Topical references on I Love Lucy

[Ireneparalegal]

What topical references were made on ILL? Whether it was fashion, celebs, politics, anything that is mentioned that was well known for that er or any other era, but may seem out of place now or make you ask, "What do they mean?"

Marilyn Monroe was THEE STAR of that era. She was mentioned several times in different episodes.

When Ricky is going to audition for Mr. Benjamin, Lucy dresses up like a "Marilyn Monroe type." Boy does she.

When the boys dress in old clothes, the foursome talk abt a movie they are going to see, and it stars you know who...Marilyn Monroe.

In Hollywood, when Lucy wants to impress her friend Caroline/Lillian (pick your choice ) she wonders if Ethel can pass for, you guessed it, Marilyn Monroe.

When Ricky reads the inscription on his cake in Hollywood, after finishing that movie he made, he reads "Marlon" and then says, "Marlon Monroe".

Ricky complains abt Marilyn Monroe -while in Hollywood - and asks, "What does she got that I haven't got?"

In Connecticut when Ethel, Fred, Little Ricky and Lucy are making their own band for a show, Fred turns his violin upside down to which a bunch of confetti comes out. He mentions the last time he played that thing was at a Roosevelt rally.

When Lucy wants to mow the lawn for the Tulip contest, she thinks the mower needs to be cranked like the "old Model T's".

[tdr]

One that I never understood for years was when Lucy finds that card from 'Ricky' to Minnie Finch, and she and Ethel go to the apartment on the address, and Minnie is ... well, surely not Ricky's type. So to cover their purpose they say they are taking a survey and Minnie says, "Hey wait a minute-- your name ain't Kinzey, is it?" I bet I can remember 20 years of seeing that ep before I knew what that meant .

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by tdr

One that I never understood for years was when Lucy finds that card from 'Ricky' to Minnie Finch, and she and Ethel go to the apartment on the address, and Minnie is ... well, surely not Ricky's type. So to cover their purpose they say they are taking a survey and Minnie says, "Hey wait a minute-- your name ain't Kinzey, is it?" I bet I can remember 20 years of seeing that ep before I knew what that meant .

You are right. For the longest time I never knew what that meant either. I always wondered why the audience laughed so hard and I felt so clueless. That is a great example of something that is mentioned and unless you were born in that era, you would have no idea of what was being said.

I am glad though to know now what that whole Kinsey reference was abt. I felt so much better.

Let me add this to this thread: Rodgers and Hammerstein being mentioned in the anniversary episode when Lucy and Ricky lie to the Mertzes abt what their anniversary plans are.

[Larry Surrell]

I think in the episode where Lucy was learning how to drive, Ethel called her "Barney Oldfield".

Here's a link to the Barny Oldfield Wikipedia page, if you're interested to know who he was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Oldfield

In the episode where Lucy gets drops put in her eyes and can't see Ethel calls her "Miss Magoo".



Irene, I didn't realize there were so many Marilyn Monroe references on the show! Rodgers and Hammerstein were also referenced in the episode where Lucy pretends to be Ricky's agent. "You can't have him Oscar; neither can you Dick".

[tdr]

Perhaps one topical reference which emerges from time to time is about unions. It's not only the Musicians' Union Ricky sometimes refers to, and "union trouble" at the club-- such as when he's on the phone and repeats someone's words, "Of course we have an automatic dishwashing machine.... we've gotta have WHAT??-- STAND-BY DISHWASHERS?!?" But occasionally they use the idea figuratively; such as when Ricky is at first going to buy Lucy a Jacque Marcel dress, and that makes Fred mad because Ethel will want one, and he tells Ricky he met a man who "shelled out 5 hundred clams" for one dress by that guy, and Ricky relents and hides Lucy's invitation to his fashion show. Fred says "Welcome back to the Husbands' Union." And before that European trip, Lucy pickets Ricky for (at first) saying he can't take her, with a sign "Ricky Ricardo Unfair." That also takes after union activism.

And this is prevalent because unions were a bigger part of many Americans' lives then. We read in certain histories that the 40's may have been the 'golden age' of unions in America, with the return of prosperity and the end of WWII, workers were demanding a bigger slice of the prosperity and company-paid training to compete in technological progress, along with job security and better pay and benefits. Most Americans were still not too formally educated, so unions to help raise their stations in life were more the thing than taking a couple of years off to try to get a degree, if that were possible, and for most it wasn't. I've read it was close to half of workers who belonged to unions in the 40's and 50's, but that has been gradually going down, and is now less than 20%. I pay no real attention to comedy shows made today, but I have a strong hunch there aren't allusions to unions, nor a couple of buddies saying "husbands' union" if their wives ask for too much.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Larry Surrell

I think in the episode where Lucy was learning how to drive, Ethel called her "Barney Oldfield".

Here's a link to the Barny Oldfield Wikipedia page, if you're interested to know who he was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Oldfield

In the episode where Lucy gets drops put in her eyes and can't see Ethel calls her "Miss Magoo".



Irene, I didn't realize there were so many Marilyn Monroe references on the show! Rodgers and Hammerstein were also referenced in the episode where Lucy pretends to be Ricky's agent. "You can't have him Oscar; neither can you Dick".

Thank you for that link. Very informative and I learned something new.
Yeah, I didn't realize the references to M.M. until I started posting them here and I was surprised it was that many. Thank you for reminding me of that moment where Lucy who is playing Ricky's agent mentions Rodgers and Hammerstein there as well.

TDR, you really know your stuff. That union information is interesting. To be honest, I never paid attention to that line where Fred mentions the husband union. I mean, I heard it, but it just flys on by.

[NOVARick]

Fortunately, there aren't that many topical references, which tend to date a show and make the humor hard to follow. But one that sticks out in my mind is from "Ricky Asks for a Raise" when Lucy is impersonating various people to try to book the Tropicana. She tells Ethel that she got the last table reserved for Harry and Bess Truman.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by NOVARick

Fortunately, there aren't that many topical references, which tend to date a show and make the humor hard to follow. But one that sticks out in my mind is from "Ricky Asks for a Raise" when Lucy is impersonating various people to try to book the Tropicana. She tells Ethel that she got the last table reserved for Harry and Bess Truman.

Lucy: "Harry and Bess Truman got the last table."

Watching Lucy imitating Tallulah Bankhead when I was a kid was to me because I had no idea who she was. I had a great time watching her do this imitation of her though because it was hilarious..."HELLO DARLING!"

Let's not forget those hilarious and unforgettable HOSTESS PANTS that Ethel received for her birthday.

[Larry Surrell]

What episode was it that Lucy and Ethel were arguing over which one of them looks more like Marilyn Monroe? They ask Fred and he said "I think I look more like her than either one of you!"

I thought of another old time reference. In the Van Johnson episode Lucy's trying to think of a plan so Caroline would think she knows a lot of celebrities. She asked Ethel if she had any ideas and Ehtel said, "If Einstein can't solve a problem you don't give it to Mortimer Snerd." For you youngsters, Mortimer Snerd was one of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's dummies.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by Larry Surrell

What episode was it that Lucy and Ethel were arguing over which one of them looks more like Marilyn Monroe? They ask Fred and he said "I think I look more like her than either one of you!"

I thought of another old time reference. In the Van Johnson episode Lucy's trying to think of a plan so Caroline would think she knows a lot of celebrities. She asked Ethel if she had any ideas and Ehtel said, "If Einstein can't solve a problem you don't give it to Mortimer Snerd." For you youngsters, Mortimer Snerd was one of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's dummies.

That episode is when Ricky is going to audition for DON JUAN and the girls read the script where it states the lead actress is a "Marilyn Monroe type"...hence, the scene I mentioned in my post where Lucy comes out dressed like Marilyn, looking like Marilyn.

Yes, Mortimer Snerd is another reference I didn't know of for the longest time. When I was abt 9 I had seen one of those specials abt Edgar Bergen and when they mentioned the name Mortimer Snerd, it hit me that is what was said on ILL.

[Ireneparalegal]

How many times was Gary Cooper mentioned? I noticed in the episode LUCY'S SCHEDULE Ricky mentions Gary Cooper when arguing with Lucy abt choosing a dress for going out.

Gary was also mentioned in Hollywood when Lucy imitated him for her friend Caroline Appleby.

Wasn't there another mention?

[NOVARick]

There was a reference to the recent presidential conventions in "The Club Election." Oh, and I think it was in "Lucy Meets the Queen" that Lucy made reference to Prince Phillip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth (either she or Ricky called him "Phil"). Of course, that reference still works today.

[tdr]

Ricky didn't call the Prince Consort "Phil,", but Lucy thought he had. After Ricky found out that the invitation to meet the Queen mentioned him only and it would not be proper to bring anyone else including his wife, he called his agent in Britain, Phil Wilcox, addressing him as Phil, and that's what Lucy heard. "Talk about Americans being forward,..." she said.

Amendment to my earlier post about unions: A recent Wall Street Journal article said union membership in the US is now at 12%, down from 24% 30 years ago.

[Ireneparalegal]

When the Ricardos show home movies, we see a film projector that for the longest time was not outdated. We had film projectors when I was in elementary school. By the time I hit high school, VCR's were the way to show a film.

The way Fred, Ethel and Lucy dress up and pretend to be fans of Ricky's to impress Dore Schary in Hollywood. They came up with the idea because of the fans and the following that Frank Sinatra had at that time, along with many other celebs of that era. We even see the trio dressed as young 50's style kids.

[Larry Surrell]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

How many times was Gary Cooper mentioned? I noticed in the episode LUCY'S SCHEDULE Ricky mentions Gary Cooper when arguing with Lucy abt choosing a dress for going out.

Gary was also mentioned in Hollywood when Lucy imitated him for her friend Caroline Appleby.

Wasn't there another mention?

Wasn't Gary Cooper's shrivelled up autographed orange one of the souveniers Lucy had in the stealing John Wayne footprints episode? I know the grapefruit was Richard Widmark's. I love the faces she made while trying to read those signatures!