To commemorate my latest interview with former child actor Keith Thibodeaux (Episodes 63 & 64) who is best known for playing “Little Ricky” Ricardo on the classic TV series “I LOVE LUCY” I've put together this entertaining trivia list featuring some fun facts about this hilarious classic TV sitcom for you to enjoy!
The valentine heart figure in the opening credits, closing credits, and commercial breaks, shown in syndication, was not the original opening credits' scenery. When the series originally aired on CBS, the opening credits featured animated clay figures of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz along with the sponsor's product - Philip Morris cigarettes, for instance. The valentine heart figure was created and added for the opening credits and closing credits when CBS began rerunning the series in 1958.
Bea Benaderet and Gale Gordon were the first choices of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz' to act as the Mertz household and their apartment landlords. Gordon was unavailable and Lucille Ball was unable to get Bea Benederet out of her contract on “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.”
“I Love Lucy” almost never made it to the air because CBS had trouble securing a sponsor for the show. Finally tobacco giant Philip Morris signed on at the 11th hour. As a result, lots of smoking was featured in each episode, and the name “Philip Morris” was worked into the dialogue whenever plausible. There was, however, one small problem: Lucille Ball was a Chesterfield girl. She eventually overcame this little hurdle by having a stagehand stuff any on-camera Philip Morris packs full of Chesterfield cigarettes.
Desi Arnaz invented the rerun during the pregnancy episodes of the series by re-playing some episodes (and change some of the scenery and lines) from the first season to give Lucille Ball time to rest and start to raise their new born son, Desi Arnaz Jr..
When Lucy was pregnant with Little Ricky, (Desi Arnaz Jr. in reality), CBS network censors did not allow her to say the word "pregnant." She had to say "expecting" instead. The episode title itself opted for a French touch: "Lucy is Enceinte".
44 million viewers watched the episode where Lucy gave birth to little Ricky. That's 72% of all U.S. homes who owned TVs at the time. And more watched this episode than Dwight D. Eisenhower getting sworn in as President the very next day.
This was one of the first TV shows to be filmed in Hollywood, at a time when many shows were done live in New York. It pioneered the use of three film cameras simultaneously, and the results were high-quality prints of a classic comedy series preserved for future TV audiences.
The Ricardos' address was 623 E. 68th Street. However, E. 68th Street in Manhattan only goes up to 600 - which means that the Ricardos' building was in the middle of the East River.
Before “I Love Lucy”, child actor Keith Thibodeaux who played ‘Little Ricky’ was a professional drummer since age 3. He never had any professional training with drumming. As a child he played drums with the Horace Heidt orchestra.
While the Ricardos and the Mertzes were in Hollywood, the backdrop of Hollywood outside of the Ricardo's hotel suite replicates the view as it would have been seen from the top of the stages at the Desilu lot on Cahuenga Boulevard (now Ren-Mar Studios), two blocks to the west of Vine Street where a majority of the I Love Lucy episodes were shot. Most of the landmarks at Hollywood and Vine that are on the backdrop (except for the Brown Derby Restaurant, which was demolished in the 1980's) may still be seen at that location today, over fifty years later. The Capitol Records Building was under construction when these episodes were being filmed and is not seen on the backdrop.
In 1951 CBS offered Lucille Ball a contract to transition her successful four year radio comedy program "My Favorite Husband" , into a weekly TV program, which was later renamed "I Love Lucy". She accepted on the condition that her real life husband (and real life band leader), Desi Arnaz, play her husband on the show. CBS strongly resisted the idea of using a Cuban immigrant on the show, fearing he would never be accepted by American audiences. However, Ball refused to do the show without him and the network eventually relented.
Vivian Vance was 22 years younger than her TV husband and resented having such an “old poop” play her spouse. Frawley responded in kind, referring to her variously as “that sack of doorknobs” or just plain “b*tch.” But all that animosity was strictly behind the scenes and known mostly only to the series’ writers and directors. Frawley and Vance were savvy enough to not jeopardize their jobs on TV’s most successful show by openly airing their mutual hostility. Even co-workers like Keith Thibodeaux a.k.a. Richard Keith (Little Ricky) and Roy Rowan (the show’s announcer), who were on the set daily, had no idea that things were less than cuddly between the two actors until years after “I Love Lucy” ceased production.
“I Love Lucy” was voted number two in TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. Only NBC's program, “Seinfeld” topped the 1950 decade series of all programs, as it was rated number one.
To this day, many people still think that 'Little Ricky' (played by Keith Thibodeaux a.k.a. Richard Keith in the last season of the series), was Lucy and Desi's actual son in real life. He wasn't. However, Desi Arnaz was very fond of him, and the likeness was remarkable, not least due to the fact that Keith Thibodeaux started learning how to play the drums as a three year old.
The Mertzes, Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel (Vivian Vance) were absent from only a few episodes, all in Season 1 (1951-1952). Neither Fred nor Ethel appeared in the Pilot, “Lucy Plays Cupid” and “The Young Fans”. Ethel appeared without Fred in “The Quiz Show” and “Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer”. Fred appeared without Ethel in “The Audition” and “Lucy Does a TV Commercial.”
Little Ricky's dog, Fred, introduced in the sixth season, was a Cairn Terrier, the same breed as Toto in “The Wizard of Oz”.
The Ricardos never use a key to open their apartment door after being out.
Vivian Vance won an Emmy for her performance on the show before Lucille Ball did.
Lucille Ball wanted to prevent Ricky's Cuban heritage from becoming a source of racist ridicule. She created a rule for the series whereby only Lucy could make fun of Ricky's accent and occasional garbled English. No other character on the show was permitted to poke fun at him for his cultural background.
The final episode of the series, " The Ricardos Dedicate a Statue", was aired on May 6th 1957. The episode does not contain any sort of conclusion or wrap-up to the series as it wasn't known at the time of filming that it would be the last. CBS made the decision to end half-hour episodes and transition the series into the "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" which lasted thirteen episodes and was a completely different venture from “I Love Lucy.”
Though Vivian Vance and William Frawley played an older couple, Vance was only two years older than Lucille Ball.
The last filmed episode “Lucy Meets the Mustache” was the last time Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz would work together. Immediately after filming, Lucille Ball filed for divorce.
Near the end of the series, William Frawley and Vivian Vance were offered their own spin-off series. William Frawley was for it, but not Vivian Vance; neither got along well with another, off-camera. Vance turned it down primarily due to not wishing to continue to work with Frawley. She also felt the Mertzes as leads would not work without the Lucy (Lucille Ball) character.
Little Ricky actor, Keith Thibodeaux was in all but one of this series' episodes. The only “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” episode without him was the 8th; “Lucy Goes to Alaska.”
Keith Thibodeaux is the last surviving regular cast member of “I Love Lucy.”
Trivia items from IMDB
To listen to my fascinating conversation with former child actor KEITH THIBODEAUX - who played ‘Little Ricky’ on "I Love Lucy” - who talks about his memories of working with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on the show and his revealing autobiography "Life After Lucy” on my podcast - click on the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 63 - HERE
Episode 64 - HERE
