We Still Love Lucy

On a Monday evening in October, 1951 a new CBS show was broadcast for the first time featuring a wacky wife, her Cuban husband, and their 2 best friends. At the time, probably no one realized that it would become one of the most popular programs ever, make the 1st female TV superstar of its lead, and indeed change the face of television.

But now it appears safe to say that the show - I Love Lucy by name - has been seen by more viewers in its 60 years of showings than any other program  in broadcasting.

And to celebrate that significance, the Library of Congress organized a special exhibit entitled I Love Lucy: An American Legend.

The show was derived from a radio hit featuring Lucille Ball. Initially, when producers began scripting the changes for television, they were hesitant to cast Ball's real-life husband, Desi Arnaz in the role of her on-screen spouse. However, Lucy and Ricky as they came to be known by their legion of fans,  designed a hugely popular vaudeville tour that convinced producers that the pairing would work.

In its 6 years on the air, I Love Lucy ranked as the number 1 show during 4 of them. In 1955, it became the 1st show to be broadcast in reruns. To date, it has been dubbed in 22 languages and seen in 80 years.

To tell the story of I Love Lucy, the Library employed the Ball and Arnaz family scrapbooks, as well as photographs, magazine and newspaper articles, scripts, manuscript music, and other documents from the Library's massive collection. The exhibit also displayed items that were produced to promote the show including Lucille Ball paper dolls and a tie showing the likeness of Lucy, Ricky, and their co-starring best friends Fred and Ethel Mertz.

Ever the shrewd business couple, Ball and Arnaz created a production company that continued to influence TV long after their show left the air. Among the classic hits produced by Desilu Studios were The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mission Impossible, and Star Trek.

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
Judged by the constant laughing crowds around the screen, the most popular item on display was a continuous loop of excerpts from some of the most memorable moments of the show including Lucy's commercial as Vitameatavegamin girl, her Italian grape stomping escapade, and her doomed, hilarious attempt with Ethel to keep up with an ever-faster candy conveyor.