#give a girl a break 1953

[shebben]

I love them

This is a lyric from the song In Our United States from the movie Give A Girl A Break 1953. The song is about how happy they’ll be together and has nothing to do with the United States except being a pun lol.

This was drawn in whiteboard fox. I really like how limited it is.

[dimepicture]

[lairreparablefugadeltiempo]

Give a Girl a Break (Stanley Donen, 1953)

[vampirecorleone]

More YELLOW Fashion in TV & Film: Princess of the Nile (1954) | What a Way to Go (1964) | Peau D'ane (1970) | Aladdin (2019) | Lost Horizon (1973) | Dracula (2013) | The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) | A Date with Judy (1948) | Coming to America (1988) | Dangerous Liaisons (1988) | The Cutting Edge (1992) | My Gal Sal (1942) | Beauty and the Beast (2017) | Shea Coulee - Creme Brulee (2018) | The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) | True Blood (2008) | Mirror Mirror (2012) | Sailor Moon (1992) | The Young Victoria (2009) | The Girls of Rochefort (1967) | An American in Paris (1951) | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) | Till the Clouds Roll By (1946) | I Love Melvin (1953) | Give a Girl a Break (1953) | Titanic (1997) | 27 Dresses (2008) | Marie Antoinette (2006) | Down to Earth (1947) | The Pirate (1948)

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

a list of some summer movies/series 🌞

hi hi hi!! it's just me, your friendly neighbourhood little organisation freak of a goblin here to give you yet again a list of some seasonal movies and series. this time, say it with me folks, summer! as always, just close your eyes and point somewhere on this little list, or even put the numbers in a generator and go with whatever the result is ♡

autumn | winter | spring

🐚 ‧₊˚ ⋅ movies ⋅˚₊‧

roman holiday (1953)

jaws (1975)

friday the 13th (1980)

Indiana jones (1981-)

dirty dancing (1987)

the princess bride (1987)

paris is burning (1990)

point break (1991)

jurassic park (1993-)

before sunrise (1995)

a goofy movie (1995)

clueless (1995)

birdcage (1996)

boogie nights (1997)

i know what you did last summer (1997)

my best friend's wedding (1997)

parent trap (1998)

bilboard dad (1998)

tarzan (1999)

the talented mr. ripley (1999)

10 things I hate about you (1999)

the mummy (1999)

cast away (2000)

almost famous (2000)

our lips are sealed (2000)

charlie’s angels (2000 + 2003)

holiday in the sun (2001)

the wedding planner (2001)

the fast and furious franchise (2001-)

princess diaries (2001-2004)

lilo and stitch (2002)

blue crush (2002)

crossroads (2002)

how to lose a guy in 10 days (2003)

under the tuscan sun (2003)

the lizzie mcguire movie (2003)

pirates of the caribbean franchise (2003-2017)

sisterhood of the traveling pants (2005-2008)

monster in law (2005)

aquamarine (2006)

she’s the man (2006)

the cheetah girls 2 (2006)

high school musical 2 (2007)

camp rock (2008)

vicky cristina barcelona (2008)

fool's gold (2008)

mamma mia (2008 + 2018)

adventureland (2009)

bride wars (2009)

hannah montana the movie (2009)

the last song (2010)

letters to juliet (2010)

eat pray love (2010)

one day (2011+2024)

a little bit of heaven (2011)

soul surfer (2011)

the impossible (2012)

magic mike (2012+2025+2023)

the big wedding (2013)

lovelace (2013)

endless love (2014)

chef (2014)

the longest ride (2015)

mad max: fury road (2015)

the shallows (2016)

it (2017)

girls trip (2017)

baywatch (2017)

jumanji: welcome to the jungle (2017)

gifted (2017)

call me by your name (2017)

crazy rich asians (2018)

adrift (2018)

ibiza (2018)

every day (2018)

bad times at the el royale (2018)

tomb raider (2018)

the red sea diving resort (2019)

midsommar (2019)

we summon the darkness (2019)

spider-man: far from home (2019)

the devil all the time (2020)

palm springs (2020)

the last letter from your lover (2021)

raya and the last dragon (2021)

luca (2021)

uncharted (2022)

glass onion (2022)

do revenge (2022)

the lost city (2022)

the gray man (2022)

death on the nile (2022)

barbie (2023)

bottoms (2023)

anyone but you (2023)

la passion de dodin bouffant (2023)

road house (2024)

the challengers (2024)

players (2024)

twisters (2024)

🍦 ‧₊˚ ⋅ series ⋅˚₊‧

the o.c. (2003-2007)

america's next top model (2003-2018)

project runway (2004-)

h2o: just add water (2006-2010)

gossip girl (2007-2012)

private practice (2007-2013)

rupaul’s drag race (2009-)

the walking dead (2010-2022)

new girl (2011-2018)

the fosters (2013-2018)

black-ish (2014-2022)

jane the virgin (2014-2019)

grace and frankie (2015-2022)

critical role (2015-)

stranger things (2016-)

the durrells (2016-2019)

big little lies (2017-2019)

she's gotta have it (2017-2019)

the bold type (2017-2021)

queer eye (2018-)

station 19 (2018-2024)

euphoria (2019-)

roswell, new mexico (2019-2022)

valeria (2020-2023)

911: lone star (2020-)

outer banks (2020-)

bridgerton (2020-)

sex/life (2021-2023)

the white lotus (2021-2025)

daisy jones and the six (2023)

[film-classics]

Rosalind Russell - The Miracle Woman

Catherine Rosalind Russell (born in Waterbury, Connecticut on June 4, 1907) was an American actress known for playing sassy, wisecracking women in 1930s and '40s comedies. Despite going through postpartum depression, the deaths of her siblings, breast cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis, she thrived as a charismatic actress on film and the stage, earning the nickname "The Miracle Woman.”

Raised in a strict Irish-American, Catholic family. She attended  Rosemont College and Marymount College, before graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, unbeknownst to her parents who believed she was studying to be a speech teacher.

Against parental objections, she began her career as a fashion model and took acting jobs in upstate New York, Connecticut, and Boston before eventually appearing in Broadway.

In 1933, Russell went to Los Angeles, where she was hired as a contract player for Universal Studios but did not appear in a movie. Unhappy at Universal, she moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she broke through in the classic screwball comedy His Girl Friday (1940), directed by Howard Hawks.

She took a break after giving birth from her career, but made a comeback with RKO Pictures and then with Columbia Pictures. She continued to appear in critically acclaimed movies and Broadway shows through the mid-1960s, including the title role of the long-running stage comedy Auntie Mame (based on a Patrick Dennis novel) as well as the 1958 film version.

After years of battling breast cancer and even getting a double mastectomy, she died at her home in Beverly Hills, California at 69 years of age. Months after her death, she was honored by her acting colleagues with the “Interlude With Rosalind Russell” at the Shubert Theater in Broadway.

Legacy:

Nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in My Sister Eileen (1942), Sister Kenny (1946), Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), and Auntie Mame (1958)

Won all five of her Golden Globe Award for Best Actress nominations: Sister Kenny (1946), Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), Auntie Mame (1958), A Majority of One (1961), and Gypsy (1962)

Won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Wonderful Town and was nominated for the 1957 for Best Actress in a Play for Auntie Mame

Nominated for the 1959 BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress

Won the Golden Apple Award in 1942 for Most Cooperative Actress

Awarded the Look Magazine Award for Film Achievement Award in 1947

Covered Time magazine in 1953

Was the namesake of the Rosalind Russell State Theater in her hometown in 1955

Wrote the story for the film The Unguarded Moment (1956) and adapted the novel, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, into the screenplay for Mrs. Pollifax-Spy in 1971, under the pen name C.A. McKnight

Won the Golden Laurel for Top Female Comedy Performance for Auntie Mame (1958) and was nominated five more times

Presented with a medallion by the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1962

Honored for her distinguished service by the UCLA in 1964

Named the Woman of the Year by Hasty Pudding Theatricals, a student society at Harvard University, in 1964

Is the recipient of the Floyd B. Odlum Award by the Arthritis Foundation in 1971

Appointed by Congress to serve on the National Commission on Arthritis and Related Musculoskeletal Diseases during the 1970s

Received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1972

Appeared in John Springer's "Legendary Ladies" series at The Town Hall in 1973

Awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1973 by the Academy for her extensive charity work

Presented her with the National Artist Award in 1974 by the American National Theater and Academy

Awarded the Life Achievement Award in 1975 by the Screen Actors Guild Awards

Hosted by First Lady Betty Ford at the White House in 1976

Honored with the Rosalind Russell Week in 1977 by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley

Co-authored her autobiography, Life Is a Banquet, in 1977

Is the namesake of the Rosalind Russell Medical Research Center for Arthritis  at the University of California, San Francisco, created by a Congress grant in 1979

Inducted into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2005

Ranked #28 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time in 2006 for His Girl Friday (1940)

Honored as Turner Classic Movies Star of the Month for July 2008

Inducted in the Online Film and Television Association Film Hall of Fame in 2014

Was the subject of a 2016 exhibit at the Mattatuck Museum in her hometown

Honored by the Berlin Film Festival‘s 27-movie tribute in 2022

Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the 1700 block of Vine Street for motion picture

[nelson-riddle-me-this]

hmm so in 2022 my 50s Debbie Reynolds musical was Athena (1954) in 2023 it was I Love Melvin (1953) maybe in 2024 I should make it Give A Girl A Break (1953)...

[citizenscreen]

Gower and Marge Champion in Stanley Donen’s GIVE A GIRL A BREAK (1953)

[gatutor]

Gower Champion-Debbie Reynolds "Tres chicas con suerte" (Give a girl a break) 1953, de Stanley Donen.

[mattykelevra]

Ernest Borgnine: "I went to work the first day and as luck would have it, my first scene was with Frank Sinatra and I'm dying inside, because here was the man who sang 'Nancy' (I named my daughter because of that song). My idol, my everything. I loved him in everything he ever did. And I said, 'How can I, a mere nothing, come on here?'... but I knew I had to play this part as the meanest s.o.b. that ever existed, otherwise the part won't play. So I was out there pounding the piano and everything else, and we started this scene. I'm looking around and I see Frank Sinatra dancing with this girl. And I see Montgomery Clift over with somebody else. And over standing on the side were Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster talking to Fred Zinnemans. I was just engulfed with stars. And I'm just shaking, you know. And Fred suddenly looked up and said, 'Okay, begin the scene!' So we started. I'm playing the piano and it came to the point where Frank says, 'Come on, why don't you stop this banging on the piano, will ya? Give us a chance with our music.' And I stood up to say my first line. I said, 'Listen, you little wop.' He looked up at me, and as he looked up at me, he broke out into a smile and he said, 'My God, he's ten feet tall!' Do you know, the whole thing just collapsed. His laughter broke the tension. It was so marvelous. I've never forgotten Frank for that. He was the most wonderful guy to work with that you ever saw in your life. He knew how I must have felt, you know. And because of it, he took the time to break that tension. That's something that I have done with everybody that I've ever worked with since. I break the ice for the other people. And I think it's nice, because it reverberated all down the line."

Photo: Ernest Borgnine and Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity, 1953.

[alphaman99]

Turner Classic Movies Fan Site  ·

Ernest Borgnine: "I went to work the first day and as luck would have it, my first scene was with Frank Sinatra and I'm dying inside, because here was the man who sang 'Nancy' (I named my daughter because of that song). My idol, my everything. I loved him in everything he ever did. And I said, 'How can I, a mere nothing, come on here?'... but I knew I had to play this part as the meanest s.o.b. that ever existed, otherwise the part won't play. So I was out there pounding the piano and everything else, and we started this scene. I'm looking around and I see Frank Sinatra dancing with this girl. And I see Montgomery Clift over with somebody else. And over standing on the side were Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster talking to Fred Zinnemans. I was just engulfed with stars. And I'm just shaking, you know. And Fred suddenly looked up and said, 'Okay, begin the scene!' So we started. I'm playing the piano and it came to the point where Frank says, 'Come on, why don't you stop this banging on the piano, will ya? Give us a chance with our music.' And I stood up to say my first line. I said, 'Listen, you little wop.' He looked up at me, and as he looked up at me, he broke out into a smile and he said, 'My God, he's ten feet tall!' Do you know, the whole thing just collapsed. His laughter broke the tension. It was so marvelous. I've never forgotten Frank for that. He was the most wonderful guy to work with that you ever saw in your life. He knew how I must have felt, you know. And because of it, he took the time to break that tension. That's something that I have done with everybody that I've ever worked with since. I break the ice for the other people. And I think it's nice, because it reverberated all down the line."

Photo: Ernest Borgnine and Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity, 1953.

[papermoonloveslucy]

623 ~ Part 1

623 East 68th Street: The Most Iconic Address on Television

THE PEOPLE of 623

~ THE LANDLORDS ~

#1) Fred & Ethel Mertz, 3C

In 1948, former vaudevillians Fred and Ethel Mertz (played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance), bought a four-floor New York City brownstone at 623 East 68th Street. They operate it as an apartment building. The building is in Ethel’s name only! The childless couple resides in apartment 3C.

Coincidentally, the year after Fred and Ethel bought the building, in real life an unrelated new TV show was airing titled “Apartment 3C”. It dealt with a married couple living in a Manhattan apartment building. Just like Lucy and Desi, the actors were married in real life. Writing about the show in 2022, their daughter said:

“Apartment 3C” was no “I Love Lucy” ~ J.G. Summers  

In “Lucy Wants New Furniture” (1953), there is a door in that wall that leads to the Mertz kitchen and back door, although every other time we see the Mertz living room, the kitchen door is on the right, not the left, and there is a window where the door was!  This was to accommodate the gag of Lucy running from her kitchen to the Mertz’s.

At the end of the episode, the redecoration is such a disaster that the Ricardos end up giving the Mertzes their furniture and buying all new for themselves.

The only time we see the Mertz kitchen is in “Never Do Business with Friends” (1953). 

The only time we see the Mertz bedroom is in “Vacation for Marriage” (1952). Naturally they have single beds! [There’s a reason why they are childless!]

When the Mertzes move to Westport to live in the Ricardo’s guest cottage, the Mertzes retain ownership of the building, although they put the day-to-day running of the building (except for the collection of rents, that is Fred’s domain) in the hands of Mrs. Trumbull’s sister, a character we never see or even learn her name.

~ THE TENANTS ~

#2) Lucy & Ricky Ricardo, 4A

Lucy McGillicuddy and Ricky Ricardo (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) moved to 623 shortly after they were married. He was a bandleader and she was a housewife with showbusiness aspirations. 

On August 6, 1948 (Lucille Ball’s real-life birthday), they moved to an apartment building recently purchased by the Mertzes. Their first apartment was 4A. The rent was $105 a month.  

Viewers typically remember 4A as ‘the apartment without the window’.  The Ricardos are given a 99-year lease and become fast friends with their landlords.

Ethel luxuriates in Lucy’s brand-new living room furniture won at the Home Show.

In “New Neighbors” (1952) there is a window in the living room where Lucy and Ethel watch the moving vans unload. This window is technically in the set’s “fourth wall” and is never seen again.

The kitchen had a breakfast bar that serves as a chalk board for one of the unruly Hudson twins in “The Amateur Hour” (1952). Sometimes this breakfast bar was skirted and the folk rooster pattern could not be seen.

In “The Fur Coat” (1951) the view of the city outside the kitchen window suddenly disappeared!

The bedroom during rehearsals for the first episode filmed “Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her” (1951) - as yet undecorated!  The first scene of the first episode filmed takes place in the Ricardo bedroom. The bathroom was located directly behind the bed, and was accessible through Lucy and Ricky’s closets, on each side of their bed. During this period, the couple’s single beds were generally pushed together. After they had a child, it was thought unseemly so the beds were separated.

We see the bathroom of 4A only once - in “The Audition” (1951).  The un-aired pilot also had a scene set in the bathroom, so this episode followed suit. Part of the scene in the bathroom was deleted for syndication because Lucy holds up a pack of Philip Morris cigarettes when talking about how a girl can even smoke a sponsor’s product. The DVD restores the scene.  Although the bathroom was referenced in “Breaking the Lease” (1952) it was not seen.

#2) Lucy, Ricky & Little Ricky Ricardo, 3B / 3D

With the birth of Little Ricky, Lucy convinced Ricky they needed to move to a larger (and more expensive) apartment. In “The Ricardos Change Apartments” (1953), Lucy convinces Mrs. Benson, who just married off her daughter to a nincompoop, to switch apartments with them. 

The Benson (soon to be Ricardo) apartment is 3B. It has a picture window and space for a nursery!  

The change was because in “Lucy Tells the Truth” (1953) Lucy feels the need to embroider her show-business resume. She tells the casting director that she appeared in 3D. When he asks is that is short for “third dimension” (a film trend that was popular at the time), Lucy reluctantly admits that it is merely her apartment number.  For the sake of this gag, the Ricardo apartment was re-numbered 3D. It stayed 3D for the rest of the series. Above, Ethel poses in the doorway of 3D in “The Charm School” (1954). 

The apartment has been faithfully recreated at The Lucy-Desi Museum in Jamestown NY.  

They even decorate it for the holidays, just as it was seen in the “I Love Lucy” Christmas Special (1956).

The bedroom as seen in “Lucy is Envious” (1954). After the birth of Little Ricky, it was deemed inappropriate for the Ricardos to sleep in the same bed, lest viewers make they unseemly connection of how the child was created!

Ricky likes to sing in the shower. We see the Ricardo’s 3D bathroom twice - in “Bonus Bucks” (1954) and “Little Ricky Plays the Drums” (1956). Interestingly, the entire layout of the bathroom changed in those two years. Naturally, the only thing we don’t see is the toilet!

In “Lucy Hates to Leave” (1956), Lucy says goodbye to 623 before moving to Connecticut. Curiously, of the memories she shares about the apartment, a couple are of apartment 4A.  

#3) Mrs. Matilda Trumbull

Mrs. Trumbull (played by Elizabeth Patterson) lives with her cat on the 5th floor, although her exact apartment number is never stated. The character appeared in 10 episodes from seasons 2 through 6. Presumably a widow, we meet her nephew Joe (a washing machine repairman) and hear about her sister.

At first, she is adversarial with the Ricardos, but soon warms up to them, becoming their de-facto babysitter. Her favorite expression is “Oh, nuts!” Her favorite perfume is My Sin.

While the Mertzes were in Hollywood and Europe, Mrs. Trumbull managed the building for them. Much to Fred’s chagrin, she kept the building “nice and warm.” A Rudolph Valentino fan, she has some hidden show business aspirations.

#4) Mrs. Benson, 3B / 4A

Mrs. Benson (played by Norma Varden) lives with unseen Mr. Benson (”Meh!”) and has just married off her daughter to a nincompoop. Because of this, Lucy reasons that she has no need for such a large apartment and convinces her to change switch with her. 

When “The Ricardos Change Apartments” (1953) we get our first glimpse of the living space that the Ricardos will inhabit until they move to Connecticut. Noticeably different than how it looks after the ‘swish’ (as Ricky calls it), the Bensons keep the drapes drawn and have a lot of furniture crowded onto an area rug.

Although Mrs. Benson only appears in one episode, she is mentioned in “Lucy Gets Her Eyes Examined” (1953). Lucy sends Ricky to the drug store for some ice cream, but he returns quicker than Lucy expected after borrowing some from Mrs. Benson. He catches Lucy and the Mertzes ‘auditioning’ for their guest, producer Bill Parker and is not happy about it! 

In “The Business Manager” Lucy takes on the marketing for the entire building to pay her bills. She rattles off a list of her ‘clients’: “Benson, Williams, Trumbull.”  Interestingly, no tenant named Williams ever appeared on the series. If the writers had longer memories, they might have mentioned Miss Lewis, who lived at 623 (see #8 below).  

#5) The Johnsons, 4B

In “Oil Wells” (1954), Sam and Nancy Johnson (played by Sam Cheshire and Sandra Gould) move to 623 from Texas and they are in oil. (LUCY: “Hair, suntan, cod liver, or castor?”). Ricky is suspicious, thinking they may be frauds. 

RICKY: “If he’s a millionaire, what’s he doing living in a dump like this?” FRED & ETHEL: “Dump!?!”  RICKY: “Yeah, to a millionaire, this is a dump!”  FRED: “I accept that.”

#6) The O’Briens, 4B

Tom O’Brien (Hayden Rorke) and his wife (K.T. Stevens) are actors who move into 4B, the same apartment that will be rented by the Johnsons two years later. In “New Neighbors” (1952), they are renting the apartment while making a spy television show.  

Nosy Lucy and Ethel enter their apartment while they are away to ogle their belongings. Lucy gets trapped in their closet when they come back unexpectedly. They promptly move out! 

#7) The Taylors, 3D

When Lucy and Ricky are about to move to Connecticut, “Lucy Hates to Leave” (1957), but Fred wastes no time in showing their apartment. The new tenants are a young couple named the Taylors (played by Gene Reynolds and Mary Ellen Kay). Selling their furniture to the new tenants, Lucy is horrified to learn that Mrs. Taylor wants to use her own lampshade, paint the coffee table black, and saw the legs off the sofa. Lucy ends up buying most of her furniture back, rather than see it ruined.

If Desilu made a spin-off...

#8) Miss Lewis, 1A

In “Lucy Plays Cupid” (1952) an elderly spinster (played by Bea Benadaret) is enamored of the local butcher, Mr. Ritter. Lucy plays matchmaker, only to discover that the amorous butcher is sweet on her instead!  Miss Lewis enjoys elderberry wine, lace doilies, and gumdrops.

Although this was the only appearance of Miss Lewis, she was mentioned twice in “The Courtroom” (1952). A process server pretends to be looking for “the Lewis apartment” and it is also mentioned that Miss Lewis has baked the Mertzes an anniversary cake.

Bill & Grace Foster

Uniquely, husband and wife Bill and Grace Foster are tenants of 623, although both are seen in different episodes!  Bill Foster (played by Richard Reeves) is seen in “The Gossip” (1952) and “The Publicity Agent” (1952).  

Grace Foster (played by Gloria Blondell) is seen in “The Anniversary Present” (1952). Grace works for a Josef Jewelry and Ricky wants to by wholesale pearls for Lucy. Lucy thinks Ricky is cheating with Grace and disguises herself as a painter to spy on them. Trouble is - brownstones like 623 were rarely painted - let alone white!  

Mr. Stewart

When “Little Ricky Gets a Dog” (1957), the barking upsets grouchy new tenant Mr. Stewart (played by John Emery). Forced to choose between his namesake pooch and surly Stewart, Fred the landlord returns Stewart’s deposit - $200 - then promptly faints!

Herbert & Martha

In “Lucy and Superman” (1957) Fred is anxious to rent apartment 3B next door to the Ricardos. They show it to a nice couple named Herbert and Martha (Madge Blake and Ralph Dumke). Martha is prone to dizzy spells. When she sees something on the ledge, Herbert decides they should look at some basement apartments instead!  

HERBERT: “Was it a bird?”  MARTHA: “No.”  HERBERT: “Was it a plane?” MARTHA: “No.”  HERBERT: “Well, what was it, dear?”  MARTHA: “It was Superman!”  

3B has the same view out the window as the Mertz kitchen (3C) in “Never Do Business with Friends” (1953).

~ VISITORS, GUESTS & SUBLETS ~

“Tennessee Ernie Visits” (1954) features country music singer and comedian Ernie Ford as a friend (of a friend) of Lucy’s mother’s best friend, who stays.... and stays. After hearing that ‘Cousin’ Ernie is headed to NYC, Ricky moans that they have already had three visitors this month but doesn’t say who they were.  

Their extended houseguest eats them out of house and home in “Tennessee Ernie Hangs On” (1954).   

When Ricky gets a summer booking in Maine in “The Sublease” (1954), he decides to sublet their apartment. When the job falls through, they must figure out a way to get rid of their nervous new tenant, Mr. Beecher (Jay Novello), a witness at a recent murder trial.  The rent on the Ricardo apartment is just $125, but real estate agent Mrs. Hammond knows she can get $300.

When burglar Madame X strikes in “Too Many Crooks” (1953), a policeman is accompanied by other tenants of 623, all in their nightgowns and pajamas, including Mrs. Trumbull (Elizabeth Patterson). Lucy and Desi’s camera and lighting stand-ins Hazel Pierce (second from left) and Bennett Green (behind Lucy and Fred) are also there, along with Vivian Vance’s camera and lighting stand-in Renita Reachi (3rd from left).

~ NEIGHBORS ~

In “Breaking the Lease” (1952) Ricky’s impromptu jam session attracts neighbors like Hazel Pierce and Bennett Green, who were Lucy and Desi’s camera and lighting stand-ins.

Also (getting the last ticket) is Ball’s Goldwyn Girl pal Barbara Pepper, as well as Ball’s future “Lucy Show” stand-in Joan Carey.

Lucy and Ricky’s “Homecoming” (1955) from Hollywood brings out many of the neighbors for a block party. Those waiting at the stoop of 623 include Lucille Ball’s friend and frequent extra Barbara Pepper, Desi’s camera and lighting stand-in Bennett Green, Lucille Ball’s future stand-in Joan Carey, as well as Roy Schallert, Dick Cherney, and mother of the twins playing Little Ricky, Eva Jean Mayer.

A select group of friends and neighbors are invited inside, including Hazel Pierce (left), and Madge (played by Charlotte Lawrence).

When “Lucy Cries Wolf” (1954), across the street neighbor Mrs. Devries (played by Beppie Devries), telephones Ricky to report that his missing wife is on the ledge!

If Desilu did a spin-off...

In “Redecorating” (1952), the Party Line Gossips are played by Florence Halop and Margie Liszt, whose character is referred to as Agnes. Party lines depended upon the users living in the same telephone exchange.

Some unseen tenants and neighbors:

Mr. Benson in “The Ricardos Change Apartments” (1953).

Mrs. Trumbull’s Sister, who takes over the running of 623 when Fred and Ethel move to Connecticut.

In “The Anniversary Present” (1952), Lucy and Ethel go to the basement to listen at the furnace pipe (”the snooper’s friend”) and hear the voices of the couple in 4B (“Albert!”) are not credited but sound like Barbara Pepper and Richard Reeves, two character actors that appeared in many episodes during the series.

In “The Business Manager” (1954), Lucy rattles off the names of several tenants she shops for, including “Williams”.  

[dimepicture]

[unravellingsilencehq]

“Oh, Merlin, tell me, does THE NONCONFORMIST get what she deserves?” She is NEUTRAL & OPEN to finding out.“

— she walks through the world as ;  

name → cordelia davis pronouns → she/her identification → cis-female year of birth → september 1953 - september 1954 face claim → adelaide kane blood status → pure-blood sexual orientation → up to applicant occupation → healer on the ‘dangerous' dai llewellyn ward: for serious bites at st mungo's hospital future information → aunt of ernest macmillan, aunt of tracey davis

— she is best described as ;

The scent of ELEGANT PERFUME as it lingers down a STERILE HALL. She is the MILLION DOLLAR SMILE that BREAKS HEARTS and the BRAVERY to face ADVERSARY & LEAP into the UNKNOWN. HEADSTRONG enough to face life other than how it was intended for her, a lone GILDED BOAT on UNEASY OPEN WATERS.

— her story starts with ;

tw: death, tw: blood

Every first born will say the same thing. Expectation sits squarely on your shoulders. Born the future head of the Davis family, Cordelia Davis was to all who knew her, the perfect pure-blood daughter. The Davis family were an old pure-blood wizarding family from Kerry in Ireland who came over in the 1920s to set up Moribund’s an exclusive members only club, with a strict wealthy, pure-blood and anti-blood traitor policy. Interwoven with the usual lessons taught to children like Cordelia, were things like how to manage a business and extensive background on the wizarding families in Britain, including who were paying members of Moribund’s and which of their children would be in her academic year. Groomed to one day take over Moribund’s, Cordelia never had a moment to consider if she might want to choose another life other than the one that was being set out for her. Her siblings were not subject to the same level of conditioning as Cordelia, though her younger brother AJAX DAVIS [brother] was forced to sit in on some of her lessons. 

Their family had clear idas. Cordelia would run the business and her brother to marry into The Twenty-Eight and further strengthen the Davis line. Her youngest sibling ROSALINE DAVIS [sister] was their loose cannon, too difficult for her parents to wrangle when there was no need to do so. The Davis family weren’t in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but Moribund’s made them just as good as. Sorted into Slytherin, she was fortunate enough to be in the same year group and house as LUCIUS MALFOY [former close friend], DECIUS FLINT [former partner/former close friend], EVAN ROSIER [former close friend] and ALFHILD ROWLE [former close friend] who were all paying pure-blood members of Moribund’s. Cordelia was a good fit for their group of friends, as was EMMA VANITY [former best friend] and INES MORENO [former best friend], whose families also paid their hefty club fees. Cordelia quickly rose in ranks at school, she looked exquisite in a ballgown and could take your money at poker. 

She didn’t have any friends who were even half-bloods, let alone muggle-borns and believed wholeheartedly that she was born into a position of power because as a result of good breeding. It was this way of thinking that landed her on the arm of Decius Flint. A very respectable member of the Twenty-Eight. Cordelia doted on him and loved him with all her heart and soul. It wasn’t just his title or family line that she was interested in, Decius longed to give her exactly what she wanted, a happy life filled with marriage and children who would one day inherit Moribund’s. Graduating a slug club member, a prefect, head girl and with a boyfriend most parents longed to secure for their own child, Cordelia was the envy of every debutant the year she came out. She sparkled amongst them and smirked privately as she read her name in the scandal sheets and considered how far she’d managed to advance her family reputation even in such a short while. Had the killings not began in London, Cordelia might have achieved the gilded life she’d always dreamed of. 

The day BOOKER BAGNOLD [person of interest] fell to his death in the fountain, she was only a few feet away. But that wasn’t the end of it. Although Cordelia wanted to assume the role as wife and mother in her later years, her younger years would be spent with a hands-on approach at Moribund’s, training the ideal staff and knowing the business inside and out before she let it run itself. Missing persons posters plastered the alleyway, with bodies found not too far from the club. The world had begun to make Cordelia feel nervous. Knowing this, Ines traded in her late night favourite spot at The Grave Affair to drink with Cordelia and keep her company. She loved her for it and although they had often sparred for popularity points in the past, in adulthood Ines was her very best friend. Her loss was of great pain to Cordelia. Just outside the club, Cordelia tried to stop the bleeding, holding on to Ines’ neck which now had giant claw marks running down it. Ines died in her arms that night and Cordelia’s life changed. 

Once a sociable witch, Cordelia became a prisoner inside the Flint family home. Her relationship with Decius came to an end when he told her he’d been sleeping with ANASTASIA SIMINOVA [adversary], blaming her disinterest in him and her lack of understanding for the reason. Home in her childhood bed, Cordelia considered how meaningless it all was. She’d spent her entire life working towards something that would never happen. Her relationship or her best friend couldn’t be saved and something had taken it from her. Cordelia’s decision to break with her family was not instantaneous, in fact the final straw came over dinner when Cordelia let her thoughts on blood purity be known. Though it was something she had once held in the highest regard, it was clear to her how little it mattered. It hadn’t spared Ines’ life and Decius had willingly left her for a half-blood. The world had changed and things like certain people liking you, or having pretty babies with someone who could leave you in an instant or you were expected to ignore their wandering eye, did not seem like a valuable way to spend her life. 

Her statements shocked her parents but Cordelia no longer cared. She wasn’t devoting her life to an institution she didn’t believe in and her parents had two more children anyhow. Taking her inheritance, she answered a spare room ad in The Daily Prophet and moved in with follow healers SAMUEL WAINSCOTT [close friend/housemate] and POPPY POMFREY [close friend/housemate] and Poppy’s younger sister PRIMROSE POMFREY [close friend/housemate]. Everyone from her old life wasn’t interested in associating with her anymore except for her brother and sister, although that was also away from prying eyes due to the reputation of Moribund’s. Cordelia’s life was different but she was happy. For once in her life she had a purpose she’d chosen for herself and that was to try and save victims in a silent war she already knew was being fought. Cordelia was drawn to the Dangerous' Dai Llewellyn Ward, tending after multiple bite and scratch victims all at the hands of a wolf. Times have grown darker and Cordelia is sure that the creatures are in some way playing a part. Although her friends think she’s crazy, Cordelia is sure she’s on to something and will stop at nothing to prove she’s right.

— she is a LEVEL 7 WITCH & readied for war ;

[70s80sandbeyond]

Gower and Marge Champion in Give A Girl A Break (1953)

[endlessly-cursed]

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙩

"𝘼 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩."

BASICS

Name: Charles Vincent Somerset 

Birthday: 15th of March, 1953

Zodiac sign: Pisces 

Weight: 88kg 

Height: 1.82m 

Religion: Anglican Church 

Eye colour: Blue 

Hair colour: Blonde 

Faceclaim: Jamie Campbell-Bower 

FAMILY 

Mother: Millicent Daniela Abbott 

Beautiful as she was smart, Millicent was from a minor pureblood family, and was the perfect post-war lady. She charmed everyone in Winbourne and Lawrence Somerset was soon in love with her, proposing after the war was over. They married and had three children: Charles, Tatiana Primrose and Meghan. 

Father: Lawrence Noah Somerset 

Grandson of the magnificent Primrose Gray and thus the future viscount, he was a rather typical and stoic man of the era, reserved and dutiful. He fell in love with Millicent Abbott and married her as soon as the war was over. He was happy to be in his grandmother’s shadow and assist his aging father, Vincent, until he retired in 1969, a year after Primrose’s death. That year, Charles would meet the love of his life. 

Other relatives: Primrose Gray, great-grandmother, Margaret Taylor, grandmother ( @camillejeaneshphm​ ) etc 

Charles had grown up admiring his great-grandmother, possibly the most powerful woman in the entire history of the family. She died when Charles was fifteen, and left him the right to claim the viscountcy when he was of age, a large sum of money and her blessing to marry outside the peerage and pureblood families, seeing its fall and decadence. Thanks to this, he was able to marry a woman that not everyone approved of... 

Tatiana Primrose Somerset (sister) 

A tomboy since infancy, Charles and Tatiana are closer in age and he relates to her easily. He is the first one to know that she is a lesbian and he accepts her. However, when he discovers who her girlfriend truly is, he has no option save exile her from Winbourne to avoid further scandal... 

Meghan Marie Somerset (youngest sister) 

The baby of the family, she grew up sheltered from the scandals and oingoings of Winbourne, for she was a bit innocent and clueless. She never once knew of anything that would break that sweet innocence. She married young, in 1972, to the Ollivander family. She found out too little too late of all that her siblings and parents hid from her. 

Friends: TBD

Significant Other: Ismene Halime Somerset 

Ismene was not certainly impressive as a wife of a future viscount: she spoke little of the language, she was estranged with her family, was a foreigner of a country that they weren’t friendly with and was Muslim... but the moment Charles saw Ismene in the streets as he headed out to the pub, he fell for her beauty and sweet demeanour. And when she talked, he knew he wanted her. For months, they went on dates and he declared his love for her in New Year’s Eve. Two months later, he brought her home and declared that this was the woman he’d marry and become his viscountess. 

His mother was reluctant, and interrogated her, to find out that the girl was too innocent to try catch his fortune. She approved of her and soon took her under her wing, training her to become her worthy successor, and while she was shy and reserved, she had a talent of swaying the press and modernised further Winbourne, cleaning its image completely and being a much closer mother to their daughter, Valentina, who was born in 1973. Their close relationship made the public fall in love with the successor of Viscountess Millicent. 

In 1997, Viscountess Millicent had a car accident, in which she was killed by a drunk truck driver and Charles was devastated. He soon hunted down the man, who died under suspicious circumstances... meaning he had someone give him a letal poison that seemed like a rare illness. Ismene soon found out and confronted Charles, telling him that jail was punishment enough, in which Charles replied “Murderers don’t get to live to tell the tale.” This caused a fight between them, and were apart for most of the year, until February 12th of 1998, their granddaughters were born. They decided to try make their marriage work for the girls’ sake, and helping Valentina and her husband raise them mended their relationship. 

In 2010, Lawrence Somerset passed away and Charles officially became viscount, with Ismene by his side. They were now quite old, but very much experienced and devoted themselves to train Valentina and Diana. Ismene preferred to spoil rotten her youngest, Beatrice ( @camillejeaneshphm​ ) and let her know that she was loved despite all the attention going normally to Diana. 

In 2016, Diana was caught in a scandal with a relative of the Alderly family, and Ismene once again saved and cleaned their image while Diana healed. By 2018, Charles and Ismene were old and tired, and decided to give the ropes to Diana, who had just turned 20. She remains viscountess to this day and has not married yet, and Charles understands why his daughter wouldn’t make a choice yet. By the time she is 30, she decides to finally pursue a marriage for Winbourne’s sake and leave the matter behind. 

Ismene and Charles are still alive and happily living in their house in Madeira, in which they are redecorating with their own money. 

PERSONALITY

Overall personality: Quiet, a tad rebellious, he is a hopeless romantic and someone who is usually charismatic and loves talking to people, like his mother. He is loyal to the end and has inhereted his great-grandfather’s sense of humour. 

Positive traits: Charismatic, funny, people’s person and charming 

Negative traits: Quiet, rebellious and stubborn 

Guilty pleasure: Forbidden books 

HOMETOWN

Winbourne Estate, Leeds, England (1953-Today) 

BACKSTORY

Charles grew up into the last years of the golden era of Winbourne, and has few but fond memories of his great-grandmother, Primrose Gray. When it was announced that there was no need for him to marry someone of status or wealth, he was relieved. He grew up with two sisters, Tatiana and Meghan, and in 1969, his grandfather Vincent retired as viscount, leaving room for Lawrence, and Charles then became Lord Somerset. Days later, he stumbled upon a beautiful woman who spoke little of English and had a shy and sweet demeanour. Her name? Ismene Fazilet. 

MISC

Charles is an avid horse rider and has a horse, descendant of Primrose’s horse, named Thunder, for he is a tempestuous mare that only Charles can ride 

He also was instructed in music and enjoys playing the flute and knows of several court dances, though, like his great-grandfather, he is not the best dancer... 

Charles is a reserved guy and was the first one not to have a lifestyle open to the public 

He supported Ismene into modernising Winbourne and was always her rock 

He spoiled Valentina rotten, and trained her himself 

Ismene and Charles tried to have more children, but they all resulted into miscarriage, and by 1980, they gave up 

He also donated most of Primrose’s clothes to the Victoria and Albert museum, and made a touristic attraction the chapel in which she married forbidden matches of the era 

He also opted for staying away from politics, keeping it private and neutral in the House of Lords 

He is still alive to this day, and living in Madeira with his beloved wife