Blog 120 – 9.21.15

I wrote a tribute to Andy Griffin in a piece a couple of weeks ago called The Mayberry Cafe. But, did you know that had there not been a Lucy, there might never have been a Danny Thomas Show, or an Andy Griffin show and no Mayberry?

Many have written wonderful tributes to Lucille Ball and reminded us all who need no reminding what a beautiful actress and marvelous comedienne she was but she was so much more than that. She was a creator, a producer, a great dream maker, and fanner of flames. Desilu Productions which was Desi Arnez and Lucile Ball’s creation in 1950 produced many famous TV shows to name but a few:
The Jack Benny Show
I Love Lucy
The Danny Thomas Show
The Real McCoys
The Andy Griffin Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Star Trek

I was born the same year as Desilu Productions and  even with only a couple of TV channels for as far back as I can remember re-runs of I Love Lucky ran every week day morning and it was a staple in our home like pinto beans and fried potatoes.  If anyone did not love Lucy they kept that heresy to themselves. All the shows above and many more I didn’t name were the culture, the extended family for many if not all of my generation. Lucy’s comedy, Grandpa McCoy’s antics, Andy and Barney’s banter, the lovely Mary Tyler Moore saying, “Oh, Rob.” to her husband played by Dick Van Dyke, and the weekly adventures in space of Captain James Tiberius Kirk and his Vulcan First Officer Mr. Spock were everything a young TV addict like myself could ask.

Lucy and her husband Desi were behind it all. Oh, the ideas and the hard work were supplied by many others but the sound stage, the production equipment and financial backing that made those shows and dreams come to life were Lucy and Desi’s doing. They made a lot of money doing it but they also made a lot of us and their sponsors smile too.

My hat is off to a great lady who left us for a command performance on a bigger stage some years ago. But you can still see re-runs of her and Ricky, Fred and Ethel and many of those episodes end as they most often did with Ricky saying in his Cuban accent, “Lucy, you’ve got some splaining to do.” But Lucy, Honey, no explanation was ever needed then or now to us for as we did then we still love Lucy.

Your friend and fellow traveler and lover of Lucy,
David White