Lucy Does a TV Commercial

"Lucy Does a TV Commercial" is the 30th episode of the 1950s television sitcom I Love Lucy, airing on May 5, 1952. It is considered to be the most famous episode of the show.[1] In 1997, TV Guide ranked it #2 on their list of the "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time".[2] In 2009, they ranked it #4 on their list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time."[3][4] The initial episode was watched by 68% of the television viewing audience at the time.[5]

"Lucy Does a TV Commercial"
I Love Lucy episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 30
Original air date	May 5, 1952 (US)
Guest appearance(s)
Ross Elliott (The Director), Jerry Hausner (Propman), Maury Thompson (Script Clerk)

Plot

Ricky (Desi Arnaz) is given an opportunity to host a television show and is notified that he needs to find a girl to do a commercial spot for one of their sponsors. Lucy (Lucille Ball) begs Ricky to let her do the commercial, but he refuses. Lucy asks Fred (William Frawley) to assist Lucy in a scheme to get Ricky to watch an "upcoming program" when he returns home from his band rehearsal. Lucy waits behind the TV screen to do a mock commercial as Johnny, the bellhop of Phillip Morris fame. Ricky, disliking the stunt, goes behind the set and plugs the cord back into its outlet, which accidentally sets off a minor explosion behind her. Ricky finds out that Lucy had taken out each part of the television set piece by piece (rather than sliding the whole chassis out) so that she could fit into the box.

The following morning, Lucy avoids Ricky. Ricky asks Fred if he can wait for a telephone call from the girl willing to do the commercial to tell her the time and studio. After Ricky leaves, Lucy tells Fred she will deliver the message instead. Lucy tells the girl she is not needed for the commercial and takes her place.

The director of the commercial (Ross Elliot) explains their sales pitch regarding the "Vitameatavegamin" health tonic to Lucy. What Lucy and the director are unaware of—but what the propman (Jerry Hausner) realizes to his shock—is that the tonic contains 23% alcohol. Lucy begins her first take, which makes her grimace as she tastes the tonic. After a few more practices, Lucy becomes intoxicated and her speech becomes comically slurred. The director asks the propman to take her to her dressing room to rest until the commercial. When the television show begins, Ricky sings "El Relicario", but Lucy comes out from backstage and staggers toward Ricky. She sways, waves to the camera, starts singing along with Ricky, and repeats her sales pitch in the middle of his singing despite Ricky's attempts to keep her offscreen. Ricky desperately carries her off the stage.

Notes

• In later reruns, the scene where Lucy is in a broken television set doing "The Lucy Ricardo Show" edited out the sponsor she announced, which was Philip Morris, which was sponsoring I Love Lucy. (Tobacco advertisements were banned from broadcast television beginning in 1971.) The DVD, as well as the colorized episode, restore this.
• The Vitameatavegamin was originally 11% alcohol, but was increased to 23% on the show.[6][7] The bottle from which Ball was at first pouring the tonic, and later drinking from directly, actually contained apple pectin.
• Vivian Vance, who plays Ethel, is absent from this episode. Fred says that Ethel was going to see her mother.
• The central sketch had originally been created by Red Skelton and had been part of his vaudeville routine since the 1930s. Skelton granted Ball permission to use it in I Love Lucy.[8]
• As of 2017, the dress Lucy wore while doing rehearsals for the commercial is now found in the closet of actress Laura Dern.[9]

Enduring popularity

The word "Vitameatavegamin" has since become a shorthand for this episode and for the I Love Lucy show in general.[10][11][12] In 2011, more than 900 Lucille Ball lookalikes gathered under a "Vitameatavegamin" sign to honor Ball's 100th birthday,[13] setting a world record for the most Lucy lookalikes in one place.[14] Also in 2011, a talking Lucy doll was produced which recites lines from this episode.[15]

In the April 9, 2020 episode of Will & Grace, Debra Messing recreated the scene.[16][17]

References

1. Oppenheimer, Jess (1996). Laughs, luck-- and Lucy. p. 205. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
2. The 100 Greatest TV Episodes
3. "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time" TV Guide; June 15, 2009; Pages 34–49
4. Empire, June 19, 2009
5. Walker, Rob (2008). Buying In: What We Buy and Who We Are. New York: Random House. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8129-7409-6. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
6. ""Spoon Your Way to Health?"". Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
7. "Spoon Your Way to Health?". Lucylibrary.com. 1999. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09.
8. Clothier, Gary (May 16, 2011). "Lucy borrowed famous skit from Red Skelton". The Star-Democrat. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
9. https://www.metv.com/stories/lucys-iconic-vitameatavegamin-dress-has-a-famous-home
10. "Juicy Lucy". Detroit Metro Times. August 17, 2011. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
11. "Who's the new Lucy?". Entertainment Weekly. August 6, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
12. "`Lucy' still has them laughing 60 years later". Daily News. August 3, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
13. "'Lucy' look-alikes honor Lucille Ball's 100th birthday". Today. August 7, 2011. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
14. "Kingston redhead among the Lucy look-alike Guinness record". Kingston This Week. August 14, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
15. https://www.ashtondrake.com/products/301560001_i-love-lucy-talking-fashion-doll.html
16. Rice, Lynette (2019-11-25). "Will & Grace to air a special I Love Lucy-themed episode". ew.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
17. "Watch Will & Grace highlights: Grace Re-Enacts I Love Lucy's Vitameatavegamin Commercial". NBC. Retrieved April 15, 2020.

See also

• "Dinner for One"
• List of I Love Lucy episodes