I have uploaded the "Lucy's in London" musical segment by Phil Spector:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yvQeaEc9Q

That was terrific! Thanks. :)

...was her only special [10/24/66] in which she attempted to expand her 'Lucy Carmichael' character into an hour-long comedy/variety format during the "LUCY SHOW" years. Although the special was a ratings success, Lucy was not happy with the results, and decided against any further "specials" for the rest of her weekly run.

:tv:

...was her only special [10/24/66] in which she attempted to expand her 'Lucy Carmichael' character into an hour-long comedy/variety format during the "LUCY SHOW" years. Although the special was a ratings success, Lucy was not happy with the results, and decided against any further "specials" for the rest of her weekly run.

:tv:

It wasn't so much that Lucy was not happy with the results, but that she was soured by the lukewarm response from the critics (she had a similar reaction to the critics' lambasting of "Mame": she never made another theatrical feature). The "Lucy in London" special is actually quite engaging, and maybe ahead of its time. I don't think the critics quite got it. It was such a diversion from what they were used to seeing on TV from Lucille Ball, I don't think they knew quite what to make of it. But Lucy really deserved kudos for attempting to go outside the box and do something totally different, which she rarely did. It's a shame she herself couldn't get past the response of the critics and do more projects like this. In fact, other Lucy Carmichael on-the-road type specials had been planned but got nixed after this one, and Lucy retreated to the comfort zone of her half hour standard Lucy fare.

That was terrific! Thanks. :)

You're welcome. :) I've had this for eleven years and was happy to finally be able to share it.

hi,

i have heard about this special but never knew the premis...what is it about. i also thought she did a couple of other specials...lucy meets the president. any knowledge would be greatly appreciated

hi,

i have heard about this special but never knew the premis...what is it about. i also thought she did a couple of other specials...lucy meets the president. any knowledge would be greatly appreciated

so after looking at these post i did some research. You would not believe how many lucy specials there are. Go to http://www.geocities.com/thelucilleballspecials/ they all look funny and would love to see them. does anyone know how to get ahold of any

hi,

i have heard about this special but never knew the premis...what is it about. i also thought she did a couple of other specials...lucy meets the president. any knowledge would be greatly appreciated

The premise of the "Lucy in London" special actually began with an episode of "The Lucy Show" called "Lucy Goes to London." In that episode, Lucy wins a trip to London for being the winner in a contest for best jingle in a dog food commercial. The first leg of her trip to London is a flight to New York. She winds up being on the same flight to NY as Mr. Mooney, who's going to New York for a business meeting. The week after that episode aired, "The Lucy Show" and "The Andy Griffith Show" were preempted and the "Lucy in London" special aired in its place. The special begins with Lucy Carmichael having just arrived in London. She meets her tour guide at the airport. It turns out to be a no frills tour and her guide (played by Anthony Newley) picks her up on a motorcycle. Her tour is pretty much off the beaten path and she's mostly seeing things that she hadn't anticipated seeing (or doing) like rafting on the River Thames (of course, the raft winds up sinking), playing the shrew in "The Taming of the Shrew" with an actor who takes his role much too seriously, visiting Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum and being freaked out in the Chamber of Horrors, doing a song and dance with the Dave Clark Five along the Thames, etc. The special was intentionally offbeat and surrealistic and very much NOT in the mold of a standard "Lucy" episode. In my opinion, it was a refreshing departure from the Lucy norm.

In "Lucy Meets the President," Lucy place a midwest housewife whose husband is played by Ed McMahon. Gale Gordon plays Ed's father and Vivian Vance, Mary Jane Croft and Mary Wickes are friends and neighbors. The premise has Lucy inviting President Jimmy Carter to dinner. For some reason, Carter was coming into town (I can't remember why). Lucy tries to extend an invitation to him and winds up receiving a call from his mother, Lillian (making a cameo appearance). Steve Allen comes to town to interview Lucy about the event. There are several funny scenes throughout, including one where Lucy and Viv are in the kitchen trying to make a cake and wind up in a food fight. In the end, after all the hard work, President Carter is unable to make it.

i would really like to see lucy meets the president, mr. and mrs. lucy moves to nbc lucy gets lucky(?) do you know where i could get ahold of these>

I also would love to see many of her specials but feel it will be a long time (if ever) before they are released on dvd. I think the biggest problem is that Lucille Ball is noted for having to have an audience to work in front of. I Love Lucy was one of the first filmed (not a live broadcast) shows to be filmed in front of a studio audience. Therefore when filming exterior shots for an entire show without an audience she was not at her best. Still though, she is the Queen of Comedy and from what I have seen it looks like a great show to me.

i would really like to see lucy meets the president, mr. and mrs. lucy moves to nbc lucy gets lucky(?) do you know where i could get ahold of these>

The only special I'm aware of that has been officially released on video or DVD is "CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years." Shokus Video (www.shokus.com) used to put out an occasional Lucy special like "Lucy in London." I don't know if they are anymore, but it may be worth checking. Otherwise, some people are have web sites where they offer to do trades. Or occasionally people sell copies on Ebay or Yahoo Auctions. These, of course, are unlicensed copies.

I also would love to see many of her specials but feel it will be a long time (if ever) before they are released on dvd. I think the biggest problem is that Lucille Ball is noted for having to have an audience to work in front of. I Love Lucy was one of the first filmed (not a live broadcast) shows to be filmed in front of a studio audience. Therefore when filming exterior shots for an entire show without an audience she was not at her best. Still though, she is the Queen of Comedy and from what I have seen it looks like a great show to me.

I agree with you about Lucille Ball's comedy usually working better when she was in from of a studio audience. But not all of her specials were filmed without an audience. She had an audience for "Lucy Meets the President" and I think she may have had an audience for some portions of "Lucy Moves to NBC." I've never seen the special she did with Jackie Gleason (though I remember the commercials advertising it; I think it must have been after my bedtime because I didn't get to see it), but for some reason I think that may have been filmed in front of an audience as well.

I agree with you about Lucille Ball's comedy usually working better when she was in from of a studio audience. But not all of her specials were filmed without an audience. She had an audience for "Lucy Meets the President" and I think she may have had an audience for some portions of "Lucy Moves to NBC." I've never seen the special she did with Jackie Gleason (though I remember the commercials advertising it; I think it must have been after my bedtime because I didn't get to see it), but for some reason I think that may have been filmed in front of an audience as well.

Oh, and "Lucy Comes to Nashville" had an audience. But that show was mostly about the country music performers with only a few comedy bits as Lucy was mainly just serving as host.

I think that the Lucille Ball specials will be available someday on DVD, once all of her series are released. Although, I bet when The Lucy Show makes it to DVD, you can see the Lucy In London as a bonus feature. If the license for the music, etc. goes through!

I'd love to see an offical release of her The Lucille Ball Special that she did with Bob Hope and Gale Gordon from 1964, I think. I think this is one of her best specials.

which one are you talking about benno : Mr. and Mrs. thats the only one i am aware of that she did with bob hope

Mr. and Mrs. is the special I was talking about. The first half of the special features Lucy as Lucille Ball, studio president looking for Bob Hope. The second half features the actual show, which I read was serving as a possible pilot for a proposed series starring Lucy. I believe this segment was filmed in front of an audience, though I've read it used canned laughter. However, the last time I watched it I thought it seemed to be an audience, not added in later or canned.

I know reading from the various Lucy bios, that Lucy wanted to end The Lucy Show and do a comedy-variety hour instead. CBS, of course, did not want to give up the sure ratings hit The Lucy Show was. It would have been interesting to see how that would have fared. The Lucy Show, had it ended with Vivian getting married, would have still been a show saleable in syndication and perhaps thought of even more so as a classic alongside I Love Lucy.

too bad the video has been removed from youtube due to "terms of use violation"