Lucy the Choirmaster
S4;E14~ December 13, 1965
Directed by Maury Thompson
Written by Bob O’Brien, Lila Garrett, Bernie Kahn
Synopsis
Lucy celebrates her first Christmas in California. To continue a tradition she started in Danfield, she convinces Mr. Mooney to allow carolers to perform at the bank.
Regular Cast
Lucille Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney)
Mary Jane Croft (Mary Jane Lewis) does not appear in this episode.
Guest Cast
Lloyd Corrigan (Proprietor of the Christmas Tree Lot) was a portly character actor who played bit parts in silent movies before switching his attention to writing and directing. He returned to acting in the 1940s, appearing in two films with Lucille Ball. He first appeared as Mr. Holly in “Lucy Puts Up a TV Antenna” (S1;E9). This is his final appearance on the series.
Teddy Eccles (Barry, left) previously played Mr. Mooney’s son Arnold in “Lucy’s Contact Lenses” (S3;E10). He began his show business career at the age of 4 and was 9 years old when he first appeared on “The Lucy Show.” His last screen appearance was in 1977 and is now producing for television. This is his final appearance on the series.
Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael, second from left) was part of the original regular cast of “The Lucy Show” having appeared in 54 episodes as Lucy's son, Jerry. This is his final appearance on the series.
Robert Roter (Newton, second from right) was a child actor making his only appearance on the series.
Michael Blake (Malcolm, right) was a child actor whose career began at age two. He is now an Emmy-winning make-up artist.
Theodore Miller (Stanley, Singer on Skates) was a child actor making his TV debut. He would do one episode of “Family Affair” in 1968 before leaving the business. Miller was one of the few African Americans seen on “The Lucy Show.”
The final credits list Miller as playing Lenny, despite Lucy calling him Stanley.
Sid Gould (Charley) 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.”
The final credits list Gould as playing Joe, despite Llloyd Corrigan calling him Charley.
St. Charles Boys Choir was conducted by Paul Salamunovich. He served as Director of Music at St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood, California, for 60 years between 1949 and 2009. Later that year, they formed the Disneyland Boys Choir, with which Salamunovich recorded the It's a Small World album of folk songs still sold at Disney theme parks.
“The Lucy Show” previously recruited local boys to participate in their sports team-themed episodes. The series’ first Christmas episode in 1962 featured the (uncredited) Mitchell Boys Choir.
Other uncredited extras play the concert spectators and a passerby with a dog at the Christmas tree lot. Lucy rattles off the other boys names: Milton, Bruce, Lester, Steve, Walter, Jeff, Nelson, Homer, Lloyd, and Linden, although it is difficult to know if these were their real names or names contrived by the writers.
This was the 100th episode of “The Lucy Show” filmed, but only the 98th aired.
The same evening this episode first aired, the final episode of “The Steve Lawrence Show” aired at 10pm on CBS. Lucille Ball guest-starred on the premiere episode in September 1965, but the series was cancelled after just 14 episodes.
This is one of two Christmas-themed episodes of “The Lucy Show.” The first was “Together for Christmas” (S1;E13) during season one when the Carmichaels lived with Viv and Sherman Bagley in Danfield, New York.
Lucy reminds Mr. Mooney that back in Danfield she used to bring carolers around for charity. Although carolers were part of “Together for Christmas” (S1;E13), Mr. Mooney had not arrived in Danfield at the time, so she must be referring to something not depicted on screen.
Mr. Mooney's office is full of two dozen colorfully wrapped Christmas presents. Among others, he has bought presents for Doris Brown, his Aunt Clara (an umbrella), and his nephew (a baseball bat). He bought Lucy a hand-knit sweater imported from Italy but insists she return it to pay for new gift wrap when she messes up his system of gift tags.
Lucy reminds us that she is a widow who lives alone. Although daughter Chris is not in the episode and not mentioned by name, Lucy does say she bought gifts for the children (plural).
The red dress Lucy wears for the choir concert is the same one she will wear as Helen North on her first date with Frank Beardsley (Henry Fonda) in the film Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968).Lucille also wore it when posing with her family for their 1965 Christmas card picture but Lucy forgot to order the cards!
Mr. Mooney compares himself to Scrooge. Ebenezer Scrooge was a miserly banker, the central character of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. The book was also mentioned in the 1962 Christmas episode as something Lucy’s father read to her every year.
Lucy rehearses the choir in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, pantomiming along to cue the boys. The choir uses the lyric “three red hens” instead of the more traditional “three French hens.” The song, published in England in 1780 without music as a chant or rhyme, is thought to be French in origin.
The choir sings “For He's A Jolly Good Fellow” for Mr. Mooney twice. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" is the second-most popular song in the English language, following "Happy Birthday to You" and "Auld Lang Syne” (which is partly in Welsh).
Callbacks!
Desilu started doing a Christmas tag at the end of “I Love Lucy” in 1951. In 1956 they fleshed out the tag to a full episode featuring clips. It did not enter syndication and wasn’t seen again until 1989 when the wrap-around segments (but not the clips) were colorized. The fully colorized episode was seen in 1990 and has become a holiday staple for CBS, airing along with a newly colorized “I Love Lucy” favorite.
Blooper Alerts!
Lost Traditions! In “Together for Christmas” (S1;E13, top), Lucy stated that she traditionally has popcorn strings and candy canes decorating her Christmas tree. Here, just three years later, both traditions are absent.
Puberty! Newton's voice changes mid-song. In his argument with Barry his voice is natural, but a minute later during “The Twelve Days of Christmas” his voice is suddenly cracking in both song and dialogue.
“Lucy the Choirmaster” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5