I LOVE LUCY: LUCY DOES A TV COMMERCIAL (TV)
Summary
One in this series of comedies about the escapades of Lucy Ricardo, a zany redheaded housewife with show business aspirations, her Cuban-born bandleader husband Ricky Ricardo, and their best friends and neighbors Fred and Ethel Mertz. In this episode, Lucy bluffs her way into appearing in a television commercial with disastrous results. When Ricky has to hire an actress for a commercial that will air during a variety show he will be hosting, Lucy hatches one of her frequent, ill-advised attempts to participate in her husband's show-business career. After Lucy fails to win Ricky over by delivering an ersatz Philip Morris commercial in the Ricardos' hollowed-out television, she tells the woman he has hired that the job has already been filled. Lucy reports to the show's director and proceeds to rehearse the commercial -- for a health drink called "Vitameatavegamin" -- several times. The drink, however, is twenty-three percent alcohol, and Lucy quickly becomes drunk, flubbing her lines in progressively unhinged takes. Completely bombed, Lucy is consigned to a dressing room to sleep it off, but she manages to wander on stage in the middle of Ricky's opening number: a rousing Spanish song that, to Ricky's chagrin, becomes a comic duet. Includes commercials and promos.
(This program contains minor technical problems. This represents the best copy of this program currently available to the Museum.)
The cataloging of this "I Love Lucy" episode is dedicated with love to Brad Rivers by Brenda Gyllenswan and family, June 23, 2001.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: May 5, 1952 Monday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:28:37
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:19753
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Advertising - Parody; Comedy; Most Popular (Top 100); She Made It Collection (Lucille Ball)
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1951-1957
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Philip Morris cigarettes
- TV - Promos - "Racket Squad" (voice-over only)
CREDITS
- Desi Arnaz … Executive Producer
- Jess Oppenheimer … Producer, Writer
- Al Simon … Associate Producer
- Marc Daniels … Director
- Pugh, Madelyn (See also: Davis, Madelyn; Martin, Madelyn) … Writer
- Bob Carroll … Writer
- Wilbur Hatch … Music by, Conductor
- Lucille Ball … Cast, Lucy Ricardo
- Desi Arnaz … Cast, Ricky Ricardo
- Vivian Vance … Cast, Ethel Mertz
- William Frawley … Cast, Fred Mertz
- Ross Elliott … Cast, the Director
- Jerry Hausner … Cast, Joe
- Maury Thompson … Cast, the Script Clerk