December Bride: I Love Lucy's other neighbor

You may think of Fred and Ethel Mertz as the neighbors on "I Love Lucy" but From 1954 until 1958 "December Bride" was a situation comedy seen on CBS right after Lucy aired. So December Bride was a Lucy neighbor, too!

Although this series has been long forgotten, LenW's Youtube channel has posted much of the series from washed out reruns on a local station. It is really a hoot for any fan of "I Love Lucy" as the whole series has a "Lucy" aura to it. The laugh track, the music, the set and even the bit players are very familiar.

If you have never seen this series you are in for a treat. Here a a few discoveries I have made as an "I Love Lucy" fan.

The laugh track is the same as from "Lucy." You will often hear the famous "oh-oh" on December Bride (the "oh-oh" lady was supposedly Lucy's mother!).

The series starred Spring Byington, Dean Miller, Frances Rafferty and Harry Morgan. 

Remember Mrs. Porter, the maid hired by Lucy? Mrs. Porter was none other than Verna Felton who played the much more adorable character Hilda in "December Bride"!

Get ready to see a lot of Lucy alumni on the screen or in the credits.

Here's Kathryn Card (aka Mrs. McGillicuddy--Lucy's mom)

Here's Joseph Kerns (who appeared as the theater manager and doctor on "I Love Lucy")

Here's Desi Arnaz himself guest starring in an episode

I even spotted Lucy's stand in Hazel Pierce in the background on at least one episode. 

The background music sounds very familiar. Wilbur Hatch uses incidental music which sounds much like a Lucy episode.

The set looks very "I Love Lucy" like to me. The kitchen door and sink are in the same position as are the open windows leading into the living room area.

Any Lucy fan will recognize these names from the credits

And of course get ready for the Desilu logo!

From what I have read "December Bride" didn't do well when CBS moved it out of its post Lucy time slot. The show later aired daytimes on CBS and was in syndication but never fared too well. One reason is they said children couldn't relate to the story lines as the cast was older. I don't know about that, however it would be great if someone could rescue this show from the archives of oblivion and let us see it again from clear prints! Until then thank you LenW for giving us the rare chance to visit with Lucy's neighbor "December Bride". A real treat.

Where The Hell Is Desilu?

I overheard some women I work with say they couldn't stand writing book reports back in their school days...I guess that's what makes us all different. Writing has always been something I enjoy and sharing a good book with you is another thing that is fun.

You might have to search for this one a little bit as it never was on a best seller list. Still it is a fascinating look at Hollywood and the entertainment biz through the eyes of an insider. Howard Rayfiel was an entertainment lawyer and writer. His book "Where The Hell is Desilu?" is subtitled "How To Fail In Hollywood Without Really Trying." I don't think Rayfiel failed as he mixed and mingled with lots of the big shots of his day. The moral of the whole book seems to be that Hollywood and the entertainment biz is full of egos, crooks and sheisters (is that a word?). For the most part Rayfiel kept his honesty and integrity throughout.

In the post Desi Arnaz days at Lucille Ball's studio Desilu, Howard Rayfiel was the "Resident Counsel" which meant he was the studio's lawyer. His book isn't full of legal mumbo jumbo, however. Instead we get an inside look at showbiz. By that time Lucy was divorced and remarried and her second husband Gary Morton was involved in the production end of her empire. Morton isn't painted in a very good light here. Rayfiel tells the story about how some poor slob was watering plants at the studio and got some hose water on one of Morton's Rolls Royce (he had several). He had a fit and the car had to be driven home immediately. His cars were only washed with bottled water!

The book is full of anectodes about everybody from Bob Hope's son to Walter Mattthau (Matthau responded to a question about why his plumber makes $30 an hour while Matthau made millions....Matthau told the plumber nobody pays money to watch the plumber work!)

Star Trek was of course a Desilu production. At the time nobody thought much about merchandising. A Star Trek t shirt or fan convention was unheard of. Rayfiel talks about how that end of the biz all started as well.

Today Howard Rayfiel lives in Florida (perhaps we'll meet some day....) and is enjoying his retirement I assume.

Since this isn't a school book report there is no minimal word limit, so since I have to make lunch now, I'll stop and just tell you that this is lots of fun and a good read.

The Lucy Love Affair continues with "The Lucy Show" season two

When I was growing up in the Detroit, Michigan area, Lucille Ball and her tv high jinx (I don't think I've ever used that word before....high jinx?!) were an important part of growing up.

Her classic 1950s sitcom "I Love Lucy" starring Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley and of course Lucy, was seen every weekday evening after school and was mandatory viewing. For some reason this show became an obsession and still is to this day. I have all the "I Love Lucy" episodes on dvd and have watched them many times over. The show is still broadcast in local markets and on the Hallmark Channel. Unfortunately the syndicated prints are sped up and edited. The picture is often blurry. It is a shame as the dvd presentation of "I Love Lucy" is pristine, clear and, as Lucy would say, "Wundaful."

When Lucy got her divorce from Desi, she eventually returned to television in "The Lucy Show." This series was prime time top rated in the 1960s. When I was growing up in the 70s, reruns of "The Lucy Show" were shown locally at lunch time and I was a faithful viewer. Time wasn't good to "The Lucy Show" and it vanished from rerun heaven on local stations. When videotapes and dvds arrived on the scene, "The Lucy Show" was often to be found in cut rate cheap pirated versions with washed out copies and edited programs. Not very fitting for "The First Lady of Television" as Lucy was often called.


CBS probably figured they finally made all the money they could from the "I Love Lucy" franchise, releasing just about everything except a rare Desilu Revue Christmas Special. They finally released the official "The Lucy Show" first season last year and just now on the scene is "The Lucy Show" the official second season.

This dvd collection features 28 beautifully restored episodes, IN COLOR. Remember when THAT was something new? In fact, when these shows were first shown on CBS, they were shown in black and white. Desilu knew that color was coming and rerun money was to be made so they were shot in color. Lucy looks lovely and Vivian Vance, who was kind of frumpy on "I Love Lucy" looks good, too. This season also includes the introduction of Gale Gordon as Mr. Mooney, a classic tv character.

No, this isn't the magic of "I Love Lucy" but it does have some great shows including two featuring Ethel Merman. Also here are some great classic cast commercials, rare CBS clips, a full length Lucy/Bob Hope special, and show openings for sponsors like Jello. The lovingly produced interviews with Lucy's friend Carol Cook and actor Barry Livingston are lots of fun.

This is no bargain basement production, this is Lucy done with style and love. And like "I Love Lucy" it's filmed in Hollywood by Desilu!

Click here to watch an unofficial excerpt of "The Lucy Show" to get an idea of what the show is about!

pictured above: daughter Lucie Arnaz with her famous parents; The Lucy Show season two dvd.