Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueAfter Indiana housewife Lucy Whittaker (Lucille Ball) calls the White House to discuss a housing project, she finds herself making preparations for the President to visit her home for dinner... Tout lireAfter Indiana housewife Lucy Whittaker (Lucille Ball) calls the White House to discuss a housing project, she finds herself making preparations for the President to visit her home for dinner. Calamity and comedy follows as Lucy frantically prepares for the momentous event with th... Tout lireAfter Indiana housewife Lucy Whittaker (Lucille Ball) calls the White House to discuss a housing project, she finds herself making preparations for the President to visit her home for dinner. Calamity and comedy follows as Lucy frantically prepares for the momentous event with the eager support of family, friends and neighbors. The special is capped with a surprise ca... Tout lire
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- Mayor Wally Bowser
- (as James E. Broadhead)
- TV Director
- (as John Young)
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- AnecdotesAfter the expansive living room stage set had been built on the Warner Brothers Studio stage, the entire cast's first script read was conducted on the stage's multi-camera lane aisle, in front of the studio audience bleachers. Two eight foot long tables were set on the front stage area with low director chairs for the cast members. At each end of the 16 foot long conference script table, a wooden high-director's canvas folding chair was positioned at each opposite head end of the table. Lucille Ball positioned herself in the camera right director-high chair while husband/producer Gary Morton seated himself in the camera left director-high chair. Lucy's subtle way telling everyone who was the boss. The director Marc Daniels, producers/writers Bob Carrol Jr. and Madelyn Davis joined the cast seated at the table. During breaks in the script read-through, the cast took time for a stretch, a cup of coffee and sweets from the craft service table set up on the stage. Art director Hub Braden would join the cast on stage, descending from his bleacher observation seat location. While the cast was scattered over the stage, Braden sat down in Lucy's director-high chair. Vivian Vance delicately came over to Hub, tapping him on his arm, whispering "you are sitting in the Queen's chair! No one sits in that chair except Lucy." Hub stepped off Lucy's director-high chair, joining Vivian for a cup of coffee! Vivian explained only the queen and king, Lucy and Gary Morton, were allowed the director-high chairs on the set. The director Marc Daniels had a director-low chair. The rest of the cast had to use the low director's chairs provided by the prop master. Lucy's temper would unleash if she observed anyone sitting in her chair. During the course of video-taping the comedy special, Lucy would halt the taping if she didn't like the fluid flow of the scene. Confronting Marc Daniels, the director, on stage, where he would join the cast from his off stage video remote control booth, Lucy would demand an action change, or a script dialogue alteration. In the middle of the video taping of the special, Lucy's action was to rise from her chair, step into a prop birthday cake on the floor in front of the chair. Lucy did not like the staging of the scene. An argument ensued when Lucy screamed at the director and the entire cast, stomping off the stage. The cast literally disappeared while Lucy and Marc Daniels argued over the scene in the middle of the stage set. Behind the living room set at the craft service table, Braden asked Vivian Vance "does Lucy blow up like this often?" Vivian replied, "we put up with Lucy and her temperament, knowing we will all kiss and make up after she blows her top! We have experienced Lucy's behavior for years. It is all part of the job!" Thirty minutes later, the audience still seated in their bleacher seats, the scene was successfully staged, video taped! Vivian Vance related "cast mates only talked to Lucy when they worked together. Lucy only called them when she needed them for a television special."
- GaffesWhen Lucy tires to remove her noisy necklaces during the interview with Steve Allen, the letters on the chains are "L" and "M" for Lucille Morton (Ball's married name).
- Citations
Lucy Whittaker: [on the phone with President Carter] How would you feel if somebody tore down Amy's tree house?
- ConnexionsFeatured in Dinah!: Dinah and the First Ladies (1977)
I don't remember the premise for WHY President Carter and family were going to visit Lucy's home, but I do remember that - after a number of hilarious calamities in the home, capped by the loss of Lucy's front tooth and the "thubthequent thlurring of her thpeech patternth", it turned out that the President had to cancel. (Did anyone REALLY expect the Chief Executive to actually visit a sitcom pilot?)
Still, all was not lost when Miss Lillian did place a call to Lucy (and comments on Lucy's speech impediment, "And they say WE talk funny...")
Unfortunately, Lucy's future in television sitcommery only went further down when she tried to again revive her old glory with "Life with Lucy". Now, I was not so much laughing at her antics, as I was concerned that she would need a hip replacement if she fell. It was sort of like watching Roger Moore attempt to run across train tops and climb the Golden Gate Bridge as James Bond, when he was already pushing his mid-fifties...
By the time she had reached this point in her life, I found her to be much more effective as a dramatic actress ("Stone Pillow"), or grand-dame host of special events like the Emmys, with David Letterman.
Her passing was especially poignant for me as it was on the day before I first visited the newly-opened Disney MGM Studios in Orlando. The flags were at half staff, and the "Superstar Television" attraction held a moment of silence in tribute to her.
After more than half-a-century, we STILL love Lucy.
- koconnor-1
- 19 mai 2004
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- Lach' mit Lucille Ball: Ein ganz besonderer Gast zum Dinner
- société de production
- Consultez plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro