I Love Lucy (1951–1957)

A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star along with her bandleader husband and gets herself in the strangest situations.

Stars:

Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance

Won 4 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Lucille Ball	...	Lucy Ricardo (181 episodes, 1951-1957)
Desi Arnaz	...	Ricky Ricardo (181 episodes, 1951-1957)
Vivian Vance	...	Ethel Mertz (177 episodes, 1951-1957)
William Frawley	...	Fred Mertz (176 episodes, 1951-1957)

Storyline

Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz. The first major show to be put on film rather than kinescope.

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Plot Keywords:

Bandleader | Performer Name In Title | Friendship Between Women | Cult Tv | Laugh Track | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

15 October 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lucy & Ricky

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 6625 Romaine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (179 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gale Gordon was the first choice to play Fred Mertz, but he was unavailable. When they came across William Frawley, Desi Arnaz wanted him, but he was told that Frawley would be a poor choice because he was a womanizer, a gambler, and a drunk. Arnaz said, "He's perfect!"

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Goofs

The regular tenants in the Mertzes' apartment house are the Mertzes, the Ricardos, Mrs. Trumbull, the Fosters, the Bensons, and there's at least another apartment temporarily rented out to the Johnsons, and other guest characters. Unless the apartment house was expanded into adjacent houses (which is never confirmed or denied), there is no way one brownstone could contain at least six of these middle-class 1-2 bedroom apartments.

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Quotes

Ethel Mertz: [does not believe that Lucy got her black eye when Ricky accidentally tossed her a book with poor aim, and suspects abuse instead] This is Ethel, your friend, to whom you may turn in time of crisis.
Lucy Ricardo: Ethel, have you been drinking?

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Crazy Credits

In some of the episodes, the star's names are voiced over the opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in The Nanny: Where's the Pearls? (1996)
Fran likens her life to that of Lucy Ricardo.

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Soundtracks

"Jingle Bells"
Written by James Pierpont
Performed by Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley

User Reviews

"Lucy" is timeless classic comedy

"I Love Lucy" is one of my faves guaranteed to elicit a constant belly laugh from me. Great way to start any day! Ball's comic timing in her scenes has NEVER been surpassed. Since I was born in 1945 this is also somewhat of an opportunity to see what life in America was like when I was a mischievous child. Today, of course, we know more than we want to about the real-life personality conflicts behind the scenes and Desi's constant insensitivity toward Lucille. Ms Ball was a great role model for young ladies, esp. in the industry, because of her managerial/financial/directorial brilliance. I don't think that the later "Lucy" sitcoms were even as good as the "I love Lucy" series.