Lucille Ball: The First Lady of Comedy

[ClassyCo]

And yes, TLS needed more an ensemble. That's why I love the middle of the 1st season, an ensemble was taking shape. The kids, Mr. Barnsdahl, Harry, Eddie. None where great characters, but they could have been developed more. I too liked Dick Martin as Harry, even if he made Lucy & Viv look old by comparison. I also like Charles Lane more than Gale Gordon, although I know Lane was fired because he couldn't remember his dialogue in front of the live audience. I also think both boy actors were fine, even better than some other kid actors of the era. They were no Ronnie Howard for sure, but that kid was the Olivier of child actors.

I need to revisit Season 1 of THE LUCY SHOW, but I have the same memory as you. I have a memory that the show was developing a solid cast that could've worked very well together had the writers and producers taken better care of what they had. Charles Lane is always good and I always enjoy him in every role I see him in, so yes, I agree, he was better on the show than Gale Gordon.

Perhaps giving Lucy more extensive creative control over the show wasn't the best idea. She didn't seem to be the judge of material.

 

[Crimson]

Perhaps giving Lucy more extensive creative control over the show wasn't the best idea. She didn't seem to be the judge of material.

Lucille likely would have been a good director. She knew how to run her show technically: cameras, lighting, blocking. She was not well suited to producing. The kind of long term creative planning and actual vision was missing from all of her shows after ILL.