The Lucy Show (1962-68) was a fixture of my childhood. I wasn't exactly entranced by the show -- no cute boys, no exciting outer-space adventures -- but it wasn't designed for kids. Lucy had boring, mundane adult problems like sticking to a budget and worrying about her job, and she all but ignored the swirling social unrest in the world outside. But my parents liked it, so it became a warm, comforting presence on Monday nights.Apparently there were two versions. The first (1962-65) was an early Kate and Allie: Widowed Lucy Carmichael (Lucille Ball) and her divorced friend Viv (Vivian Vance) live in Danville, New York, with their children (Jimmy Garrett, Candy Moore, Ralph Hart). Before my time.
I just remember the second version (1965-68), with Lucy Carmichael living in Los Angeles, where she worked for blustering bank president Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) and got into crazy predicaments.
1. Some of the guest stars were cute, like Frankie Avalon, Ken Berry, and Clint Walker (left). Not her son, Desi Arnaz Jr., though.
2. Years later, when I began watching classic movies and tv shows, I realized that many of the stars were familiar from guest appearances on The Lucy Show: Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, George Burns, Paul Winchell, John Wayne, Jack Benny, Sid Caesar.
4. Lucy and Mr. Mooney were two grown-ups, a man and a woman, but not married to each other. In fact, they weren't married to anyone, nor did they express any interest in getting married (actually Mr. Mooney had a rarely-mentioneed wife off camera). Maybe Los Angeles offered an escape from the endless man-woman couples that I saw in real life, that the adults insisted was my destiny.
5. Episodes involving movie stars, references to Graumann's Chinese Theater and the Brown Derby, even throwaway lines like "I was stuck on Santa Monica Boulevard" helped define Los Angeles as an Arcadia or Oz, a place that is intimately familiar, that you constantly long for, even though you have never actually been there.
Maybe Los Angeles was a "good place."
Maybe Los Angeles was a "good place."
Actually, there was a Mrs. Mooney, she was just never seen (and very rarely referred to). However, in one episode Mr. Mooney entrusts Lucy with a wrapped gift for his wife, which Lucy winds up smashing into unidentifiable tiny fragments. When Lucy finally tracks down the original gift, it turns out to be a hideous ceramic cat, which leads Lucy to reflect on Mr. Mooney's relationship with his wife, "He must really hate her."
ReplyDeleteI always liked the opening of "Here's Lucy" https://youtu.be/RQ3G0RUkHrI
ReplyDeleteI actually liked "Here's Lucy" more than "The Lucy Show." It was more accessible, with the teenagers Kim and Craig, as I was approaching my teen years.
DeleteHer name's Mary Jane IRL? I was hoping for a drug reference.
ReplyDeleteDon't let coastal cities fool you. The minute you step out of the gay ghetto, the only difference is the zero tacked on to the end of your rent.