We LOVE Lucy!

by Two Chums on March 12, 2019

Lucille Ball – who doesn’t love her?

Her hit series that keeps on being watched, over and over again, keeps a lot of people laughing and never seems to get old. From a technical point of view, the show, I Love Lucy, was the first scripted TV series filmed using 35 mm film in front of a live, studio audience. It also was the first show to use a three-camera format.

Here are a few other fun facts about the show that you probably did not know.

Desi Arnaz (her husband, both in the show and in real life) was originally going to be named Larry Lopez when the show was being put together. The name was only changed to Ricky Ricardo because producers thought Larry and Lucy was a horrible alliteration.

The Ricardos’ best friends and neighbors got their names from people close to Lucille Ball. Fred came from the star’s brother (who himself was named after their grandfather), while Ethel was named after Broadway star and friend Ethel Merman. Coincidentally, Vivian Vance, who played the character Ethel on the show, was an understudy for Merman years earlier.

Apparently William Frawley and Vivian Vance (Fred and Ethel) did not get along in real life and that brought a lot of friction to the set.

Lucille Ball’s iconic red hair did not exist until 1942. Her real hair color was brown. She dyed it blonde when she first came to Hollywood. She would become known for her bright red hair, but that was a carefully constructed look.

Desi Arnaz is probably the best known for being prepared for every single scene. His incredible memory allowed him to read and memorize every one of his lines with just one script reading. Staffers on the show said he never messed up his lines, despite very little preparation.

One of the episodes, “Lucy’s Italian Movie”, is remembered by most. It is the one where Lucy and Ethel were stomping grapes. It was in this episode that Lucy nearly died! Turns out Lucille was actually choking on the grape, but continued to film. Once the cameras were off, the crew realized she was actually choking and came to help.

There were VERY few retakes and that was because every single line on the show was scripted. Lucille Ball later revealed: “We never ad-libbed. We never ad-libbed on the set when we were putting it together. It was there.” Even during Ball’s famous Vitameatavegamin scene, every single word was scripted, and cue cards were used to make sure Ball didn’t forget a single line.

When they weren’t filming or running the production studio, Ball often led a very normal life. She enjoyed gardening, painting, and taking a dip in the pool. Seems like their “every-guy” persona from the show translated into real life.

Thank you to definition.org for these fun facts!

Oh yes, we do love Lucy!