Lucille Ball was more than just a comedian; she was a force of nature. A master of physical comedy, she was famous for her willingness to do almost anything for a laugh. From stuffing her mouth with chocolates at a frantic pace to climbing a perilous ledge high above the ground, she approached every stunt with a fearless commitment to her craft. But behind the scenes of one of her most iconic and hilarious moments, a different story unfolded—one that, according to Ball herself, nearly ended in tragedy.
While many fans point to the chocolate factory or the Vitameatavegamin commercial as her most memorable scenes, it was a trip to an Italian vineyard that left Lucille Ball with a terrifying memory. On the set of the 1956 episode “Lucy’s Italian Movie,” a staged comedic brawl turned into a genuine, life-threatening struggle, and for a few frightening moments, the Queen of Comedy believed she was going to die.
The Setup for an Iconic Scene
The fifth season of I Love Lucy took the Ricardos and Mertzes on a grand European tour, a narrative arc designed to keep the show fresh and take advantage of the exotic locales. In the episode “Lucy’s Italian Movie,” Lucy Ricardo finds herself in a small Italian village, where she’s cast in a film titled Bitter Grapes. Mistakenly believing her role requires her to stomp grapes in a vat, she decides to practice with the local women.
What follows is one of the most celebrated moments in television history. Donning a rustic peasant outfit, Lucy climbs into a vat filled with grapes alongside a seasoned stomper named Teresa, played by actress Teresa Tirelli. As the two begin to stomp, their movements become a playful, and then increasingly hostile, dance. The scene escalates into a full-blown wrestling match, with Lucy and Teresa brawling in the sticky, purple muck. The sheer comedic brilliance of the sequence, with Lucy’s expressive face and flailing limbs, cemented its place in pop culture history.
However, according to Lucille Ball, the reality of the scene was far less funny than what audiences saw.
Lucille Ball’s Terrifying Account
In a 1974 interview with host Dick Cavett, Lucille Ball recounted the harrowing details of the grape-stomping scene. She revealed that the brawl with Teresa was not a light-hearted, pre-choreographed affair. The language barrier between her and Teresa, who was not a professional actress but a real Italian grape stomper brought in for authenticity, made communication difficult. Ball explained that she had given Teresa a signal to fall on the count of three, a crucial part of the scripted fight.
“I got to the count of two, and she took me by the throat, and I had grapes up my nose, up my ears,” Ball recalled with a mix of humor and lingering fear. “She was strangling me, and I was really going under.”
The audience and crew, completely unaware of the genuine danger, were howling with laughter. They thought the struggle was simply part of Lucille’s incredible method acting and dedication to the bit. Desi Arnaz, who was directing the episode, was reportedly so amused that he encouraged Teresa to keep going.
Lucille Ball remembered a moment where she truly believed she was going to drown. She described being submerged in the grape mush, unable to breathe, while Teresa, who did not understand the word “action,” wrestled with her. “To drown in a vat of grapes is not the way I had planned to go, you know,” she quipped to Cavett, underscoring the severity of the incident.
She eventually had to hit Teresa to break free, a strike that sent the other woman flying. The part of the scene that made the final cut was the edited-down version of a much longer, more intense, and unscripted fight. The story, told by Ball, has been retold countless times, becoming a key piece of the legend surrounding her unwavering commitment to comedy.
The Myth vs. The Reality
While Lucille Ball’s version of the story is compelling and has been widely accepted as fact, it’s a narrative that has been challenged over the years. Gregg Oppenheimer, the son of I Love Lucy co-creator and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, has worked to correct what he calls a long-standing exaggeration.
According to Gregg Oppenheimer, the story of the language barrier and the unscripted fight is largely untrue. He insists that Teresa Tirelli, the actress who played the grape stomper, was a card-carrying member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and spoke perfect English. He explained that the entire scene was carefully choreographed and rehearsed all week, a hallmark of the show’s meticulous production process. The chaotic, realistic nature of the fight was a testament to the actors’ talent, not a product of genuine danger.
Oppenheimer believes that Lucille Ball, a master storyteller both on and off-screen, embellished the story over the years to make it more dramatic and entertaining for her audience. He has also highlighted the fact that Ball was a perfectionist who rarely strayed from the script and demanded the same from her co-stars. The idea that an actor could go off-script and cause a near-drowning incident without a director or producer immediately stopping the scene seems unlikely.
Regardless of which version is true, the story of the grape-stomping scene reveals two important truths about Lucille Ball: her dedication to realism in her comedy and her love for a good story.
The Legacy of a Fearless Performer
Whether a true, harrowing event or a masterful exaggeration, the story of the grape-stomping scene perfectly encapsulates what made Lucille Ball such a singular talent. Her willingness to plunge head-first into a vat of grapes—or a vat of chocolates, or a messy job—was a core part of her comedic persona. She wasn’t afraid to look ridiculous, to get messy, or to put her body on the line for a laugh.
This fearlessness was revolutionary for a female comedian at the time. She wasn’t a demure starlet; she was a physical, unapologetic, and powerful comedic force. This scene, in particular, showcases her commitment to making the comedy feel as authentic as possible. She understood that a good joke isn’t just a line on a page; it’s a physical, visceral experience that makes the audience feel a part of the moment.
The story of the near-drowning, whether it was real or an embellishment, lives on as a testament to the lengths she would go to create television magic. It’s a reminder that behind the flawless timing and effortless humor of I Love Lucy, there was a woman who was willing to take risks, push boundaries, and, at times, even put her own well-being on the line to make the world laugh.
