Here's Lucy
Encyclopedia
Here's Lucy is Lucille Ball
's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS
from 1968 to 1974.
was still hugely popular during the previous (1967–68) season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings (at #2), Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create a new show, as she had just sold Desilu Productions
(which owned and produced The Lucy Show), to Gulf + Western. Ball did not wish to continue to star in a show that she no longer owned. Here's Lucy was produced by Ball's newly created production company, Lucille Ball Productions. Desilu's successor Paramount Television
(PTV) co-produced the first season, but sold its stake in the show to Ball afterwards.
. Ball's character lived in Los Angeles and was named Lucy Carter. In this new incarnation, she had two children named Kim and Craig, played by her real life children, Lucie Arnaz
and Desi Arnaz, Jr.
She was employed at 'Carter's Unique Employment Agency' by her brother-in-law Harry, played by Gale Gordon
in a role similar to his Mr. Mooney
role from The Lucy Show. Mary Jane Croft
, who had costarred on the last three seasons of The Lucy Show, also became a regular on the new series, and Ball's longtime costar Vivian Vance
also made numerous guest appearances as Vivian Jones through the series's run. The series was created by Milt Josefsberg and Bob O'Brien in 1968. They wanted to comically present the "generation gap" struggle between a working mother and her two increasingly independent teenagers. They wanted change this time around and to escape the shows Lucy was so well known for earlier. They showed change in times (civil rights, music, sexual revolution). This format proved successful.
and Elizabeth Taylor
guest star in a storyline involving their famous diamond, which becomes stuck on Lucy's finger. Ball and Burton reportedly did not get along, as he found Ball's rigid perfectionism grating and he subsequently wrote about her in extremely unflattering terms in his memoir. Another noteworthy episode was "Lucy Visits Jack Benny." In addition to Jack Benny
appearing, Jackie Gleason
made a surprise cameo reprising his role of bus driver Ralph Kramden.
During its run, Here's Lucy featured a number of famous guest stars, many of whom were Ball's real life friends, often playing themselves (as had also been the case during the final three years of The Lucy Show). Among the stars, Ann-Margret
, Milton Berle
, Dean Martin
, George Burns
, Carol Burnett
, Johnny Carson
, Petula Clark
, Vincent Price
, Tony Randall
, Buddy Rich
, Ginger Rogers
, Dinah Shore
, Joe Namath
, O.J. Simpson, Danny Thomas
, Lawrence Welk
, Flip Wilson
, Donny Osmond
, Herbie Faye
, Helen Hayes
, Totie Fields
, Eva Gabor
, and Shelley Winters
all appeared during the run of the show. In addition, Lucille Ball appeared as herself (in an episode in which Lucy Carter enters a Lucille Ball look-alike contest; the episode, designed to cross-promote Ball's then current film Mame
, featured then fairly new technology, enabling Ball to appear on screen with herself).
In 1972, Ball suffered a leg fracture in a skiing accident and as a result, spent much of the 1972–73 season in a full-leg cast. (This was written into the show, with the Lucy Carter character also breaking her leg.) The "slapstick" was toned down for the remainder of the series, given Ball's decreased ability to perform physical comedy as a result of her injury. According to Geoffrey Mark Fidelman, author of The Lucy Book, this was the point where the "Lucy" character was "finally allowed to age." Ball's reduced capacity for physical comedy gave the other members of the cast, like Lucie Arnaz, and featured players Mary Jane Croft, and Vanda Barra a chance to shine.
In the spring of 1973, Here's Lucy had fallen to #15 in the Nielsens - the first time that a series starring Lucille Ball had fallen out of the top 10. Ball then decided that her fifth season would be her last. A final episode was filmed with Gale Gordon without a studio audience. In that installment, Harry's business was sold and he and Lucy reminisced together (using flashbacks) about their various adventures together. At the end of the episode, they both leave the office. Lucy then leaves a sign that says "closed temporarily", then she looks at the camera and winks. At the last minute, CBS president Fred Silverman
convinced Ball to change her mind and return for a sixth season.
with more contemporary fare like The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, All in the Family
, The Bob Newhart Show
, and M*A*S*H; Ball was the last performer from TV's classic age
who still had a weekly series at the beginning of 1974.)
, and in turn the rights were later transferred to Warner Bros. Television Distribution
(which acquired Telepictures' holdings). The show was also one of the first shows aired on the PAX Network in 1998. Warner Bros. TV remains the distribution rights holder for all media except home video. The series has been currently seen in Australia on the Go!
channel since 31 May 2010. For many years prior to that on Australian television, the show was originally distributed by a syndicator called Pacific Telecasters Pty. Ltd before being later held by Warner Bros. Television. It was a perennial favorite seen on the Nine Network
and lastly in 1992 on ABC Television
. Prior to Go!, the show originally screened on Ovation.
. The release is hard to find at most retailers yet most fye stores carry it. Shout! Factory
formerly held the rights, but they were recently transferred to MPI Home Video
, under license from the copyright holders, "Desilu, Too", and Lucille Ball Productions, Inc. MPI Home Video
has released the first four seasons of Here's Lucy on DVD in Region 1, as of March 29, 2011. Here's Lucy has been released in Australia in Region 4 through Madman. Season 1 on October 6, 2009, Season 2 on March 15, 2010 Season 3 on September 15, 2010 and Season 4 on April 20, 2011. Season 5 will be released on February 28, 2012. The last season (season 6) release date is to be determined by MPI.
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1968 to 1974.
Background
Though The Lucy ShowThe Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
was still hugely popular during the previous (1967–68) season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings (at #2), Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create a new show, as she had just sold Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who were married to each other from 1940 to 1960....
(which owned and produced The Lucy Show), to Gulf + Western. Ball did not wish to continue to star in a show that she no longer owned. Here's Lucy was produced by Ball's newly created production company, Lucille Ball Productions. Desilu's successor Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
(PTV) co-produced the first season, but sold its stake in the show to Ball afterwards.
Premise
The program's premise changed from The Lucy ShowThe Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
. Ball's character lived in Los Angeles and was named Lucy Carter. In this new incarnation, she had two children named Kim and Craig, played by her real life children, Lucie Arnaz
Lucie Arnaz
Lucie Désirée Arnaz is an American actress, singer, dancer and producer. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and is the sister of actor Desi Arnaz, Jr..- Early life :...
and Desi Arnaz, Jr.
Desi Arnaz, Jr.
Desi Arnaz, Jr. , is an American actor and musician and the son of entertainers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.-Early life:...
She was employed at 'Carter's Unique Employment Agency' by her brother-in-law Harry, played by Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy, The Lucy Show...
in a role similar to his Mr. Mooney
Theodore J. Mooney
Theodore J. Mooney is a fictional character on the 1960s CBS situation comedy The Lucy Show, he was portrayed by Gale Gordon.Mooney was the president of the local bank in Lucy Carmichael's hometown of Danfield. As such, he was also the trustee of an apparently sizable trust fund of which the...
role from The Lucy Show. Mary Jane Croft
Mary Jane Croft
Mary Jane Croft was an American actress best known for her roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love Lucy, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, and Clara Randolph on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet....
, who had costarred on the last three seasons of The Lucy Show, also became a regular on the new series, and Ball's longtime costar Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance
Vivian Roberta Jones was an American television and theater actress and singer. Often referred to as “TV’s most beloved second banana,” she is best known for her role as Ethel Mertz, sidekick to Lucille Ball on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, and as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy...
also made numerous guest appearances as Vivian Jones through the series's run. The series was created by Milt Josefsberg and Bob O'Brien in 1968. They wanted to comically present the "generation gap" struggle between a working mother and her two increasingly independent teenagers. They wanted change this time around and to escape the shows Lucy was so well known for earlier. They showed change in times (civil rights, music, sexual revolution). This format proved successful.
Guest stars and notable episodes
Richard BurtonRichard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
guest star in a storyline involving their famous diamond, which becomes stuck on Lucy's finger. Ball and Burton reportedly did not get along, as he found Ball's rigid perfectionism grating and he subsequently wrote about her in extremely unflattering terms in his memoir. Another noteworthy episode was "Lucy Visits Jack Benny." In addition to Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
appearing, Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
made a surprise cameo reprising his role of bus driver Ralph Kramden.
During its run, Here's Lucy featured a number of famous guest stars, many of whom were Ball's real life friends, often playing themselves (as had also been the case during the final three years of The Lucy Show). Among the stars, Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
, Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
, Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
, Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
, Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
, Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
, Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
, Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
, Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
, Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
, O.J. Simpson, Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
, Flip Wilson
Flip Wilson
Clerow Wilson, Jr. , known professionally as Flip Wilson, was an American comedian and actor. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series, The Flip Wilson Show...
, Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...
, Herbie Faye
Herbie Faye
Herbie Faye was an American actor who appeared in both of Phil Silvers's CBS television series, The Phil Silvers Show and The New Phil Silvers Show ....
, Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
, Totie Fields
Totie Fields
Totie Fields was an American comedienne.-Life and career:Fields was born Sophie Feldman in Hartford, Connecticut. She started singing in Boston clubs while still in high school, taking the stage name of Totie Fields...
, Eva Gabor
Eva Gabor
Eva Gabor was a Hungarian-born socialite and actress. She was widely known for her role on Green Acres as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character, Oliver Wendell Douglas, Duchess in the 1970 Disney film The Aristocats, and Miss Bianca in Disney's The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under...
, and Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
all appeared during the run of the show. In addition, Lucille Ball appeared as herself (in an episode in which Lucy Carter enters a Lucille Ball look-alike contest; the episode, designed to cross-promote Ball's then current film Mame
Mame
Mame is a musical with the book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and a 1956 Broadway play, by Lawrence and Lee, that had starred Rosalind Russell...
, featured then fairly new technology, enabling Ball to appear on screen with herself).
In 1972, Ball suffered a leg fracture in a skiing accident and as a result, spent much of the 1972–73 season in a full-leg cast. (This was written into the show, with the Lucy Carter character also breaking her leg.) The "slapstick" was toned down for the remainder of the series, given Ball's decreased ability to perform physical comedy as a result of her injury. According to Geoffrey Mark Fidelman, author of The Lucy Book, this was the point where the "Lucy" character was "finally allowed to age." Ball's reduced capacity for physical comedy gave the other members of the cast, like Lucie Arnaz, and featured players Mary Jane Croft, and Vanda Barra a chance to shine.
In the spring of 1973, Here's Lucy had fallen to #15 in the Nielsens - the first time that a series starring Lucille Ball had fallen out of the top 10. Ball then decided that her fifth season would be her last. A final episode was filmed with Gale Gordon without a studio audience. In that installment, Harry's business was sold and he and Lucy reminisced together (using flashbacks) about their various adventures together. At the end of the episode, they both leave the office. Lucy then leaves a sign that says "closed temporarily", then she looks at the camera and winks. At the last minute, CBS president Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
convinced Ball to change her mind and return for a sixth season.
Closedown
Here's Lucy ceased production at the end of the 1973–74 season, thus ending nearly 23 years of Ball appearing regularly on television. Though it was widely reported at the time that it was Ball's decision not to continue (as she wanted to pursue other projects), a number of sources through the years have stated that it was CBS that chose not to renew the series for the following season. The ratings had fallen, though Here's Lucy did still finish in the top thirty in the spring of 1974. http://www.tvparty.com/movlucy3.html (The network was also in the process of reinventing its image, having already replaced much of their old guard television productRural purge
The "rural purge" of American television networks was a series of cancellations between 1969 and 1972, the majority of which occurred at the end of the 1970-71 television season, of still popular rural-themed shows and shows with demographically-skewed audiences...
with more contemporary fare like The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
, and M*A*S*H; Ball was the last performer from TV's classic age
Golden Age of Television
The Golden Age of Television in the United States began sometime in the late 1940s and extended to the late 1950s or early 1960s.-Evolutions of drama on television:...
who still had a weekly series at the beginning of 1974.)
Nielsen Ratings
- 1968–69: #9
- 1969–70: #6
- 1970–71: #3
- 1971–72: #10
- 1972–73: #15
- 1973–74: #29
Syndication and rights issues
Not initially offered in syndication when the series ended in 1974, CBS Daytime reran the series from May 2 to November 4, 1977. By 1982, Here's Lucy was finally put into broadcast syndication first by TelepicturesTelepictures
Telepictures is an American production company, currently operating as a label of Warner Bros. Television, with Hilary Estey McLoughlin currently serving as President...
, and in turn the rights were later transferred to Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Warner Bros. Television Distribution is an American television distribution arm of Warner Bros. Television, itself a part of Time Warner formed circa 1960. In 1989, the studio formed Warner Bros...
(which acquired Telepictures' holdings). The show was also one of the first shows aired on the PAX Network in 1998. Warner Bros. TV remains the distribution rights holder for all media except home video. The series has been currently seen in Australia on the Go!
Go! (Australian TV channel)
GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
channel since 31 May 2010. For many years prior to that on Australian television, the show was originally distributed by a syndicator called Pacific Telecasters Pty. Ltd before being later held by Warner Bros. Television. It was a perennial favorite seen on the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
and lastly in 1992 on ABC Television
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
. Prior to Go!, the show originally screened on Ovation.
DVD releases
Here's Lucy: Best Loved Episodes from the Hit Television Series was released August 17, 2004 by Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
. The release is hard to find at most retailers yet most fye stores carry it. Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
formerly held the rights, but they were recently transferred to MPI Home Video
MPI Home Video
MPI Home Video is a home entertainment company that produces and distributes popular documentaries, films and television series on DVD & Blu-ray for the home video market. MPI Home Video is a subsidiary of MPI Media Group which was founded in 1976 by brothers Malik & Waleed Ali...
, under license from the copyright holders, "Desilu, Too", and Lucille Ball Productions, Inc. MPI Home Video
MPI Home Video
MPI Home Video is a home entertainment company that produces and distributes popular documentaries, films and television series on DVD & Blu-ray for the home video market. MPI Home Video is a subsidiary of MPI Media Group which was founded in 1976 by brothers Malik & Waleed Ali...
has released the first four seasons of Here's Lucy on DVD in Region 1, as of March 29, 2011. Here's Lucy has been released in Australia in Region 4 through Madman. Season 1 on October 6, 2009, Season 2 on March 15, 2010 Season 3 on September 15, 2010 and Season 4 on April 20, 2011. Season 5 will be released on February 28, 2012. The last season (season 6) release date is to be determined by MPI.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Season One | 24 | August 25, 2009 |
| Season Two | 24 | November 3, 2009 |
| Season Three | 24 | June 15, 2010 |
| Season Four | 24 | March 29, 2011 |
| Season Five | 24 | February 28, 2012 |
| Season Six | 24 | TBA |