eddie Bracken, Richard Kollmar, Van Johnson, and Hal Le Roy. Musical Staging was by Robert Alton, scenery by Jo Mielziner, and costumes by Raoul Pène Du Bois.

The musical takes place in Skowhegan, Maine and Pottawatomie College in Stop Gap, New Mexico.

Synopsis ~ Connie Casey, an energetic celebrity heiress, wants to go to Pottawatomie College in Stop Gap, New Mexico, her father's alma mater, to be near her latest beau, British playwright Beverly Waverly. To protect her, and without her knowledge, her tycoon father sends four Ivy League football players as her bodyguards, Clint Kelly, Jojo Jordan, Manuelito and Al Terwilliger, who sign a contract with an ‘anti-romance’ clause. They also join the college's terrible football team, which immediately becomes one of the best in the country. Clint falls in love with Connie, but when she discovers he is her bodyguard, she decides to go back East. The bodyguards follow her, leaving the team in the lurch. The people of Stop Gap go after them, and they are brought back just in time for the big game. Connie declares her love for Clint, and he leads the team to victory.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball (Consuela ‘Connie’ Casey) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. “My Favorite Husband” eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Desi Arnaz (Manuelito Lynch) was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917. After leaving Cuba, he formed his own Latin band, and literally launched the conga craze in America.  It was on the set of Too Many Girls (1940) that he and Lucille Ball met. They soon married and approximately 10 years later formed Desilu Productions and began the “I Love Lucy” shows in 1951. Desi and Lucille had two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. At the end of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in 1960, the two divorced. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and died on December 2, 1986 at age 69.

Manuelito: “I'm not conceited. I am the greatest player in fifty years, but I'm not conceited.”

Richard Carlson (Clint Kelly) makes his first and last appearance with Lucy and Desi, although his wife, Mona, was featured as one of Don Loper’s models on “The Fashion Show” (ILL S4;E20) in 1955. 

Ann Miller (Pepe) had appeared with Lucille Ball in three films: Stage Door (1937), Having Wonderful Time (1938), and Room Service (1938). In 1954, she appeared with the Arnazes on “MGM’s 30th Anniversary Tribute”. 

Eddie Bracken (Jojo Jordan) makes his only screen appearance with Lucy and Desi, although he was part of the Broadway cast of Too Many Girls and was friends with the Arnazes off screen as seen in the above photo with Ann Miller and Lucy. 

JOJO: “Well, I'm not exactly wonderful, but I'm awfully attractive in a dynamic sort of way.”

Frances Langford (Eileen Eilers) makes her only appearance with Lucy and Desi. She worked extensively with Bob Hope on his USO tours. 

Hal LeRoy (Al Terwilliger) makes his only screen appearance with Lucy and Desi, although he was part of the Broadway cast of Too Many Girls. 

Libby Bennett (Tallulah Lou) makes her only screen appearance in Too Many Girls. She had also been seen in the Broadway stage production. 

Harry Shannon (Mr. Harvey Casey) appeared with Lucille Ball in 1942′s The Big Street. On “I Love Lucy” he played Jim White the photographer in “Men Are Messy” (ILL S1;E8) in 1951 (above center). Musical fans will remember Shannon as Rosalind Russell’s father in the 1962 musical film Gypsy.

Mrs. Teweksbury says Mr. Casey is one of the richest individuals in the country. He reportedly has $7.50 more than Henry Ford. He is Connie’s father and Chairman of Casey Conglomerated Industries.

Douglas Walton (Beverly Waverly) was a Canadian-born actor making his only appearance with Lucy and Desi. He played poet Percy Shelley in the film The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). He left film acting in 1950, before the advent of television. 

Beverley Waverly is a British playwright.  

Chester Clute (Lister) did four films with Lucille Ball before Too Many Girls and four after it. 

Lister is an alumni of Pottawatomie College, like his boss Mr. Casey.

Ivy Scott (Mrs. Tewksbury) was also in the stage production of Too Many Girls and only did one more film in Hollywood, Higher and Higher in 1943.

Mrs. Tewksbury is the proprietor of The Hunted Stag (or, as Mr. Lister calls it, The Stunted Hag), an Inn where the boys are waiters. 

Byron Shores (Sheriff Andaluz) makes his only screen appearance with Lucy and Desi. He was also seen in the stage production of Too Many Girls. His last film was in 1944. 

UNCREDITED FILM CAST

Iron Eyes Cody (Indian) made a career of playing Native American characters despite the fact that he was of Italian ancestry. He next worked with Lucy and in 1942’s Valley of the Sun, again as an American Indian character. He played an Eskimo in a 1959 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” but is probably best remembered as the Indian that sheds a single tear in the ‘Keep America Beautiful’ ads that ran from 1971 to the 1980s.

Jay Silverheels (Indian) also played a Native American character in Valley of the Sun (1942) with Lucille Ball. He was best known for playing Tonto on “The Lone Ranger”.

Chief John Big Tree (Chief)  

Harry James (Orchestra Leader) also played himself in Lucille Ball’s Best Foot Forward in 1943. With his wife, Betty Grable, he was seen in “Lucy Wins a Racehorse” (LDCH S1;E4) in 1958. 

Van Johnson (Chorus Boy) was also seen with Lucy in the films Easy to Wed (1946) and Yours, Mine and Ours in 1968. He played himself on one of the most popular episodes of “I Love Lucy,” “The Dancing Star” (ILL S4;E27) and played both himself and a look-alike on “Here’s Lucy” in 1968. He was also a member of the Broadway cast of Too Many Girls. 

Johnson has only two lines of dialogue in the film but is often visible in group scenes.

Shep Houghton (Chorus Boy) made two other films with Lucille Ball and was seen in the background of two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and one episode of “Here’s Lucy.”  Houghton was one of the Winkie Guards in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz and a Southern Dandy in Gone With the Wind (1939). 

John Benton (Chorus Boy)

Mildred Law (Coed) appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Return Home From Europe” (ILL S5;E26) playing a TWA flight attendant who attends to Lucy’s cheesy baby, Chester. This was her penultimate screen credit. 

Pamela Blake (Coed) also appeared uncredited with Lucille Ball in Stage Door (1937).

Amarilla Morris (Coed) was seen with Desi Arnaz in the 1942 film Four Jacks and a Jill as the girl in the revolving door. 

Other Coeds: Janet Lavis, Ellen Johnson, Vera Fern, Peggy Drake, Zita Baca, Anna Mae Tessle

Homer Dickenson (Mr. Casey's Butler) immediately followed this film with A Girl, A Guy, And A Gob (1941) also starring Lucille Ball.

Grady Sutton (Football Coach) from 1935 to 1945, Sutton did five films with Lucille Ball.

Dorothy Vernon (Faculty Extra) also did The Bowery (1933) and Valley of the Sun (1942) with Lucille Ball. 

Dan White (Faculty Extra) had a small role in the 1970 TV special “Swing Out Sweet Land” in which Lucille Ball voiced the Statue of Liberty. 

Others: Sethma Williams (Marie), Tommy Graham (Hawker), Averell Harris (Detective), Michael Alvarez (Joe)

WHEN LUCY MET DIZZY

Lucille Ball met Desi Arnaz for the first time at the RKO studio commissary, while Too Many Girls was in rehearsals. She was in full costume and make-up after performing a fight scene for another film, Dance, Girl, Dance (1940, above): she wore a slinky gold dress slit halfway up the thigh and sported a black eye. Arnaz was seated at the same table as director George Abbott, who introduced the two. Arnaz was not impressed by Ball, thinking she “looked like a two-dollar whore who had been badly beaten by her pimp." After the encounter, he asked Abbott to fire Ball from Too Many Girls, claiming she was “too tough and common for the role."  He also advised that her reputation as Queen of the B movies might negatively impact his much-anticipated film debut, advice Abbott thankfully ignored. 

“A Cuban skyrocket burst over my horizon!” ~ Lucy about Desi

“Those damned big beautiful blue eyes!” ~ Desi about Lucy 

That night, Arnaz was rehearsing “She Could Shake the Maracas" when Ball walked in, now wearing a yellow sweater and tight-fitting beige slacks. Not recognizing her, Arnaz turned to the piano player and whispered “Man, that is a honk of woman!"  The pianist reminded Arnaz of his earlier meeting with Ball. Lucille approached them to say hello. "Miss Ball?" Arnaz said, just to make sure that there was no mistake. "Why don't you call me Lucille? And I'll call you Dizzy." 

Lucy and Desi have very little interaction in the film, but when he sees Connie for the first time, he gets weak in the knees and falls to the ground, in awe of her beauty. Despite this, Manuelito’s romance is with Pepe, not Connie. History re-wrote that chapter!

TOO MANY SONGS!

Heroes in the Fall - Male Chorus

You're Nearer - Connie, Pepe, Eileen, and Tallulah Lou

Pottawatomie - Mr. Casey and Chorus

'Cause We Got Cake - Eileen and Chorus

Spic 'n' Spanish - Manuelito and Pepe

Love Never Went to College - Eileen

Look Out! - Eileen and Pepe

I Didn't Know What Time It Was - Connie, Clint, and Jojo

You're Nearer - Connie, Manuelito, Eileen, Pepe, and Tallulah Lou

Conga

Songs cut from the Broadway show: 

Tempt Me Not - Manuelito, Clint, and Chorus

My Prince - Connie

I Like To Recognize the Tune - Jojo, Connie, Eileen, Clint, and Al

The Sweethearts of the Team - Eileen

She Could Shake The Maracas - Pepe and Manuelito

Too Many Girls - Manuelito

Give It Back To The Indians - Eileen 

TOO MANY TRIVIA!

RKO paid $100,000 for the rights to the Broadway musical. 

Filming on Too Many Girls began on June 22, 1940.

Camerman Russell Metty briefly took over shooting for Frank Redman when Redman had to attend a funeral.

Uncredited performers Van Johnson and Harry James would go on to be two of the film’s biggest stars, except for Lucy and Desi, eclipsing many of the film’s principal cast like Hal LeRoy, Douglas Walton, and Libby Bennett. 

Lucille Ball’s vocals were dubbed by Trudy Erwin, one of Kay Kyser’s singers. 

Everyone imported from Broadway (except Hal LeRoy) was making their screen debut with Too Many Girls. 

After making the film, Van Johnson and Mildred Law returned to the Broadway production. Instead of chorus roles, Johnson assumed the role of Jojo (originated by Bracken) and Law now played Tallulah Lou, originated by Leila Ernest. 

On Broadway the character of Connie was originated by Marcy Wescott in her final Broadway stage role. 

TOO MANY REFERENCES!

Each of Connie’s bodyguards plays football for an Ivy League college: Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Manuelito is still deciding on a college, but is considering Princeton, where Clint goes. There is talk about a contentious game that includes Princeton. In Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” (1948), George Cugat (later Cooper) hopes his future son will play for Princeton, his alum. Coincidentally, Lucille Ball did two plays at Princeton University’s resident theatre company, McCarter: Hey Diddle Diddle (1937) and Dream Girl (1947).

One of the characters mentions movie star Ginger Rogers, one of the top female box office stars of the time. She was also a good friend of Lucille Ball having done five films together. Rogers’ mother Lela tajght acting classes at RKO, later inspiring Ball to create the Desilu Playhouse at Desilu Studios. Rogers played herself on a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Mr. Casey compares his daughter Connie with Lucretia Borgia (1480-1519) was the illegitimate daughter of a pope and his mistress,  a famous beauty, notorious for the suspicious deaths and political intrigue that swirled around her. Today her name has become synonymous with a beautiful, but scheming woman who would stop at nothing - including murder - to get what she wants.  In 1949, Lucille Ball’s friend played Lucretia Borgia for Paramount in Bride of Vengeance.

Although Pottawatomie College and the town of Stop Gap are fictional, Pottawatomie is the name of a Native American tribe, although they were mostly found in the Great Lakes region, not in New Mexico. The Pottawatomie Massacre occurred from May 23 to May 26, 1856, resulting in the death of five pro-slavery settlers north of Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin County, Kansas. This was one of the many violent episodes in Kansas preceding the American Civil War.

 TOO MANY CRITICS!

Too Many Girls premiered on October 8, 1940 at Loew's Criterion Theatre in New York. Critical reviews were generally positive, although Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that Too Many Girls was “a pleasant, light-hearted and wholly ingenuous campus film" but that director George Abbott "has permitted it to sag in the middle, at which point the thin spots baldly show. If the intention was to be impressive, it has failed. For 'Too Many Girls' is a simple, conventional rah-rah picture, without any place for pretense. And there is not enough to it, on the whole, for Mr. Abbott to squander dancers recklessly."

TOO FAST FORWARD

This film's earliest documented television presentations began in Los Angeles Tuesday May 8, 1956 on KHJ (Channel 9), much to the chagrin of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz who were embarrassed by it, and objected to its frequent showings to no avail.

In 1977, the music of Too Many Girls was rereleased on vinyl with performers Nancy Andrews, Johnny Desmond, Estelle Parsons, and Anthony Perkins! 

The film is referenced in “Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter” a 1991 TV movie about starring Frances Fisher (above) and Maurice Bernard, as well as “Lucy” (2003), another TV film in which Lucy (Rachel York) and Desi (Danny Pino) meet on the set; Desi in his football uniform and Lucy bruised from the filming of Dance, Girl, Dance.

Clips from the film are featured in Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie (1993).

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Lucille Ball: Paying It Forward

In 1951, when Lucille Ball finally became the producer instead of the produced, she was able to hire many of the actors she worked side by side with in films since 1933. Here’s a look at Lucille Ball’s film career and the actors that later worked for Lucille Ball on her sitcoms.

Note: This list only includes actors who appeared on programs that Lucille Ball herself produced and appeared in, not other Desilu or LBP (Lucille Ball Productions) projects. The list also does not include Lucille Ball’s TV films, like “Stone Pillow”. 

Follow the underlined hyperlinks to read about their series appearances.  * Indicates a background performer (extra) on a Lucille Ball series.

THE BOWERY (October 1933)

Charles Lane

Irving Bacon

John Bleifer*

BROADWAY THROUGH A KEYHOLE (November 1933)

Charles Lane

Ann Sothern

Walter Winchell

BLOOD MONEY (November 1933)

John Bleifer*

Bess Flowers*

ROMAN SCANDALS (December 1933)

Barbara Pepper

MOULIN ROUGE (January 1934)

Barbara Pepper

NANA (February 1934)

HOLD THAT GIRL (March 1934)

BOTTOMS UP (April 1934)

Barbara Pepper

MURDER AT THE VANITIES (May 1934)

Shep Houghton*

BULLDOG DRUMMOND STRIKES BACK (August 1934)

THE AFFAIRS OF CELLINI (August 1934)

Bess Flowers*

James Flavin

KID MILLIONS (November 1934)

Ethel Merman

Ann Sothern

Bess Flowers*

Sam Harris*

Caryl Lincoln*

Barbara Pepper

Rolfe Sedan

PERFECTLY MISMATED (November 1934)

MEN OF THE NIGHT (November 1934)

JEALOUSY (November 1934)

BROADWAY BILL (December 1934)

Charles Lane

Irving Bacon

Bess Flowers*

THREE LITTLE PIGSKINS (December 1934)

FUGITIVE LADY (December 1934)

William Demarest

Bess Flowers*

Mike Lally*

BEHIND THE EVIDENCE (January 1935)

HIS OLD FLAME (January 1935)

CARNIVAL (January 1935)

Jimmy Durante

THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING (February 1935)

Edward G. Robinson

Paul Harvey

Bess Flowers*

ROBERTA (March 1935)

Ginger Rogers

Torben Mayer

Mike Lally*

I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU (March 1935)

Irving Bacon

HOORAY FOR LOVE (June 1935)

Ann Sothern

Bess Flowers*

A NIGHT AT THE BILTMORE BOWL (June 1935)

OLD MAN RHYTHM (August 1935)

Buddy Rogers

Bess Flowers*

Sam Harris*

TOP HAT (September 1935)

Ginger Rogers

Edward Everett Horton

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (November 1935)

Moroni Olsen

I DREAM TOO MUCH (November 1935)

James Conaty*

FOOLISH HEARTS (December 1935)

CHATTERBOX (January 1936)

MUSS 'EM UP (February 1936)

Florence Lake

FOLLOW THE FLEET (February 36)

Ginger Rogers

THE FARMER IN THE DELL (February 1936)

Moroni Olsen

Torben Meyer

BUNKER BEAN (June 1936)

Hedda Hopper

Pierre Watkin

SWING IT (July 1936)

DUMMY ACHE (July 1936)

Florence Lake

SO AND SEW (August 1936)

ONE LIVE GHOST (November 1936)

WINTERSET (December 1936)

John Carradine

Paul Fix

Jack Chefe

Barbara Pepper

THAT GIRL FROM PARIS (January 1937)

Jack Chefe

DON'T TELL THE WIFE (May 1937)

William Demarest

THERE GOES MY GIRL (May 1937)

Ann Sothern

Irving Bacon

George DeNormand*

STAGE DOOR (October 1937)

Ginger Rogers

Eve Arden

Bert Stevens*

GO CHASE YOURSELF (April 1938)

Fritz Feld

Bobs Watson

JOY OF LIVING (May 1938)

James Burke

Mike Lally*

Charles Lane

Harold Miller*

HAVING WONDERFUL TIME (July 1938)

Ginger Rogers

Red Skelton

Eve Arden

Sam Harris*

Florence Lake

THE AFFAIRS OF ANNABEL (September 1938)

Fritz Feld

James Burke

ROOM SERVICE (September 1938)

Harpo Marx

ANNABEL TAKES A TOUR (November 1938)

Pepito Perez

Bess Flowers*

Sam Harris*

NEXT TIME I MARRY (December 1938)

Jack Albertson

Dick Elliot

Florence Lake

BEAUTY FOR THE ASKING (February 1939)

Leon Belasco

Harold Miller*

TWELVE CROWDED HOURS (March 1939)

John Gallaudet

Mike Lally*

PANAMA LADY (May 1939)

Donald Briggs

FIVE CAME BACK (June 1939)

John Carradine

Allan Jenkins

THAT'S RIGHT YOU'RE WRONG (November 1939)

Edward Everett Horton

Moroni Olsen

Hedda Hopper

THE MARINES FLY HIGH (May 1940)

Nestor Paiva

Paul Harvey

YOU CAN'T FOOL YOUR WIFE (May 1940)

Charles Lane

Irving Bacon

DANCE GIRL DANCE (August 1940)

Bess Flowers*

Sam Harris*

Mike Lally*

Bert Stevens*

TOO MANY GIRLS (October 1940)

Iron Eyes Cody

Shep Houghton*

A GIRL, A GUY & A GOB (March 1941)

Lloyd Corrigan

Irving Bacon

Leon Belasco

Mike Lally*

LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING (November 1941)

Irving Bacon

Dorothy Lloyd

Charles Lane

VALLEY OF THE SUN (February 1942)

Iron Eyes Cody

THE BIG STREET (September 1942)

Jack Chefe

James Conaty*

Hans Conried

Bess Flowers*

Sam Harris*

Harold Miller*

Gil Perkins

SEVEN DAYS’ LEAVE (November 1942)

Bob LeMond

DU BARRY WAS A LADY (August 1943)

Red Skelton

Marilyn Maxwell

Hans Moebus*

The Pied Pipers

Paul Power

Buddy Rich

Pierre Watkin

Eve Whitney

BEST FOOT FORWARD (October 1943)

Harry James

Bess Flowers*

THOUSANDS CHEER (January 1944)

Mickey Rooney

Ann Sothern

Red Skelton

Marilyn Maxwell

Don Loper

Dick Winslow*

Eve Whitney

MEET THE PEOPLE (June 1944)

Betty Jaynes

Leon Belasco

Patsy Moran

Eve Whitney

GI JOURNAL (1944) WITHOUT LOVE (May 1945)

James Flavin

ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (April 1946)

Red Skelton

William Frawley

Eve Whitney

ABBOTT & COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD (October 1945)

Fred Aldrich

Sam Harris*

Harold Miller*

Frank J. Scannell

Amzie Strickland

THE DARK CORNER (May 1946)

Ellen Corby

Sam Harris*

Harold Miller*

TWO SMART PEOPLE (June 1946)

Lloyd Corrigan

Bess Flowers*

Shelley Winters

LOVER COME BACK (June 1946)

Charles Winninger

Ellen Corby

Bess Flowers*

Frank J. Scannell

EASY TO WED (July 1946)

Van Johnson

James Flavin

Dick Winslow*

LURED (September 1947)

Jack Chefe

James Conaty*

Sam Harris*

Shep Houghton*

Mike Lally*

Harold Miller*

HER HUSBAND'S AFFAIRS (November 1947)

Edward Everett Horton

Mabel Paige

Pierre Watkin

Harry Cheshire

SORROWFUL JONES (July 1949)

Bob Hope

William Demarest

Ben Welden

Bert Stevens*

Walter Winchell

Chuck Hamilton*

EASY LIVING (September 1949)

Amzie Strickland

MISS GRANT TAKES RICHMOND (September 1949)

William Holden

Peter Brocco

Harry Cheshire

Sam Harris*

Charles Lane

Roy Roberts

Will Wright

A WOMAN OF DISTINCTION (March 1950)

Gail Bonney

Harry Cheshire

Gale Gordon

Mary Ellen Kay

Norman Leavitt

Hans Moebus*

FANCY PANTS (July 1950)

Bob Hope

Norma Varden

Sam Harris*

THE FULLER BRUSH GIRL (September 1950)

Eddie Albert

Jerome Cowan

Gail Bonney

Barbara Pepper

Red Skelton

Bert Stevens*

Amzie Strickland

Mary Treen

THE MAGIC CARPET (October 1951)

William Fawcett

~ After “I Love Lucy” ~

THE LONG LONG TRAILER (February 1954)

Gladys Hurlbut

Moroni Olsen

Madge Blake

James Conaty*

Fred Aldrich

Juney Ellis

Mike Lally*

Norman Leavitt

Louis A. Nicoletti

Herb Vigran

FOREVER DARLING (February 1956)

John Emery

Natalie Schafer

Ralph Dumke

Nancy Kulp

Ruth Brady

Leon Alton*

Audrey Betz

Bess Flowers*

Sam Harris*

Marilyn Maxwell

Harold Miller*

Monty O'Grady*

Hazel Pierce

Murray Pollack*

THE FACTS OF LIFE (November 1960)

Bob Hope

Phil Ober

William Lanteau

Robert F. Simon

Leon Alton*

George Bruggerman*

Steve Carruthers*

George DeNormand*

Bess Flowers*

Norman Leavitt

Caryl Lincoln*

William Meader*

Hans Moebus*

Monty O'Grady*

Hazel Pierce

Vito Scotti

Bert Stevens*

Hal Taggart*

Norman Stevans*

Judith Woodbury*

Bernard Sell*

CRITICS CHOICE (April 1963)

Bob Hope

Marilyn Maxwell

Richard Deacon

Jerome Cowan

Stanley Adams

Leon Alton*

Paul Cristo*

George DeNormand*

James Flavin

Bess Flowers*

Sid Gould

Breena Howard

Mike Lally*

Harold Miller*

Murray Pollack*

Freida Renti*

Victor Romito*

Bernard Sell*

Hal Smith

Ralph Volkie

YOURS, MINE, AND OURS (April 1968)

Van Johnson

Tim Matheson

Leon Alton*

Paul Bradley*

Leoda Richards*

Norman Stevens*

MAME (March 1974)

John McGiver

Don Porter

Ruth McDevitt

Burt Mustin

Joseph La Cava*

Mike Lally*

Leoda Richards*

Victor Romito*

George Holmes*

Robert Hitchcock*

Norman Stevens*

Busiest Actors in LucyLand!

Bess Flowers (aka ”Queen of the Extras”) ~ 17 films (1933-1963)

Mike Lally ~ 10 films (1934-1963)

Irving Bacon ~ 7 films (1933-1941)

Charles Lane ~ 7 films (1933-1949)

Ginger Rogers ~ 5 films (1935-1938)

Ann Sothern ~ 5 films (1933-1944)

Barbara Pepper ~ 5 films (1933-1936)

[papermoonloveslucy]

RIP Doris Day

“I’m really in awe of Doris Day.  I adore her.” ~ Lucille Ball

Surprisingly, Lucille Ball never acted opposite Doris Day in films or television, but she did interview her for her CBS radio show “Let’s Talk To Lucy” #144 on the set of Do Not Enter (1965) on March 22, 1965. The film was directed by Ralph Levy, who had also done the original “I Love Lucy” pilot. 

In the interview, it was revealed that unlike Lucy, Doris did not like to rehearse. Doris liked wearing hats off screen, while Lucy says she never does. Doris says she loves ice cream with salty pretzels.  The brief interview was cut short by Day being called to the set by her husband to do re-takes. 

In 1971, Doris Day starred in “The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special” (her birth name) and Lucille Ball complimented her on it. Day wrote back a personal note addressed to “Mrs. Gary Morton” saying how much she appreciated Lucy’s kind words. 

For much of its run on CBS, “The Doris Day Show” (1968-73) was aired on Monday nights (Lucy’s domain), one half hour after “Here’s Lucy”. The two sitcoms shared many of the same background players: Jack Berle, Robert Hitchcock, Shep Houghton, Monty O'Grady, Murray Pollack, Clark Ross, and Norman Stevans.  

As a big star, Doris’s name was bound to be mentioned on Lucille Ball’s sitcoms.

In 1963′s “No More Double Dates” (TLS S1;E21), Lucy Carmichael chimes in that she heard “that new Doris Day picture is cute”,  a reference to That Touch of Mink (1962).

In 1963′s “Lucy is a Soda Jerk” (TLS S1;E23), Lucy’s daughter Chris wonders if Doris Day started out as a soda jerk.  

In 1966′s “Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20), memorabilia crazy Lucy Carmichael says she bought a pink chiffon nightgown that was worn by Doris Day in Pillow Talk (1959).

In 1970′s “Lucy and Lawrence Welk” (HL S2;E18), Viv says she went on a studio tour and saw Doris Day’s bicycle. In real life, Doris Day was an avid bike rider. She rode to the studio on many occasions and pedaled around Beverly Hills until the police finally told her they couldn’t guarantee her safety. 

In 1971′s “Lucy’s Bonus Bounces” (HL S4;E16), Lucy Carter says that Harry never had a secret love life and that if they ever made a movie of his life he’d be played by Doris Day. The song “Secret Love” was a #1 hit for Doris Day.

Naturally, big stars like Doris Day and Lucille Ball shared tabloid magazine covers from time to time.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY AND MANNIX ARE HELD HOSTAGE

S4;E4 ~ October 4, 1971

Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll and Madelyn Davis

Synopsis

Lucy happens to see three crimes in one day.  Convinced thugs are after Lucy, Harry contacts his old friend, private eye Joe Mannix.  While trying to rescue Lucy from the bank robbers, Mannix and Lucy are kidnapped and held hostage.  

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)  

Guest Cast

Mike Connors (Joe Mannix) began his screen career in 1952, but is probably best remembered as Joe Mannix, the role he plays here. He starred in the private detective series “Mannix” from 1967 to 1975, which ran on CBS concurrently with “Here's Lucy.” He was nominated for 5 Emmys and six Golden Globes and won a Golden Globe for the role in 1970. Connors reprised the role of Joe Mannix in a 1997 episode of “Diagnosis Murder” and in the 2003 film comedy Nobody Knows Anything!  He died in January 2017. 

Mary Jane Croft (Mary Jane) played Betty Ramsey during season six of “I Love Lucy. ” She also played Cynthia Harcourt in “Lucy is Envious” (ILL S3;E23) and Evelyn Bigsby in “Return Home from Europe” (ILL S5;E26). She played Audrey Simmons on “The Lucy Show” but when Lucy Carmichael moved to California, she played Mary Jane Lewis, the actor’s married name and the same one she uses on all 31 of her episodes of “Here’s Lucy. Her final acting credit was playing Midge Bowser on “Lucy Calls the President” (1977). She died in 1999 at the age of 83.  

Marc Lawrence (Ruby, right) appeared on Broadway in three plays with the Group Theatre. On screen, Lawrence specialized in playing gangster roles. He previously played a mob boss in “Lucy and Ma Parker” (S3;E15).  Coincidentally, between 1969 and 1974 Lawrence appeared in three episodes of “Mannix.” John Doucette (Vernon, left) first appeared with Lucille Ball in The Fuller Brush Girl (1950).  In 1973 he did one episode of “Mannix” with Mike Connors.  

Robert Foulk (Policeman) played the policeman on the Brooklyn subway platform in “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12) and a Los Angeles Detective in “Lucy Goes To A Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20).  This is the fourth of his six characters, but his first of two policemen on “Here’s Lucy.”

Vince Howard (Policeman) was much more at home in hour-long crime dramas than in sitcoms. Many of his 125 TV and film credits were as law enforcement officials.  Howard also played a policeman on “Lucy and the Ex-Con” (S1;E15). He did three episodes of “Mannix” with Mike Connors, one of which first aired three weeks after this episode of “Here's Lucy.”    

The voice of the telephone operator was done by an uncredited performer.  

“Mannix” was an hour-long crime drama that was saved from the scrap heap by Lucille Ball when she was in charge of Desilu Studios. CBS planned to cancel the show after one season, but Ball used her influence to convince them to renew it with the assurance that changes would be made. In the second season, Joe Mannix was changed into a more hard-boiled independent private detective. The changes worked and the series became a big hit running for eight seasons. It was the last successful TV show to be produced by Desilu.  Lucille Ball's sitcoms shared many cast members with “Mannix”: 

Monty O'Grady, Paul Picerni, Peggy Rea, Jay Novello, Ruth McDevitt, Elsa Lanchester, Maurice Marsac, Milton Berle, Howard Duff, Claude Akins, Rich Little, Natalie Schafer, Ruta Lee, Parley Baer, Army Archerd, Lurene Tuttle, Herbie Faye, Gail Bonney, Vivi Janiss, Stafford Repp, Boyd 'Red' Morgan, George DeNormand, Hans Moebus, Murray Pollack, Sig Frohlich, Shep Houghton, Jonathan Hole, Leoda Richards, Jack Berle, and Hayden Rorke.

This was the first episode filmed at Universal Studios after Lucille Ball Productions (LBP) left Paramount (formerly Desilu and RKO).  Because “Mannix” was property of Paramount Television, not LBP, the series stayed at Paramount Studios for the duration of its run.  

Harry gives Lucy's address as 4863 Valley Lawn Drive. She gives her Zip Code as 91041, which puts it in Sunland, California. She describes her home description as the second house from the corner, pink with blue shutters, with a big tree (named Irving) in the front yard.  

Harry tells the crooks that he is claustrophobic. In real life, however, it was Lucille Ball who had claustrophobia, although she conquered it if she thought the comedy would benefit.  

In this episode, Lucy becomes a plant lover who talks to her plants. Their names are Ruthie, Hugo, and Priscilla. Ruthie meets an untimely end in an attempt to stop a robbery.  

In the episode's first half, Lucy, Harry, and Mary Jane talk about a policeman named Officer Maginetti.  It is never stated if either one of the policemen in the final scene is named Officer Maginetti or not.

A distracted Lucy misses watering her plant and pours water into Harry's hat instead. When Harry puts it on, naturally he ends up soaking wet!  Harry being wet is a staple of the “Here's Lucy” series.

Lucy mentions an Aunt Isabel.  Mary Wickes played Isabel (above), another secretary in Lucy's building, in two previous episodes, but she was not Lucy's aunt. Wickes also played Lucy Carmichael's Aunt Agatha on “The Lucy Show,” but no character named Aunt Isabel has been seen (as of yet).

While tied up by the crooks, Lucy mentions the gangster films Little Caesar starring Edward G. Robinson and Angels with Dirty Faces starring Jimmy Cagney.  Cagney was mentioned in “Lucy and Carol Burnett” (S3;E22, left) and Edward G. Robinson made a cameo appearance in “Lucy Goes To a Hollywood Premiere” (TLS S4;E20, right).  

Lucy and Mannix are held hostage in a tan stucco house at the corner of Shelby and Fountain.

Crime has been the source of many “Lucy” sitcom episodes in the past: 

“New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21) 

“Too Many Crooks” (ILL S3;E9)

 “Lucy Cries Wolf” (ILL S4;E3) 

“The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E2) 

“Lucy and the Great Bank Robbery” (TLS S3;E5) 

“Lucy Makes a Pinch” (TLS S3;E8) 

“Lucy's Impossible Mission” (S1;E6) 

“Lucy and the Ex-Con” (S1;E15) 

“Lucy and Viv Visit Tijuana” (S2;E19)

“Lucy’s Burglar Alarm” (S2;E7)

“Lucy and Wally Cox” (S2;E21)

 “Lucy and Ma Parker” (S3;E15)

and even the previous episode, “Lucy and Harry's Italian Bombshell” (S4;E3), had Lucy and Kim encountering a burglar!

Doors! Doors!  Doors!  The door behind Lucy's desk at the office has changed from leading to another room to a closet. The door behind Harry's desk was originally a closet but was later transformed to a bathroom.  

Wallpapered! Since the last time we saw the Carter home in “Lucy and Aladdin's Lamp” (S3;E21), there is new bright green wallpaper on the staircase. This may have been changed during the move from Paramount to Universal.

Where Do I Live? In “Lucy and Harry's Tonsils” (S2;E25) Harry gave his address as 4863 Valley Lawn Drive. This is the same address he gives the crooks when they ask where Lucy lives.  

“Lucy and Mannix are Held Hostage” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

The most unusual thing about this episode is that Mannix, a television character, lives in the same fictional world with the Carters instead of being Mike Connors, an actor and celebrity.  Connors handles the physical comedy really well, and Lucy is a good match for him in the acting department.  This is the second time “Here's Lucy” has used one of its own shows as the basis for an episode.  They first tackled “Mission: Impossible” but changed all the character names from the series.  It's too bad they never go around to doing a “Star Trek” parody!  

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY AND FLIP GO LEGIT

S4;E1 ~ September 13, 1971

Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll and Madelyn Davis

Synopsis

Lucy takes a temp assignment with Flip Wilson in order to answer his fan mail. When she is caught sneaking into Wilson's office to ask him a favor, she gets caught and fired.  The favor is to appear  in a community theatre production of Gone With The Wind – as Prissy.  

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)  

Guest Cast

Flip Wilson (Himself) was born in Jersey City, New Jersey as Clerow Wilson Jr. in 1933.  He was a comedian and actor, best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series, “The Flip Wilson Show.” The series earned Wilson a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards, and at one point was the second highest rated show on network television.  Wilson also won a Grammy Award in 1970 for his comedy album “The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress.” In January 1972, Time magazine featured Wilson's image on its cover and named him "TV's first black superstar." According to The New York Times, Wilson was "the first black entertainer to be the host of a successful weekly variety show on network television.”  Wilson had met Lucille Ball a year earlier on a Los Angeles broadcast of “The Tonight Show” as well as an episode of “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Perhaps Wilson's greatest creation was the sassy Geraldine Jones, whose catch phrase was “The devil made me do it!”  Wilson died in 1998.  

Kim Hamilton (Jane, Flip Wilson's Secretary) did more than 60 television shows and films during the 1960s and ‘70s alone.  She was in the film To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962.  She made two appearances on “My Three Sons” in 1963 and 1964 – both featuring William Frawley (Fred Mertz). Hamilton has the distinction of being the first Black actress to appear on TV's “Days of Our Lives.” She also was seen on the soaps “The Guiding Light” and “General Hospital.” Hamilton died in 2013 at age 81.  

The secretary's first name is never spoken aloud.  Hamilton provides the DVD introduction to the episode. 

Starting with this episode, Coby Ruskin, who had directed two previous episodes, becomes the regular director of “Here's Lucy” and will direct nearly all (65) future episodes.

20 years earlier, when "I Love Lucy" began, the word 'pregnant' could not be said on television, but is spoken freely in this 1971 episode parody of 1860's Civil War era -- an ironic comment on American censorship.

This is the first episode of season 4 and the first without Desi Arnaz Jr. as a regular cast member.  Despite being the season premiere, Craig's absence is not explained. Later in the season we learn that that Craig is off at college.

Starting with season 4, “Here's Lucy” switches production studios from Paramount to Universal.  

Starting with this episode, “Here's Lucy” aired one hour later (still on Monday nights) and was no longer in competition with “Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.” The show's new lead-in was “My Three Sons” starring Fred MacMurray, entering its 12th season on CBS.

This episode also introduces a re-orchestrated and slightly faster theme song. With the departure of her brother from the cast, Lucie Arnaz now has a title screen to herself in the opening credits.  

This episode was first aired on Mel Torme's 51st birthday.  Torme played the role of Mel Tinker on several episodes of “The Lucy Show.” 

Bob Carroll, Jr. and Madelyn Davis return to the series’ rotation of writers and the show is given a tremendous boost. Not only is logic reintroduced into the storylines, but the relationships between Lucy and her co-stars become more natural; Harry and Lucy begin to show each other more affection; and Kim is allowed to mature out of the typical teen stereotype. Unfortunately, the pair only contributes a little over one-third of the Season Four scripts.

Although it is never explicitly stated, Flip Wilson and his office are preparing for his weekly television variety show.  

Between the The Three Musketeers and Gone With the Wind, Flip Wilson spends the entire episode in costumes.  The Three Musketeers is a historical novel by Alexandre Dumas. Set in 1625–28, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard. Although d'Artagnan is not able to join this elite corps immediately, he befriends the three most formidable musketeers of the age—Athos, Porthos and Aramis—and gets involved in affairs of the state and court. The novel was filmed and staged dozens of times, with the most famous being a 1943 film starring Gene Kelly.  A 1935 version featured Lucille Ball in a small, uncredited role.  

For the small screen version Flip is rehearsing Rock Hudson is Anthos, Andy Williams is Porthos, Flip says he is the ‘token’ musketeer. Actually, he would be Aramis.  Hudson had appeared on a 1955 episode of “I Love Lucy.”  To make Lucy prove she is not Andy Williams, she sings the first three notes of “Moon River,” a song that became Williams' theme tune.  

On the telephone, Jane talks to someone named Mr. Rayfiel about taking some paperwork to mimeo.  Howard Rayfiel was a Production Executive for “Here's Lucy” from 1970 to 1972.  

When Lucy returns to Wilson's office in disguise as a Musketeer, Wilson thinks Lucy wants another autograph for trading purposes: two Flip Wilsons for one Bill Cosby.  Bill Cosby was another African American comedian who had great success in the late 1960's and 1970's.  

There is a record album standing up on the desk titled “The Devil Made Me Wear this Dress” by Geraldine Jones. This Flip Wilson comedy album was sold in 1970 and won a Grammy Award in the comedy category.   

Gone with the Wind was a historical novel written by Margaret Mitchell in 1936 but set in the deep south during the Civil War. The book was translated into one of the most famous films of all time in 1939 starring Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara. 

Prissy was played by Butterfly McQueen and Melanie was played by Olivia de Havilland. 

Like most of the top actors in Hollywood, Lucille Ball had an audition for the role of Scarlett O'Hara. Although Lucille Ball did not get cast, actors who did get roles in the film and later worked with Lucille Ball included: George Reeves (Superman, ILL), Olin Howland (Mr. Skinner, ILL), Irving Bacon (Mr. Potter, ILL), Shep Houghton (HL), Alberto Morin (ILL), and Hans Moebus (ILL & TLS).

Harry has joined Encino Players, a little theatre troupe that has cast him as Rhett Butler in a capsule stage version of Gone With The Wind. As the curtain goes up, the soundtrack plays the sweeping and iconic “Tara's Theme” from the film, which was written by Max Steiner.

Under her cape Prissy has on an Abraham Lincoln t-shirt.  When Scarlet asks if that's a photograph of President Lincoln, Prissy replies “Well, it ain't Ray Charles!”  Ray Charles was a singer-songwriter who had great success during the 1960s. While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.

In return for appearing on “Here's Lucy,” Lucille Ball appeared on “Flip” (aka “The Flip Wilson Show”) in an episode that aired just three days after this "Here’s Lucy.”   

Lucille Ball's protege Carol Burnett, who appeared frequently on “The Lucy Show” and “Here's Lucy,” did a famous parody of Gone With The Wind in November 1976.  In the sketch titled “It Went with the Wind,” Carol played Starlet, Harvey Korman played Ratt Butler, Vicky Lawrence played Sissy, and Tim Conway played Brashley.  Not coincidentally, earlier in the month the film was shown for the first time on television.  

The dress worn by Lucille Ball in the Gone with the Wind sketch was previously worn by her in episode “Lucy and Arthur Godfrey (TLS S3;E23). It also appeared briefly during previous year in "Lucy and  Carol Burnett" (S3;E22).

In “Lucy Writes a Novel” (ILL S3;E24) Lucy Ricardo says “My novel may turn out to be another ‘Gone with the Wind’!“  She compares Ricky to Rhett Butler and herself to Scarlett O'Hara. 

Lucille Ball not only got to play the role that went to Vivian Leigh, but she also played Clark Gable (wearing a mask) during “Lucy Meets Harpo Marx” (ILL S4;E28) to convince near-sighted Carolyn Appleby that she hobnobbed with celebrities.

Kim Carter had a poster of Clark Gable on her bedroom wall in “Lucy and the Andrews Sisters” (S2;E6).  

“Lucy and Flip Go Legit” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

[papermoonloveslucy]

Lucy and Viv Take Up Chemistry

S1;E26 ~ April 1, 1963

Synopsis

Viv regrets letting Lucy talk her into joining her for a night school chemistry class. Lucy gets carried away trying to invent a youth serum and develops a huge ego between explosions. To teach her a lesson, Viv and the professor make her drink her own concoction, which acts as a sedative. When she awakens, she's horrified by the results of her youth formula.

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley)

Candy Moore (Chris Carmichael) does not appear in this episode, although the character is mentioned

Guest Cast

Lou Krugman (Dr. Adrian Vance) was born in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1914. He made a memorable debut at Desilu as the patient film director in “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (ILL S4;18).  After that episode was filmed, Lucy sent him a telegram telling him how impressed she was with his acting. She rewarded him with appearances in “The Great Train Robbery,” (ILL S5;E5) and the role of the Club Babalu's Manager in “Lucy and Bob Hope” (ILL S6;E1) and “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” (ILL S6;E3). He will make two more appearances on ”The Lucy Show.“

The character's surname is undoubtedly a tribute to Vivian Vance.

Hazel Pierce (Chemistry Student, below right, uncredited) was Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in throughout “I Love Lucy.” She also made frequent appearances on the show, although only once did she speak, when she won the television auctioned off by Ladies Overseas Aid in “Ricky’s European Booking” (ILL S5;E10) and she shouted “I won!” This is the fifth of her 21 uncredited on-camera appearances on “The Lucy Show.” In the opening of season two, “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (S2;E1), she received screen credit as Mary Lou. She was also an uncredited extra in the film Forever Darling (1956).

In the wide shots, viewers can see that Lucy and Pierce are both wearing the same shoes.  As Lucy’s stand-in, the two probably shared wardrobe.    

Maurice Kelly (Student that asks about life on other planets, above left) makes first and only appearance on the series, although he went on to be seen in three episodes of “Here’s Lucy,” one of which served as his final screen credit. 

Karen Norris (Della Fox, student with a head cold) makes the first of her six background appearances on “The Lucy Show.”  She also did one episode of “Here's Lucy” in 1968.  

Della Fox is the real-life name of “The Lucy Show” costumer.

Ronald Keith (Georgie, younger student) was a child actor best known for his role as Leroy Forrester in “The Great Gildersleeve” (1955-56). He also played Freddie on “Fury” (1957-58). This episode of “The Lucy Show” is his last screen credit before leaving show-business.

Shep Houghton (Chemistry Student, uncredited) began working as an extra while still a teenager, taking background jobs on weekends and attending high school during the week. Between 1934 and 1947 he made three films with Lucille Ball, including Too Many Girls, the movie that brought together Lucy and Desi Arnaz. He did two episodes of “The Lucy Show” and one episode of “Here’s Lucy.” Houghton was one of the Winkie Guards in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz and a Southern Dandy in Gone With the Wind (1939).  

Alberto Morin (Chemistrty Student, uncredited) was born in Puerto Rico, and appeared in some of Hollywood’s most cherished films: Gone with the Wind (1939), Casablanca (1943), and Key Largo (1948). He was Carlos, one of Ricky’s “Cuban Pals” (ILL S1;E28) and the Robert DuBois in “The French Revue” (ILL S3;E7). His many background appearances on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy” were all uncredited.

The episode was filmed on February 21, 1963. Gary Morton’s loud guffaw is especially audible on the soundtrack of this episode. 

The afternoon this episode premiered, April Fool’s Day 1963, ABC TV presented the first broadcast of “General Hospital” and NBC premiered “The Doctors.”  

In a rut, Lucy tells Viv that their only intellectual conversation is about whether Marshall Dillon will ever marry Kitty. These are characters from the long-running CBS western “Gunsmoke” (1955-75): Matt Dillon (James Arness) and barmaid Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake). Despite audiences wanting the pair to enter into a relationship, it never came to be. Lou Krugman (Professor Vance) played a barkeep on “Gunsmoke” (above) just one month after this episode of “The Lucy Show” first aired.

Lucy compares herself to Madame Curie. Marie Curie was a Polish-born French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize - twice!

Anticipating that her formula for eternal youth has worked, Lucy says “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?” This is the question that the evil queen puts to her magic mirror in the fairy tale “Snow White.”  Coincidentally, Moroni Olsen, who played the Judge in “The Courtroom” (ILL S2;E7) was the voice of the slave in the magic mirror.  Pinto Colvig, who voiced all the dogs in Lucy Carmichael’s neighborhood in “Lucy is Her Own Lawyer” (S2;E23) did the voices of Grumpy and Sleepy. 

Lucy mentions Chris's drum majorette rehearsal. Chris being a drum majorette was was established in “Lucy is a Soda Jerk” (S1;E23).  

Some of the other offerings at the Danfield Adult School offers are 'Conversational French' and 'United States Foreign Policy in the Middle East.'  

After being stumped by Jerry and Sherman's question about the weight of rocket fuel, Lucy wonders if they offer 'Cape Canaveral at a Glance.' Cape Canaveral and the space program were mentioned in “Lucy Becomes an Astronaut” (S1;E6).  

LUCY: “Shouldn’t we test it on a monkey first?” VIV: “If there’s one thing the world doesn’t need, it’s younger monkeys.”

At the end of this episode’s original airing, Vivian Vance and Ed Krugman do an in-character commercial for new pink liquid Swan dish washing detergent. Swan was a brand of soap introduced by the Lever Brothers Company in 1941 to compete with Ivory. Ivory won - Swan is no longer on the market.

Callbacks!

This is the third “Lucy Show” that Lucy has had a comedic encounter with a shower. The first time was in “Lucy is a Referee” (S1;E3) and the second in “Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower” (S1;E18).  

Lucille Ball is no stranger to wigs and putty noses. She famously wore a false nose when she met William Holden in “Hollywood at Last!” (ILL S4;E16).  

In “The Black Wig” (ILL S3;E26) Lucy Ricardo used a dark wig to be more glamorous, the opposite of the effect here. Mrs. Carmichael says she hasn’t had dark hair since she was 16.

Fast Forward! 

Four years later, Lucy Carmichael goes back to school full time in “Lucy Gets Her Diploma” (S6;E5). 

Lucy Carmichael is fascinated by glass tubes, bubbling beakers, and Bunsen burners in “Lucy the Robot” (S4;E23).  

Lucy and Mary Jane take a night class in auto repair in “The Not-So-Popular Mechanics” (HL S5;E22). 

Blooper Alerts!

Quiz Masters! Sherman and Jerry argue about whether rocket fuel is measured by gallons or tons, with Jerry saying that since that fuel is a liquid it's measured in gallons. However, in this case it would be measured in tons, as the the weight of the fuel is a critical factor, not the volume of the tank.

Oops! When Lucy is about to do her experiment she asks Vivian to give her some glass tubing. Vivian flubs her line by saying there is no "gas" tubing.

Oops Again! When changing seats to assure Viv is her lab partner, Lucy drops her pencil. The student sitting next to her (Maurice Kelly) picks it up for her.

“Lucy and Viv Take Up Chemistry” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5