Why didn't Vivian Vance appear in several episodes in Season One?

[desert_bloom444]

She wasn't in "Young Fans", "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" and "Lucy Plays Cupid" (I might be forgetting another).

Does anyone know why?

[Timoth26]

I'm not sure but I don't think she appeared in " The Audition" either.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by desert_bloom444

She wasn't in "Young Fans", "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" and "Lucy Plays Cupid" (I might be forgetting another).

Does anyone know why?

She wasn't in the script.

[lucyandethel]

As for Young Fans and Lucy Plays Cupid, I believe it was a budget thing. Dick Crenna, Janet Waldo, Edward Everrett Horton and Bea Benaderet were at that time recognizable stars in their own right. Maybe their salaries edged out having Vance and Frawley work for those weeks? I remember Lucie Arnaz once saying her and Desi Jr. did not appear in the "Here's Lucy" episode with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor because they were already over budget.

As for Lucy Does A TV Commercial, supposedly Vivian's lines were given to Frawley that week for unknown reasons. The original script had Vivian in it but not Bill Frawley.

[HuntingtonM15]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

She wasn't in the script.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows that's a given.

[HuntingtonM15]

Originally Posted by lucyandethel

As for Young Fans and Lucy Plays Cupid, I believe it was a budget thing. Dick Crenna, Janet Waldo, Edward Everrett Horton and Bea Benaderet were at that time recognizable stars in their own right. Maybe their salaries edged out having Vance and Frawley work for those weeks? I remember Lucie Arnaz once saying her and Desi Jr. did not appear in the "Here's Lucy" episode with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor because they were already over budget.

As for Lucy Does A TV Commercial, supposedly Vivian's lines were given to Frawley that week for unknown reasons. The original script had Vivian in it but not Bill Frawley.

That's interesting about "Lucy Does A TV Commercial." I had never heard that one before. Maybe Viv had some personal issue come up so she opted out of the episode.

[Gina_lynn]

Originally Posted by HuntingtonM15

That's interesting about "Lucy Does A TV Commercial." I had never heard that one before. Maybe Viv had some personal issue come up so she opted out of the episode.

I heard somewhere it was because she had been beat up by her husband prior to shooting ... not sure if it's true or not.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by HuntingtonM15

I'm pretty sure everyone knows that's a given.

Not necessarily. I heard this question posed once to the writers at a Lucy convention and that was the response.

[HuntingtonM15]

Originally Posted by LittleRickyII

Not necessarily. I heard this question posed once to the writers at a Lucy convention and that was the response.

It sounds like it was a joke response. It's another way of stating the original question. "Why wasn't Viv in such and such episode?" or "Why wasn't she in the script for this particular episode?" It's the same thing, and can pretty much be assumed. Also, if it's true that Bill took over her lines in "Lucy Does A TV Commercial," then she most likely was in the original script.