Lucille Ball and Three's Company

[Crimson]

In all the books and articles on Lucy that I've read through the years, I've never come across any tidbit suggesting she watched or enjoyed L&S. I think it's a safe bet that she would have; L&S was quite literally her style of comedy; but I am not aware of Lucy ever expressing an opinion on the show or its stars.

Odd, really, that she would be drawn to THREE'S COMPANY rather than the concurrent L&S, when the later show was much closer to her own style.

 

[Jimmy Todd]

If I hosted a retrospective of a sitcom and could only pick one,it t would be I Love Lucy. Other comedies come close( i.e. Seinfeld, All in the Family), but ILL is the all time best.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I think Lucy would have loved The Nanny, since so many of the messes Fran got herself into were reminiscent of Lucy Ricardo. She even had an "Ethel" in best buddy Val, and of course Mr. Sheffield was from a foreign land and would often be reduced to muttering to himself in frustration. Both Lucy Ricardo and Fran had stylish, envy-inducing wardrobes and hairstyles, and Lucy's "waaaaa!" crying could have inspired Fran's nasally "Haaaaa!" laughter. And The Nanny was Fran Drescher's creation (along with her husband), her chance to have acting and producing control over a show, much like Lucy and Desi had with ILL.

 

[ClassyCo]

I figured someone would mention LAVERNE & SHIRLEY because of its closeness to Lucy's own brand of comedy. It would've been nice had Lucy guested on that show during its heyday. She could've showed up right before/right after the L&S gang packed up for California.

On a more personal level, had I been Lucille Ball, I would've liked to hosted a retrospective of THE GOLDEN GIRLS or DESIGNING WOMEN. That would've been harder with the real-life Lucy, however, because of her age and her own work with the ill-fated LIFE WITH LUCY, whose failure caused her to retire.​

I’m glad this show got a mention, as I feel it never really gets its due. It’s definitely at the top of my list as far as great sitcoms is concerned. Penny and Cindy had great chemistry, and Lenny and Squiggy were such likable morons.

There's a thread I started about Garry Marshall and his TV shows. I think it's called Garry Marshall's Universe or something like that. It's been a dry around there though.

 

[Crimson]

Except for the Milwaukee seasons of L&S, I'm not a big fan of Gary Marshall's TV oeuvre. THE ODD COUPLE is solid, but not a show I have a strong fondness for. My interest in HAPPY DAYS is slim to none, and I can barely tolerate Robin Williams so MORK & MINDY is a no go for me.

 

[ClassyCo]

Except for the Milwaukee seasons of L&S, I'm not a big fan of Gary Marshall's TV oeuvre. THE ODD COUPLE is solid, but not a show I have a strong fondness for. My interest in HAPPY DAYS is slim to none, and I can barely tolerate Robin Williams so MORK & MINDY is a no go for me.

Of his shows, I like LAVERNE & SHIRLEY the best of the best. I have the complete set of THE ODD COUPLE, which I find quite funny. I think Tony Randall and Jack Klugman play off one another very well.

I have a fondness for HAPPY DAYS as well, but to a lesser extent. I prefer the earlier seasons, I'd say up to like season seven. I really don't like it once Ron Howard left and Henry Winkler helped turned it into "The Fonzie Show".

MORK & MINDY is a show I can honestly take or leave. I've got the first two seasons on DVD, but I rarely watch them.​

 

[Chris2]

I agree on Garry Marshall. His shows tend to start well and then devolve. L&S is the best of the bunch, and only the Milwaukee years (and you could see the decline even start in the last Milwaukee season). “Happy Days” was a decent show in the early years, then went way overboard on the Fonz as some sort of superhero, the catch phrases, the annoying little kids, the sappy lessons learned, etc. “Mork & Mindy” was a sweet little show in its first year. But the network decided to tamper with it and had Marshall fire the dad and grandma, and then he larded it up with all kinds of awful supporting characters. I liked “Angie” and it should have had a longer run, but again, you could see unnecessary changes happening in the second year: the move, the beauty salon, the three Marys, etc,

If you ever have a chance to catch ”Blansky’s Beauties”, do it just to see how it’s a Frankenstein’s monster of previously used actors and concepts from Marshall’s other series. Lynda Goodfriend, Scott Baio, Eddie Mekka, and even Arnold (Pat Morita) all show up. Even the theme song is done by the same singer who did the L&S theme.

 

[DallasFanForever]

The Odd Couple and Mork & Mindy I’m kind of indifferent to. I enjoyed them back then but for some reason they don’t hold up well for me now. I think Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley were definitely his best shows.

 

[ClassyCo]

The Odd Couple and Mork & Mindy I’m kind of indifferent to. I enjoyed them back then but for some reason they don’t hold up well for me now. I think Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley were definitely his best shows.

They were definitely his biggest hits, and longest-lasting, TV shows.​

 

[Seaviewer]

I think I could make the same comment here I made about Friends and The Cosby Show.
For the most part they were well-made shows strongly helped by a lack of competition.
The only one I would count as a favourite in retrospect would be Mork & Mindy - and then only for the first season. I don't know what they were thinking with the unnecessary tampering with a hit format.

 

[ClassyCo]

I find it interesting that Lucy made so few guest appearances on sitcoms through her career, considering that's where she found her greatest fame. Excluding the not-in-character retrospective on THREE'S COMPANY, she only guested on a few sitcoms -- Ann Sothern's in the 50s; Danny Thomas' in the 50s and 70s; I think perhaps a couple others. Most of her TV work, outside her own series, was on variety shows, game shows, award shows or talk shows.

It is quite ironic that she didn't appear on TV more outside of her own shows.

I've read that she had been asked to play Diane's mom on CHEERS, although Shelly Long has said she didn't know anything about it.

That would've been interesting. I wonder if Lucy would've been a wacky mother and therefore total opposite of Diane?​

 

[Chris2]

I vaguely recall reading that Ball wasn’t actually asked to be on Cheers. The producers considered it, but worried that her presence would take viewers out of the moment. Diane’s mother wound up being played by Glynis Johns, who had her own Lucy connection - she worked for Ball and Desilu when she did a short-lived sitcom, from I Love Lucy creator Jess Oppenheimer, back in the 1960s.