The Untold Story of the Lost Openings of ‘I Love Lucy’ 🎭
When you think of I Love Lucy, a few iconic images instantly spring to mind: Lucille Ball stomping grapes, the candy factory conveyor belt, and, of course, the famous opening credits. The iconic heart-on-satin logo with the names of the four stars—Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley—is a symbol of television history. It’s a timeless piece of art that has been a staple of syndication for generations. But what if there was another opening, an opening that was lost to time for nearly four decades? What if there were two such “lost” openings that reveal a completely different vision for the show? The truth is, the television show we know and love today was nearly a different animal entirely, and the story of its lost openings is a fascinating glimpse into the history of Hollywood, business, and the creative vision of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
The Myth and the Reality: The Lost Pilot of 1951
The first “lost” opening belongs to a television artifact that was considered a holy grail for TV historians for decades: the unaired pilot of I Love Lucy. Filmed on March 2, 1951, this pilot was created by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz themselves to pitch their concept to CBS. At the time, network executives wanted Ball to star in a TV version of her radio show, My Favorite Husband, but they insisted on using a different actor for the husband role, as they didn’t believe the American public would accept an interracial marriage between Ball and her Cuban-American husband, Arnaz. The couple, fiercely committed to working together, used the pilot as proof that their on-screen chemistry was undeniable.
The opening of this lost pilot was radically different from anything that would follow. It was a vaudeville-style routine set against a drawn backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. The camera pans across the city, eventually zooming in on a small window. Suddenly, a pair of animated curtains open, revealing Lucy and Ricky, who then transition into their live-action selves. The scene was playful and theatrical, a clear nod to the couple’s roots in performance. It wasn’t the slick, simple logo of the show we know today, but a theatrical flourish that highlighted the show’s original premise: a glamorous couple living in the theater district of New York.
This pilot, with its theatrical opening, was considered a success, but it was never aired. CBS executives, though impressed, felt the show needed a more relatable and domestic feel. The “glamorous couple” premise was dropped, the Mertzes were added to the cast, and the show’s focus shifted to the relatable antics of a middle-class housewife. The pilot, and its unique opening, was put into storage, seemingly lost forever. It was only in 1990, after a decades-long search, that the film was rediscovered in the attic of the widow of Pepito Perez, a Spanish clown who had been a guest star in the pilot. Its rediscovery was a monumental event in television history, providing a window into the show’s humble, and very different, beginnings.
The Other ‘Lost’ Opening: The Philip Morris Stick Figures
The story of “lost” openings doesn’t end there. After the unaired pilot, the show went into production with its now-famous four-camera setup and live studio audience, a revolutionary concept at the time. When the show premiered on October 15, 1951, the opening credits were still not the heart logo we recognize today. This opening, which was also later “lost” from syndication, was a product of a different era of television: an era dominated by corporate sponsorship.
The show’s first-ever opening was a sponsor-driven animation created for its original backer, Philip Morris cigarettes. The opening featured two stick-figure cartoons of Lucy and Ricky, who would climb down a package of Philip Morris cigarettes. The animation was simple, and the show’s title was placed over a backdrop of a city street at night. The music was not the iconic I Love Lucy theme, but an instrumental from Ferde Grofé’s “The Grand Canyon Suite.” This opening, though not as theatrically grand as the lost pilot’s, was a significant part of the show’s early run.
Why was this opening eventually replaced? When the show entered syndication, the Philip Morris logo and all direct sponsorship mentions were removed. Networks and producers wanted to make the show timeless and free of corporate endorsements that would seem dated in future decades. The decision was made to create a new, generic, and timeless opening that could be used for all future broadcasts. This is where the famous heart-on-satin logo comes in. It was a simple, elegant design that was free of any specific sponsorship and could be used for decades to come, which it has. The result was that the original animated opening, though it aired for a significant part of the show’s initial run, was largely forgotten by future generations of viewers.
A Legacy of Reinvention
The story of the lost I Love Lucy openings is a story about the show’s remarkable ability to reinvent itself. From the beginning, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were not just actors; they were producers, innovators, and visionaries. They fought for the show to be shot on 35mm film, a move that was unheard of at the time but which made reruns possible and secured their legacy for generations to come. They also understood the need to adapt their show to what worked best for their audience.
The decision to move away from the “glamorous couple” of the lost pilot to the relatable Ricardos of the series was a creative masterstroke. The decision to replace the sponsored opening with a timeless, elegant logo was a business one that secured the show’s place in syndication for decades. The untold stories of these lost openings are a testament to the creative genius behind I Love Lucy, a show that was always willing to change, to adapt, and to find the perfect way to connect with a television audience. They are a reminder that even the most iconic shows have hidden histories, and that the story of a television classic is often just as fascinating behind the scenes as it is on screen.
