Hollywood at Last (7 Feb. 1955)

When the Ricardos and the Mertzes arrive in Hollywood, Lucy goes to the Brown Derby restaurant where her sighting of William Holden turns catastrophic.

Director:

William Asher

Writers:

Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Davis,

Stars:

Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Lucille Ball	...	Lucy Ricardo
Desi Arnaz	...	Ricky Ricardo
Vivian Vance	...	Ethel Mertz
William Frawley	...	Fred Mertz
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eve Arden	...	Herself
Harry Bartell	...	Waiter
William Holden	...	William Holden
Bob Jellison	...	Bobby the Bellboy
Dayton Lummis	...	Mr. Sherman
Danni Sue Nolan	...	Secretary

Storyline

When the Ricardos and the Mertzes arrive in Hollywood, Lucy goes to the Brown Derby restaurant where her sighting of William Holden turns catastrophic.

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Plot Keywords:

brown derby | movie star | los angeles california | hollywood california | movie fan

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 1955 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Brown Derby Restaurant - 1628 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released as "L.A. At Last!" in VHS.

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Goofs

After Lucy knocks the dessert tray onto William Holden, a cameraman can be seen in the right edge of the scene.

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Connections

Referenced in I Love Lucy: Lucy Meets Charles Boyer (1956)

User Reviews

Mack Sennett would be proud

William Holden who co-starred with Lucille Ball in Miss Grant Takes Richmond in 1949 got to be a guest star on I Love Lucy five years later as the Ricardos took that celebrated trip to Hollywood where several film stars appeared as themselves. The one common thread was every time Lucy met a film star, something hilarious happened.

In the case of William Holden, Lucy had to go to that celebrated Hollywood eatery The Brown Derby which sadly is no longer there. You would think that being married to an orchestra leader like Ricky Ricardo would give her some kind of immunization from bad behavior toward celebrities. But that was some of the charm. Improbable though it is Lucy behaved like any other star struck film fan and the TV audience loved it.

When she saw Holden just trying to have a meal there, she goes ballistic in the end resulting in Holden getting a pie dumped in his face by a traveling waiter. It was the highlight of the episode though it came in the middle of the story.

Later on when Desi Arnaz brings Holden to their hotel room, Lucy puts on a Groucho Marx type glasses and mustache disguise in a vain attempt to avoid another scene with the film star she caused such an embarrassment to.

As for Holden I'm sure he loved the comic respite from his roles on film. He took the pie like a true Mack Sennett comic.