(S5;E6 ~ November 7, 1955) Directed by James V. Kern. Written by Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll, Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf. Filmed October 13, 1955 at Ren-Mar Studios. Rating: 44.3/63
Synopsis ~ The whole neighborhood turns out to welcome the gang back from Hollywood. When everyone starts treating Ricky like a celebrity, Lucy thinks maybe she should, too!
The date this episode first aired also marked the premiere of TV Picture Life magazine, with an inside article about “Lucille Ball’s Intimate Life Story” - very similar to the kind of article Nancy Graham wants to write about Mrs. Ricardo in this episode!
It is established early on that Lucy’s mother (Kathryn Card) is already on her way home to Jamestown. She will not be seen again until Lucy and Ricky sail for Europe in “Bon Voyage” (S5;13).
The gang arrives home to 623 East 68th Street by taxi. The lighted sign atop the cab says ‘sky-view’ which refers to the fact that the vehicle is equipped with a sunroof so tourists could gawk at the skyscrapers during their trip.
The side of the car says Globe Cab Company. The sky-view feature was closely associated with DeSoto cabs. The front end of the cab is different color, indicating it might have been cobbled together from several vehicles.
Also glimpsed on the celebratory stoop is Eva Jean Mayer. She was the real-life mom of the Mayer twins, who were alternating as Little Ricky at the time, so it only made sense to have her in the chaotic scene. Michael and Joseph Mayer only played Little Ricky for three more episodes until drum prodigy Keith Thibodeaux (aka Richard Keith) assumed the role at the start of season six.
Others from the neighborhood include Lucille Ball’s friend and frequent extra Barbara Pepper, Desi’s camera and lighting stand-in Bennett Green, Lucille Ball’s future stand-in Joan Carey, as well as Roy Schallert, and Dick Cherney. Green is wearing one of Ricky Ricardo’s jackets in the scene and asks Ricky: “How does it feel to be a big movie star?”
Unpacking her Hollywood souvenirs, Lucy can be seen clutching her Brown Derby menu as well as her dried out and puckered autographed Robert Taylor orange and Richard Widmark grapefruit.
For the ‘Ricky Ricardo Block Party’ (which viewers never see) Lucy threatens to wear her “Don Loper original” a call back to “The Fashion Show” (S4;E20). Ethel says she will wear her “Gimbel’s Basement original.” Gimbel’s Basement was also mentioned in “The Fashion Show.”
Mrs. Trumbull saved all the back newspapers for the Ricardos, claiming that they don’t have The New York Times in California. The Times launched an ill-fated Western edition in the early 1960s but it last only a few years. Today, the New York Times publishes national and international editions. The exploding closet was a comedy trope made famous by radio’s “Fibber McGee and Molly”. Lucy’s closet spilled open when her mother-in-law visited early in season 4.
This marks the seventh of ten episodes in which Elizabeth Patterson played Mrs. Trumbull. The character was absent throughout the Hollywood episodes as she stayed behind to mind the apartment building for the Mertzes. Mrs. Trumbull claims to have been a Rudolph Valentino fan until Ricky Ricardo came along. Lucy’s mother, Mrs. McGillicuddy, also expressed her devotion to Valentino in “The Hedda Hopper Story” (S4;E20). Valentino’s name comes up again in “Lucy Does the Tango” (S6;E20) as he was associated with the dance of romance.
FRED (To Ricky, about Mrs. Trumble): “Why did she call you Rudolph?”
LUCY: “Because he looks like a red-nosed reindeer.”
Although Santa’s 9th reindeer made his first appearance in 1939, he didn’t hit peak popularity until after the Johnny Marks song was released in 1949.
Mrs. Trumbull compares Ricky’s homecoming with that of Charles Lindbergh in 1927. At age 25, Lindbergh went from obscurity to world fame by making a nonstop flight from New York to Paris. Lindbergh returned to America and a unprecedented reception. New York City honored him with the largest ticker tape parade ever. He then went on a homecoming tour of the nation.
Once again, someone mentions Ricky’s “shoe-button eyes.” Shoe buttons were often used as eyes for dolls (like Raggedy Ann) and plush animals (like Teddy bears). Ladies footwear at the turn of the century often featured button closures. Hence the term 'high button shoes.’
Oops! When Ricky enters the apartment after being mauled by fans, a brooch or pin about the size of a half dollar falls off Lucy’s belt. Desi picks it up and hands it to her on his exit with an ad-lib remark by Lucy to cover it. She then spends most of the rest of the scene trying to re-fasten it to her belt. While locking the door against the mob of fans (or during a cut in the action) she manages to re-affix it.
Charlotte Lawrence (Marge, center) was a popular radio performer, who had appeared as one of the club women in “No Children Allowed” (S2;E22) and would also make an appearance on “The Lucy Show” in 1963 before leaving acting for the corporate world. The name ‘Marge’ was often used by Lucille Ball when talking on the phone. Is Lawrence that Marge? Flower Parry (neighbor) was previously seen in “The Dancing Star” (S4;E27) and would return as one of the passengers on the SS Constitution in “Second Honeymoon” (S5;E14). Her first husband was actor Jackie Coogan.
In the crowd are Hazel Pierce and Bennett Green (arrows), who were Lucy and Desi’s stand-ins for lighting and camera rehearsals. Pierce appeared on screen in many episodes, and is probably best remembered as the heavily-bandaged woman who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel in “The Quiz Show” (S1;E5) and as the aging flapper who exclaims “I’m an angel!” during the roaring ‘20s revue in “Ricky Loses His Voice” (S2;E9). She also appeared with Lucy in Forever, Darling (1956), The Facts of Life (1960), 19 episodes of “The Lucy Show,” and the Desilu series “The Untouchables.” Green was featured on screen in just as many (if not more) episodes and was often given a line or two.
FAN: “Did Ricky really hob-nob with the stars?”
LUCY: “Oh, yes. We all hobnobbed. We hobbed with every nob worth hobbing with.”
Lucy tries in vain to tell her story about Bill Holden at the Brown Derby, but everyone is more interested in hearing from Ricky than Lucy.
Oops? Ricky says that he had lunch with Richard Widmark at Perrino’s but in the episode “The Tour” (S4;E30) he says that they dine at Romanoff’s. It is, of course, possible that Ricky had lunch with Widmark more than once. He then upstages Lucy’s story about William Holden and the Brown Derby as seen in “Hollywood at Last!” (S4;E16).
Everyone is treating Ricky like a movie star, but Don Juan was shelved and the writers skillfully avoid naming the film Ricky actually starred in. He does say, however, that it is scheduled to open at Radio City Music Hall in February (1956). This date was probably chosen to coincide with the opening of Lucy and Desi’s new movie Forever, Darling. Because The Long, Long Trailer had premiered at Radio City in 1953, it was assumed that Forever Darling would do so, too. No one could have predicted that Forever Darling would be rejected by programmers at the Music Hall. It opened instead at the Loew’s State Theatre, where newlyweds Lucy and Desi had performed in 1941.
Fred’s entrepreneurial spirit inspires him to compare selling Ricky Ricardo souvenirs with the discovery of Uranium! Uranium is a very heavy metal found in most rocks which can be used as a source of concentrated energy. During the 1950s the U.S. Atomic Energy Agency would analyze rock samples for uranium free of charge. The government paid $10,000 awards for uranium discoveries leading ordinary people to search for Uranium in the Nevada desert using detectors known as Geiger counter. Little did Fred know that he would be one of them in “Lucy Hunts Uranium,” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”
Lucy is interviewed by gossip columnist Nancy Graham. The character is probably a tribute to Sheilah Graham, who was an English-born Hollywood journalist. Along with Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, Graham wielded sufficient power to make or break Hollywood careers – prompting her to to say that she was “the last of the unholy trio.”
Elvia Allman plays Nancy Graham. Allman is best remembered as the strident chocolate factory forewoman in “Job Switching” (S2;E1) and as one of Minnie Finch’s eccentric neighbors in “Fan Magazine” (S3;E17). She would return to play Ida Thompson on the second episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour” as well as making two appearances on "The Lucy Show.”
Lucy tells Graham that she left Jamestown to go to New York City right after she graduated high school. Lucille Ball also left Jamestown for New York City, but she didn’t wait until she graduated and returned after just a short time in the City.
Fast Forward Fashion! The dress Lucy wears for the interview with Nancy Graham will be seen again on Hazel Pierce in “Country Club Dance” (S6;25), two years later! Since Pierce was Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in, it makes sense that her wardrobe would fit. Not unusually, Pierce is also in this episode!
Graham mentions that the population of the U.S. is 160 million, 80 million of them women envious of Lucy. The U.S. population has doubled since 1955. Naturally, Graham’s numbers make no allowance of the homosexual population - men or women!
Sitcom Logic Alert! Ricky’s sudden national popularity is difficult to fathom considering his unnamed movie hasn’t even been released yet! Previously, Ricky was only known for his nightclub act and some local television appearances. After a brief chat, Graham intends to write an article called
“NOW I AM HIS SLAVE” by LUCY RICARDO
a title that would raise more than a few eyebrows, even in 1955!
Oops! When Lucy is flying around the apartment trying to meet her husband’s every whim, her right heel slides on the floor, threatening to send her down. Lucille Ball steadies herself and doesn’t miss a beat.
Lucy says she is roasting a pig, because it is Ricky’s favorite food. In previous episodes, arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) was Ricky’s favorite food.
When Ricky is smoking a cigarette using his obnoxiously long cigarette holder, an ash or cinder floats down from above and gets in his eye, causing him to blink (unattractively) on camera. Speaking of smoking, although there is a lot of talk about cigarettes and frequent smoking in this episode, there is no mention of Philip Morris and all cigarettes are loose or in cigarette boxes, not packs. This is because the tobacco company was no longer sole sponsor of the series and just a month later, their sponsorship would end completely.
While multi-tasking for her big-headed husband, Lucy’s shoe-shine brush has bounced under hear chair. Fortunately, it is within Lucille Ball’s grasp. While the camera is down there, viewers can see a ‘spike mark’ (tape indicating where the actors must stand for camera and lighting) and that the telephone cord is not plugged into the wall, but tied off around the leg of the desk! This being Hollywood, it rings anyway!
Finally, Lucy is overwhelmed and (as Ricky predicted) declares emancipation from being Ricky’s “slave.”
LUCY: “And if you want another roast pig, you can crawl in the oven yourself, you big ham!”
But naturally, all ends happily!
When the Hollywood episodes were re-run, a new intro was filmed that opened with Lucy and Ricky opening their Hollywood scrapbook to tell Little Ricky about their adventures in La-La Land. Although not seen in syndication, the footage can be seen on the season 4 DVD extras.
Lucy Carmichael and Viv Bagley collected more than just a mere closet full of newspapers in a 1963 episode of “The Lucy Show.” Mary Jane Croft (as Audrey Simmons) doesn’t look too happy about it! This episode also featured Hazel Pierce, who plays a neighbor in “Homecoming”.
A month earlier, Lucy and Viv’s closet overflowed with popcorn instead of papers! Ben Hoffman (right) and Don Briggs (left) think WTF? Lesson? Never hide your popcorn machine in the closet!