Trivia: Fred and Ethel's bickering relationship didn't require much acting; in real life Vivian Vance and William Frawley didn't care for each other at all.
Trivia: It was the first to tape before a live audience.
Trivia: Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred all do the impressions of Maurice Chevalier. Thirty-six years later, the same impression is done in the 11th episode of The Simpsons.
Trivia: Lucy Ricardo is from Jamestown, New York - just as Lucille Ball is.
Trivia: If you look carefully at the beginning, Lucy is reading McCall's Magazine, and "I Love Lucy" is on the cover.
Trivia: This was the first show to go to the hospital when a baby was born on a show.
Trivia: When Lucy was pregnant with Little Ricky, CBS would not allow the word "pregnant", so "expecting" was used instead.
Trivia: Did you know that the original names for the Ricardos would have been Lucy and Larry Lopez? In the lost pilot episode, the voiceover says "You are about to see the pilot episode of the show that was almost I Love Lopez."
Trivia: On January 19th 1953, when Lucy Ricardo gave birth to Little Ricky on I Love Lucy, which 68% of U.S. TV sets tuned in to watch, Lucille Ball also gave birth to Desi Arnaz Jr. (in a planned C-section) on the same night. Newborn Desi Jr. was featured on the very first national cover of TV Guide. As a strange coincidence, on January 19th, exactly 43 years later, Marlee Matlin gave birth to her daughter at the same time that the evening's episode of Picket Fences was being aired, and her character on the show, Laurie Bey, was giving birth to a son.
Trivia: I Love Lucy was the first TV show to shoot episodes on high-quality film, rather than cheaper video tape. The network was opposed to this more expensive shooting method, but Desi Arnaz struck a deal with them that his production company, Desilu, would pay the extra costs in exchange for ownership of the filmed episodes. In what is considered one of the most lucrative deals in television history, Arnaz and Lucille Ball made millions of dollars from rerun residuals.
Pregnant Women Are Unpredictable - S2-E16
Trivia: When Lucy's reading the book about infant care, she's holding a baby doll wearing a bonnet in order to learn how to bathe and diaper a baby, and the doll she's using is not just any prop. It's actually one of the show's endorsed products named the "I Love Lucy Baby" doll, which were sold in stores.
Trivia: When Mr. Willoughby puts on his bellboy hat he shouts, "Call for Philip__," and stops short, then adds that he's "heard that a thousand times but just can't remember the fella's last name." The sponsor of 'I Love Lucy' was Philip Morris Tobacco Company, whose popular ad campaign at the time was a bellboy who shouted, "Call for Philip Morris." (00:17:10)
Trivia: The radio quiz show sends an actor who pretends to be Lucy's long-lost first husband, Arnold. Philip Ober, who played Arnold, was married in real-life to Vivian Vance, who played Ethel. (00:21:50)
Trivia: I Love Lucy was the first TV show to use the three-camera filming technique. It was developed by cameraman Karl Freund and Desi Arnaz, who was the show's producer as well as its co-star. Cameras were placed center stage, stage right, and stage left. The film footage was later edited together to show the action from different angles. This method is considered standard and is still in use today.
Trivia: Right after hiring the maid, when Lucy's sitting on the couch she's reading Companion magazine, and on the cover of this issue there's a small inset photo of Lucy, Desi, and Desi Jr. This magazine is seen again in "Lucy Wants New Furniture" when she has dinner set up in the living room, and is waiting for Ricky to walk in. (00:12:50)
Ricky Has Labor Pains - S2-E19
Trivia: When Ricky tells Lucy to sit down and rest before the "surprise" baby shower, Lucy opens a McCall's magazine and on the cover it reads "I Love Lucy" though the cover has been altered a bit. This issue of McCall's is from January 1953, and the cover actually reads "Why I Love Lucy, by Desi Arnaz", which includes the article that was written by Desi. (00:05:15)
Lucy Does a TV Commercial - S1-E30
Trivia: Before Lucy begins her first rehearsal for the Vitameatavegamin commercial, the director calls out, "Maury, will you stand by with the script, please," and Maury, the script coordinator, takes a seat in front of Lucy with his back to the camera. Maury is played by Maury Thompson, who was the real-life script coordinator for "I Love Lucy" during the first season, before becoming camera coordinator. (00:10:50)
Lucy Does a TV Commercial - S1-E30
Trivia: When Ricky's on the air as the host of "Your Saturday Night Varieties" he tells the audience that he will start things off with a little music, and before he begins to sing he looks offstage and says, "Mr. Hatch, if you please" to cue the start of Ricky's music. Wilbur Hatch is the name of the real-life music composer and orchestra conductor for "I Love Lucy." (00:22:05)
Trivia: Not only the premise but much of the script comes from the 'George attends a teen-age dance' episode of 'My Favorite Husband'.
Trivia: The show's characters mirrored their real lives: Lucille Ball was born in West Jamestown, New York. Desi Arnaz was from Cuba, and both led their own Latin America bands. Vivian Vance was from Albuquerque, New Mexico. William Frawley was a huge Yankees fan.
Chosen answer: It's not known. She may have moved it to the spare room or it may be in a corner just off camera. There could be any number of reasons, though it probably took up too much room on the studio set, and it was removed, making it easier for the actors to move around.
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