I love lucy

I Love Lucy was an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). When the original series ended, the show continued for three more seasons with 13 one-hour specials, running from 1957 to 1960, known first as The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show and later in reruns as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
I Love Lucy was the most watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched by The Andy Griffith Show and Seinfeld). I Love Lucy is still syndicated in dozens of languages across the world.
The show was the first scripted TV program to be shot on 35 mm film in front of a studio audience, won five Emmy Awards and received numerous nominations. In 2002, it ranked second on TV Guide's list of television's greatest shows, behind Seinfeld and ahead of The Honeymooners. In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."

Contents [hide] 1 Premise 2 Cast 2.1 Primary production team 3 Background and development 4 Production 5 The Mertzes 6 Pregnancy and Little Ricky 7 Opening 8 Show merchandise 9 Trivia 10 Comic book and comic strip 11 Episodes 12 Feature films 13 After Lucy and legacy 14 Theme song 15 Nielsen ratings 16 Emmy Awards 16.1 Wins 16.2 Nominations 16.2.1 I Love Lucy 16.2.2 Lucille Ball 16.2.3 Vivian Vance 16.2.4 William Frawley 17 Honors 18 DVD releases 18.1 Other releases 19 See also 20 Footnotes 21 References 22 External links

Originally set in New York City, I Love Lucy centers on Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) and her singer/bandleader husband Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), along with their best friends and landlords Fred Mertz (William Frawley) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance). During the second season, Lucy and Ricky have a son named Ricky Ricardo Jr. ("Little Ricky"), whose birth was timed to coincide with Ball's real-life delivery of her son Desi Arnaz Jr. by Caesarean section.
Lucy is naïve and ambitious, with an overactive imagination and a knack for getting herself into trouble. Known (despite the fact the show aired in black-and-white) for her fiery red hair, Lucy appears as a scatter-brained homemaker with the matchless ability to turn an ordinary household chore into a complete and unprecedented disaster. Yet, underneath the cover of her wild behavior and crazy antics, she honestly yearns for stardom. She longs to join her husband in show-business, despite his refusal to cooperate. When things go wrong, she tends to say "eww". Fred and Ethel are former vaudevillians and this only strengthens her resolve to prove herself as a performer. Unfortunately, she has little discernible ability. She cannot carry a tune or play anything other than off-key renditions of songs such as "Glow Worm" or "Sweet Sue" on the saxophone, and many of her performances devolve into disaster. On occasion, she is shown to be a good dancer and a competent singer.

Lucy and Ricky are mountain climbing in the Alps during their 1956 European vacation.

The show provided Ball ample opportunity to display her considerable skill at clowning and physical comedy. Character development was not a major focus of early sitcoms, so little was offered about her life prior to the show. A few episodes mentioned that she was born in Jamestown, New York (Lucille Ball's real-life home town), (later corrected to West Jamestown), that she graduated from Jamestown High School, that her maiden name was "McGillicuddy" (indicating a Scottish ethnicity), and that she met Ricky on a blind date. Her family was absent, other than occasional appearances by her mother (Kathryn Card), who can never get Ricky's name right, she has once called him Mickey Richardson. Lucy also exhibited many stereotypical female traits that were standard for comedy at the time, including being secretive about her age, and being careless with money. She is also depicted as a devoted housewife and attentive mother.
Lucy's husband, Ricky Ricardo, is an up-and-coming Cuban American singer and bandleader with an excitable personality. His patience is frequently tested by his wife's antics. When exasperated, he often reverts to speaking rapidly in Spanish. As with Lucy, not much is revealed about his past or family. Ricky's mother (played by actress Mary Emery) appears in two episodes; in another Lucy mentions that he has five brothers. Ricky also mentions that he'd been "practically raised" by his uncle Alberto (who was seen during a family visit to Cuba), and that he had attended Havana University.
Lucy is usually found with her sidekick and best friend Ethel Mertz. A former model from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ethel tries to relive her glory days in vaudeville. Ricky is more inclined to include Ethel in performances at his nightclub because, unlike Lucy, she can actually sing and dance.
Ethel's husband Fred served in World War I, and lived through the Great Depression. He is very stingy with money and an irascible no-nonsense type. However, he also shows that he can be a soft touch, especially when it comes to Little Ricky. Fred can also sing and dance and often performs duets with Ethel.
The Manhattan building they all lived in before their move to Westport, Connecticut was addressed at a fictional 623 East 68th Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The addresses only go up to the 500's before the street terminates at the East River.