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Roz1013 · 08-08-2001, 02:19 AM

I was just reading my 'Lucy in the Afternoon' book and picked up some really interesting behind the scenes stories about some of our favourite episodes straight from Lucy's mouth that I thought I'd share if some of you didn't know them already.

I'm sure I'm violating some copyright code by doing this, but oh well....

"When we did the candy factory episode, we wanted to get a real candy dipper. Somebody who worked on the show lived near the Farmer's Market on Fairfax Avenue. Whenever he passed by, he saw a lady dipping candy in the window and thought she was the most deadpan thing he'd ever seen in his life. Her name was Amanda Milligan, and she agreed to do the show. The only thing that this woman ever did her whole life was dip candy. I don't think she ever watched television, and she didn't have the faintest idea who the hell I was. We explained the scene to her a couple of times, and she though we were all crazy. She never cracked a smile once. We all began to think, Is this funny or isn't it? We told her that I would see a fly land on her nose and when I knocked the fly off her nose, she should turn and whack me. We rehearsed it without the chocolate on our hands, and Amanda just didn't get it. I hit her, and she tapped me. I tried it again, and she tapped me again. She wouldn't give me the whack I needed to get the laugh. We hoped for the best when we filmed. We started the scene, and ther was Amanda dipping the chocolate the way she had for the last thirty years. Well, it came time for me to hit her, which I did, and then for her to hit me...which she did! Bam! She gave me such a shot, I thought she had broken my nose. I really saw stars. I almost called for a cut, and then I thought, no, we'd have to do it again, so I kept on going. But Lord, did she bust me in the face. After the show, I said, 'Boy, you really hit me,' and she looked at me deadpan as ever and said, 'That's what you wanted wasn't it?'"

LOL! I thought that lady was just ornery for the episode, not really so crotchity in real life!

Lucy almost drowned in another episode. "We were doing the show where we're in Italy and the director wants me for his picture called 'Bitter Grapes.' He wants me for the part of an American tourist, but I think he wants me for a grape stomper, so I go to learn how to stomp grapes. The whole show was geared to get me in that grape vat. Everything that we did on the show we wanted to be authentic, so we looked around for someone who knew how to stomp grapes. Most of the wineries were all mechanized, but we heard there were a few women up near Victorville who still crushed grapes the old-fashioned way. We brought one of the ladies down. Her name was Theresa, and she spoke no English whatsoever. We had a translator on the set and he would tell her what we wanted, and she seemed to understand. He told Theresa that we were supposed to have a fight. The director told him to tell her that she had to let me feet come up, because it would look funny. Once again, we talked our way through it but didn't want to take away the spontaneity of the moment by overrehearsing. Well, the time came for us to get in the vat, which was full of real grapes, and God, it was like stpepping on eyeballs. We started stomping on the grapes, and I made a dance out of it, and then I slipped. I didn't mean to, but I did. As I slipped, I accidentally hit Theresa, who took offense, and she hauled off and let me have it. Right in la banza. Took all the wind right out of me. Down I went, with Theresa on top of me. My head was supposed to pop up and then my arm and then my leg, and nothing popped up. She just held me down, hitting me. I thought she was trying to kill me. I had grapes up my nose, up my ears. She was choking me. The audience thought it was part of the show, and they were hysterical. I started beating her back to get her off of me. Finally, I gave her one good shove and threw her off and yelled, 'Cut!' I had to catch my breath. The director came over and calmed Theresa down and then calmed me down, and said we had to continue with the fight. The translator came over and explained it all again, and I thought it was okay. As soon as he yelled 'Action,' the fight was on again. I thought it was my last moments on earth."
Lucy almost called for a "cut" because of the intense pain she was having during the filming of another episode, one called 'The Passports.' Whyen Lucy can't find her birth certificate (without which she won't be able to get a passport and go to Europe), she wonders if she could fit into Fred's steamer trunk and go as a stowaway.
Lucy gets in the trunk to "try it on for size" when she is accidentally locked in. She has to stay there until Fred finds the lost key. Lucy had to stay in the trunk for over five minutes on her knees. During the filming, she was overcome with claustrophobia. As the scene progressed, her legs ached more and more until the pain was almost unbearable.
Late in the scene, Ricky uses the trunk as a conga drum and as he began pounding, Lucy thought it was over for her. Between the lack of air and the pain in her legs, Lucy thought she would faint and almost called for a cut. Instead she put her mouth on the air hole, took several deep breaths, and went on. When she finally got out of the trunk, her moans and groans as she straightens up weren't good acting. She hurt.
Lucy told John another story as she put the William Holden episode of 'I Love Lucy' into the VCR. She told him she had another close call. "Bill was a friend, and we asked him to do it. Big stars weren't doing guest appearances at the time, but he read the script and said yes right away. In the scene where I don't want him to recognize me because I dumped a whole plate of spaghetti on him, I wore a long nose, which kept getting longer every time I scratched it. In rehearsal, Bill lit my cigarette and nothing happened which was not supposed to happen. At the filming, he lit my cigarette and my nose wnet up in flames. I blew it out, keeping in character, and all I could think of was to dip the end of it into a cup of coffee. You can see Desi and Bill trying not to break up."

I thought those were all intersting stories. What a trooper Lucy was! It'll be fun to go back and watch those episodes now knowing all that!

------------------
"Don't take this personally Ethel, but I'm sick of the sight of your face."

Mignon · 08-08-2001, 07:45 AM

Thanks for that! I'd love to read that book.

Terry Ross · 08-08-2001, 10:48 AM

Outstanding stories! Hillarious, too.

Osh · 08-11-2001, 09:50 AM

That is so awesome! I never knew that. Anymore behind the scenes stuff. Where can I get that book????

Roz1013 · 08-11-2001, 07:27 PM

I just got mine at the library, but you can also order it at Amazon.com which I would strongly recommend, I'm going to as soon as I get some money...if that ever happens.....isn't that those green slips of paper with dead presidents on it?

And since you asked, here's one more story....

[i]Lucy spoke fondly of Orson [Wells], even though he drove her crazy. "People say I'm difficult to work with? Well, you should have seen Orson. We wanted him on the show to give him something to do, since he was living in our guest house and was eating us out of house and home. But that's another story. Orson had this trick where I was being levitated on the end of the broom, and it was the most painful experience of my life. Worse than childbirth. It felt like the broom was up my ass, and I had to stay on the goddamned thing for at least five minutes. Orson wanted to wear tails in the scene, but he wouldn't go for a fitting. Elois Jensen, who did all the clothes, got the biggest tails she could find. They were like big velour drapes that you used for backdrops, and Orson put them on at the dress rehearsal. It was like putting skin on a sausage. He put me on the broom for the dress rehearsal, and made some sweeping gesture and rrrrip! The tails split right up the back. There was no time to get another set. Another set of tails didn't exist that could get around him, so Elois cut some black cloth and pinned it the best she could. If you look at the show, you'll see how self-conscious he is about turning his back to the audience. God, that show was a stinker."

------------------
"Don't take this personally Ethel, but I'm sick of the sight of your face."

[This message has been edited by Roz1013 (edited 08-11-2001).]

08-08-2001, 02:19 AM	#1
Roz1013 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 05, 2001 Location: USA Posts: 261	Behind the Scenes I was just reading my 'Lucy in the Afternoon' book and picked up some really interesting behind the scenes stories about some of our favourite episodes straight from Lucy's mouth that I thought I'd share if some of you didn't know them already. I'm sure I'm violating some copyright code by doing this, but oh well.... "When we did the candy factory episode, we wanted to get a real candy dipper. Somebody who worked on the show lived near the Farmer's Market on Fairfax Avenue. Whenever he passed by, he saw a lady dipping candy in the window and thought she was the most deadpan thing he'd ever seen in his life. Her name was Amanda Milligan, and she agreed to do the show. The only thing that this woman ever did her whole life was dip candy. I don't think she ever watched television, and she didn't have the faintest idea who the hell I was. We explained the scene to her a couple of times, and she though we were all crazy. She never cracked a smile once. We all began to think, Is this funny or isn't it? We told her that I would see a fly land on her nose and when I knocked the fly off her nose, she should turn and whack me. We rehearsed it without the chocolate on our hands, and Amanda just didn't get it. I hit her, and she tapped me. I tried it again, and she tapped me again. She wouldn't give me the whack I needed to get the laugh. We hoped for the best when we filmed. We started the scene, and ther was Amanda dipping the chocolate the way she had for the last thirty years. Well, it came time for me to hit her, which I did, and then for her to hit me...which she did! Bam! She gave me such a shot, I thought she had broken my nose. I really saw stars. I almost called for a cut, and then I thought, no, we'd have to do it again, so I kept on going. But Lord, did she bust me in the face. After the show, I said, 'Boy, you really hit me,' and she looked at me deadpan as ever and said, 'That's what you wanted wasn't it?'" LOL! I thought that lady was just ornery for the episode, not really so crotchity in real life! Lucy almost drowned in another episode. "We were doing the show where we're in Italy and the director wants me for his picture called 'Bitter Grapes.' He wants me for the part of an American tourist, but I think he wants me for a grape stomper, so I go to learn how to stomp grapes. The whole show was geared to get me in that grape vat. Everything that we did on the show we wanted to be authentic, so we looked around for someone who knew how to stomp grapes. Most of the wineries were all mechanized, but we heard there were a few women up near Victorville who still crushed grapes the old-fashioned way. We brought one of the ladies down. Her name was Theresa, and she spoke no English whatsoever. We had a translator on the set and he would tell her what we wanted, and she seemed to understand. He told Theresa that we were supposed to have a fight. The director told him to tell her that she had to let me feet come up, because it would look funny. Once again, we talked our way through it but didn't want to take away the spontaneity of the moment by overrehearsing. Well, the time came for us to get in the vat, which was full of real grapes, and God, it was like stpepping on eyeballs. We started stomping on the grapes, and I made a dance out of it, and then I slipped. I didn't mean to, but I did. As I slipped, I accidentally hit Theresa, who took offense, and she hauled off and let me have it. Right in la banza. Took all the wind right out of me. Down I went, with Theresa on top of me. My head was supposed to pop up and then my arm and then my leg, and nothing popped up. She just held me down, hitting me. I thought she was trying to kill me. I had grapes up my nose, up my ears. She was choking me. The audience thought it was part of the show, and they were hysterical. I started beating her back to get her off of me. Finally, I gave her one good shove and threw her off and yelled, 'Cut!' I had to catch my breath. The director came over and calmed Theresa down and then calmed me down, and said we had to continue with the fight. The translator came over and explained it all again, and I thought it was okay. As soon as he yelled 'Action,' the fight was on again. I thought it was my last moments on earth." Lucy almost called for a "cut" because of the intense pain she was having during the filming of another episode, one called 'The Passports.' Whyen Lucy can't find her birth certificate (without which she won't be able to get a passport and go to Europe), she wonders if she could fit into Fred's steamer trunk and go as a stowaway. Lucy gets in the trunk to "try it on for size" when she is accidentally locked in. She has to stay there until Fred finds the lost key. Lucy had to stay in the trunk for over five minutes on her knees. During the filming, she was overcome with claustrophobia. As the scene progressed, her legs ached more and more until the pain was almost unbearable. Late in the scene, Ricky uses the trunk as a conga drum and as he began pounding, Lucy thought it was over for her. Between the lack of air and the pain in her legs, Lucy thought she would faint and almost called for a cut. Instead she put her mouth on the air hole, took several deep breaths, and went on. When she finally got out of the trunk, her moans and groans as she straightens up weren't good acting. She hurt. Lucy told John another story as she put the William Holden episode of 'I Love Lucy' into the VCR. She told him she had another close call. "Bill was a friend, and we asked him to do it. Big stars weren't doing guest appearances at the time, but he read the script and said yes right away. In the scene where I don't want him to recognize me because I dumped a whole plate of spaghetti on him, I wore a long nose, which kept getting longer every time I scratched it. In rehearsal, Bill lit my cigarette and nothing happened which was not supposed to happen. At the filming, he lit my cigarette and my nose wnet up in flames. I blew it out, keeping in character, and all I could think of was to dip the end of it into a cup of coffee. You can see Desi and Bill trying not to break up." I thought those were all intersting stories. What a trooper Lucy was! It'll be fun to go back and watch those episodes now knowing all that! ------------------ "Don't take this personally Ethel, but I'm sick of the sight of your face."

08-08-2001, 07:45 AM	#2
Mignon Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 06, 2001 Location: UK Posts: 16	Thanks for that! I'd love to read that book.

08-08-2001, 10:48 AM	#3
Terry Ross Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 20, 2000 Location: New Jersey Posts: 196	Outstanding stories! Hillarious, too.

08-11-2001, 09:50 AM	#4
Osh Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jun 15, 2001 Location: Wyandotte, MI Posts: 76	That is so awesome! I never knew that. Anymore behind the scenes stuff. Where can I get that book????

08-11-2001, 07:27 PM	#5
Roz1013 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 05, 2001 Location: USA Posts: 261	I just got mine at the library, but you can also order it at Amazon.com which I would strongly recommend, I'm going to as soon as I get some money...if that ever happens.....isn't that those green slips of paper with dead presidents on it? And since you asked, here's one more story.... [i]Lucy spoke fondly of Orson [Wells], even though he drove her crazy. "People say I'm difficult to work with? Well, you should have seen Orson. We wanted him on the show to give him something to do, since he was living in our guest house and was eating us out of house and home. But that's another story. Orson had this trick where I was being levitated on the end of the broom, and it was the most painful experience of my life. Worse than childbirth. It felt like the broom was up my ass, and I had to stay on the goddamned thing for at least five minutes. Orson wanted to wear tails in the scene, but he wouldn't go for a fitting. Elois Jensen, who did all the clothes, got the biggest tails she could find. They were like big velour drapes that you used for backdrops, and Orson put them on at the dress rehearsal. It was like putting skin on a sausage. He put me on the broom for the dress rehearsal, and made some sweeping gesture and rrrrip! The tails split right up the back. There was no time to get another set. Another set of tails didn't exist that could get around him, so Elois cut some black cloth and pinned it the best she could. If you look at the show, you'll see how self-conscious he is about turning his back to the audience. God, that show was a stinker." ------------------ "Don't take this personally Ethel, but I'm sick of the sight of your face." [This message has been edited by Roz1013 (edited 08-11-2001).]