The 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy was much more than a sitcom about a married couple. The show broke barriers for its time and opened many doors for other shows. The cast, the jokes, and the way the show was produced were unlike anything else on TV in the 1950s and ’60s.
Most fans are aware of the bumpy relationship Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had off screen, but their chemistry and loyalty on-screen couldn’t be denied. Lucille and Desi also had incredible business sense outside of the show, making them one of the wealthiest and successful couples in Hollywood. At the center of it all was their groundbreaking sitcom, which was one of the most trailblazing in television history.
Lucy & Desi Chose The West Coast Over The East Coast
Although Lucy and Ricky seemed to live a New York City apartment, the show was actually filmed around Los Angeles, which was unusual for a television show at that time.
Ricky and Lucy didn’t want to leave California because that’s where their home was. Instead, they wanted to film in L.A., arguing with networks until they got their way and made history— paving the way for L.A. being home to the majority of today’s television studios.
It Has The Longest Laugh In Television History
No matter how heartfelt I Love Lucy often got, the show was still very much a comedy, and is still considered among the funniest sitcoms of all time.
The laughing heard throughout the show was so boisterous that it actually set a record for the longest laugh in the history of television. As Lucy is stuffing eggs into her shirt, she tries to keep them from cracking when Ricky wants to dance with her, causing over a minute of steady audience laughter.
It Created A New Camera Format
Desi Arnaz was just as talented a businessman as a performer. While creating I Love Lucy, he found a way to bring his and Lucille’s love of the theater to the television studio. According to Legends Revealed, Desi helped to pioneer the three-camera format, which allowed cameras to get multiple views of the same scene and allowing more space for the audience.
It Was The First Scripted Show With A Live Audience
Further meshing his love of live theater with his new career in television, Desi also had the then-innovative idea of filming a scripted show in front of a live studio audience— something that, at the time, was reserved for variety shows and the like.
Having an audience wasn’t just a way to scratch Desi’s theatrical itch— Lucy preferred performing for audiences rather than just the cameras, and was known to feed off of the enthusiasm and unpredictability of a live audience.
One Of The First Shows With A Mixed-Race Couple
The 1950s were a completely different time in terms of what viewers considered controversial, and I Love Lucy broke through many of those taboos. For instance, it featured the first example of an openly pregnant woman on TV not concealing her bell— although they were still forbidden from using the word “pregnant.”
Furthermore, Lucy and Ricky were the first mixed-race couple on TV, and CBS wasn’t sure if audience members would believe that Lucille and Desi were in a relationship.
Millions Watched The Show
Considering I Love Lucy is still being played today and is talked about so frequently, it clearly has plenty of love today. But, as The Hollywood Reporter confirms, the show was a ratings juggernaut from the beginning and was among the first sitcoms to have millions of regular viewers. The show was so popular that water usage noticeably dropped while it was on, and some stores even changed their hours to coincide with when the show aired.
It Practically Invented Reruns
After Lucy gave birth to her second child in 1953, she needed a break from filming to focus on motherhood, and Desi put the show on hold. But with I Love Lucy being the most popular sitcom in the country at the time, the show had to go on. CBS agreed that reruns would run on TV during their hiatus— basically a foreign concept at the time— which was possible due to Desi and Lucille’s production company owning the rights to the show.
Lucille Proved Age Is Just A Number
Before Lucille Ball joined forces with her husband, she was trying to get her foot in the door as a model and actress while living in New York City. She had a roles in Stage Door, Without Love, and The Fuller Brush Girl. However, the biggest role of her career was in I Love Lucy.
Lucille didn’t find full-on stardom until she was 41-years-old— her age when I Love Lucy debuted— which was very unusual at the time as most of the biggest female stars were either much younger or had been famous since they were much younger.
The Audiences Were Huge
Any sitcom that has filmed in front of a live audience in the past 60+ years has I Love Lucy to thank. But how many audience members were allowed on set to watch the cast perform to perfection? According to House Beautiful, 300 people packed into each taping of the show, which is a large number even by today’s standards of live television tapings.
America Chose I Love Lucy Over President Eisenhower
Not only was Lucy pregnant with Desi Arnaz Jr. while filming I Love Lucy, but they also did an episode to coincide with his birth. According to BuzzFeed, America was so looking forward to getting to meet the couple’s newborn so that more people watched that episode than they did Dwight Eisenhower being sworn in as president.
CBS choosing not to preempt the episode for the major political event is the kind of thing that didn’t really happen at the time, but happens a lot these days. Thanks for that, Lucy!
