How much juice did Lucille Ball have in the late 1960s? While many of her contemporaries struggled to remain relevant as America seemed on the brink of a cultural and political revolution (alas, only the former came to pass), the old-school Ball was still one of television’s most reliable entertainers. “I Love Lucy,” the paradigm-setting sitcom she created with her husband Desi Arnaz, was a syndication powerhouse. Five years after ending the series, she shook off the Broadway failure of 1960’s “Wildcat” and scored another sitcom hit with “The Lucy Show.” At the end of the series’ sixth season, it was the second highest-rated show on television, but when Ball sold Desilu Productions to Gulf+Western in 1967, she decided to pull the plug.
TELEVISION
Lucille Ball’s I Love Lucy Spin-Off Had A Strange & Personal ‘Killswitch’ Clause Attached
CBS
BY JEREMY SMITH/SEPT. 4, 2023 9:45 AM EST
How much juice did Lucille Ball have in the late 1960s? While many of her contemporaries struggled to remain relevant as America seemed on the brink of a cultural and political revolution (alas, only the former came to pass), the old-school Ball was still one of television’s most reliable entertainers. “I Love Lucy,” the paradigm-setting sitcom she created with her husband Desi Arnaz, was a syndication powerhouse. Five years after ending the series, she shook off the Broadway failure of 1960’s “Wildcat” and scored another sitcom hit with “The Lucy Show.” At the end of the series’ sixth season, it was the second highest-rated show on television, but when Ball sold Desilu Productions to Gulf+Western in 1967, she decided to pull the plug.
Why? Because she didn’t want to star in a show owned by someone else. So when “The Lucy Show” aired its final episode on March 11, 1968, Ball turned around and created “Here’s Lucy,” which premiered six months later and instantly became a top-ten ratings sensation.
But while Ball didn’t miss a beat, she did take a risk. In keeping with the family vibe of her biggest hit, “I Love Lucy,” she decided to cast her real-life children as her character’s kids. For her son, Desi Arnaz Jr., this wasn’t a huge deal. He’d been in a semi-successful pop band called Dino, Desi & Billy since age 12, and was thus a seasoned live performer. Lucie Arnaz, however, was unproven. Though she’d had some walk-on roles on “The Lucy Show,” she’d never been anything close to a series regular. Could she hang with her mom, brother, and veteran actors like Gale Gordon and Mary Jane Croft?
