301 Lucy Meets The Burtons

• published: 25 Jan 2015
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HERE'S LUCY The program's premise changed from The Lucy Show. Ball's character lived in Los Angeles and was named Lucy Carter, as a tribute to her ex-husband Desi Arnaz, who she felt helped to launch her career. In this new incarnation, she had two children named Kim and Craig, played by her real life children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. (by this time, Desi Jr. was already an established star through his work in the teen pop band Dino, Desi & Billy). She was employed at 'Carter's Unique Employment Agency' by her bachelor brother-in-law Harry, played by Gale Gordon in a role similar to his Mr. Mooney role from The Lucy Show. Mary Jane Croft, who had costarred on the last three seasons of The Lucy Show, also became a regular on the new series, and Ball's longtime costar Vivian Vance also made six guest appearances as Vivian Jones through the series' run. The series was created by Milt Josefsberg and Bob O'Brien in 1968. They wanted to comically present the "generation gap" struggle between a working mother and her two increasingly independent teenagers. They wanted change this time around and to escape the shows for which Lucy had previously been so well known. They touched upon current events (civil rights, rock music, the sexual revolution and changing gender/sexual mores). The writers interviewed Lucie and Desi Jr. to allow a more realistic approach to how teenagers acted. In addition, they were given free rein to choose the names for their respective characters. GUEST STARS AND NOTABLE EPISODES Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor guest starred in the 1970 season opener, in a storyline involving their famous diamond, which becomes stuck on Lucy's finger. Ball and Burton reportedly did not get along, as he found Ball's rigid perfectionism grating and he subsequently wrote about her in extremely unflattering terms in his memoir. Another noteworthy episode was "Lucy Visits Jack Benny." In addition to Jack Benny appearing, Jackie Gleason made a surprise cameo reprising his role of bus driver Ralph Kramden. During its run, Here's Lucy featured a number of famous guest stars, many of whom were Ball's real life friends, often playing themselves (as had also been the case during the final three years of The Lucy Show). Among the stars, Ann-Margret, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Liberace, Petula Clark, Eva Gabor, Helen Hayes, Dean Martin, Eve McVeagh, Vincent Price, Tony Randall, Buddy Rich, Joan Rivers, Ginger Rogers, Dinah Shore, Danny Thomas, Lawrence Welk, Flip Wilson, Shelley Winters, Donny Osmond and Patty Andrews of The Andrews Sisters all appeared during the run of the show. Mary Treen was cast as Mary Winters in the 1974 episode "Lucy Fights the System". Lucille Ball appeared as herself in an episode in which Lucy Carter enters a Lucille Ball look-alike contest. This episode, designed to cross-promote Ball's then current film Mame, featured then fairly new technology, which enabled Ball to appear on screen with herself.