‘The Lucy Show’ Turns 60

Naturally, when you think of Lucille Ball, the landmark I Love Lucy comes to mind. Known as the first TV sitcom to be filmed with three cameras on 35-mm film in front of a live audience, I Love Lucy defined the genre. It was an immediate sensation, concluding in 1957 as the top-rated program in all of primetime after six seasons. But the beloved Lucy (sans Desi Arnaz) also found enormous success in two other CBS comedies – The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy. And today, on this first day of October, we celebrate the 60th birthday of the The Lucy Show.

Originally planned under the title of The Lucille Ball Show and intended to air for only one season, Desi Arnaz persuaded Lucy to return to series television to help out their studio, Desilu, financially. There were a few conditions Lucy insisted on, however. It needed to air on Monday nights like I Love Lucy. And her former co-star, Vivian Vance, and her former writers would need to be involved.

Launched on October 1, 1962, the original premise of The Lucy Show featured Lucy as a widow named Lucy Carmichael who shares a house with Vivian Vance as her divorced friend Vivian Bagley. Also present were Lucy’s two children – Chris (Candy Moore) and Jerry (Jimmy Garrett) – and Vivian’s son Sherman (Ralph Hart). Lucy lived off her late husband’s trust fund, managed initially by the crotchety banker Mr. Barnsdahl (Charles Lane). Dick Martin (pre-Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In) was their neighbor. And, mirroring I Love Lucy, Lucy and Vivian got themselves is some unusual comedic situations (including the memorable episodes when the pair put a shower in the upstairs bathroom and an antenna on the roof).

As expected, this was the Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance we came to know and love, full of their trademark kooky high jinx. Historically, however, it was also a TV first, with Vance’s Vivian Bagley the first divorced woman featured in a television series.

The Lucy Show was an immediate hit, finishing its first season tied for fifth-place overall (with NBC western Bonanza) and peaking at No. 2 overall (behind The Andy Griffith Show) in its sixth – and final – season.

When Vivian Vance decided to call it quits after season three, the premise of The Lucy Show shifted to Lucy moving to Los Angeles to be closer to Chris, who was attending college in California, and enrolling Jerry in a military boarding school there. Of course, that begged the question…would motherly Lucy really ship her son off to boarding school?

Ultimately, Chris and Jerry were rarely mentioned at that point and the comedy shifted to Lucy’s new best friend is Mary Jane Lewis (Mary Jane Croft, who could certainly not fill Vivian Vance’s comedic shoes) and Gale Gordon, the master of the “show-burn” temper explosion, as Mr. Mooney, who was now handling Lucy’s money and who she eventually worked for.

Interesting factoid: The original plan was for Gordon to appear in The Lucy Show from its inception, but he had a prior commitment to replace the late Joseph Kearns on sitcom Dennis the Menace.

With Vivian Vance reduced to only occasional guest appearances, Gale Gordon was Lucy’s new sidekick, joining her as well in aforementioned Here’s Lucy and the short-lived Life With Lucy in 1986. While the ratings for The Lucy Show continued to surge, the show ended in 1968 as a result of the sale Desilu to Gulf + Western Industries and Lucy’s decision to walk away. Next Lucy’s third hit comedy, Here’s Lucy, which was born in the fall of 1968 under the newly formed Lucille Ball Productions.

In honor of The Lucy Show’s 60th birthday, here are some interesting factoids about the sitcom:

-In its first season, The Lucy Show faced established western The Rifleman on ABC and the one season drama Saints and Sinners on NBC. Both could not compete.

–I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show and Here’s Lucy each aired for six seasons and always in the Monday 9 p.m. ET half-hour.

–The Lucy Show was one of only two sitcoms at the time to use the multi-camera setup and film with a live studio audience. The other was The Dick Van Dyke Show, which was also filmed by Desilu and aired on CBS.

-William Frawley’s last television appearance was on The Lucy Show October 25, 1965, in the episode titled “Lucy and the Countess Have a Horse Guest.” He played a horse trainer at a barn Lucy and guest star Ann Sothern are visiting. After they talk, Lucy remarks: “You know, He reminds me of someone I used to know.”

Lucy, of course, was referring to Frawley as Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy.

-Vivian Vance refused to agree to appear on The Lucy Show unless she was allowed to wear nicer clothing than she did as Ethel Mertz on The Lucy Show.

-Garry Marshall, who was a writer in 11 episodes of The Lucy Show, said in interviews that he used this experience to help develop Laverne & Shirley.

In total, 156 episodes were produced for The Lucy Show. Combined with the 180 for I Love Lucy, the 13 one-hour episodes of follow-up The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, and 144 for Here’s Lucy, that is 493 episodes of everyone’s favorite red head, Lucille Ball, to enjoy!

Happy 60th Birthday to The Lucy Show!