The Lucy Show - Premise

Premise

In 1962, two years after Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz divorced and their final show aired (using the I Love Lucy format), Desilu Studios was struggling. Both The Ann Sothern Show and Pete and Gladys starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams had been canceled. The red-headed Williams, in fact, had been promoted as the next Lucille Ball. So that left Desilu with only one hit series in the spring of 1962—The Untouchables. Arnaz, as President of Desilu Studios, offered Ball an opportunity to return to television in a weekly sitcom. At that time, CBS executives were somewhat dubious as to whether Ball could not only carry a show without Arnaz, but also follow such a landmark series as I Love Lucy. According to Geoffrey Mark Fidelman (author of The Lucy Book Renaissance Books), it was "never intended for this program to go beyond a single season." Fidelman also writes in his book that this arrangement was "meant to be a stop-gap measure for the beleaguered studio" and that through the sale of this series, Desilu was able to "force the CBS network to invest in and air other upcoming Desilu products." It would be a strategy that Ball herself would use in the future, where instead of CBS renewing Lucy for another year, Ball would have the final say as to whether she wanted to continue her series. Nevertheless, under Arnaz's encouragement and persuasion, Ball agreed to do the show provided it be shown on Monday nights (the night on which I Love Lucy had aired), and that she would be reunited with Vivian Vance and her writers from I Love Lucy. CBS agreed to a full season of episodes and The Lucy Show premiered on Monday night, October 1, 1962, at 8:30 p.m.

The show began with Lucille Ball as Lucy Carmichael, a widow with two children, Chris (Candy Moore), and Jerry (Jimmy Garrett), living in Danfield, New York, sharing her home with divorced friend Vivian Bagley (Vance) and her son, Sherman (Ralph Hart). In order to get Vance to commit to the series, Arnaz acquiesced to her demands for an increase in salary; co-star billing with Ball; a more attractive wardrobe; and, finally, that her character's name be Vivian. After doing I Love Lucy, she was still being called Ethel by people on the street, much to her unhappiness. Although the book on which the show was based (Irene Kampen's Life Without George) centered on a divorcée with children, it was decided early on that the Lucy Carmichael character should instead be a widow, since that was thought to be more acceptable to viewers, especially in those more innocent TV days, where single parents were always widowed. Though a number of TV historians have through the years cited One Day at a Time’s Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) as television's first regular running character who was a divorcée, that distinction actually belongs to The Lucy Show’s Vivian Bagley.

In the show's original format, Lucy had been left with a substantial trust fund by her late husband, which was managed during the first season by local banker Mr. Barnsdahl (Charles Lane). Comedian Dick Martin, working solo from his longtime partner Dan Rowan, was cast in ten episodes as Lucy's next-door neighbor, Harry Connors, during the show's first season. Character actor Don Briggs was also featured in six episodes as Viv's beau, Eddie Collins. The first season of The Lucy Show fully utilized the talents of Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Martin, Bob Schiller, and Bob Weiskopf (the original writers of I Love Lucy) in creating the first season's classic 30 episodes, and it also featured Desi Arnaz as executive producer for fifteen of the first season's thirty shows. At the end of its first season, The Lucy Show received rave reviews from the critics and ranked #5 in the Nielsen ratings. Ball was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Actress in a Series, but lost to Shirley Booth for the NBC comedy hit Hazel. Bolstered by great ratings, the series was renewed for a second year, but many changes were made.

At the beginning of the 1963-64 season, Desi Arnaz resigned as head of Desilu and as the executive producer of The Lucy Show. Ball took over as President of the studio and Elliott Lewis replaced Arnaz as executive producer of Ball's series. Dick Martin (as Harry), Don Briggs (as Eddie) and Charles Lane (as Mr. Barnsdahl) left the show. The Barnsdahl character was replaced by Theodore J. Mooney, played by Gale Gordon, who would remain with the series for the remainder of its run, surviving the format change.

Gordon had worked with Ball as far back as the late 1940s on the CBS radio program My Favorite Husband. When CBS transferred that show to television as I Love Lucy, Gordon was to have played Fred Mertz, however, he was already committed to the radio series Our Miss Brooks (which also was about to move to television) so William Frawley was cast in the part. In 1952, Gordon, however, did guest star on the first season of I Love Lucy as Ricky Ricardo's boss at the Tropicana, Alvin Littlefield. Six years later, he guest-starred as a judge in the hour-long Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show episode "Lucy Makes Room For Danny". From 1960 to 1962, he had recurring roles on two CBS-TV sitcoms - The Danny Thomas Show and Pete and Gladys. Gordon was to have joined The Lucy Show at its premiere in the fall of 1962, but he was still contractually obligated to his role as Mr. Wilson on Dennis the Menace, where he had replaced the late Joseph Kearns for the last year of the series. It was later revealed that Ball wasn't happy with Charles Lane because of his difficulty remembering his lines in front of the studio audience, and was very eager to have Gordon join the cast. Lane then became a semi-regular on the CBS-TV sitcom Petticoat Junction as Homer Bedloe. Even though Dick Martin felt his role of Harry was superfluous, he curiously stated that hiring Gale Gordon was a mistake and that there instead should have been a steady boyfriend written for Lucy. The show became limited in terms of creating fresh situations. Mrs. Carmichael spent so much of her time and effort trying to get Mr. Mooney to allow her to invade the principal of the trust fund for various ideas and projects, that it seemed feasible to have her work for Mooney directly as his secretary, which she eventually did a few years later, after the original format of the series changed.

Under Ball's supervision, beginning with the 1963-64 season, episodes were filmed in color, although they would continue to be broadcast in black and white up until September, 1965. Ball realized that when the series ended its prime-time run, color episodes would command more money when sold to syndication. CBS was equipped for color but would only use color transmission equipment for feature films. They stated that turning on color equipment was too tough to do for short periods. But at the time most color equipment and color TV sets were made by RCA, parent company of rival network NBC. CBS was reported to have felt that to use color would be promoting a rival's product and would not be beneficial to CBS. Also, less than 5% of the population even had a color TV set back in 1963. The second season proved to be just as popular in the ratings, ranking at #6. However, with the addition of Gale Gordon and his cantankerous character of Mr. Mooney, as well as the absence of Arnaz, the quality of the scripts suffered. Also, Vance had grown tired of her weekly commute back and forth between California and her home in Connecticut. She was also unhappy with the way her character's on-screen time was reduced.In fact, Lucy Carmichael's home life as well as her interaction with her children began to be downplayed.

At the end of the second season, a disagreement erupted between Ball and head writers Bob Carroll, Jr. and Madelyn Martin regarding a particular script Ball found inferior. As a result, Carroll and Martin left the series with Weiskopf and Schiller right behind them.

At the beginning of the 1964-65 season, The Lucy Show's original staff changed. Elliott Lewis left the series and was replaced by Jack Donohue, who also served as director. With the absence of Carroll, Martin, Weiskopf, and Schiller, Ball hired veteran comedy writer Milt Josefsberg, who had written for Jack Benny, as script consultant. Under Josefsberg's supervision there were no permanent writers for the series and different writers were employed each week (among them, Garry Marshall). Ball persuaded Weiskopf and Schiller to return and write four installments. The fact that there were no permanent writers became apparent in the form of an increasing amount of storyline inconsistencies.

In an interview for The Lucy Book, Candy Moore stated that around this time there was a feeling among the cast and crew that the series had lost its identity, as well as its continuity, and had begun to lose ground. An example of this was Lucy constantly changing her job situation. Episodes during the second and third season would find Lucy working as a restaurateur, hospital helper, meter maid, and policewoman. Another example was the frequent use of character or featured actors who were used regularly on the show, albeit in different roles. During the first two years, actress Carole Cook started off playing Thelma Green, a friend of Lucy's and Viv's. By the third season, Cook was playing another part - Mrs. Valance, a society lady living in Danfield. From then on, Cook, as well as veteran actress Mary Wickes, was seen regularly on the show playing a variety of roles, depending on the scripts. Also, actress-comedienne Kathleen Freeman was seen in three different parts during the second season - as a nurse in "Lucy Plays Florence Nightingale"; a chef in "Lucy and Viv Open A Restaurant"; and as Kathleen, another friend of Lucy's and Viv's, in "Lucy Takes A Job At The Bank" and "Lucy Enters A Baking Contest." In the third season, Freeman was featured as Miss Putnam, a domestic, in the episode "Lucy Gets Her Maid." During the first two seasons, Lucy and Viv were members of the Women's Volunteer Fire Department. By the beginning of the third year, the concept was dropped altogether, and in the installment, "Lucy Gets her Maid", Lucy and Viv became members of The Danfield Art Society.

There were further changes to the series. Vance reduced the number of episodes she appeared in to spend more time on the East Coast with her new husband, literary editor John Dodds. Lucille Ball's friend Ann Sothern made a number of appearances during 1964 and 1965 as the "Countess Framboise" (née Rosie Harrigan) to fill Vance's absence. The Countess, who had been widowed by the death of her husband, "who left her his noble title and all of his noble debts," was always trying to get some money to pay off said debts. So she also did battle with Mr. Mooney, whom she called "Mr. Money." Because it was known that Vance would be leaving the series, Sothern was proposed as the new co-star, but it did not come to be. Apparently Sothern wanted to share top billing with Ball. She did not want to be an under-billed co-star. This was not acceptable to Ball and, though Sothern did make three more guest appearances during the following (1965–66) season, the idea of her becoming a series regular was abandoned.

Even though Candy Moore, Jimmy Garrett, and Ralph Hart were still contracted to the series, they were used minimally during the third year. In the spring of 1965, Vance wanted to quit the show. Ball desperately hoped she would change her mind, but Vance remained adamant and left the sitcom.

In the fall of 1964, CBS began to broadcast sporting events and color cartoons in addition to color feature films in color. They still refused to broadcast The Lucy Show in color. They still felt that they were not ready to promote a rival's (NBC) product. But through that year ownership of color TV sets grew, plus all other manufacturers were now making color equipment and color TV sets.

As a result, the 1965-66 season saw the format of The Lucy Show change dramatically. In the first episode of the season, Lucy and Jerry Carmichael and Mr. Mooney moved from Danfield to California, where Lucy began working for Mr. Mooney at the bank, first part-time, and then full-time. Lucy's daughter Chris was said to have gone away to college and was subsequently not mentioned again. It was explained that Vance's character (Vivian Bagley) remarried and that she, along with her son Sherman and her new husband, remained in Danfield, although she would return for a few guest appearances towards the end of the series' run. Candy Moore (as Chris) and Ralph Hart (as Sherman) were dropped from the cast. Jimmy Garrett (as Jerry) would make only two appearances that year to help with the transition before he, too, was phased out of the series.

In the fourth season premiere episode, "Lucy at Marineland," Jerry was quickly shipped off to a military academy. He made one final appearance, in a Christmas-themed episode, near the conclusion of the 1965-66 season. Sothern made three more guest appearances as The Countess (a.k.a. Rosie) and Joan Blondell guest-starred in two episodes as Lucy's new friend Joan Brenner. However, Ball felt there was no chemistry between her and Blondell. As soon as she finished filming her second appearance on The Lucy Show, Blondell walked off the set when Ball (who had been known to be critical in front of a studio audience) humiliated her by harshly criticizing her performance in front of the studio audience and technicians.

Finally, Lucy gained a new best friend in Mary Jane Lewis, played by actress Mary Jane Croft. Croft also had prior experience performing with Ball. In 1954, she made her first appearance on I Love Lucy playing Cynthia Harcourt, a rich, haughty friend of Lucy Ricardo in the episode "Lucy Is Envious". In 1956, she returned to the series playing Evelyn Bigsby, a bewildered traveler seated next to Lucy on an airplane in the fifth season finale "Return Home From Europe". During the 1950s, Croft also had occasional roles on I Married Joan and Our Miss Brooks. She was also the voice of Cleo, the basset hound in the sitcom The People's Choice. In 1957, Croft joined the cast of I Love Lucy during its final season playing Lucy Ricardo's new friend and neighbor Betty Ramsey for the program's last thirteen episodes. Croft then portrayed Lucy Carmichael's friend Audrey Simmons during the 1962-64 first format episodes of The Lucy Show and, in real life, was the wife of former producer Elliott Lewis. At this time, Croft had also been a regular for ten years on the long-running ABC-TV sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which, by 1965, was in its final year of production. Even though Croft's main purpose was to replace Vance, she did not get co-star billing, and like Roy Roberts, who played Mooney's boss (Mr. Cheever) at the bank, she received featured billing despite being a regular character.

Also in the fall of 1965, CBS began broadcasting in color anything that was made in color. CBS continued to produce some programming in black & white but they now expanded their use of color to include television shows made as such. So The Lucy Show finally began airing in color that year, plus daytime reruns of the past two color seasons aired as such.

By January 1966, all references to Lucy Carmichael's children, her trust fund from her late husband's estate, and her former life in Danfield were eradicated. As a result, Lucy Carmichael was firmly established as a single woman living in Los Angeles. An interesting concept was developed that season with Lucy working in films disguised as a stunt man using the name "Iron Man" Carmichael for three episodes ("Lucy The Stunt Man", "Lucy and the Return Of Iron Man", and "Lucy and Bob Crane"). However, the idea was quickly dropped and never used again.

Overall, the fourth season is regarded as being the weakest with the quality of the scripts vacillating week to week from being good to mediocre at best. Nevertheless, the show continued to receive excellent ratings and in the spring of 1966, Ball received her second Emmy nomination for The Lucy Show, losing this time to Mary Tyler Moore for The Dick Van Dyke Show.

For the next two seasons, the show greatly improved due to the many famous stars making guest appearances, usually playing themselves, in storylines involving their encountering Lucy while conducting bank business. This essentially turned the show into a "skit-com" as opposed to a traditional sitcom. For the 1966-67 season, Gale Gordon was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, but lost to Don Knotts, who won for the episode "The Return of Barney Fife" on The Andy Griffith Show. After eleven years, Ball was finally awarded an Emmy as Best Actress In A Comedy Series (She had won her first two - as Best Comedienne in 1953 and as Best Actress in a Continuing Performance in 1956 for I Love Lucy).

During the 1967-68 season, Ball's second husband, Gary Morton, became executive producer of The Lucy Show. Lucille Ball sold Desilu Productions (which owned and produced The Lucy Show) to Gulf+Western Industries, which meant that she no longer owned the series. In the spring of 1968, The Lucy Show won Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series, Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Gordon). This time, Gordon lost the award to Werner Klemperer of Hogan's Heroes, and the show itself lost the Best Comedy Series Award to the NBC sitcom Get Smart. For the second straight year, Ball was awarded the coveted statuette. At the end of its sixth season, The Lucy Show posted its highest Nielsen rating, ranking at #2.

In the fall of 1968, rather than continue to star in a show she no longer owned, Ball opted to create a new series, Here's Lucy. This series featured herself and her two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr., as well as Gordon, Croft, and Vance (in occasional guest appearances) playing "new" characters (though the returning actors played characters similar to their characters on the former series). Like I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy also ran on CBS for six seasons.

The credits list the show's basis as the novel Life Without George, by Irene Kampen. This book was a collection of humorous pieces about two divorced women and their children living together. A next-door airline pilot neighbor, Harry Connors, became a character in the series played by Dick Martin. The character of Chris, Lucy's daughter in the series, had the same name in the book. In a later volume of essays, Nobody Calls at This Hour Just To Say Hello, Kampen wrote a piece entitled "How Not to Meet Lucille Ball," which detailed her efforts to meet Lucy when she visited Los Angeles. Ms. Kampen and Ms. Ball never met.