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papermoonloveslucy · 6 months

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THE FACE IS FAMILIAR... BUT I CAN'T PLACE THE NAME!

Same Actor / Different Character ~ Part 1: "I Love Lucy"

It used to be quite common for actors to be cast in multiple roles on the same series. Not in principal parts, certainly, but in supporting and minor characters. Lucycoms were no exception. Although the world created by these shows was representative of reality, the characters who populated them often gave viewers Deja vu.

For the purposes of this discussion, we won't include background performers (aka extras) as they were nearly always drawn from the same pool of actors. Also, those who played multiple characters need to have at least two of them identified by name. We will, however, include "the "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours" in our discussion of "I Love Lucy".

FRANK NELSON

A busy character actor, Frank Nelson has the distinction of being the only performer to play more than one recurring character (a character seen in more than one episode) on "I Love Lucy": Quizmaster Freddie Fillmore and Westport neighbor Ralph Ramsey. In addition, he played a nearsighted waiter, a TV host, a policeman, a a talent scout, a customs officer, a cruise director, and (perhaps most famously) a train conductor. His turn as the conductor was so memorable, he reprised it on "The Lucy Show" in 1963. Lucy has worked with Nelson on her radio show and new that audiences loved him - so she had no problem engaging him time and time again.

CHARLES LANE

Another familiar face was veteran character actor Charles Lane. Instead of radio, Lane came from the world of film, having done several pictures with William Frawley. He played a total of six characters, including Mr. Stanley, father of nine girls when "Lucy Goes to the Hospital." He followed up with Mr. Hickox "The Business Manager", a casting director, a passport office clerk, a uranium claims officer, and (like Nelson) a customs official, this time at the Mexican border. Lucille Ball created a role for him on "The Lucy Show", only to let him go to make way for a similar character when Gale Gordon finally became available. But that didn't stop Lane, who kept acting until he died at the age of 102!

MARY JANE CROFT

Before settling into the role of Betty Ramsey (with Frank Nelson as her husband Ralph), Croft played the role of Lucy Ricardo's old chum Cynthia Harcourt, who's request for a charitable donation forces Lucy to take a job as a woman from Mars. She returned to new mother Evelyn Bigsby, who sits next to Lucy on the plane home from Europe. Interestingly, Frank Nelson is also in this episode. Just a few months later the pair are back as the Ramseys. Viewers didn't need to have long memories to think the Ricardos' Westport neighbors looked familiar.

ELIZABETH PATTERSON

Viewers fondly remember Patterson as Mrs. Trumbull, the lovable spinster who babysat Little Ricky. On her first episode in 1953, the character was irascible, but grew more likeable over the seven more appearances that followed. Many forget that when Lucy and Ricky renewed their vows in Greenwich Connecticut, Patterson played Mrs. Willoughby the mayor! Mr. Willoughby was played by....

IRVING BACON

Bacon wore many hats (literally) as the man who greeted the Ricardos in Greenwich. But he must've done something right because he was asked back to play Will Potter when the gang drove through "Ethel's Hometown" on their way to Hollywood.

KATHRYN CARD

Best remembered as the scatterbrained Mrs. McGillicuddy, Card was nearly unrecognizable when she was first seen on the series, as Minnie Finch's brusque neighbor in "Fan Magazine Interview" (1954). Mother (she never had a first name) was seen in seven episodes in 1955 and 1956.

HERB VIGRAN

Busy character man Herb Vigran started on "I Love Lucy" playing Jule, Ricky's music agent in two 1952 episodes. But when Lucy's washing machine goes on the fritz, Vigran shows up as Joe, a repairman who also happens to be Mrs. Trumbull's nephew. He also was seen as Hal Sparks, the publicity man who convinces Lucy and Ethel to dress as women from Mars at the top of the Empire State Building.

PARLEY BAER

Baer’s first collaboration with Lucille Ball was playing MGM’s Mr. Reilly in "Ricky Needs an Agent” (1955). He returned to the series as Connecticut furniture salesman Mr. Perry in "Lucy Gets Chummy with the Neighbors” (1957).

SHEPARD MENKEN

Menken did four different characters from season one to season six. He adopted a French accent to teach Lucy to Apache dance as Jean Valjean Raymond, sold Lucy clay as art store salesman William Abbott, examined Lucy's vision as an eye doctor, and reverted to his French accent to sell Lucy mass-produced art as Parisian con-man Charpontier.

DAYTON LUMMIS

Also in "Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined" (1953) we see Dayton Lummis for the first time as producer Bill Parker ("Parker Preps Prod for Pittsburgh Preem"). He returned the following year as publisher Mel Eaton when "Lucy Writes a Novel" (1954) and yet a third time as MGM producer Mr. Sherman in "LA at Last!" (1955).

LOU KRUGMAN

Viewers didn't meet Lou Krugman until season four, when he played the film director coping with Lucy and her unwieldy headdress. Ball was so impressed by him that she immediately cast him as the FBI agent on the train back to New York. When Lucy reprised her heavy headgear routine on a TV special, Krugman was again at her side. In season six, he was cast as the manager of the Club Babalu, formerly the Tropicana. The job lasted just two episodes before the action of the show shifted to Connecticut.

JAY NOVELLO

Novello was one of Lucille Ball's favorite performers from her radio show, playing Mr. Negley the postman and other quirky characters. On "I Love Lucy" he was first (perhaps best) remembered as theatrical producer Mr. Merriweather, who longs to talk to his beloved Tilly in "The Seance" (1951). He returned to play Mr. Beecher, the skittish tenant in "The Sublease" (1954), and "The Visitor From Italy" (1956), who arrives looking for his brother Sam Franchesca. Or maybe San Francisco.

JOHN HART

Another actor to score a trifecta was John Hart. Producer Jess Oppenheimer didn’t want to pay too much for the actor who would play Tom Henderson in "Lucy Changes Her Mind" (1953), a character who only says two words at the very end of the show. He wrote in the script that he wanted “the most handsome hunk of man anyone ever saw for $15.56.” Hart was cast. He returned (hopefully with a pay raise) to play the lifeguard who saves Lucy (despite her best efforts) in "The Hedda Hopper Story," and to play Jim Stevens, a studio executive meeting with Dore Schary poolside (the same pool he guarded in the previous episode) in "Don Juan is Shelved" (1955).

ELVIA ALLMAN

Another of Lucy's favorites from her radio sitcom was Elvia Allman. Even the most casual fan of "I Love Lucy" will recognize her as the barking foreperson at the chocolate factory ("Speed it up a little!") but she also returned to play one of Minnie Finch's neighbors ("Do you wanna see Minnie or don't ya?"). In a change of pace, she played Nancy Graham, the prim columnist who thinks Lucy should "cherish" Ricky. She also encountered Lucy Ricardo as Ida Thompson of the Westport PTA, and as Milton Berle's officious secretary.

HANS CONRIED

Perhaps no other performer was as beloved by Lucy and Desi as Hans Conried. He was seen on all of Lucy's TV and radio shows as well as in a film with her. On "I Love Lucy" he had time to do just two roles: the foppish English tutor Percy Livermore and the unscrupulous used furniture dealer Dan Jenkins. These two diverse characters showed Conried's range as an actor, so viewers can be forgiven for not noticing that they were the same actor - even though their airdates were just a month apart!

BOB JELLISON

Most viewers remember Jellison as the bell hop at the Beverly Palms Hotel. He played the portly luggage jockey for six episodes in 1955. Jellison was so convincing in the role that in "Lucy Hunts Uranium" (1958), he was once again cast as the bellboy, this time named Henry. But few remember him in his first series appearance, as the milkman (or “cow juice peddler”, as Bill Foster called him) in "The Gossip" (1952).

JOSEPH KEARNS

Kearns was another veteran of Lucille Ball's radio series. He found fame as Mr. Wilson on "Dennis the Menace". He played Dr. Tom Robinson, a psychiatrist, in "The Kleptomaniac" (1953). He returned to the show in its final season as the Theatre Manager in "Lucy's Night in Town" (1956). "If four people are seeing the show, then four have got to pay!" He died while still playing Henry Wilson so instead of recasting, George's brother arrived in town, played by...

GALE GORDON

Gordon's relationship with Ball goes back to 1938 on radio. She spent the rest of her career casting him on her various shows. She had intended for him to play Fred Mertz, but he was too busy - and too expensive - so Desi cast William Frawley. Lucy, however, wanted Gordon on the show, so the role of Mr. Littlefield, manager of the Tropicana, was created. The character appeared in two episodes. He wasn't seen with Lucy again until 1958, when he played a Judge that is tasked with deciding a case between the Ricardos, the Mertzes, and the Williams', in "Lucy Makes Room for Danny".

PHIL OBER

Ober was Vivian Vance's husband, so it makes sense that he would make at least one appearance - and he did - as the fake husband sent to the Ricardo apartment by "The Quiz Show" (1951). Ober's marriage eventually ended when Vance accused him of cruelty, but before that could happen, he was a last minute replacement for Dore Schary when "Don Juan is Shelved" (1955). Schary was a real-life MGM movie producer who was scheduled to appear as himself. He either got sick or (more likely) got cold feet. So Ober played Schary instead, leaving many unsavvy viewers thinking that Ober WAS Schary! Speaking of bad marriages and "The Quiz Show"...

JOHN EMERY

...played Harold the Tramp that was confused for Ober's character. Emery had been married to tempestuous Tallulah Bankhead from 1937 to 1941. Their four short years together were compared by Emery to "the decline of the Roman Empire". He played a Doctor in Lucy and Desi's 1956 film Forever Darling. It wasn't long before he was back at "I Love Lucy" to play the pet-hating Mr. Stewart when "Little Ricky Gets a Dog" (1957).

MADGE BLAKE

Blake is best remembered as Batman's Aunt Harriet, but after her notable role of the gossip columnist in Singin' in the Rain (1952), she was cast on "I Love Lucy" as Mrs. Mulford, the owner of the hat shop when "Ricky Loses His Temper" (1954). Lucy and Desi were introduced to her talent when she played Aunt Anastacia in The Long, Long Trailer. She was asked back in late 1956 to play Martha, the acrophobic prospective tenant for apartment 3B in "Lucy and Superman" (1957).

VERNA FELTON

Felton is probably best remembered as Lucy's demonstrative maid Mrs. Porter, but she first appeared as Mrs. Simpson, a housewife living without electricity but with lots of "Sale Resistance" (1953). The two roles aired just three months apart. A few months later Lucy and Desi cast her as series regular Hilda Crocker on their new sitcom "December Bride" (1954-57).

HAZEL BOYNE

A former dancer, Boyne was born on Independence Day 1883 and was 68 years old when "Men Are Messy" (1953) was filmed. She charmed audiences as Maggie, the Tropicana's Irish cleaning woman, dancing with Ricky during his rehearsal. She would go on to play one of Minnie Finch's neighbors in "Fan Magazine Interview" (1954) and a (don't blink) passenger on "The Great Train Robbery" (1955).

HAL MARCH

March had been an original cast member of "My Favorite Husband." In the first season of "I Love Lucy" he played an actor named Hal March who Ricky asks to masquerade as a doctor when "Lucy Fakes Illness" (1951). At the end of the show, announcer Johnny Jacobs says “The part of Hal March was played by Hal March.” March returned to the show to play womanizing lingerie salesman Eddie Grant in “Lucy Is Matchmaker” (1953).

WILL WRIGHT

Wright did two films and a radio show with Lucille Ball before being seen on "I Love Lucy." First, he played Mr. Walters, the locksmith from Yonkers, in “The Handcuffs” (1952). He returned to the series to play Bent Fork Sheriff (and father of Teensy and Weensy) in “Tennessee Bound” (1955).

ALBERTO MORIN

Morin was Carlos, one of Ricky's "Cuban Pals" (1952). He had appeared in some of Hollywood's most cherished films: Gone with the Wind (1939), Casablanca (1943), and Key Largo (1948). He was invited back to play Robert Dubois, waiter turned tutor in "The French Revue" (1953).

HY AVERBACK

Averback played two different Charlies on "I Love Lucy": Appleby and Pomerantz. Charlie Appleby was seen twice on the series, but was only played by Averback on his first appearance in 1953. Charlie Pomerantz was Ricky's press agent in Hollywood in 1955, coming up with the brilliant idea for Ricky to save Lucy from drowning in the hotel pool.

Naturally, there were many other actors whose did double (or triple) duty on "I Love Lucy", chief among them Bennett Green and Hazel Pierce, Lucy and Desi's camera and lighting stand-ins and were omnipresent throughout the series, although not always with specific character names.

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papermoonloveslucy · 1 year

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LEAVE THE DRIVING TO US!

Lucy & Busses

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - but what about busses? When all other forms of transportation failed, there was always reliable bus transportation to rely upon.

In May 1944, the St. Louis (MO) Public Service Company issued bus passes with film promotion for the Lucille Ball motion picture Meet the People co-starring Dick Powell. Such ads on bus passes were not uncommon in larger cities.

Busses were common forms of transportation for touring theatrical performers, including Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra. In early July 1947 they performed in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin before hitting the road for Akron, Ohio. At the last minute, Arnaz and his brother-in-law, Fred Ball, the band manager, decided to fly to Detroit to see Lucy’s play Dream Girl, while the rest of the orchestra traveled to Akron by bus. Disaster struck as the Checkerway Charter Coach driver James O’Brien fell asleep at the wheel. A westbound truck driver tried to swerve out of the way but couldn’t avoid the out-of-control bus. Nearly everyone inside was hurt - some seriously. The two band members who took Desi’s and Freddy’s regular seats up front were hurt the worst.

THE (BUS) TOUR

“The Tour” (1955) ~ Possibly the most famous example of Lucy and busses came in this memorable episode of “I Love Lucy” when Lucy and Ethel take a bus tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills while Ricky has lunch with Richard Widmark. This episode integrated studio-shot footage, second unit location filming of the bus in Beverly Hills, and actor doubles. We see Lucy and Ethel boarding the bus (#134) and later walking towards what is supposed to be Richard Widmark’s house, but was in actuality the Arnaz mansion on Roxbury Drive.

They board a Tanner Gray Line Motor Tour, which was an actual guided tour at the time. The Gray Line still operates sightseeing bus tours to this day.

Once aboard, the interior of the bus was recreated in the studio. The tour bus driver was played by Benny Rubin. Other passengers include Barbara Pepper (who takes the seat Lucy wanted), Audrey Bentz (the large woman who sits on Lucy), Vivian’s stand-in Renita Reachi, Desi’s stand-in Bennett Green, and Lucy’s future stand-in Joan Carey are also aboard.

LUCY: Pardon me, this seat is taken. PEPPER (not moving): It sure is, honey.

The tour bus route as it appears today, thanks to Google Earth!

“Lucy Moves To NBC” (1980) ~ The special opens with a tour bus covering the very same route as in “The Tour”. Lucille Ball (playing herself) gets off the bus and we realize she has hitched a ride home!

“Lucy Gets Lucky” (1975) ~ Lucy Collins takes the bus to Las Vegas to see her favorite star, Dean Martin. The bus lets her off at the MGM Grand, but Lucy’s budget has her staying at the less glamorous Cactus Flower Motel.

Stone Pillow (1985) ~ When Florabelle is mistakenly herded onto a bus to the Brooklyn shelter, an overweight woman accidentally sits on her. A similar thing happened in “The Tour” in 1955, when Lucy Ricardo was switching seats on a bus tour of the movie stars’ homes.

SPEAKING OF BUSSES...

“Fred and Ethel Fight” (1952) ~ While trying to repair the Mertzes’ relationship, Lucy and Ricky fight and Ricky leaves. She schemes how to get him back.

ETHEL: I'll call up Ricky and tell him you've been run over by a bus. LUCY: Run over by a bus? Well, that seems rather drastic. ETHEL: Oh, we'll only pretend. Have you got plenty of adhesive tape and bandages in the house? LUCY: Well, that all depends. ETHEL: On what? LUCY: On what kind of a bus I get hit by, local or express. I hope you got the number of the bus that hit me.

“Getting Ready” (1954) ~ No sooner has Lucy agreed to take the train to Hollywood, she re-considers. She peruses the bus schedule, which has been redacted to obscure the brand name: Greyhound.

“Tennessee Ernie Hangs On” (1954) ~ When ‘Cousin’ Ernie visits, he refuses to accept a bus ticket home. The episode becomes about how to get Ernie on the bus home without hurting his pride.

RICKY: Get a load of this. LUCY: What is it? RICKY: This is a bus ticket to Bent Fork. LUCY: He won't take it.

“California, Here We Come!” (1955) ~ Just before the gang leave for California, Lucy’s mother (Kathryn Card) shows up unexpectedly. How did she get there from Jamestown?

Mrs. McGillicuddy: I took the bus. It let me off right in front of the door. Lucy: Wait a minute. The bus doesn't come down this street. Mrs. McGillicuddy: That's what the bus driver tried to tell me.

“Visitor from Italy” (1956) ~ Mario (Jay Novello), a Venitian gondolier they met on their trip to Europe, shows up on the Ricardos’ doorstep looking for his brother. He refuses to accept bus fare to San Francisco, where they believe his brother has gone.

RICKY: (Returning home) Well, that's that. LUCY: You get him on the bus? RICKY: Yep. He's on his way to San Francisco. I stayed there until the bus pulled out.

The doorbell rings. It is Mario’s brother. He’s been visiting a sick friend - Sam Franceso, not in San Francisco. Of course, the episode is best known for Lucy making pizza.

“Lucy and Superman” (1957) ~ Carolyn Appleby (Doris Singleton) tells Lucy and Ricky about the film they saw starring Marilyn Monroe. Although the title is never mentioned, it is clearly a description of Bus Stop, also starring Don Murray. It was released in August 1956, two and a half months before this episode was filmed. The story, from a play by William Inge, takes place primarily at a desolate bus stop cafe.

“Lucy Meets Sheldon Leonard” (1967) ~ Lucy's excuse for being late to work is that the smog was so thick she couldn't find the bus.

“Lucy and Viv Reminisce” (1968) ~ Instead of flying her out, cheapskate Mr. Mooney sends Viv a bus ticket to travel 3,000 miles to come and nurse Lucy when she breaks her leg.

“Leave The Driving To Us” ~ was the advertising slogan of the Greyhound Bus Company. It was first used in 1956 and appeared for the next 40 years. It was used as a punchline in “Lucy the Laundress” (1970), “Lucy Helps Craig Get a Driver’s License” (1969) and “Lucy and the Used Car Dealer” (1969).

BUS SPOTTING

1940 ~ A New York City bus passes by the Roxy Theatre where Desi Arnaz was performing when he eloped with Lucille Ball.

1955 ~ “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” includes stock footage of a bus passing by Grauman’s Chinese theater, where the Clark Gable / Jane Russell film The Tall Men was premiering.

1957 ~ “Lucy and Superman” includes a rare insert shot of the street below the ledge where Lucy intends to ‘crash’ Little Ricky’s birthday party as Superman. This view shows a city bus stopping outside 623 East 68th Street. This disproves Lucy’s assertion to her mother in 1955′s “California Here We Come” that the bus doesn’t come down their street!

1957 ~ In “Lucy Wins a Racehorse” a bus unloads passengers headed into Roosevelt Raceway in this establishing footage.

1958 - Busses in the distance line up to go through customs headed in and out of Tijuana in “Lucy Goes To Mexico”. This second unit footage was shot on location using actor doubles.

1966 ~ The iconic double-decker busses of London crowd Picadilly Circus in this establishing footage from “Lucy in London”, a special shot on location.

SPECIAL BUS ROUTES

“I Love Lucy Comics” (1961) ~ “The School Bus” has Little Ricky missing the bus!

“Lucy is a Process Server” (1964) ~ Tracking Mr. Mooney to the train station, a bedraggled Lucy passes a winter-themed travel poster for Greyhound.

2013 ~ A Toronto sightseeing bus is wrapped with advertising for an “I Love Lucy” stage show.

Busses for the “Lucytown Tours” in Jamestown NY stop at the Lucy-Desi Museum.

The Rat Race (2011) ~ In the film, Cuba Gooding Jr. drives a tour bus full of Lucy look-a-likes!

In a scene deleted from the film (but included on the DVD extras), the bus-load of Lucys encounter a tour bus full of Rickys!

Finally, the most famous bus driver on television, Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) makes a cameo appearance at the end of “Lucy Visits Jack Benny” (1968). It seems money-hungry Benny charges busses of tourists to tour his Palm Springs home. The tour includes a hamburger or hot dog. Bus driver Kramden opts for a hamburger with dollar bill lettuce!

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