The Lucy Show 

The wacky misadventures of a forever scheming woman, her reluctant best friend, and her cantankerous boss.

Creators:

Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Davis, Bob Schiller

Stars:

Lucille Ball, Gale Gordon, Vivian Vance

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Lucille Ball	...	Lucy Carmichael / ... 156 episodes, 1962-1968
Gale Gordon	...	Mr. Theodore J. Mooney 111 episodes, 1963-1968
Vivian Vance	...	Vivian Bagley / ... 81 episodes, 1962-1968

Storyline

After the death of her husband, Lucy Carmichael and her friend, the recently divorced Vivian Bagley, move into a house together with their children. The series follows the adventures of the widow Lucy as she grapples with the comic complications of life on her own, and with her income being controlled by the impatient and grumpy banker Mr. Mooney.

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Plot Keywords:

secretary | widow | redheaded woman | sitcom | child | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lucille Ball Show

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions,Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (156 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

For reasons which are not entirely clear, thirty episodes have entered the public domain, two are from the first season (black and white); twenty-one are from the fifth season (all episodes in that season, minus episode eighteen, "Lucy Puts Main Street on the Map", which is apparently still under copyright); and seven are from the sixth season (seven of the first eight episodes, with episode five, "Lucy Gets Her Diploma", apparently still under copyright). In series order, the full list of thirty public domain episodes are: "Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower", "Lucy's Barbershop Quartet", "Lucy and George Burns", "Lucy and the Submarine", "Lucy, the Bean Queen", "Lucy and Paul Winchell", "Lucy and the Ring-a-Ding-Ding", "Lucy Goes to London", "Lucy Gets a Roommate", "Lucy and Carol in Palm Springs", "Lucy Gets Caught Up in the Draft", "Lucy and John Wayne", "Lucy and Pat Collins", "Lucy and the Monkey" (aka "Mooney the Monkey"), "Lucy and the Efficiency Expert" (aka "Lucy and Phil Silvers"), "Lucy's Substitute Secretary", "Viv Visits Lucy", "Lucy, the Baby Sitter", "Main Street U.S.A.", "Lucy Meets the Law", "Lucy, the Fight Manager", "Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford", "Lucy Meets Sheldon Leonard", "Lucy Meets the Berles", "Lucy Gets Trapped", "Lucy and the French Movie Star", "Lucy, the Starmaker", "Lucy and Jack Benny's Account", "Little Old Lucy" (aka "Little Old Lady"), and "Lucy and Robert Goulet".

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Quotes

Lucy Carmichael: Weren't you ever a teenager?
Theodore J. Mooney: Well, of course, what do you think?
Lucy Carmichael: I thought one day they opened the bank vault and out you popped, full grown and stingy!

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Connections

Followed by Here's Lucy (1968)

User Reviews

Not Much There without Vivian Vance

Although this show was weaker than "I Love Lucy" it was still pretty funny in its original form. The chemistry of Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, as single mothers raising their children, made "The Lucy Show" work, especially its first season on the air. Despite some of the bizarre plotlines the two women were believable as two friends struggling in a largely manless environment. But with Vance's departure in 1965 it fell apart at the seams...Lucy became more of a cartoon character as the show became more shallow and relied too heavily on "guest stars," and Gale Gordon and Mary Jane Croft were weak substitutes.

Lucy probably should have pulled the plug on this one in '65.