I Love Lucy was a groundbreaking sitcom. It helped break down racial barriers, as well as paved the way for the concept of a syndicated series.
As hard as it is to imagine, next year will mark the show’s 70th anniversary. Let’s celebrate with these 10+ random facts about I Love Lucy that fans didn’t know.
1. The show began as a radio program titled *My Favorite Husband*.
The popular radio show starred Lucille Ball as the socially savvy Mrs. Cugat.
My Favorite Husband premiered in 1948 and produced over 120 episodes before finally calling it quits in 1951.
2. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were married in real life.
The pair met on the set of Too Many Girls and fell madly in love. Their union was considered controversial for the time, especially considering their differences in age, race, and religion.
3. At the time, it was one of the most high quality shows on television.
In the early ’50s, almost every single TV show was shot using what became known as the kinescope recording method.
I Love Lucy , on the other hand, was shot on 35mm film , which created a much more resolute and less fuzzy picture.
4. The network didn’t own the rights to the show.
Together, Desi and Lucy founded Desilu Productions. To offset the production costs of filming on the east coast, Desi and Lucy agreed to a pay cut. In exchange, they would retain the show’s rights.
This short-sighted decision would end up costing CBS millions.
5. Smoking was in the contract.
In the early stages, Desi and Lucy had a hard time finding a sponsor for I Love Lucy . In the end, tobacco company Phillip Morris signed on but under the condition of a few caveats.
This is why you constantly see smoking depicted throughout the show.
6. *I Love Lucy* helped pioneer the concept of re-run storytelling.
Nowadays, we call this a ‘ flashback episode .’ But at the time, no one had ever done it.
This helped to create a constant narrative. It rewarded continuous viewership by creating an inside joke with the audience.
7. *I Love Lucy* is one of the most-watched TV shows of all time.
I Love Lucy was the most-watched show on television for four out of six seasons. Within the show’s first six months, an estimated 11 million families were tuning in to watch.
At the time, there were only 15 million TV sets in the country.
8. Lucy and Desi made a fortune off of selling re-runs.
They were the first TV couple who helped pioneer the idea of syndication! The first 180 episodes were sold by Desilu Productions for $5 million .
By today’s standards, that number would be closer to $20 million.
9. The network objected to the casting of Desi Arnaz.
Originally, CBS had a hard time believing that a girl like Lucille Ball could be married to a Cuban man.
It became the sticking point for Lucy, and inevitably the network caved.
10. *I Love Lucy* was the first TV show to depict an on-screen pregnancy.
Lucy and Desi became pregnant in real life, and the future of the show suddenly became uncertain.
In the early 1950s, to even utter the word “pregnant” on network TV would have been seen as controversial.
So Desi and Lucy did the only thing they could do: they wrote it into the script.
The episode was titled ‘ Lucy Is Enceinte ’ because to even say the word ‘pregnant’ was taboo. How insane is that?
Ironically, when little Ricky was born, it was one of the series’ most-watched episodes.
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11. A lot of the humor hasn’t aged particularly well.
The ’50s were a different time, especially when it came to the ideas of gender and family.
While Ricky was never an abusive husband, he was known to spank Lucy on occasion for her bad behavior.
12. The couple divorced in 1960 after years of mounting tension.
The stresses of running Desilu Productions, as well as his work on I Love Lucy became too much for Desi Arnaz to bear. He began drinking excessively and was prone to violent outbursts.
After more than 20 years, Lucy had finally had enough.
13. Desi went on to direct Lucy in her spin-off series, *The Lucy Show*.
This too would eventually begin to wane on Desi. Lucy was remarried and he didn’t relish the idea of showing up to work every day to see his ex-wife.
So in 1962, he asked to be bought-out of Desilu Productions.
14. Lucille Ball was the first female CEO in the history of television.
Lucy received $2.5 million for Desi’s share of Desilu Productions. Lucy hired Oskar Katz to be her Executive Vice-President, and together the pair helped to produce classic TV shows like Star Trek and Mission Impossible .
In 1967, Lucy sold her shares of Desilu for $17 million.
