#and then there's her who loves to mime two ways of offing herself

[nordicbananas]

the thing about having a friend that's really hard to read is you don't know if they're joking or not

(tw in the tags for mentions of someone else 'joking' about killing themselves)

[papermoonloveslucy]

VAN DYKE & COMPANY

December 9, 1976 (S1;E9) 

Directed by John Moffitt

Written by George Burditt, Garry Ferrier, Ken Finkelman, Mitch Markovitz, Don Novello, Pat Proft, Leonard Ripps, Mickey Rose, Aubrey Tadman, Paul Wayne, Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke (Himself, Host / Various Characters) was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri, in 1925. Although he'd had small roles beforehand, Van Dyke was launched to stardom in the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, for which he won a Tony Award. He reprised his role in the 1963 film. He has starred in a number of other films throughout the years including Mary Poppins (1964) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). From 1961 to 1966 he played TV writer Rob Petrie in “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”  He also starred in “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” (1971-74), “Van Dyke & Company” (1976), and “Diagnosis Murder” (1993-2001).    

Lucille Ball (Herself, Various Characters) 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, which was not a success and was canceled after just 13 episodes.

The Lockers was a male lock dance troupe first known as the Campbell Lockers formed by Toni Basil and Don Campbell in 1971. They were pioneers of street dance. They appeared on “The Tonight Show,” “Saturday Night Live,” and “What's Happening!!”  This is their final TV appearance.

Andy Kaufman (Andy) was a performance artist and comedian. He is best known for playing Latka Gravas on the TV sitcom “Taxi.”  Andy appeared in movies, on Broadway, did a one man show at Carnegie Hall, enjoyed a brief professional wrestling career, and performed in concerts nationwide. He died in 1984 of lung cancer.

Kaufman is not credited in the opening title sequence nor in the closing voice over credits. This was likely to lend veracity to his continual habit of ‘crashing’ the show and interrupting Van Dyke's guests.

L.A. Mime Company

John Wheeler (Mr. Haley, Network Executive) was in the New York stage productions of Wonderful Town (also on TV in 1958) and Sweet Charity (also the film 1969). He was seen opposite Lucille Ball as Judge Breghoff in the movie Mame. He appeared on one episode of “Here's Lucy” (S6;E16) in 1974. Coincidentally, he played Fred Mertz in the TV film “Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter” in 1991.

Barry Van Dyke (Honey #2 / Helen's Paramour) was Dick Van Dyke's son born in July 1951, just two weeks after Lucie Arnaz. Like Lucie, he made his screen debut on his parent's TV show in 1962 and went on to larger roles in subsequent series'. Probably his most famous of those roles was as Steve Sloan in “Diagnosis Murder” (1993-2001).

It is a bit odd that Van Dyke's real son is playing (who is inferred to be) his male lover in the “Honey, I'm Home” sketch.

Judy Von Wormer had played one of the singers in “Lucy, The Co-Ed” (HL S3;E6) in 1970.  

Brian Bruno and Barney, The Paul Family

Stu Nahan (Announcer)

“Van Dyke & Company” was a short-lived variety show that aired on NBC from September 20, 1976 to December 30, 1976. A pilot episode was shot in October 1975, but the series did not debut for another 11 months.

In a 1965 appearance on “Art Linkletter's House Party” Lucille Ball said that “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was her favorite television program. The series was shot at Desilu Studios. It took 11 years for Van Dyke and Ball to collaborate. This is the first time Ball and Van Dyke have acted opposite each other, although the two had appeared as guests on “Salute to Stan Laurel” in 1965.  

A week before her appearance on “Van Dyke & Company,” Dick Van Dyke appeared on “CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years” paying tribute to Lucy's skill at pantomime (something both were adept at and demonstrate here) from the set of his show. In 2001, Van Dyke co-hosted “I Love Lucy's 50th Anniversary Special.”   

Genealogists claim that Lucy and Van Dyke are distant relatives. They are 10th cousins, once removed.

This episode of “Van Dyke & Company” was aired by MeTV on August 6, 2017 (Lucy's birthday). The entire series is available on DVD from MPI Video. Bonus features include audio from Van Dyke as a guest on “Let's Talk to Lucy,” Ball's 1964-65 radio show. For this episode, only Andy Kaufman's Elvis impersonation has been omitted, likely due to royalty restrictions.

On December 15, 1976, less than a week after this episode of “Van Dyke & Company” aired, Lucille Ball was on the dais for “The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast” of Danny Thomas.  

A cold open (pre-credits) has Dick paying a visit to the grand opening of “The New You Shop” staffed by Lucy, in a wordless physical comedy sketch. The premise has Lucy selling new 'body parts' (invisible and pantomimed with the help of sound effects) such as legs, chests, hands, faces, and feet.   

Trying on the parts inside 'The New You Machine', something goes horribly wrong. Dick emerges with arms that scrape the ground and a hand on the end of his foot!  

In Dick's monologue he demonstrates the differences in the family hour format as opposed to later time slots using a fictional show called “Honey, I'm Home.” The Family Viewing Hour was a policy established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1975. Under the policy, each television network had the responsibility to air "family-friendly" programming during the first hour of the prime time lineup (8 to 9 pm Eastern Time). “Van Dyke & Company” occupied the ‘Family Hour’ time slot.

“Honey, I'm Home” 8pm to 9pm ('Family Hour') – Dick comes home to find his wife waiting patiently on the sofa.

“Honey, I'm Home” 9pm to 10pm – Dick comes home to find his wife kissing another man.

“Honey, I'm Home” 10pm to 11pm – Dick comes home to find the same couple looking at a road map, but the 'honey' he's come home to is the man, not the woman!  

He attempts to show the audience “Honey, I'm Home” after midnight, but quickly opens and shuts the door, horrified at what he's seen (and we don't).  

A network executive (John Wheeler) appoints Richard (Dick) to Vice President of Programming in order to get him to tell fading star Marion Lane (Lucy) that her show has been canceled. Lucy receives a big ovation from the studio audience, which indicates this may be the first segment shot, with the cold open pre-taped without a studio audience.

Marion seems to know what he's come for and quickly takes a liberal amount of tablets.

Richard: “Marion, what's that you're taking?” Marion: “Sleeping pills.” Richard: “Wouldn't you call that a kind of a heavy dose?” Marion: “I'd call it an overdose.”

Turns out they were just breath mints. Still fearing the worst, Marion momentarily straddles an open window. When he finally delivers the bad news, she slaps him hard across the face, sending him careening over the divan. The sketch has a surprise twist ending with Richard being Marion's husband!  

Dick is discovered chiseling a sculpture and telling the audience that he's always wanted Rudolf Nureyev as a guest. He finally got a call from the dancer to tell him that he will be appearing – on “The Gong Show.”  “The Gong Show” was a low-budget amateur talent show that had only premiered on TV a few months earlier. This set-up is by way of introducing what Dick calls “the most fabulous dancers around” - The Lockers. After they perform their main act, Dick joins in, even wearing one of their costumes.

Dick and Lucy play Helen and Edgar, a couple celebrating their 40th anniversary. Edgar is 115 years old, and Helen is 75. She only married him thinking she would soon be a rich widow. Van Dyke's characterization of Edgar is reminiscent of when he played the elderly banker Mr. Dawes Sr. in Mary Poppins (1964). Helen tries everything she can think of to hasten her inheritance.

She cracks a champagne bottle on his head. Nothing.   

She tries to guillotine him while blowing out the candles on their anniversary cake. It misses.  

She gives him a big anniversary kiss with an electrified wire. He is energized by it.  

She offers him some fresh air out on the balcony (which they don't have) and pushes his wheelchair headlong out the terrace doors. Helen thinks she's finally succeeded in offing him, but he comes rolling through the opposite door a few moments later, his wheelchair now a mash-up of a trash can and mobility device.

Helen finally slips Edgar a mickey that does the trick – but first he calls up the newspaper to place his own obituary. The sketch has a twist ending with the entrance of Helen's paramour (Barry Van Dyke), who may be trying to do the same thing to her!  

Dick and Lucy are having some banter as themselves when Andy Kaufman arrives with his tape player wanting to be on the show. Although Dick says that Andy should just go away, Lucy says that she's seen Andy on the show before, and that he always interrupts guests, and they've all been very good sports about it. Lucy says that she just doesn't happen to be one and swiftly exits. Dick says Andy has previously insulted Carl Reiner (S1;E4), Hal Linden (S1;E5), John Denver (S1;E3), and now Lucy. Dick exits to find a security guard.  

Alone with the audience, Kaufman starts with an imitation of “Sanford and Son” saying (in his inimitable way, with clipped diction and seemingly incapable of imitating Redd Fox) 

“Elizabeth. I am coming to join you.”

He then tackles 'the Fonzie' from “Happy Days”: 

“Eh. Eh. Sit on it you stupid nerd.” 

Again without a trace of intonation or nuance. Finally he does a sped up Elvis Presley imitation. [This song has been omitted from the DVD release, probably due to song royalty fees. It is apparent that it has been edited out because the sketch on video quickly fades out and Kaufman had not yet used the tape recorder he brought onstage at the start.]

In another silent pantomimed sketch (the second of the show), Lucy and Dick play tourists taking photographs in a Tropical Forest. 

To get the perfect photo, Lucy and Dick virtually destroy the forest, breaking off twigs, pulling up flowers, and cutting down trees. Luckily, their picnic hamper comes equipped with a hacksaw and dynamite! 

In a final act of desecration, Lucy bulldozes the entire area clear, turning the lush setting... 

...into a parking lot!

Dick plays a long-haired Maestro (in sneakers) but instead of an orchestra, he conducts dancers. When the dancers go from classical to modern, the Maestro nearly gives up trying to control them, but when the music turns to a Broadway sound, even he joins in.

In the closing, Dick sings “You Make It So Easy” to Lucy. The two do some simple, yet funny, dance steps as well.

This Date in Lucy History – December 9

"Lucy and the Military Academy" (TLS S2;E10) – December 9, 1963

"Guess Who Owes Lucy $23.50" (HL S1;E11) – December 9, 1968

“An All-Star Party for Lucille Ball” - December 9, 1984