“I Love Lucy”: A Timeless TV Classic

by Lori Ritchie

Millions of Americans stopped whatever they were doing on Monday nights to join the Ricardos and the Mertzes for the I Love Lucy Show during the 1950’s.

 

I Love Lucy premiered on October 15, 1951 and ran until June 24, 1957. The show maintained its regular time slot, 9 pm, on CBS for its entire run and was the first of only three shows in TV history to end its run as the #1 TV Show in America. There were a total of 180 black and white episodes of the program.

The show was modeled after Lucille Ball’s hit radio program, My Favorite Husband. CBS offered Lucy the opportunity for a television show just as the medium of television was taking off. Though the comedienne was excited by the offer, the actress wanted her husband Desi Arnaz to be her co-star and television. husband.

 

CBS executives wasn’t originally accepting of Lucy’s request to cast Desi as her co-star because of Desi’s Cuban ethnicity. The network withdrew their offer for the program. Ball and Arnaz created a nightclub act and toured the country during the summer of 1950. The successful tour was enough to convince CBS to sign a deal for the I Love Lucy Show with the couple.

Vivian Vance and William Frawley were cast as Fred and Ethel Mertz, the Ricardos’ landlords and best friends. The roles of Fred and Ethel were originally offered to Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet. These actors were unable to pursue the project due to previous commitments.

The I Love Lucy program was a sensation from the beginning and kept America laughing for its entire six year run.

 

The show was also ground-breaking in many ways. Desilu Productions, owned by Ball and Arnaz, was one of the first studios to use three cameras running simultaneously in front of a studio audience. This technique allowed for the vitality of live performances with the visual quality of film. This filming approach is now widely used throughout the television industry.

When Lucy became pregnant in 1952 with her second child, CBS became nervous. The network worried about ratings and about sponsorship for the show. Women weren’t portrayed as pregnant on television.

 

The I Love Lucy broke this taboo by weaving Lucy’s pregnancy into the storyline of the series. As a result, forty-four million viewers tuned in to the program on January 1953 to watch Lucy give birth to Little Ricky. An amazing 72% of all U.S. homes with TV watched this episode.

I Love Lucy was the recipient of many Emmy awards. The show won the category of Best Situation Comedy in 1952 and 1953. Lucille Ball won an Emmy for Best Comedienne in 1952 and Best Actress, Continuing Performance in 1955. The Best Series Supporting Actress Emmy went to Vivian Vance in 1953.

Many well-known stars made guest appearances on the series. Rock Hudson, Van Johnson, Richard Widmark, and John Wayne passed through Lucy Ricardo’s life. Charles Boyer, Bob Hope, Orson Welles, and Don Loper also made appearances. During the course of the program, Lucy shared the screen in hilarious memorable performances with Red Skeleton and Harpo Marx.

I Love Lucy is a part of Americana. The Baby Boomers first fell in love with this timeless funny girl and comedic genius. Reruns of the program, however, have brought the magic of I Love Lucy to subsequent generations. This hit series is truly a timeless TV classic.
 

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