Lucy Carmichael: The Worst Single TV Mom Of ALL Time?

[Brian Damage]

Lucy Carmichael in The Lucy Show:

Mr. Mooney's assistant (played by Lucille Ball) had two children whom she rarely ever saw. Her daughter Chris (played by Candy Moore) was shipped off to college and never heard
from after a few seasons. Lucy sent her son Jerry (played by Jimmy Garrett) off to military school, and he was seldom ever mentioned in the last few years of the series.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...pg2.html?cat=2

[old grouch]

Doris Martin from 'The Doris Day Show' may be even worse than Lucy Carmichael. At least Lucy's kids didn't vanish completely.

[Marvo301]

It's not Lucy's fault. It's Viv's fault! The disappearance of Lucy Carmichael's kids can be traced back to the decision by Vivian Vance to leave the series. Viv's decision to leave forced Lucy and her production team to make major changes to the format of the show. Sadly the kids didn't fit into this format so they were written out. And speaking of Viv whatever happened to her son Sherman? I don't think she even mentioned him when she visited Lucy in California.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

And speaking of Viv whatever happened to her son Sherman? I don't think she even mentioned him when she visited Lucy in California.

Well that's fitting. Viv also never mentioned Vern Bunson to Lucy until she married him!

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

Well that's fitting. Viv also never mentioned Vern Bunson to Lucy until she married him!

True!!

[novarrofan]

It is so true, Lucy Carmichael wasn't a very hands on mother just as Lucy Ricardo wasn't either. Both women spent so little time with their children and in a way were way off the usual sitcom mom figures so common in 1950's-'60's sitcoms.

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

Lucy Carmichael in The Lucy Show:

Mr. Mooney's assistant (played by Lucille Ball) had two children whom she rarely ever saw. Her daughter Chris (played by Candy Moore) was shipped off to college and never heard
from after a few seasons. Lucy sent her son Jerry (played by Jimmy Garrett) off to military school, and he was seldom ever mentioned in the last few years of the series.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...pg2.html?cat=2

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

It's not Lucy's fault. It's Viv's fault! The disappearance of Lucy Carmichael's kids can be traced back to the decision by Vivian Vance to leave the series. Viv's decision to leave forced Lucy and her production team to make major changes to the format of the show. Sadly the kids didn't fit into this format so they were written out. And speaking of Viv whatever happened to her son Sherman? I don't think she even mentioned him when she visited Lucy in California.

Really the show should have ended when Vance left the program. With only a few exceptions, the quality of the episodes after Vance left the series were inferior to the episodes she was in.

[McGillicuddy]

That's what I was thinking, about Lucy Ricardo. She was always dumping Little Ricky on elderly Mrs. Tudball or Mrs. McGullucuddy, while she was running around having her adventures. Sometimes she'd go downstairs to visit Ethel, leaving LR alone in the apartment napping. Then of course the Ricardos go off to Europe for a couple of months leaving the kid behind! : At least they had him in California, when they were living out there.

[old grouch]

I've always wondered what kind of mother would go to Europe for several months and leave her toddler behind. Kinda puts a damper on the European episodes for me. At least she called him on his birthday.

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by old grouch

I've always wondered what kind of mother would go to Europe for several months and leave her toddler behind. Kinda puts a damper on the European episodes for me. At least she called him on his birthday.

Apparently, based on everything I've read about her, Lucy was somewhat like that in real life. She put her career first and allowed other people (mostly her mother Dee Dee) to raise Lucie and Desi Jr.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by old grouch

I've always wondered what kind of mother would go to Europe for several months and leave her toddler behind. Kinda puts a damper on the European episodes for me. At least she called him on his birthday.

Actually, even though the Europe episodes aired over the course of several months, within the script, their trip to Europe only last three weeks. And it was a chance of a lifetime for Lucy. At that time, unlike today, travel to Europe was a rare opportunity. So I can't really fault Lucy for leaving him behind for a few weeks. And at least he was left in the care of his next closest family member, his grandmother.

As for Lucy Carmichael, it's fair to criticize sending the kids away as a plot device, but to make an argument that what she did made her a bad mother is silly. Sending a child to college on her income was a huge sacrifice. For her to do that means she wanted her daughter to have a better life than she had. And sending her son to military school is even more impressive. It's most likely he would have gotten a better education in military school than in public school. And with a daughter in college, for her to be able to afford that had to be extremely tough. Apparently she HAD to get a job in order to pay for her childrens' education. I don't think she could have managed that on her trust fund alone. My only question: Why the heck would she suddenly pick up and move to California after living in small town New York all her life. Oh, a couple more questions: As involved as Mooney and Lucy were in each other's lives, how is it possible for them both to do something as drastic as move across the country without the other ever knowing about it? And what happened to her house?

Originally Posted by Marvo301

Apparently, based on everything I've read about her, Lucy was somewhat like that in real life. She put her career first and allowed other people (mostly her mother Dee Dee) to raise Lucie and Desi Jr.

I was thinking about that as well. And not only that, when she was a child, Lucy's mother moved out of state with her second husband and left Lucy and her brother behind in the care of their step grandmother. In Lucille Ball's world, as a child and as a parent, that sort of behavior was normal. Perhaps Lucy's writers had heard these stories about how Lucy grew up, or observed how Lucy's own kids were being raised partially by their grandmother, Dede, and incorporated these same ideas in their scripts.