#joe desantis

[loveboatinsanity]

[nerds-yearbook]

In 1950, a small Mexican town was filled with visitors for the fiesta; however what they didn’t suspect was that some of those visitors were from the future. Two of them were vacationers from 2155, who had been enjoying things not available in the war torn future. Not wanting to return to the bleak future and their roles in weapons design, they decided to defect and stay in the past. The other visitors were hunters from the future sent to bring them back. (“To the Future” Dimension X, Radio)

[papermoonloveslucy]

Lucy and the Golden Greek

S4;E2 ~ September 20, 1965

Synopsis

Lucy's new neighbor Mary Jane fixes her up with a lifeguard, a mousy man who only comes alive when under the spell of Greek music.

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney), Mary Jane Croft (Mary Jane Lewis)

The is the first appearance of Mary Jane Croft as Mary Jane Lewis. Croft previously played the recurring role of Audrey Simmons when the show was set in Danfield. She was married to former “Lucy Show” producer Elliott Lewis meaning that Mary Jane Lewis is Croft's legal name as well as her character name.

Guest Cast

Howard Morris (Howard Coe) had performed with Lucille Ball on Bob Hope’s “Star Spangled Revue” (1950). He is probably best remembered as Ernest T. Bass on “The Andy Griffith Show,” which filmed on the Desilu lot. His last appearance as Bass aired just one week after this episode of “The Lucy Show” and was the lead in to “Lucy in the Music World” (S4;E3). From the mid 1960's Morris was active as a voice artist for hundreds of cartoon characters. On Broadway, he played Rosencrantz to Maurice Evans' Hamlet, as well as appearing in two musicals.  This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.  

Howard is a professional lifeguard who has lived in California sixteen years and never had a date. His real name is Howard Colansankis and both his parents are Greek. He changed his name so it would fit on his lifeguard uniform. 

Robert Fortier (Jim Wells) was a dancer, actor, sailor and a commercial fisherman. He originated roles on Broadway in Pal Joey (1952) and Me and Juliet (1953). Fortier appeared in 47 feature films and TV productions from 1950 to 1985. He frequently worked with director Robert Altman. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Joe DeSantis (Headwaiter) was a veteran of a dozen Broadway plays from 1932 to 1980 as well as more than 150 screen credits. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball. 

Sid Gould (Waiter) made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” all as background characters. He also did 40 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton. Gould was married to Vanda Barra, who also appeared on “The Lucy Show” starting in 1967, as well as on “Here’s Lucy.”

Various background performers play the customers of the Golden Greek, the Greek dancers, and the quartet.  

The episode was filmed on June 3, 1965, before the season opener shot on location at Marineland. On that date, American astronaut Ed White performed the first US spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission. The title of the episode refers to a restaurant, not a character.

When the episode opens, Mary Jane says Lucy has been in Los Angeles about a month. She also manages to re-cap Lucy's life since she left Danfield thanks to the apartment's thin walls and a gossipy landlady (who we never meet). This is especially information is helpful for loyal viewers who may have missed “Lucy at Marineland” (S4;E1), where pretty much the same exposition was provided. 

Lucy has brought her portable transistor radio with her from Danfield. It was featured in all three episodes that ended season three. It was a Westinghouse Portable Vacuum Tube AM Radio first sold in 1959. Possibly a leftover from Desilu's relationship with Westinghouse.

The layout of Lucy's second floor Los Angeles apartment is not unlike that of her Danfield home. The only addition is a plant-filled patio off the kitchen door. 

Gale Gordon pronounces 'Los Angeles' with a hard 'g' (as in 'angle-eez') something he will do throughout “The Lucy Show” and “Here's Lucy.”

Mr. Mooney equates California to the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your weak, your lunatics, your cuckoo birds – and they all flock here!” This is a very loose paraphrase of Emma Lazarus's 1883 poem “The New Colossus” inscribed at the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. While Mr. Mooney is saying these lines the underscoring is the patriotic song “America.”  

For her blind date, Lucy wears a blue and green chiffon dress that perfectly matches her apartment. She also wears a blue satin coat that gets a few murmurs of appreciation from the audience. Mary Jane told Lucy not to “dress to kill” for the date. Lucy replies that she'll just dress to “wound him a little.” Lucille Ball spends the entire episode dressed in blue, a color that favored her. This may be a reaction to the fact that CBS is now airing the series in color.

Handing the patrons tambourines, the headwaiter says “You can bang alone with Mitchapopolis.”  This is a pun on “Sing Along With Mitch” (1961-1964), a very successful music TV show hosted by bandleader Mitch Miller. He was previously mentioned in “Lucy Puts Up a TV Antenna” (S1;E9).  

After Howard tweaks Lucy cheek relentlessly, she calls him “Zorba the Tweak,” a pun on the title of the Oscar-winning film Zorba the Greek starring Anthony Quinn. The episode was probably written just after the film won three Oscars in March 1965. 

When Jim asks Howard to dance, a bewildered Lucy says “Now that’s weird!” Mary Jane then tells her it is a traditional Greek folk dance where the men all dance together. Interestingly, while the men remove their suit coats, Howard and Jim do not. This is likely so that the audience can visually keep track of them in a screen full of white shirts.   

Callback!

The sequence where love-crazed Howard chases Lucy around the dance floor is vaguely reminiscent of when a jealous Lucy Ricardo was pursued through Ricky's African dance number in “Cuban Pals” (ILL S1;E28).  

Howard is a lifeguard by profession, although it hard to imagine with such a physique. Before Howard and Jim, Ricky Ricardo played a lifeguard in the gay ‘90s musical revue in “Mertz and Kurtz” (1954). Lucy Ricardo was ‘saved’ by a hunky pool lifeguard (John Hart) who thought she might be drowning in “The Hedda Hopper Story” (1955). To save money, Jack Benny was lifeguard of his own pool when “Lucy Meets Visits Jack Benny” (1968). There was also a lifeguard character in Lucille Ball’s 1946 film Easy To Wed played by Jack Shea.

During the dance sequence, while being pursued by Howard, Lucy does the stunt of pulling a tablecloth off a table without upsetting any of objects on the table. She previously did the stunt in “No Children Allowed” (1953), but here it goes by so fast it is easy to miss. 

Blooper Alert!

Much like in Danfield, the precise layout of Lucy's Los Angeles kitchen will change from episode to episode, depending on the plot needs. In this episode, Lucy quickly runs through, but no scenes are set there. 

“Lucy and the Golden Greek” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

[nerds-yearbook]

In 2155 AD, the world is at war. Half the world is dead the other half is dieing. Everything is rationed including luxuries like chocolate, tobacco and alcohol. Torture is acceptable means to force skilled workers to work on war projects if need be. The only place suitable for vacation is using time travel to the past. (“To the Future” Dimension X, Rd)