#Ellis in Freedomland

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY AT THE JUNCTION

"Petticoat Junction" and The Lucycoms

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

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

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

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

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

SHARING THE TYPEWRITER

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

SHARED CASTING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OTHERS FROM LUCYLAND WHO VISITED THE JUNCTION:

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

HOOTERVILLE & THE LUCVERSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[project1939]

Project 1952 Final Statistics 

During the 91 days of the project, these are the grand totals of things I completed.

Films: 91 films, if I include the feature-length Westinghouse sales film Ellis in Freedomland. It would be 90 films if I only include those that were theatrically released.  

TV: 215 episodes, and of those there were 44 different shows 

Radio: 332 episodes, and of those there were 46 different shows 

Magazines: 35 magazines, and of those there were 15 different titles 

Music: 373 songs, plus a couple of symphonies

Physical records: 2, one 78 rpm and one 45 rpm

Jello molds made: 15 

Other vintage recipes made: 22 

Vintage puzzles completed: 7 

Number of pages in my single spaced Word document: 288! (This does not include captions to magazine pages or recipes or puzzles, however.) I’ve apparently just written a “doorstopper” book! 

Number of words: 124,002! (Again, this doesn’t include captions. If I had to guesstimate about how many words in total, it would probably be about 150,000.) 

Days I successfully blogged and summarized everything: All 91, baby! 

Number of times I wanted to give up: 50? 100? It was approximately a helluva lot!

[mdsc951]

Happy 54th Birthday to Aunjanue Ellis. Born February 21, 1969, She is an actress. She had roles in the films Men of Honor (2000). 💞💦💥 The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Undercover Brother (2002), Ray (2004), Freedomland (2006), The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) and The Help (2011). In 2021, Ellis starred in the critically💯💕 acclaimed film King Richard, which earned her nominations for the Academy Awards. (at Sunset Blvd, Hollywood CA) https://www.instagram.com/p/Co8Yop7vduP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[elcinelateleymickyandonie]

RICHARD CRANE.

Filmography

1940 Susan and God

1940 we are young

1940 Meet the Wildcat

1940 Who Killed Aunt Maggie?

1940 Keeping Compan

1941 The Saint in Palm Springs

1941 Double Date

1941 In the Navy

1941 Keep 'Em Flying

1941 Tillie the Toiler

1942 This time to be saved

1942 Eagle Squad

1942 Ghosts of the Plains

1942 Sweater Girl

1942 Her Cardboard Lover

1942 Flying Tigers

1943 This is the army

1943 Someone to Remember

1943 So proud we salute!

1943 Corvette K-225

1943 Happy Earth

1943 Cry 'Havoc'

1943 Deadline Riders

1944 Ladies Courageous

1944 No one will escape

1944 Follow the Boys

1944 Wing and Prayer

1944 An American Romance

1945 Captain Eddie

1946 The Flying Serpent

1946 Behind the green lights

1946 Johnny flies home

1948 Honeymoon on campus

1948 Arthur takes over

1948 Boardwalk at Midnight

1948 Triple threat

1948 Angel in the Amazon

1949 Dynamite

1950 A lady without a passport

1951 The Last Outpost

1951 History of the hometown

1951 Mysterious Island

1951 The man in the chair

1952 The Leadville Gunman

1952 Thunderous Caravans

1952 Ellis in Freedomland

1953 Win the West

1953 Woman who was almost lynched

1953 Neanderthal man

1953 The Captain's Great Adventures

1953 Sea of ​​Lost Ships

1953 Flight Nurse

1955 The Eternal Sea

1955 Nobody's Woman

1955 Bobby Ware Is Missing

1956 The Eddy Duchin Story

1957 Ransom at 43,000

1957 Official Detective

1958 The Deep Six

1959 The Crocodile People

1959 Battle Flame

1960 13 men fighting

1961 Devil's Companion

1961 Boy Who Caught a Thief

1963 House of the Damned

1963 Please don't touch me

1964 Surf party.

Créditos: Tomado de Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Crane_(actor)

#HONDURASQUEDATEENCASA

#ELCINELATELEYMICKYANDONIE

[saturdaynightmatinee]

CALIFICACIÓN PERSONAL: 6 / 10

Título Original: Freedomland

Año: 2006

Duración: 112 min.

País: Estados Unidos

Director: Joe Roth

Guion: Richard Price (Novela: Richard Price)

Música: James Newton Howard

Fotografía: Anastas Michos

Reparto: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore, Edie Falco, Ron Eldard, William Forsythe,Aunjanue Ellis, Anthony Mackie

Productora: Columbia Pictures / Revolution Studios

Género: Crime, Drama, Mystery

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349467/

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCy6_bgJ6-k

[blackkudos]

Aunjanue Ellis

Aunjanue L. Ellis (born February 21, 1969) is an American film, stage, and television actress, and producer. She began her acting career in theater, and made her film debut in Girls Town. She later had leading roles in a number of independent movies, and co-starred in several mainstream films.

Ellis is best known for her roles in films Men of Honor (2000), The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Undercover Brother (2002), Ray (2004), The Express (2008), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) and The Help (2011). On television, Ellis had regular role in the ABC police drama series High Incident (1996–97), and later co-starred in a number of short-lived dramas. She had recurring roles on The Practice, True Blood, and The Mentalist, and played roles in a number of made for television movies, such as Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009) and Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2013).

In 2015, Ellis played the leading role in the miniseries The Book of Negroes based on bestselling novel by Lawrence Hill, for which she received critical acclaim and a Critic's Choice Award nomination for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries. Later that year, she began starring as Miranda Shaw in the ABC thriller series Quantico. In 2016, Ellis played Nancy Turner, Nat Turner's mother, in the critically acclaimed period drama film, The Birth of a Nation.

Early life

Ellis was born in San Francisco, California, and raised on her grandmother's farm in McComb, Mississippi. She attended Tougaloo College before transferring to Brown University, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts in African-American studies, while also studying acting with Jim Barnhill and John Emigh. During her years in Brown University, Ellis made her debut on the student play. She went on to study acting in the Graduate Acting Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Career

1990s

In 1995, Ellis made her professional acting debut appearing as Ariel opposite Patrick Stewart's Prospero in a Broadway revival of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. She later made her screen debut in the episode of Fox police drama series, New York Undercover, and in 1996 had the co-leading role in the independent film, Girls Town alongside Lili Taylor. During late 1990s, Ellis also had supporting roles in films Ed's Next Move, Desert Blue, In Too Deep and A Map of the World. From 1996 to 1997, Ellis starred as Officer Leslie Joyner in the ABC police drama series, High Incident created by Steven Spielberg. The series was canceled after two seasons. In 1999, she had the recurring role of Sharon Young on the ABC legal drama, The Practice.

2000s

In 2000, Ellis starred opposite Cuba Gooding Jr. in the drama film Men of Honor directed by George Tillman, Jr.. The following year, she played daughter of Samuel L. Jackson's character's in the mystery-drama film The Caveman's Valentine directed by Kasi Lemmons and based on George Dawes Green's 1994 novel of the same name. Also in 2001, Ellis had supporting part in the critically acclaimed comedy-drama film Lovely & Amazing. In 2002, she had main role alongside Eddie Griffin in the action comedy film Undercover Brother. In 2004, she played Mary Ann Fisher in the Academy Awards-nominated biographical film about musician Ray Charles, Ray. In 2007, Ellis played the leading role in the thriller Cover. The movie received negative reviews. She also appeared in films Freedomland (2006), The Express (2008) and Notorious (2009). She also played Denzel Washington's wife in The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) directed by Tony Scott.

On television, in 2002 Ellis had regular role on the short lived ABC medical dramam MDs. From 2005 to 2006, she co-starred alongside Benjamin Bratt in another short lived drama,E-Ring on NBC. She also had recurring roles on Third Watch, 100 Centre Street, Jonny Zero, Justice and True Blood. In 2009, she co-starred alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kimberly Elise in the made-for-television film Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. Ellis also has appeared in a number of Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre productions. In January 2004, she performed in Regina Taylor's play Drowning Crow, at the Manhattan Theatre Club. In the Spring, 2012 Hampton University semester, she taught entertainment industry courses. She was also featured in a Hampton Players and Company production, "Through the Crack."

2010s

In 2010, Ellis co-starred opposite Wesley Snipes in the action film Game of Death. She played the leading role in the independent film The Tested based on the award-winning 2005 short film of the same name. In 2011, she appeared in the critically acclaimed period drama The Help directed by Tate Taylor, as Eula Mae Davis, one of the maids, for which she received awards as a part of the ensemble cast. In 2014, she played Vicki Anderson in the biographical drama film Get on Up about the life of singer James Brown, also directed by Tate Taylor. As lead actress, Ellis starred in the independent films Money Matters (2011), The Volunteer (2013), Romeo and Juliet in Harlem (2014), and Una Vida: A Fable of Music and the Mind (2014). She also played the leading role in the 2012 television film Abducted: The Carlina White Story.

From 2010 to 2013, Ellis had a recurring role in the CBS series The Mentalist, as Madeleine Hightower. She also played Ashley Judd's best friend in the 2012 ABC miniseries Missing, and had another role on the CBS procedural, NCIS: Los Angeles. Ellis also starred as one of the lead characters in the 2013 AMC pilot The Divide, but later WE tv had decided to pick up pilot to series. She left the show and her role was recast with Nia Long.

In 2014, Ellis was cast as lead character in the international co-production epic miniseries The Book of Negroes, based on Lawrence Hill’s bestselling 2007 novel. The Book of Negroes premiered in 2015, and Ellis received critical acclaim for her performance. The Hollywood Reporter critic Whitney Matheson praised her performance, wrote in review "Ellis’ gripping performance that holds the six-part miniseries together. Except for the first installment that focuses on Aminata’s girlhood, Ellis is present in nearly every scene, aging decades and displaying a stunning range of emotion." Ellis received Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries nomination for her performance.

On February 25, 2015, it was announced that Ellis was cast as main character in the ABC drama series, Quantico. In 2016, she co-starred in the historical drama film The Birth of a Nation, based on the story of the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner. The film also stars Nate Parker, Aja Naomi King, Armie Hammer and Gabrielle Union. Ellis plays the role of Nancy Turner, Nat’s mother, in the film. Also in 2016, she was cast opposite Keke Palmer in the drama film Pimp about life of women on the streets of New York and work in the illegal sex trade.

Wikipedia

[project1939]

Project 1952: Day 60 Round Up! 

First, here are some stats from days 31-60: 

TV: I watched 72 episodes of TV, and 19 different shows. The total for all sixty days is- 129 episodes, 39 different shows! 

Radio: I listened to 78 episodes, and 25 different shows. The total for all sixty days is 156 episodes, 37 different shows. 

Film: I watched 30 films, 31 if you count the Westinghouse sales film Ellis in Freedomland. In total over the last 60 days, I've watched 59 films.

Magazines: I read 13 magazines, 7 different titles 

Books: Still zero. I’m going to postpone reading books until after the project ends. For any kind of life balance, I just can’t do it right now. I don’t have the time. When I did project 1939, I only had radio to listen to/watch besides films. Now, with the addition of TV, it’s just too much. 

Awards!  

Best TV show: Of the new ones I’ve seen since day 31, it's gotta be What’s My Line? I look forward to every episode I watch. 

Best Radio show: Again, counting only the new ones since day 31- The Chase. Honorable mention: NBC’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention. 

Best Film: High Noon. Honorable Mention: Europa 51. 

Best Magazine: Good Housekeeping 

Worst Film: There haven’t been any atrocities like there were in the first 30 days, but I would say Son of Paleface and What Price Glory? are the two worst/least entertaining films on my list. 

Worst TV: Maybe Guiding Light or Gangbusters? 

Worst Radio: Honestly, I don’t know if I’ve listened to any new shows that are all that bad. 

Surprises and Trends! 

Biggest surprises about specific shows/episodes:  

Esther Williams! I unexpectedly fell totally in love with her. She’s got it all- she's gorgeous, talented, and she’s got this certain grace and dignity about her. I also find her speaking voice soothing. 

I could listen to 3 ½ hours of radio coverage of a political convention and be utterly riveted. Never would have guessed that! 

The movie The Girl in White really surprised me. I expected it to be a saccharine melodrama, but it turned into a thrilling riveting story about a pioneering female doctor.  It's the kind of movie that sticks with you so much, you tell your friends and family about it.

Biggest overall surprises/trends: 

Vintage puzzles! I didn’t think I’d be able to find any reasonably priced puzzles from the 40s or 50s, but I have. Those Tuco puzzles are a joy to work with- the pieces are so thick and satisfying, and the colors are vibrant.  

A Jello mold obsession re-occurring! But now that I’ve been sick, I can’t even look at most Jello molds without wanting to retch. Literally. I don’t know how many I can make from here on out. 

I didn’t expect to get so wrapped up in the political landscape of 1952. It’s been fascinating to see the way both parties have changed in the last 71 years. Republicans boasting about their progressive ideas? Democrats fighting with segregationist racists within their own party? It’s trippy, man. 

Unsurprisingly, the horrible way men talk to women has continued unabated. 

The East Asian racism in media has toned down somewhat in what I’ve seen from day 31-60. It’s still disgustingly there, but it’s not nearly as ubiquitous as it was the first 30 days. I have no idea why- it could even be just random chance. 

The group of people this time that have been the victims of the most overt racism are the Native Americans. All the sorry old stereotypes have been there, with a heaping dose of dehumanization. 

Racism against African Americans has been more overt in these last 30 days. I’ve seen several of those stereotypes of stupid or childish black porters, elevator operators, servants, etc. It has surprised me just how awful the portrayals are. It’s everything you think of when you hear the name Stepin Fetchit or Butterfly McQueen. Even on The Beulah Show, which I think was created with good intentions, it’s noticeably bad.  

There has continued to be almost no hint of gayness anywhere. This time, there was one “sissy” comedic role with undertones of queerness, but that’s literally been it. There was also an ad in the back of a magazine (in the cheap ads section) for some Gold Medal paperbacks, one of which was a lesbian pulp novel. It again gave hints as to what it was about, but it didn’t come out and actually say it. 

Stuffed green olives! Apparently stuffed green olives were considered fancy haute cuisine by middle class folk, cause they put them in everything! In all the worst most stomach-churning places you can imagine! With salmon and celery soup! With mac and cheese! In lemon Jello with grapefruit! With a pineapple lime Jello dessert! It’s insane. 

This project is getting to be hard. I didn’t expect to struggle so much to keep going, or even consider throwing in the towel. I’m not going to quit now, while I’m 2/3 of the way there, but this is a challenge in every sense! Being sick for a week and a half now has not helped, either, I know. 

[project1939]

Look, it's Betty Furness in color! She made a brief appearance in Ellis in Freedomland, and my heart was happy. I didn't know her hair was so reddish- I thought she was a blonde. She looked great and was effective as ever selling the Frost Free refrigerator. I swear she must have pointed to that "little magic button" at the top so many times she could do it blindfolded!

[project1939]

Day 44- Bonus Film: Ellis in Freedomland 

Roland Reed Productions, Spring, 1952. 

Because Don’t Bother to Knock was only 76 minutes long, I decided to do a double-feature and add a film to my list today that I heard about awhile back and knew I must see. It's a Westinghouse Sales Film with celebrities talking as different appliances! I crossed my fingers that Betty Furness might be it in, and she was, however briefly! 

The appliances were voiced as follows: 

The Electric Range: Edward Arnold 

The Refrigerator: James Mason 

The Dehumidifier: Percy Kilbride 

The Garbage Disposal: Jerry Colonna 

The Water Heater: Andy Devine 

The Laundromat: Lucille Ball 

The Dryer: Marie Wilson 

The Dishwasher: Maureen O’Sullivan 

These were all quite famous people to be in a weird thing like this- the only person I don’t know offhand is Jerry Colonna. I didn't recognize Marie Wilson’s name when I saw it, but as soon as she started talking, I knew she played Irma on the radio show My Friend Irma, which I love. 

The point of the film is to walk salesmen through all of the features of each appliance so they can sell it more successfully. It was hard to sit though at times, but it was also fun to get to see everything that Betty Furness has been selling on Westinghouse Studio One in color and in much higher clarity than kinescope!  Unfortunately, there were some icky racist stereotypes in it. Mannequins in the store came to life early in the film, and there was an “Indian” mannequin who just said “ugh ugh” and chased a girl in a swimsuit around all night. There was also a black servant/porter who acted stupid and childish and drooled over watermelon. Yeah. At one point they showed how you could fit a huge watermelon in the refrigerator, and they had the black guy freak out over it and say he was gonna eat it. Come on Westinghouse! I thought you were better than that! 

As a film on it’s own, it’d get *½, but as a sales film for company employees, it’s a ****½. 

[papermoonloveslucy]

ALAN HALE JR.

March 8, 1921

Alan Hale Jr.  was born Alan Hale MacKahan in Los Angeles to character actor Rufus Edward MacKahan, who used the stage name Alan Hale, and silent film actress Gretchen Hartman. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his co-starring role as Captain Jonas Grumby (The Skipper) on the 1960s series “Gilligan's Island.” 

He made his screen debut at age 13 in Wild Boys of the Road (1933), but his film career did not begin in earnest until 1941, doing half-a-dozen films that year alone. 

He made his television debut in 1950 in “Pitfall” an episode of “Robert Montgomery Presents.” 

In 1952, Alan Hale Jr. played a department store mannequin of a hunter in Ellis in Freedomland, a full-length color industrial film for Westinghouse. Lucille Ball provided the voice of the washing machine. 

That same year he played the title character on CBS’s “Biff Baker U.S.A.” (1952-54), his first principal role on television.  His second title role was the Western “Casey Jones” (1957-58). 

In December 1959, Hale made an appearance on Desilu’s “The Untouchables” in “The Tri-State Gang”. 

In 1961 he did an episode of Desilu’s “The Real McCoys” playing a trailer park owner. His wife was played by Amzie Strickland. 

He was back at Desilu Studios to film an episode of “The Andy Griffith Show” “The Farmer Takes A Wife” which aired on New Year’s Day 1962. He addresses Barney Fife as "Little Buddy" the same nickname he used for Gilligan two years later. The catchphrase was taken from one of his real-life father's school friends.

In December 1963 he finally worked with Lucille Ball on “The Lucy Show” episode “Lucy Puts Out a Fire at the Bank” (TLS S2;E9). Hale played Captain Burke, who trains the members of the Danfield women’s fire brigade. 

Around this same time, Hale filmed the pilot of what would become “Gilligan’s Island.”  The character of Ginger, the movie star castaway was described during casting as a combination of Lucille Ball and Marilyn Monroe.  John Gabriel, the original Professor from the unaired series pilot, was seen as “Mary Jane’s Boyfriend” (HL S6;E20).  

After some casting changes, the sitcom went to series and premiered in September 1964. The original series ran until 1967, with several reunions and reboots from 1974 to 1982.  Like many performers seen on “Lucy” sitcoms, Hale was also featured on “Batman” in 1967. He played a lunch counter attendant coincidentally named Gilligan! The villain was Egg Head. 

Alan Hale Jr. played Moose Manley in “Lucy and Wally Cox” (HL S2;E21) in 1970. Moose was a friend of Harry’s anxious to fix up his nervous son (Cox) with Lucy. 

On “Where is My Wandering Mother Tonight?” (HL S6;E23) on  March 11, 1974, the costuming of Dirty Jack (Jack Donohue) resembles that of the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr., inset) on “Gilligan’s Island” (1965-67). 

Hale made his final screen appearance on a January 1988 episode of “The Law and Harry McGraw”. 

Hale was married to Bettina Doerr from 1943 to 1963. They had four children. When they divorced, he married Naomi Hale, who was with him until his death in 1990. 

Alan Hale Jr. died on January 2, 1990 after a battle with thymus cancer. He was 68 years old. 

“I'm just delighted to say people all over the world, whether I have my cap or not, 'Hello, Skipper, Hello Skipper,' it's like standing in-front of the fireplace, it's a lot of warmth.” ~ Alan Hale Jr., 1985

[papermoonloveslucy]

ELLIS IN FREEDOMLAND

Spring 1952

Directed by Abby Berlin Produced by Roland D. Reed Written by Arthur Hoerl Music by Albert Colombo Choreography by Alex Romero

Synopsis ~ A 82 minute, technicolor promotional film for salesmen of Westinghouse appliances, featuring the voices of major Hollywood celebrities. Westinghouse claims its electric appliances "freed women from the drudgery of housework." The first half involves dream salesman Ellis at work; the second focuses on the "Spring Sales Event," called "Freedomland."

Westinghouse Electric Corporation was founded on January 8, 1886 by George Westinghouse (1846–1914). The corporation purchased CBS in 1995.

Live Cast

Robert Rockwell (Ellis Homan) is probably best remembered as biology teacher Mr. Boynton on the Desilu series “Our Miss Brooks” (1952-56). Although not the first to play Mr. Boynton, he assumed the role on radio and made the transition with the show to television. He played Viv’s handsome match in “Lucy Digs Up a Date” (TLS S1;E2) the second installment of “The Lucy Show” in 1962. He then played night school teacher Jack Scott in “The Not-So-Popular Mechanics” (HL S5;E23). He continued working until 1995 and died in 2003 at age 82.  

Robert Carson (Phil Pryor, Westinghouse Representative) was a busy Canadian-born character actor who appeared on six episodes of “The Lucy Show” and made five appearance on “Here’s Lucy.” 

Byron Foulger (Andy, Night Watchman)  played the leader of the Friends of the Friendless in “Lucy’s Last Birthday” (ILL S2;E25). He appeared on “The Lucy Show” in “My Fair Lucy” (TLS S3;E20) and “Lucy Meets the Law” (TLS S5;E19).

Ann O'Neal (Customer in Mink) appeared in more than 100 films in the 1940s including the Lucille Ball film Lover Come Back (1946).

Betty Furness (Herself, Spokeswoman for Westinghouse) was an actress and model who became the face and voice of Westinghouse in many television commercials. When “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” was sponsored by Westinghouse, Furness appeared with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in commercials for their products. 

The Starlighters (Vocals) was a singing group that performed mainly as backing vocalists, frequently backing Jo Stafford as well as many other artists on a number of singles. They also performed songs in cartoon and live short films and the feature films Song of Idaho (1948) and With a Song in My Heart (1952). 

Voice Cast

Lucille Ball (Lina the Laundromat) was then filming the second half of her first season of “I Love Lucy” playing Lucy Ricardo, although her voice alone was familiar to radio audiences as Liz Cooper in “My Favorite Husband.”

Edward Arnold (Speedy the Range) lends his deep baritone voice to the role. He appeared with Lucille Ball in Roman Scandals (1933) and Ziegfeld Follies (1945). He died in 1956.

James Mason (Frosty the Refrigerator) was a three time Oscar-nominee who appeared as Lucille Ball’s Angel in Forever Darling (1956).

Percy Kilbride (Drip the Dehumidifier) was best remembered as Pa Kettle in a series of films from 1947 to 1954. 

Jerry Colonna (Chop-Along Waste-Away the Garbage Disposal) was a comic sidekick of Bob Hope on radio and television. In 1966 he played Smithers, Lucille Ball’s chauffeur on “Bob Hope’s Leading Ladies”. 

Andy Devine (Lanky the Water Heater) brought his high-pitched raspy voice to the film. He was known for his many appearances in westerns on both the small and big screen. 

Marie Wilson (Dinah the Dryer) is best known for playing the title role in the film and television series “My Friend Irma”.  Later in 1952, Wilson and Lucille Ball were both part of “Stars in the Eye” celebrating the opening of CBS Television Center. Coincidentally, Gale Gordon’s mother Gloria was also in “My Friend Irma” and on “The Lucy Show” Mr. Mooney’s off-screen wife was named Irma in her honor. 

Maureen O'Sullivan (Pearly the Dishwasher) played Jane in the early Tarzan films.  Her career lasted from 1930 to 1994. In 1987, Lucille Ball and O’Sullivan were two of the many stars in “Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood”. 

Mannequins

Jack Mulhall appeared with Lucille Ball in Broadway Bill (1934).

Alan Hale Jr. (Hunter) will forever be remembered as the Skipper on “Gilligan’s Island” but also appeared with Lucille Ball on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy”.  

Iron Eyes Cody (Chief Running Water) made a career of playing Native American characters despite the fact that he was of Italian ancestry. He first worked with Lucy and Desi in 1940’s Too Many Girls and 1942’s Valley of the Sun both as an 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. He played a Navajo Medicine Man in “Lucy and the Indian Chief” (HL S2;E3). 

Willie Best (Chauffeur) was one of the most popular African-American actors of Hollywood's Golden Era. He starred alongside some of film's great comedians including the Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, Laurel and Hardy, and three films with Shirley Temple. He did one film with Lucille Ball: Muss ‘em Up (1936). 

Karen Sharpe appeared on the “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” in 1959.

Mickey Simpson appeared with Lucille Ball in the 1939 film Panama Lady. 

Anthony Sydes (Bobby, the Boy in Buster Brown Outfit) was 8 years old at the time of filming. He left the business in 1958 and died in 2015 at age 74. 

With...

Lisa Abbott, Mildred Coles,  Richard Crane, Nancy Hadley, Noreen Michaels, Crystal Reeves, Darla Ridgeway, Anne Rubin, Carol Lowe, Frances Zucco

Uncredited Cast

Ralph Brooks (Stove Demonstrator) appeared in four films with Lucille Ball, as well as “The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special” and “Lucy Goes to Las Vegas” (TLS S3;E17). 

Sam Harris (Showroom Guest) did a dozen films with Lucille Ball before appearing in the audience of Over the Teacups in “Ethel’s Birthday” (ILL S4;E8) and playing a subway passenger in “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12). In between, he was a wedding guest in Lucy and Desi’s film Forever Darling (1956). Along with Monty O'Grady and Murray Pollack, he was in the airport when “The Ricardos Go to Japan” in 1959.

Stuart Holmes (Showroom Guest) appeared with Lucille Ball in Lover Come Back (1946) and Critic’s Choice (1963).

Hans Moebus (Washer / Dryer Demonstrator) appeared as an uncredited background performer in hundreds of movies and TV shows, including the Lucille Ball films DuBarry Was a Lady (1943), A Woman of Distinction (1950) and The Facts of Life (1960). He was seen on the dock during the “I Love Lucy” episode “Bon Voyage” (ILL S5;E13) and part of the riverboat chorus in “Lucy Meets Arthur Godfrey” (TLS S3;E23).  

Charles Sherlock (Television Viewer) appeared in three feature films with Lucille Ball from 1935 to 1963.

PART ONE - DON’T MEET COMPETITION, MAKE IT!

Westinghouse Rep Phil Pryer meets salesman Ellis Homan at his office on the department store showroom. Ellis tells Phil about the time he dozed off at his desk and the mannequins came to life: menswear, formal wear, beach wear, and (inexplicably) an American Indian in full regalia. Frosty the Refrigerator (James Mason) gets Ellis’ attention to demonstrate his frost-free features, as well as his unique butter tray and meat keeper. 

Ellis then has a conversation with Speedy the Electric Range (Edward Arnold) about all its features. Ellis even makes coffee and cookies for Mabel, a mannequin standing in for a ‘prospect’.  

MABEL: “Ellis, you’re cute. I wish you were a dummy.”

Ellis then has a chat with Pearly the Dishwasher (Maureen O’Sullivan) and Chop-Along Waste-Away the Garbage Disposal (Jerry Colonna), who sings during his demonstration. 

Lanky the Water Heater (Andy Devine) is upset because no one pays him much attention. Pearly draws Ellis’s attention to the drip who has shown up in the showroom lately, the Dehumidifier (Percy Kilbride) who promises to rid homes of damaging dampness.

Chiming in (literally) Lina the Laundromat (Lucille Ball) and Dinah the Dryer (Marie Wilson) sing their greeting. Known as ‘The Westinghouse Twins’, they often finish each others’ sentences and speak at the same time - all in aid of showing that they are a perfect freedom-fighting duo in a home. Ellis demonstrates a typical wash cycle. 

PART TWO - FREEDOM FAIR

Back in the present, Phil tells Ellis that Westinghouse is sponsoring radio and television coverage of the summer’s 1952 Republican and Democratic conventions, with ‘Get Out the Vote’ programs to follow. In the meantime, Phil tells Ellis about the big Spring Selling Event - Freedom Fair.  The event will be rolled out in the April 11, 1952 issue of Life Magazine and the April 16, 1952 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. On television, it will be announced by Betty Furness on “Studio One”.  

After Phil leaves, the scene changes to a typical suburban couple’s bedroom where the morning alarm has just gone off. The bedraggled housewife dances through the home trying to get ready for the day ahead - despite the fact that she does not have any time-saving Westinghouse electric appliances. As the harried husband downs a quick cup of coffee and dashes off to work, the song begins (with offscreen vocals by the Starlighters) and the frustrated housewife realizes just how much work she has ahead of her to clean her home. Just then an ethereal voice sings the name “Westinghouse! Westinghouse!” and there is suddenly a handsome young salesman ringing her doorbell. He sings:

“They say that Lincoln freed the slaves, With that I disagree. Women have been slaves for years Till Westinghouse set them free!”

He whisks her away to ‘Westinghousewives’ Heaven’ where all the products we previously saw demonstrated are extolled in joyous song, some even have angel wings! The housewife (still in her curlers and pajamas) ducks behind a cloud and is suddenly revealed in a diaphanous white gown complete with apron!  Amid a large group of ballet dancers, the Westinghousewife and Salesman dance in blissful happiness.

At the last moment the Starlighters appear and sing to us about Westinghouse, while the dancers swirl merrily around the May Pole!

Stereotypes

This film is obviously aimed at a male sales force. All the ‘prospects’ are assumed to be female and referred to in such terms as “the little lady”. The female mannequins are only interested in Ellis as romantic partners. Clearly, housewives were the main target of male salesmen. 

The film also presents a stereotypical black chauffeur, the only person of color in the cast. The actor is asked to pull comical faces that make him appear silly - the source of humor

“Mmmm. There’s gonna be a watermelon missin’, ‘round here.” 

Needless to say, that an American Indian chasing a scantily clad Caucasian woman around the store plays on stereotypical images of predatory Native Americans. The actor playing the Chief is Iron Eyes Cody, who, despite his name, was born Espera Oscar de Corti, an Italian-American. When trying to communicate all he says is “Ugg!”

Homosexuals don’t escape either. A man with an effeminate manner and lisping voice wearing a coonskin cap swishes in to say “Hello, Fellas” with a toss of the raccoon tail he swans off. The two men in suits look uncomfortable and deny knowing him.

Voice casting reflects gender stereotypes of the time. Cooling and heating appliances are voiced by men while washing appliances are voiced by women.

Trivia

Lucille Ball’s participation in this film may have influenced or been influenced by the fact that for the first season of “I Love Lucy” Lucy Ricardo had a 1951 Westinghouse Frost-Free refrigerator in her kitchen - very similar to “Frosty” - the model shown here in the film. It was widely promoted in print publications and on TV during 1951. Previously, the freezer cabinet had to be thawed manually when frost and ice built up in and around it.  

LUCY: “Didn’t you watch the conventions on television?”

Phil tells Ellis that Westinghouse will take out extensive advertising on radio and TV during the Conventions. In July 1952 both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions were televised live from Chicago. Although the conventions were also televised in 1948, few Americans owned a TV set to watch them. This time, an estimated 70 million voters watched the broadcasts, which ended with the nominations of Adlai Stevenson II and Dwight D. Eisenhower. There is a popular myth that Stevenson lost the election because of backlash from interrupting airings of “I Love Lucy” with hour-long campaign ads. Perhaps from Westinghouse?  The conventions were mentioned on “I Love Lucy” (appropriately) in “The Club Election” (ILL S2;E19) which aired in February 1953. However, it was filmed in September 1952, when the reference would have been much more timely.  By the time it eventually aired, Eisenhower had been inaugurated and the conventions were a distant memory. 

Distribution: Who Saw It - The film series reached 25,000 dealers in 75 cities in a single week. Released in Technicolor and in 16mm. Longest of four dealer promotion films in a two-hour series produced to promote Westinghouse home appliances.

The wall calendar above Ellis’s desk matches the calendar for January 1952, which was likely the filming date. The calendar depicts a loaf of bread with the brand name redacted for filming. On the table close to the bottom of the frame are copies of Life Magazine. Later on, Ellis makes instant coffee from a jar labeled Maxwell House Coffee, although the dish washing detergent and the food in the fridge are obviously props with no brand identification.  The laundry soap, however, is clearly labelled ‘All’ but is not in their usual bright colored packaging. 

Blooper Alerts! 

Dates! Phil tells Ellis that Freedom Fair will be announced in the April 11 issue of Life. However, the issue is actually dated April 7, 1952, not April 11. Interestingly, copies of Life Magazine are used as set decoration in Ellis’s office. Similarly, the April 16 edition of the Saturday Evening Post is really dated April 12.  

Weather Forecast! The put-upon housewife at the end of the film realizes her wash is still on the line when there is a sudden cloudburst (she does not own an electric dryer). The next moment, she answers the door to the Westinghouse Salesman and it is a clear day. Not really a blooper, just an indication that Westinghouse makes a rainy day into a sunny one - at least in the movies!

Fast Forward!

“Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” was a television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on CBS between 1958 and 1960. Two of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s television series “The Twilight Zone” and “The Untouchables.” It also presented 11 of the 13 episodes of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” after its initial sponsorship by Ford.  

In joining forces with Desilu, Westinghouse canceled their other anthology series “Studio One” which ran on CBS from 1948 to 1958. 

To kick off the partnership between Desilu and Westinghouse, a similar film (informally titled “Lucy Buys Westinghouse”) was produced which depicted Lucy and Desi giving a Westinghouse Executive a tour of their studio, formerly RKO. All through the tour, much to the dismay of Desi, Lucy is trying to order appliances for her dressing room from the executive!  At the end, Lucy appears inside a Westinghouse dryer - hiding from Desi!  Like Ellis in Freedomland, this film was only shown to Westinghouse employees. Unlike Ellis, it was filmed in black and white - only later colorized for home video. Throughout the film, Desi mispronounces the company’s name as “Westin-Gouse” and its spokesperson as Betty “Furnace”.  

During that time, the cast often did long-form commercials for Westinghouse. Here, Betty Furness and Vivian Vance join Lucille Ball to talk about the 1959 Westinghouse washing machine, the same type of appliance Ball voiced in this film seven years earlier. 

Naturally, during this period Lucy Ricardo had the most up-to-date Westinghouse appliances in her Westport home. Like this two-toned refrigerator and freezer.

Back in New York City, the Ricardos owned a Westinghouse Clock Radio! 

The Handy Dandy vacuum cleaner was actually a Westinghouse model! 

In 1954, Lucy made breakfast with her Westinghouse "Grill-n-Waffler" Waffle Iron - if only she can remember to pay the electricity bill, that is! 

Lucy squeezes oranges for juice with her Westinghouse Model #FM-511 Food Crafter with juicer attachment (sold separately). 

Lucy owned two different models of the Westinghouse Commander Super-Corox Range. This 1950 model was used during season one...

...and this 1954 Model on a later season. It looks similar to the 1950 model, but the controls have a different layout.

In 1953, ownership of a washing machine was a point of contention between the Ricardos and Mertzes. The appliance used in the episode is labeled Epernay (a fictional brand). In actuality, it is probably a Launderall Horton 500 with gas stove handles affixed to the sides to help move it back and forth on the narrow porch.

Lucy uses the washing machine (a lot!) in Yours, Mine and Ours (1968). It is impossible to see what brand it is. 

Coincidentally, in April 1952, “I Love Lucy” did an episode titled “The Freezer” (ILL S1;E29) where Lucy and Ethel want to buy a home freezer to economize, but end up buying a walk-in model instead. In Jess Oppenheimer’s book, he states that newspapers and magazines were full of ads for home freezers at the time. Once they came up with the idea of Lucy getting trapped in the freezer, they had to abandon the home freezer idea for a larger, walk-in model.  

In 1966, a TV musical titled “Evening Primrose” with music by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, also explored the idea of department store mannequins coming to life. Anthony Perkins starred. 

The idea of anthropomorphized laundry room appliances was also explored in the 2004 Broadway musical Caroline, or Change, in which actors played embodiment of the Washing Machine and the Dryer.  A revival of the musical was on track for Broadway but interrupted by the Corona Virus pandemic. 

In 1987, the film Mannequin starring Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall also explored the idea of department store mannequin coming to life. It was partly based on the 1948 film One Touch of Venus, although in that film, the mannequin was a statue. 

[papermoonloveslucy]

BYRON FOULGER

August 27, 1899

Byron Kay Foulger was born in Ogden, Utah. He attended the University of Utah and started acting through in community theatre. He made his Broadway debut in March 1920 in a production of Medea featuring Moroni Olsen (the Judge in “The Courtroom”), and performed in four more productions with Olsen on the 'Great White Way', back-to-back, ending in April 1922. He then toured with Olsen's stock company, and ended up at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he both acted and directed.

Foulger made his film debut in 1933 for RKO, just like Lucille Ball. Oddly, the two never appeared together despite him doing nearly 300 films from 1933 to 1952. In 1940, he did three films with William Frawley (Fred Mertz).  

In 1952, Lucy and Foulger were both part of a color Westinghouse industrial film called Ellis in Freedomland.  Foulger played a night watchman in a department store while Lucy was the voice of Lina the Launderette (aka Washing Machine).  

BYRON (to Lucy): “You don’t have any friends, do you?” LUCY (tearing up): “No, I don’t!” 

Foulger’s television career featured nearly 100 appearances but Lucy fans are bound to remember him as the spokesman of The Friends of the Friendless in “Lucy’s Last Birthday” (ILL S2;E25) in 1953. 

DORIS: “Oh, shut up, Fred!”

It took a dozen years for Fouger to re-team with Lucy, in 1965′s “My Fair Lucy” (TLS S3;E20). He played Fred Dunbar, the henpecked husband of Doris (Reta Shaw). The character is named after Lucy’s brother, Fred, who also gave his first name to the landlord on “I Love Lucy.” 

FRED: “Oh, shut up, Doris!” 

The Countess (Ann Sothern) recruits Lucy Carmichael to con the Dunbars into financing her charm school by pretending to be transformed a la Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Foulger also worked with Sothern on two episodes of “My Mother the Car” in 1965 and 1966. 

MR. TRINDLE (pointing excitedly to Lucy): “Yes!  That’s the one! I’ll never forget in a thousand years!  That’s her!” 

Two years later, Foulger was back on “The Lucy Show” to play Mr. Trindle, owner of a jewelry store supposedly robbed by Lucy in “Lucy Meets the Law” (TLS S5;E19). This would be his last appearance opposite Lucille Ball. 

FOULGER at DESILU!

Three years after his appearance on “I Love Lucy,” Foulger was seen on an episode of “Our Miss Brooks” with Eve Arden and Gale Gordon, filmed on the Desilu lot and aired on CBS. 

In 1957 and 1958, he did two episodes of the CBS Desilu sitcom “December Bride” starring Verna Felton and Harry Morgan. 

In 1958, he did two episodes (as different characters) on “The Danny Thomas Show” filmed at Desilu Studios. 

In 1959, he did an episode of Desilu’s hit mobster series “The Untouchables”. 

In the mid-1960s Foulger was on the Desilu lot to film three episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show” playing different characters each time. 

Foulger was seen on all three of CBS’s inter-connected rural sitcoms: “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1962 & 1965), “Green Acres” (1966), and the recurring role of Mr. Guerney and Wendell Gibbs on 22 episodes of “Petticoat Junction” (1965-69). 

From 1926 until his death he was married to actress Dorothy Adams, having one child, Rachel. Foulger died of heart trouble on April 4, 1970 at the age of 70. 

[papermoonloveslucy]

ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

April 8, 1946

Directors: Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth. Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney,  Norman Taurog, Charles Walters. Robert Lewis Producer: Arthur Freed for Metro Goldwyn Mayer

The shooting schedule ran between April 10 and August 18, 1944, with retakes plus additional segments filmed on December 22, 1944 and then between January 25 and February 6, 1945. The film was first proposed in 1939. 

Synopsis ~ We meet a grayed, immaculately garbed Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. in Paradise (his diary entry reads "Another heavenly day"), where he looks down upon the world and muses over the sort of show he'd be putting on were he still alive.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball ('Here's to the Ladies') is appearing in her 64th film since coming to Hollywood in 1933. 

Fred Astaire ('Here's to the Ladies' / Raffles in 'This Heart of Mine' / Tai Long in 'Limehouse Blues’ / Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), and Follow the Fleet (1936). His name was mentioned twice on “I Love Lucy.”

Lucille Bremer (Princess in 'This Heart of Mine' / Moy Ling in 'Limehouse Blues') 

Fanny Brice (Norma Edelman in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') appeared in the original stage version of many editions of The Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway.

Judy Garland (The Star in 'A Great Lady Has An Interview') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943). 

Kathryn Grayson (Kathryn Grayson in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Lena Horne (Lena Horne in 'Love') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Gene Kelly (Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and A Guide for the Married Man (1967). He made an appearance on the Lucille Ball special “Lucy Moves to NBC” (1980).  

James Melton (Alfredo in 'La Traviata')

Victor Moore (Lawyer's Client in 'Pay the Two Dollars')

Red Skelton (J. Newton Numbskull in 'When Television Comes') also starred with Lucille Ball in Having Wonderful Time (1938), Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950).  On TV he appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1958). Ball and Skelton appeared in numerous TV specials together. 

Esther Williams (Esther Williams in 'A Water Ballet') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946). 

William Powell (Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.) also played the same character in The Great Ziegfeld (1936). 

Edward Arnold (Lawyer in 'Pay the Two Dollars') appeared with Lucille Ball in Roman Scandals (1933) and Ellis in Freedomland (1952).

Marion Bell (Violetta in 'La Traviata')

Cyd Charisse (Ballerina in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Hume Cronyn (Monty in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') was honored by The Kennedy Center in 1986, at the same ceremony as Lucille Ball. 

William Frawley (Martin in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') played the role of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”. He also appeared on “The Lucy Show,” his final screen appearance. 

Robert Lewis (Chinese Gentleman in 'Limehouse Blues' / Telephone Voice in 'Number Please')

Virginia O'Brien (Virginia O'Brien in 'Here's to the Ladies') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and Meet The People (1944). 

Keenan Wynn (Caller in 'Number Please') appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946), Without Love (1945), and The Long, Long Trailer (1954). 

SUPPORTING CAST

Ziegfeld Girls

Karin Booth  

Lucille Casey  

Aina Constant  

Elizabeth Dailey  

Frances Donelan  

Natalie Draper  

Karen X. Gaylord  

Aileen Haley  

Carol Haney  

Shirlee Howard  

Margaret Laurence  

Helen O'Hara  

Noreen Roth  

Elaine Shepard  

Kay Thompson  

Dorothy Tuttle  

Dorothy Van Nuys  

Eve Whitney - appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15).

Dancers

Gloria Joy Arden

Jean Ashton  

Irene Austin  

Judi Blacque  

Bonnie Barlowe  

Norman Borine  

Hazel Brooks  

Ed Brown  

Kathleen Cartmill  

Jack Cavan  

Marilyn Christine  

Laura Corbay  

Rita Dunn  

Meredyth Durrell  

Shawn Ferguson  

Jeanne Francis  

Jean French  

Mary Jane French  

David Gray  

Bill Hawley  

Doreen Hayward  

Charlotte Hunter  

Virginia Hunter  

Patricia Jackson

Margaret Kays  

Laura Knight  

Laura Lane  

Dale Lefler  

Melvin Martin  

Diane Meredith  

Lorraine Miller  

Joyce Murray  

Janet Nevis  

Ray Nyles  

Billy O'Shay  

Jane Ray  

Dorothy Raye  

Beth Renner

Melba Snowden  

Walter Stane  

Ivon Starr  

Robert Trout  

Chorus Boys

Rod Alexander

Milton Chisholm  

Dick D'Arcy  

Dante DiPaolo  

Don Hulbert  

Herb Lurie  

Matt Mattox  

Bert May - appeared on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford”

Jack Purcell  

Tommy Rall  

Ricky Ricardi (!)

Alex Romero

“LIMEHOUSE BLUES” starring Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, and Robert Lewis

Robert Ames (Masked Man)  

James Barron (Couple with Banners)  

Eleanor Bayley (Couple with Branches)  

Mary Jo Ellis (Couple with Banners)  

Sean Francis (Ensemble)  

James King (Rooster)  

Harriet Lee (Bar Singer) 

Eugene Loring (Costermonger)  

Charles Lunard (Masked Man)  

Patricia Lynn (Ensemble)  

Ruth Merman (Ensemble)  

Garry Owen (1st Subway Policeman)  

Ellen Ray (Couple with Parasols)  

Jack Regas (Masked Man)  

Billy Shead (Couple with Parasols)  

Ronald Stanton (Couple with Branches)  

Wanda Stevenson (Ensemble)  

Ray Teal (2nd Subway Policeman)  

“LOVE” starring Lena Horne

Juliette Ball (Club Patron)   

Lennie Bluett (Dancer)   

Suzette Harbin (Flirt)   

Avanelle Harris (Club Patron)  

Maggie Hathaway (Dancer)  

Charles Hawkins (Club Patron)  

Marie Bryant (Woman Getting Her Man Taken)   

Cleo Herndon (Dancer)   

“THIS HEART OF MINE” starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer

Helen Boyce (Countess)   

Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (Lieutenant)

Naomi Childers (Duchess)

Charles Coleman (Majordomo)   

Sam Flint (Majordomo's Assistant)

Sidney Gordon (Masked Man)   

Count Stefenelli (Count)   

Robert Wayne (Dyseptic)   

“PAY THE TWO DOLLARS”  starring Edward Arnold and Victor Moore

William Bailey (Subway Passenger)

Joseph Crehan (1st Judge) - played a Detective on “I Love Lucy” “The Great Train Robbery”

William B. Davidson (2nd Judge)

Eddie Dunn (3rd Subway Policeman)   

Harry Hayden (Warden)   

George Hill (2nd Subway Policeman)   

Wilbur Mack (Subway Passenger)   

Larry Steers (Magistrate)

“NUMBER PLEASE” starring Keenan Wynn

Peter Lawford (Voice of Porky)

Grady Sutton (Texan)

Audrey Totter (Phone Operator Voice)

Kay Williams (Girl)

OTHERS

Bunin's Puppets

Elise Cavanna (Tall Woman)

Jack Deery (Man)

Rex Evans (Butler in "A Great Lady Has An Interview”)

Sam Garrett (Roping / Twirling Act)

Silver (Horse in "Here's to the Ladies') 

Arthur Walsh (Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket") - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11). 

‘FOLLIES’ TRIVIA

Sidney Guilaroff, Lucille Ball’s hair dresser, who takes responsibility for her famous ‘golden red’ for this movie, becoming her trademark color.

Although they appear in different segments, this is the only feature film collaboration between “I Love Lucy co-stars" Lucille Ball and William Frawley. Coincidently, Frawley's character in this film shares a striking similarity with his iconic character of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy.” In this film he plays a money-hungry curmudgeon of a landlord, much like the show. In the above photo, he appears with director Minnelli and co-star Brice. 

The horse ridden by Lucille Ball is the Lone Ranger's Silver!

Lucille Ball was actually fired by Ziegfeld from his road company production of Rio Rita in the 1930s.

In February 1956, Lucy and Desi appeared on “MGM Parade” to promote their MGM film Forever Darling. The show also included footage of Lena Horne singing from Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy also played a showgirl in pink in “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (ILL S4;E19) aired on February 21, 1955. The scene was inspired by Ziegfeld’s legendary stage shows featuring beautiful women wearing elaborate costumes navigating long staircases. To solidify the comparison, Ricky says he is going to a meeting with Mr. Minnelli. Vincente Minnelli was one of the directors of Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy Ricardo had previously cavorted around in a lampshade in the manner of a Ziegfeld girl in both the unaired pilot and “The Audition” (S1;E6).

Ziegfeld Follies includes a sketch for Red Skelton called “When Television Comes” aka “Guzzler’s Gin” in which a (future) television spokesman gets increasingly sloshed on his product. This sketch was an obvious influence on Lucy’s Vitameatavegamin routine in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL S1;E30) aired on May 5, 1952. 

Ziegfeld Girl Eve Whitney appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15). She used her own name for the character.  

The Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket" Arthur Walsh - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11) as Arthur ‘King Cat’ Walsh. He teaches Lucy how to jitterbug. 

The first Judge in the “Pay the Two Dollars” James Crehan also played the Police Detective on “I Love Lucy in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5) first aired on October 31, 1955.

Porky, a voice on the telephone in “Number Please” Peter Lawford, played “Password” against Lucille Ball on September 24, 1964.  At the time, Lawford was married to President Kennedy’s sister, Patricia. On November 26, 1968, Ball was a guest on “The Tonight Show” when Peter Lawford was sitting in for Johnny Carson.

Chorus Boy Bert May appeared as a solo dancer on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford” (TLS S5;E21) in February 1967. 

In the dressing room, Lucy jokes with Fanny Brice, one of the funniest women in showbusiness.  This was the only time Ball and Brice collaborated and was Brice’s last film. 

Ziegfeld’s follies began on Broadway, so it was appropriate that the show featured past and future Broadway musical stars:

Lucille Ball ~ Wildcat (1960)

Carol Haney ~ The Pajama Game (1954)

Tommy Rall ~ Call Me Madame (1950)

Fanny Brice ~ The Ziegfeld Follies 

Marion Bell ~ Brigadoon (1947)

Victor Moore ~ Anything Goes (1934)

There was a lot of material that was not filmed, but written and cast. Some of the original skits would have added “Lucy” performers Mickey Rooney, Ann Sothern, and Van Johnson to the cast.

[papermoonloveslucy]

SAM HARRIS

January 11, 1877

Sam Harris was born on January 11, 1877 in Sydney, Australia. From 1928 to 1966 he appeared in roughly 770 films and television episodes, nearly all in uncredited background appearances. If Bess Flowers is the Queen of the Extras, then Harris is the King!  

His film career started in 1928 with The Spirit of Gallipoli, a silent film made in his native Australia.  

Harris appeared with Lucille Ball in 14 films from 1934 to 1956:

Kid Millions (1934)

Old Man Rhythm (1935)

Having Wonderful Time (1938)

Annabel Takes a Tour (1938)

Dance Girl Dance (1940)

The Big Street (1942)

Thousands Cheer (1943)

Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945)

The Dark Corner (1946)

Lured (1947)

Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949)

Fancy Pants (1950)

Ellis in Freedomland (1952)

Forever Darling (1956)

His first television appearance was on an episode of “Racket Squad” on February 28, 1952. 

As a background performer, he was often seen at parties and society functions, wearing a suit or tuxedo. He sometimes sat with his back to the camera or was in the distant background. 

On “I Love Lucy” Harris was in the audience for “Over the Teacups” in “Ethel’s Birthday” (ILL S4;E8). 

He played a subway passenger in “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (ILL S6;E12). 

He was quickly glimpsed in a Paris café in “Lucy Meets Charles Boyer” (ILL S5;E19) first aired on March 5, 1956. 

He was in the airport when “The Ricardos Go to Japan” (LDCH S3;E2) first aired on November 27, 1959.

Sam Harris appeared on six episodes of “The Lucy Show,” starting with “Lucy is Kangaroo for a Day” (TLS S1;7) on November 12, 1962. Harris was one of the diners at the sophisticated Cavalier Restaurant. 

“Lucy Enters a Baking Contest” (TLS S2;E28) on April 27, 1964 as a member of the Danfield Bank Board of Directors (above right).

Harris was a courtroom spectator when “Lucy is Her Own Lawyer” (TLS S2;E23) on March 9, 1964.  

Harris is on the board of directors (chaired by Gale Gordon) of Consolidated Pictures in the Lucille Ball / Bob Hope TV special “Mr. & Mrs.” aired on April 19, 1964 on CBS. 

Harris was at the country club formal dance when Lucy rolls in during “Lucy and the Good Skate” (TLS S3;E1) on September 21, 1964.

He was at the Embassy Ball (above left) in “My Fair Lucy” (TLS S3;E20) on February 8, 1965.

His final appearance with Lucille Ball is as a casino patron when “Lucy Goes To Vegas” (TLS S3;E17) on January 18, 1965. 

For Desilu or at Desilu Studios he appeared on “Our Miss Brooks” (1956), “The Adventures of Jim Bowie” (1957), “The Real McCoys” (1959), “The Ann Sothern Show” (1959), “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” (1960), “The Untouchables” (1960-61), “The Andy Griffith Show” (1961), and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1962-63). 

His final screen appearance was in the Disney film The Ugly Dachshund, released on February 16, 1966.  The cast included “Lucy” veterans Charles Lane, Bobby Jellison, Parley Baer, Dorothy Konrad, and Leoda Richards.  

Sam Harris died on October 22, 1969 at age 92. 

[papermoonloveslucy]

TELEVISION aka GEORGE RUINS A NEIGHBOR’S TV aka THE TELEVISION SUIT

June 17, 1949

“Television” aka “George Ruins a Neighbor’s TV” aka “The Television Suit” is episode #49 of the CBS Radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on June 17, 1949. It later served as the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Courtroom” (ILL S2;E7) first aired November 10, 1952.  

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

REGULAR CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) 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. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which 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.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born as Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father's garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his  roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84. 

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz, a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96. 

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release. 

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) and Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) are mentioned, but not in this episode. 

GUEST CAST

Hans Conried (The Process Server) first co-starred with Lucille Ball in The Big Street (1942). He then appeared on “I Love Lucy” as used furniture man Dan Jenkins in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) and later that same season as Percy Livermore in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (ILL S2;E13) – both in 1952. The following year he began an association with Disney by voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan. On “The Lucy Show” he played Professor Gitterman in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (TLS S1;E19) and in “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (TLS S2;E1). He was probably best known as Uncle Tonoose on “Make Room for Daddy” starring Danny Thomas, which was filmed on the Desilu lot. He joined Thomas on a season 6 episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1973.

Frank Nelson (Frank Stone) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. This is one of his 11 performances on “My Favorite Husband.”  On “I Love Lucy” he holds the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring roles: Freddie Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, as well as six one-off characters, including the frazzled train conductor in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5), a character he repeated on “The Lucy Show.”  Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs.  

Mary Lansing (Mary Stone) was best known for playing Martha Clark and ten other characters in Mayberry on “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Mayberry R.F.D.”, both filmed at Desilu. Lucy lovers might remember her as the voice of weepy Cynthia in “Over The Teacups”, the Broadway play that the Ricardos and Mertzes attend in “Ethel’s Birthday” (ILL S4;E9).  She met Frank Nelson performing on radio. They married in 1933 and had two children. Lansing appeared with him frequently on the "Jack Benny Program" during the 1950s.

Alan Reed (Harry, the Judge) is probably best remembered as the voice of Fred Flintstone where he acted opposite Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury), who voiced Betty Rubble on the animated series. His only television appearance with Lucille Ball was on “The Lucy Show” in 1963, an episode which also featured Frank Nelson. In 1967, he did an episode of the Desi Arnaz series “The Mothers-in-Law”. 

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. When Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George's boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, on air concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown. In addition to being aired on the CBS Radio Network, the episodes were heard on the Armed Forces Radio Network, where the commercials were omitted. 

THE EPISODE

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

As the episode opens, Liz and George are discussing their upcoming summer vacation. Liz has packed five suitcases - just for herself.

George is concerned that Liz’s swimsuit may be too skimpy, a subject explored again in “LIz Learns To Swim” (June 11, 1950) as well as on a couple of episodes of “I Love Lucy.” 

Liz and George realize that they do not know any of their neighbors well enough to ask them to water their lawn while they are away. Liz knows the first names (Frank and Mary) of the Stones next door because she read a postcard that was accidentally delivered to their house. George says that he hopes Liz didn’t read the message, but Liz lets it slip that “Mrs. Stone’s mother had a lumbago attack at Lake Tahoe.” On “I Love Lucy” Fred Mertz also chastised his wife about reading postcards delivered to their tenants. In 1951′s “Drafted” (ILL S1;E11) Fred say about Ethel...  

FRED: “Some people build model airplanes. Ethel reads postcards.” 

At the Stone home, Frank and Mary welcome the Coopers. Frank Nelson (Mr. Stone) does his trademark “Weeeeeell!” and the audience laughs, recognizing it from “The Jack Benny Program.” Mrs. Stone (Mary Lansing) asks if they would like to watch television. The Coopers do not yet own a television set, but Liz casually remarks that they don’t miss it.

LIZ: “I crawl in the Bendix and sing and George watches me through the little window.” 

The Bendix Corporation (1924-1983) licensed their name to a line of electric clothes washing machines. The 1937 Bendix Home Laundry had a glass porthole door, a rotating drum and an electrically driven mechanical timer. The machine was able to auto-fill, wash, rinse and spin-dry. Bendix Home Appliances was later sold to Avco who sold it to Philco.

In 1952, Lucille Ball actually played a talking washing machine in a full-length Westinghouse industrial film called Ellis in Freedomland.  

Six years later, when Desilu partnered with Westinghouse to present “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse,” Ball did another industrial film for them titled Lucy Buys Westinghouse where she actually got inside the machine, fulfilling Liz Cooper’s off-the-cuff comment of 1949.  

The idea of Liz pretending to be performing on television by getting inside a household appliance also recalls when Lucy Ricardo hollowed out their television set to help Ricky picture her doing a TV commercial in the now-famous Vitameatavegamin episode of 1952. 

On “I Love Lucy”, it was the Mertzes who did not yet own a television set. By the end of 1949, 4.2 million US homes had a television. By 1953, 50% of all American households owned one. The increase was credited to “I Love Lucy” and the 1953 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.  

Frank turns on his TV and after it warms up (a common problem with early televisions), the only program on any station seems to be wrestling. One channel is actually airing lady wrestling!  

MARY: “Oh, they have more than wrestling, Mrs. Cooper. Sometimes they have boxing and baseball.” 

Televised sports, especially wrestling and boxing, were the primary attraction in the early days of television, especially for male viewers. Long-haired blonde wrestler Gorgeous George was even mentioned on “I Love Lucy.”  

ETHEL: “Our grandmothers must have had arms like Gorgeous George.” ~ ‘Pioneer Women’

In “Ricky’s Movie Offer” (ILL S4;E6) the Grocery Boy asks Lucy what she’s supposed to be in her Marilyn Monroe dress and wig, Fred quips “Gorgeous George.”

Nearly every time Ricky and Fred watch television it is to see a boxing match, such as in “Ricky and Fred are TV Fans” (ILL S2;E30) in 1953. That episode, like this radio broadcast, also featured Frank Nelson.

When the TV reception is fuzzy, Frank and George feel they can fix it themselves, much to the disbelief of their wives. Frank takes the back off the set:

FRANK (reading): “Back of this set should be removed by a qualified television repairman only.”

On “I Love Lucy” the warning is similar:

FRED (reading): “Danger! High Voltage! Do not remove this back under any circumstances!”

Both Frank and George and Ricky and Fred cause their sets to explode by fooling around with some loose wires!  The wrecked TV results in name calling by both couples and the Stones / Mertzes threaten to sue the Coopers / Ricardos.

Next morning at breakfast, the Coopers are worried that a lawsuit will prevent them from going on vacation. Katy the Maid reports that there is a strange man at the door, whom they immediately suspect may be a process server. Liz tells Katie to lie and say that they are away for a fortnight in the Catskills. Katie answers the door nervously,

KATIE: “They left for a catnap in the Fortskills. I mean a nightcap in the Footskills.”

The Process Server (Hans Conried) surprises the Coopers when they sneak out the back door. They have been served!  

TRIVIA!  Ironically, on TV the Process Server (Harry Bartell) at first asks the Ricardos where the Lewis apartment is, to throw them off the track. On “I Love Lucy,” Miss Lewis was an elderly tenant played for one episode (”Lucy Plays Cupid”) by Bea Benadaret, the actress who usually plays Iris Atterbury on “My Favorite Husband,” although she is not in this episode. Hans Conried appeared as Dan Jenkins and Percy Livermore on “I Love Lucy,” episodes that book-ended “The Courtroom” during season two! 

George writes out Liz’s testimony, including stage directions telling her when to flirt with the Judge. Ricky Ricardo and Fred Mertz do the same thing on “I Love Lucy.” When Liz rehearses her testimony aloud, she states the date and time of the event as “June 13, 1949 at approximately 7:35pm” which was the real time and date of the broadcast. To keep the television version from becoming  ‘dated’ - any reference to dates is purposefully omitted. Lucy instead tells the Judge (Moroni Olsen) the events happened “about three weeks ago.”

In the courtroom, George and Frank act as their own attorneys just as Ricky and Fred will do in “The Courtroom”. For economy sake, the radio script omits the character of the Bailiff who swears in the witnesses, although the character is part of the television script. Both scripts also include the flirtatious ‘stage directions’ for Lucy and Liz to appeal to the Judge’s vanity. 

LIZ: “...when Mr. Stone suggested we watch television flutter eyelids at jury.” 

On television, Lucy hikes up her skirts instead of fluttering her eyelids. Since TV is a visual medium, during her testimony she just does it, rather than says it. 

TRIVIA: When the Ricardos and the Mertzes go to court again in “Lucy Makes Way for Danny” on the “Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”, the judge who Lucy and Ethel try to flirt with by hiking up their skirts is played by Gale Gordon, who usually plays Rudolph Atterbury on “My Favorite Husband,” although he is not in this episode. 

The final gag of the Judge’s TV also exploding is the same on radio and TV, except Liz intimates that they are headed for the city jail instead of the happy ending on television where the Judge encourages the couples to forgive one another and sends them home friends. 

CODA

George and Liz are in bed and George cannot sleep. Liz encourages him to yawn to induce sleep. It works!  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY: 40 YEARS OF TELEVISION

1952 Part One ~ JANUARY to JUNE

The second half of the first season of “I Love Lucy”.  In February, the show is nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, but loses to “The Red Skelton Show.”  Lucille Ball learns that she is pregnant again.  The first season ends with the most episodes (35) of any “Lucy-com”!  

"The Benefit" (ILL S1;E13) ~ January 7, 1952

One of three episodes intended to form the I Love Lucy Movie that was never completed.  Lucy and Ricky do an act called “Songs and Witty Sayings” which Lucy and Desi later performed for President Eisenhower. Filmed November 30, 1951.  

"The Amateur Hour" (ILL S1;E14) ~ January 14, 1952

This is the first time the Ricardos’ address of 623 East 68th Street is mentioned in the show. If the address really existed, it would be right in the middle of New York’s East River! The rambunctious Hudson twins are not actually twins at all, but two young actors costumed to look identical.  Filmed December 7, 1951. 

"Lucy Plays Cupid" (ILL S1;E15) ~ January 21, 1952

This episodes features Bea Benadaret, who was Lucy’s co-star on her radio show and first choice to play Ethel Mertz. Character actor Edward Everett Horton also appears as Mr. Ritter. The children in the above photo were recruited by Lucy to stave off the romantic affections of Mr. Ritter. A miniature Little Ricky is among the group (with conga drum) a year before the character was born!  Fred and Ethel do not appear in this show. Filmed December 13, 1951. 

"Lucy Fakes Illness" (ILL S1;E16) ~ January 28, 1952

Gobloots!  Lucy’s mystery illness is what this episode is best remembered for, although Ball also does a wonderful impression of Tallulah Bankhead. When reverting to childhood, Lucy’s baby voice was inspired by Ginger Rogers in the 1942 film The Major and the Minor.  This is the first appearance of actor Hal March, playing a character named... Hal March!  Filmed December 18, 1951.

"Lucy Writes a Play" (ILL S1;E17) ~ February 4, 1952

The first appearance of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League, presenting  “A Tree Grows in Havana” (set in Cuba) which switches mid-performance to “The Perils of Pamela” (set in England). The last episode filmed before Christmas break 1951.  

"Breaking the Lease" (ILL S1;E18) ~ February 11, 1952

This is the first time "Sweet Sue” is sung on the show. This is the first all-out fight between the Mertzes and the Ricardos. When Lucy is packing to move out, a magazine with Lucy and Desi on the cover can be glimpsed on the coffee table! Lucy’s friend Barbara Pepper (and candidate to play Ethel Mertz) makes her first of 8 appearances. This is the first episode filmed after the Christmas break, on January 5, 1952.     

"The Ballet" (ILL S1;E19) ~ February 18, 1952

Lucy continues to employ her friends, casting Mary Wickes as the ballet instructress, Madam LaMond.  According to Lucie Arnaz, Wickes was her mother’s most constant friend throughout her life. In addition to Lucy’s comedy at the barre, the episode contains the vaudeville routine “Slowly I Turned” (”Martha!”).  This is the third of three episodes that was supposed to comprise the unproduced “I Love Lucy” movie.  Filmed January 11, 1952. 

"The Young Fans" (ILL S1;E20) ~ February 25, 1952

One of only two episodes without Fred and Ethel, this episode features Janet Waldo and Richard Crenna as the ‘young fans’ reprising roles they created on Lucy’s radio show.  Both would have successful careers on TV.  Waldo (later the voice of Judy Jetson on “The Jetsons”) played Lucy’s sister on a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show.”  The episode also gives us the line “Keep jiggling, Peggy!” as well as a glimpse of Lucy and Ricky in their golden years.  Filmed January 18, 1952.

"New Neighbors" (ILL S1;E21) ~ March 3, 1952

This episode is probably best remembered for featuring Hayden Rorke (later Dr. Bellows on “I Dream of Jeannie”) and K.T. Stevens (one of Vivian Vance’s best friends). It also features a couple of firsts: the first (and only) time we 'break the fourth wall’ and see a window in the living room; and the first time the gang is behind bars. Filmed January 25, 1952. 

"Fred and Ethel Fight" (ILL S1;E22) ~ March 10, 1952

This episode is based on a real-life incident in which the Arnazes tried to mediate a spat between friends and were successful, but ended up fighting themselves. We hear about Fred and Ethel’s mothers, although neither will ever appear on the series.  It is the first time we hear Lucy Ricardo’s middle name: Esmeralda. We also learn that Lucy Ricardo dyes her hair - with bottles of Henna Rinse. Filmed January 30, 1952.

"The Mustache" (ILL S1;E23) ~ March 17, 1952

The episode really should be titled “The Beard”!   Ricky sings “I’ll See You in C-U-B-A” and we learn a little about the Mertz’s vaudeville past.  A mention of Major Bowes and Vigoro, a grass-growing product!  Filmed February 8, 1952. 

“The Gossip” (ILL S1;E24) ~ March 24, 1952

Features Bobby Jellison as the Milkman, 3 years before he played Bobby the Bellboy in Hollywood. Mentions of Gold Dust washing powder, Louella Parsons, and Hedda Hopper, who would appear as herself in season five. The show unusually makes use of voice over so that the audience can hear what Lucy and Ricky are thinking. Filmed February 15, 1952. 

"Pioneer Women" (ILL S1;E25) ~ March 31, 1952

The huge loaf of bread is one of the most memorable images from “I Love Lucy.”  It was an actual loaf baked by a local bakery. After the filming, the giant loaf was carved up and enjoyed by cast, crew and the studio audience. Less memorable, but still remarkable, is Ricky riding a live horse home from work!  Filmed February 22, 1952. 

"The Marriage License" (ILL S1;E26) ~ April 7, 1952

Marks the first time the action was set outside NYC. The show used actual facts from Lucy and Desi’s wedding to create the plot.  This is the first appearance of Elizabeth Patterson (who would go on to play Mrs. Trumbull) and Irving Bacon (who would go on to play Ethel’s Father, Will Potter).  Filmed February 28, 1952. 

"The Kleptomaniac" (ILL S1;E27) ~ April 14, 1952

The centerpiece of this episode is Lucy hiding a cuckoo clock under her coat while being quizzed by Ricky and Fred.  There’s also a live baby elephant!  Joseph Kearns (Mr. Wilson on ”Dennis the Menace”) plays Lucy’s feesukeyatrist (as Ricky says). Filmed March 7, 1952.  

"Cuban Pals" (ILL S1;E28) ~ April 21, 1952

One of the Cuban pals is played by sexy Lita Baron (Mrs. Rory Calhoun). Lucy and Ethel dressed as cleaning ladies is a highlight. Ricky sings “The Lady in Red” (which is the color of the dress Lucy is wearing above) and “Similau.”  The 1992 film The Mambo Kings inserted a scene from this episode into the story!  Filmed March 14, 1952. 

“The Freezer” (ILL S1;E29) ~ April 28, 1952

Who can forget the sight of Lucy’s icicle-laden face peering through the freezer window? Her slick spiel while re-selling the meat from a pram in a busy butcher shop was also memorable. Make-up designer Hal King designed Lucy’s quick-frozen look.  Filmed March 21, 1952. 

“Ellis In Freedomland” ~ May 1952

An 82 minute technicolor promotional film for Westinghouse Appliances. In it, Lucille Ball voices Lina the Laundromat (aka Washing Machine)! Some of the other celebrities lending their voices included James Mason, Andy Devine, Jerry Colonna, and Maureen O’Hara as the Dishwasher!  Betty Furness was their  spokeswoman. 

“4-Star Revue" (S2;E35) ~ May 3, 1952

Lucy and Desi’s first non-”I Love Lucy” appearance in two years. They re-join Ed Wynn, one of the show’s rotating hosts. This was also their first time on another network (NBC) since signing on with CBS to do “I Love Lucy.” They shared the stage with British comic Ben Wrigley, who would be featured in four future “Lucy” sitcoms!  

"Lucy Does a TV Commercial" (ILL S1;E30) ~ May 5, 1952

One of the three episodes most viewers rate as their favorite “I Love Lucy” episode!  In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #2 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes. In 2009, it moved to #4.  The initial airing was watched by 68% of the television viewing audience. This was also the first episode in which Desi Arnaz received a producer’s credit. It was such a funny episode, few remember that Vivian Vance is not in the show.  It was colorized in 2015. Filmed March 28, 1952.  

"The Publicity Agent" (ILL S1;E31) ~ May 12, 1952

Lucy poses as the Maharinsess of Franistan. “Hail, Tiger!” Ricky sing “Babalu” and “I Get Ideas.”  Filmed April 4, 1952. 

"Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio" (ILL S1;E32) ~ May 19, 1952

Freddy Fillmore (Frank Nelson, above) returns with a new radio show, “Mr. and Mrs. Quiz”.  Lucy steals the answers before they change the questions, and her on-air replies end up being unintentionally hilarious. One scene at home shows Lucy reading Look Magazine - one with Lucille Ball on the cover!  Filmed April 11, 1952.  

"Lucy's Schedule" (ILL S1;E33) ~ May 26, 1952

After having to turn down the offer to play Fred Mertz, Gale Gordon finally appears on “I Love Lucy” as Alvin Littlefield, new owner of the Tropicana.  The centerpiece of this episode is Lucy’s manic dinner party, complete with biscuits pitched like baseballs and barely tasted split pea soup that doesn’t get a chance to get cold.  Filmed April 18, 1952. 

"Ricky Thinks He's Getting Bald" (ILL S1;E34) ~ June 2, 1952

Series head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer was bald, and actually tried out the odd-looking device that Lucy uses on Ricky. Originally, the 'bald party’ was the episode’s last scene, not the 'torture treatment.’ After the episode was filmed, Oppenheimer didn’t think the party scene was funny enough to end the show, so new sequences were shot and the episode was re-edited to put the torture treatment at the end. One of just two episodes where Fred Mertz actually has hair!  Filmed April 25, 1952. 

"Ricky Asks for a Raise" (ILL S1;E35) ~ June 9, 1952

A farcical premise pays off with a hysterical quick change act where Lucy, Ethel and Fred, get to do a variety of characters.  Gale Gordon returns (for the last time) as Alvin Littlefield. “Ricky Ricardo is not playing here anymore?”  Filmed May 2, 1952.