I Love Lucy

The show

Set in New York City, I Love Lucy is centered around Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), a housewife, her husband Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) who is a singer and bandleader, and their friends and landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz (William Frawley and Vivian Vance). Most episodes take place in the Ricardo's modest brownstone apartment at 623 East 68th Street - which in reality would be in the middle of the East River - or at the downtown "Tropicana" nightclub where Ricky is employed, and sometimes elsewhere in the city. Later episodes took the Ricardos and the Mertzes to Hollywood for Ricky to shoot a movie, and later they all accompanied Ricky while he and his band toured Europe. Eventually the Ricardos and the Mertzes moved to a house in the rural town of Westport, Connecticut.

Related Topics:
New York City - William Frawley - Vivian Vance - East River

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Lucy Ricardo is a loving if somewhat naïve housewife who has a knack for getting herself into trouble through her ambitious character. In particular, she is obsessed with joining her husband in show business. Fred and Ethel are themselves former vaudevillians, which only strengthens Lucy's resolve to prove herself as a performer. Unfortunately, Lucy Ricardo cannot so much as carry a tune - nor play anything other than an off-key rendition of "Glow Worm" (or "Sweet Sue") on the saxophone - and evidently has no other artistic talent. Yet Lucy is determined to show everyone around her that she is much more than an ordinary housewife. A typical I Love Lucy episode involves one of Lucy's ambitious but hare-brained schemes, whether it be to sneak into Ricky's nightclub act, find a way to associate with celebrities, show up her fellow women's club members, or simply try to better her life, usually she ends up in some comedic mess, often dragging in Ethel as her reluctant companion. Legend says that Ricky often cried: "Lucy! You got some 'splainin' to do!" However, like other supposed "famous quotes" (Cary Grant saying "Judy, Judy, Judy", or "Peetah, give me the lettah" by Bette Davis), this line was never actually spoken by Desi Arnaz.

Related Topics:
Saxophone - Cary Grant - Bette Davis

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