Source: David Halberstam. The Fifties (1997)
By the end of 1952, there were 19 million television sets in the United States, and a thousand new stores opened each month to sell TV's. More-and-more Americans felt closer to TV personalities than they did with their neighbors and distant families. Nothing showed the power of television to soften the edge between reality and fantasy than the coming of Lucille Ball, who by 1951 was 40 years old. Lucille Ball had a less-than-dazzling show business career to that point. In movies, she was seen as a comedienne rather than as an actress, and she drew "second banana" roles in B-movies (she was often called the "Queen of the B-Movies").
In 1948, Lucille Ball was in a radio comedy called "My Favorite Husband", largely so she didn't have to travel very much. Also, she wanted to shore up her shaky marriage with the famous Cuban band leader, Desi Arnaz (he wasn't her husband on the radio).
In 1948, Lucille Ball was in a radio comedy called "My Favorite Husband", largely so she didn't have to travel very much. Also, she wanted to shore up her shaky marriage with the famous Cuban band leader, Desi Arnaz (he wasn't her husband on the radio).
In 1950, CBS asked Lucille Ball to do a weekly situation comedy on TV, and no one involved was very excited about the venture. But Lucille Ball was destined for TV, primarily because she was a visual comedienne with a perfect sense of timing, a wonderfully expressive face, and her wackiness generated sympathy, not irritation. Lucy always managed to avoid total disaster, remaining lovable to not only the characters on the show, but especially to viewers.
Lucy insisted that Desi be cast as her husband, and CBS executives were appalled, from Bill Paley
on down to the advertisers. Lucy remained adamant, and Paley gave in. Lucy understood what the execs did not, that viewers would more than get it that Desi was her husband in real life, even though the character names were Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.
Lucy cast herself as an ordinary housewife who longed to be a star. Ricky wanted nothing more than a noral life with a normal marriage. The Philip Morris Company became the sponsor, and the first episode aired on 15 October 1951. The executives at Philip Morris were not thrilled with the first episode, but were persuaded to give the show some time, and it wasn't long before "I Love Lucy" was in the Nielsen Top 10.
Lucy insisted that Desi be cast as her husband, and CBS executives were appalled, from Bill Paley
on down to the advertisers. Lucy remained adamant, and Paley gave in. Lucy understood what the execs did not, that viewers would more than get it that Desi was her husband in real life, even though the character names were Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.
Lucy cast herself as an ordinary housewife who longed to be a star. Ricky wanted nothing more than a noral life with a normal marriage. The Philip Morris Company became the sponsor, and the first episode aired on 15 October 1951. The executives at Philip Morris were not thrilled with the first episode, but were persuaded to give the show some time, and it wasn't long before "I Love Lucy" was in the Nielsen Top 10.
"I Love Lucy" was the #1 show on television in four months, and soon, 2/3's of all TV's were tuned to the show. The show became so popular that even Marshal Field, the prominent Chicago retail store, shifted its Clearance Sale Night from Monday to Thursday since significantly fewer shoppers frequented the store on Mondays.
Lucy insisted that her show be shot in front of a live studio audience, knowing that she played incredibly well performing live. Lucy appealed to all age groups, with children seeing Lucy as a childlike adult. To everyone's surprise, Desi was a great straight-man to Lucy, but Desi was the kind of straight-man that got laughs. Rounding out the primary cast was Vivian Vance as Ethel and Bill Frawley as Fred, Lucy and Ricky's screwball neighbors.
By 7 April 1952, 10.6 million households were watching "I Love Lucy", the first time that so many Americans watched the same TV show. By 1954, as many as 50 million watched certain episodes. The show became so popular that it lifted the entire TV industry to new heights; for example, during 1954 TV became the largest advertising medium in the world. During the first few years of "I Love Lucy", the show was set in a city, but after ratings slipped a bit, all four characters moved to the suburbs in Westport, Connecticut.
Lucy insisted that her show be shot in front of a live studio audience, knowing that she played incredibly well performing live. Lucy appealed to all age groups, with children seeing Lucy as a childlike adult. To everyone's surprise, Desi was a great straight-man to Lucy, but Desi was the kind of straight-man that got laughs. Rounding out the primary cast was Vivian Vance as Ethel and Bill Frawley as Fred, Lucy and Ricky's screwball neighbors.
By 7 April 1952, 10.6 million households were watching "I Love Lucy", the first time that so many Americans watched the same TV show. By 1954, as many as 50 million watched certain episodes. The show became so popular that it lifted the entire TV industry to new heights; for example, during 1954 TV became the largest advertising medium in the world. During the first few years of "I Love Lucy", the show was set in a city, but after ratings slipped a bit, all four characters moved to the suburbs in Westport, Connecticut.
The great danger of TV was that of overexposure. TV brought the President into every viewer's home, endangering the illusion of heroic proportions created by distance. Jack Benny had a 15 year run on TV, beginning in 1950. Benny, even in his second year on television, understood that if the public felt that they had got too much of a TV personality, they'll get bored and tune out. Benny knew that on TV, a novelty can quickly become tedious and flat. Perhaps Lucille Ball understood that danger as well: "I Love Lucy" ended in 1957 as the
#1 show on television.
#1 show on television.