There was once a famous American television sitcom aired from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957. The sitcom became first of many things. It is the first scripted TV series filmed with 35 mm. film in front of a live studio audience. It was also the first show to use the three-camera format. The show is none other than I Love Lucy. Amazingly, those firsts were not even the most impressive parts of the show.
These are just whispers of the things that you need to know. We will bring you to these 40 fun facts about I Love Lucy that you haven’t heard before.
This is one of the most popular scenes of the series and perhaps in all TV history. As Lucille Ball pretended to become increasingly drunk on the special product, she was actually downing a bunch of Apple Pectin. Lucille Ball didn’t like filming the scene and it was only years later that she admitted it was actually a very funny moment on the series.
The Ricardos’ best friends and neighbors got their names from people close to Lucille Ball. Fred came from the star’s brother (who himself was named after grandfather) while Ethel was named after Broadway star and Ball’s friend Ethel Merman. Coincidentally, Ethel actress Vivian Vance was an understudy for Merman years earlier.
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Frawley’s portrayal as Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy will do down in TV comedy history, but he reportedly could not memorize his lines so well. He would get so frustrated with his lines, that he would supposedly rip out pages from the script and complain about having so many lines in each episode.
I Love Lucy ended, still ranked #1 on television, in 1957. The series has only become a bigger part of the pop culture consciousness since. It’s still show in syndication all over the world, with episodes watched by 40 million Americans a year alone. In addition, merchandise with Lucy’s iconic red locks continues to proliferate.
Whenever Lucy got herself into a crazy situation, someone off camera can be heard saying, “Uh-Oh!” That person is Lucille Ball’s actual mother and she was present at every filming. The sound producer for the show, Glen Glenn, even used the “Uh-Oh!” for other shows!
