Ricky's Broken English Was Totally Off Limits
I Love Lucy was a groundbreaking sitcom that put it's star, Lucille Ball on the map as one of the funniest women in comedy, and then turned her into a big producer. This was also one of the first time audiences in the U.S. were shown a woman dominating the sitcom world.
It's also one of the first times audiences were introduced to one of the first interracial couples in American television. Here's some facts about the sitcom that will even have it's biggest fan shocked!
Ricky had some trouble pronouncing English words, and there often jokes at his expense at the hand of Lucy. However, Lucy was the ONLY one that was allowed to make jokes about this factor.
The Network Didn't Want a "Foreigner" Leading The Show
Producers found that when other characters made comments, audiences didn't find it funny. They only wanted to hear the jokes coming from Ricky's on and off-screen wife.
It can't really be argued that most of the success of the show came from the real life chemistry of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. At first, the network wasn't convinced that audience would connect with Desi as Ricky, due to his Cuban heritage.
Conspiracy Theory
During the time, the network thought it was incredibly unrealistic that her character would be married to a "foreign man", even though Ball and Arnaz had been married for ten years.
The Mertezes Hated Each Other
There's a crazy fan-made conspiracy theory that I Love Lucy told the story about a woman who fights to be a normal stay-at-home wife for the safety of their family and was forced to change her name because she was the child of a mob boss.
A lot of the time, on screen chemistry doesn't exactly mean there's chemistry off screen as well. According to the producers of the show, the fictional couple, "The Mertezes" actually hated each other in real life.
The Off-Screen Pregnancy Caused Chaos On Screen
Vivian Vance didn't like the fact that her character was married to such an "old poop", while William Frawley often referred to his much younger costar as a "b---h".
Lucille Ball's real-life pregnancy caused a disruption in the production of the show. Off screen, the couple was thrilled about the pregnancy, but the audience thought that seeing a woman pregnant on television was taboo.
Ball and Arnaz's Relationship Deteriorated Fast
After thinking it over, the network agreed to write the pregnancy in.
Arnaz began to gain a reputation as a heavy drinker, and an even worse womanizer. This caused his and Ball's relationship to take a heavy hit.
The Red Hair Was Fake
He wrote in his autobiography, "The more our love life deteriorated, the more we fought, the more unhappy we were, the more I drank." The last episode of the show aired on March 2nd, 1960. Ball filed for divorce the following day.
Lucy's signature flaming red hair was a trademark that is still commented on to this day. It came as a shock to some when they found out that the hair that she was so famous for, was in fact fake.
Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance Did Not Get Along
In real life, Ball was a brunette.
Ethel and Lucy were best friends on camera, but as soon as the cameras stopped, so did their friendship.
The Word 'Pregnancy' Was Banned
In fact, Vivian Vance and Lucille Ball didn't get along for the first few seasons of the show.
When producers and writers of the show decided to write Lucy's pregnancy in, they didn't know how to exactly "write" the word in.
Arnaz Hired Different Religious Figures to Oversee Episodes
They didn't want to upset anyone at the network, so they decided to use the word "expecting" instead of "pregnant."
The Longest Laugh Was 65 Seconds
Although everyone involved with the show was eventually on board with Lucy's pregnancy, Desi Arnaz decided to hire a priest, rabbi, and a minister to oversee the episodes to make sure they weren't offensive in any way.
I Love Lucy was obviously a show that garnered countless laughs for the audience. It's longest laugh lasted for a full 65 seconds.
Bloopers Were Often Left In
This lasting laugh occurred when Lucy danced with Ricky with a blouse full of egg yolks. It lasted so long in fact, that it needed to be edited out of the episode.
Because the show was taped in front of a live audience, producers let some things slide.
Little Ricky and Desi Jr. Were Born On The Same Day
Some loppers were left in some episodes and "papered-over" because the crew didn't want to yell cut in front of a live audience.
Weirdly enough, "Little Ricky" and Desi Arnaz Jr. were born on the same day.
Desi Arnaz Wore Lifts In His Shoes
Lucy had her appointments with her doctor after tapings of I Love Lucy happened. It just so happened when Lucy went into the hospital on the show, so did the actress in real life.
Arnaz couldn't overcome his height, and he often lied about his height, saying he was 5'11, but he was 5'9.
He wore lifts in his shoes to make him appear taller.