Too Many Girls

A sheet music cover for a [now incredibly politically incorrect] song from the 1939 Rodger's and Hart musical, Too Many Girls.  This was the show that made Desi Arnaz a star, and the movie that was made based on it the following year was where Lucy and Desi first met, in early 1940.  Sheet music cover image courtesy of my wonderful uncle, pianist, historian, collector Peter Mintun.

Barbara Eden on "I Love Lucy"

The fabulous Barbara Eden, of "I Dream of Jeannie", remembers her guest spot on "I Love Lucy" in 1957. 

Here is the clip from the episode Eden guest-starred in, "Country Club Dance".

A Little Background with Davis and Carroll

Here is the first and second part of an interview with Madelyn Pugh Davis and her partner, Bob Carroll Jr., being interviewed about their careers.

A Fond Farewell to a Genius Behind the Scenes

Madelyn Pugh Davis, one of Lucille Ball's longtime writers, died at her home in California at age 90 on April 20, 2011.  Davis had been Lucy's writer for more than 40 years, starting with My Favorite Husband in 1948 all the way through Lucy's last short-lived television sitcom, Life With Lucy in 1986.  She was truly amazing, and without her, nothing "Lucy" would be what it is today.  All of us Lucy lovers need to be truly thankful to her, as well as to her many writing partners over the years: Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll, Bob Schiller, and Bob Weiskopf. 
Here is her obituary from the New York Times:

Madelyn Pugh Davis, Writer for ‘I Love Lucy,’ Dies at 90

And from the Los Angeles Times:

Madelyn Pugh Davis dies at 90; 'I Love Lucy' writer

The Amazing Cast of "I Love Lucy"

From left: Ethel, Fred, Ricky, and Lucy in action.






From left: Vivian Vance, Desi Arnaz, William Frawley, and Lucille Ball at the 1954 Emmy Awards, at which Vance won for Best Supporting Actress and "I Love Lucy" won for Best Situation Comedy.



A FABULOUS caricature of the amazing "I Love Lucy" cast!  Source: http://blog.angiejordan.com/2009/digital-cartoon-of-i-love-lucy-cast.html

Casting

It is a well known fact in the entertainment world that half of any success acheived with any show is due to good casting.  Not to mention the fact that half a directors' job is to cast a perfect show, whether it runs for nine days, nine weeks, months, or in "I Love Lucy"'s case, nine years.  A show can have brilliant writers, directors, editors, and other technicians, but if something in the casting doesn't work, chances are the show won't either.
However, if the casting is just right, everything seems to fall into place.  And thus we arrive at the perfection of the casting of "I Love Lucy".  Now it can of course be argued that without "I Love Lucy"'s brilliant writing team, the show would not be what it was and continues to be, but there is no denying that the combination of the four stars of the show is what gave it it's ultimate lasting power.  In his autobiography, Desi Arnaz likened the success of the show to inventing and patenting the perfect formula, much like a company like Coca Cola did with their product.  All they did, he said, was find the ideal combination of ingredients, mixed them together just right, and finished with the ideal product. 

An Amazing Quote from Lucy

"I am not funny.  My writers were funny.  My direction was funny.  The situations were funny.  But I am not funny.  I am not funny.  What I am is brave."

-Lucille Ball