#41

I Love Lucy

Lucille Ball was the undisputed queen of the sitcom for years. She was a powerful force on TV and her show, I Love Lucy will be remembered for ever.

While I may not have followed this on a regular basis, I Love Lucy was a treat every time it made it to my TV screen.

Some of the adventures of Lucy Ricardo were crazy and the iconic woman did what she needed to do for a laugh. She put herself in ridiculous, undignified situations- wrapping chocolates, stomping grapes etc, all for the laugh.

Lucy brought slapstick and pratfalls to TV, making them high comedy. She inspired a ton of female comedians to a career that they may not have believed was possible.

Desi Arnez co-starred as Ricky Ricardo with his real life wife, Lucille Ball. Lucy friend-in-crazy was neighbor Ethel Mertz, played by Vivian Vance. Ethel’s husband was Fred Mertz, played by William Frawley.

I Love Lucy ran from 1951-1957 on CBS. They recorded 180 episodes.