Life With Lucy

infobox television
show_name = Life With Lucy


caption = Title card for "Life With Lucy".
format = Sitcom
runtime = 30 minutes per episode
creator = Aaron Spelling Productions
starring = Lucille Ball
Gale Gordon
Ann Dusenberry
Larry Anderson
Jenny Lewis
Philip J. Amelio II
Donovan Scott
country = USA
network = ABC
first_aired = September 20, 1986
last_aired = November 15, 1986
num_episodes = 13 (5 unaired)|

"Life with Lucy" was Lucille Ball's last television series. The show ran on the ABC network in 1986, and unlike Lucy's previous smash hits on television, it was a critical and popular flop.

Fourteen episodes were written, thirteen filmed, and eight actually aired. On the day of the last filmed (but unaired) episode, producer Aaron Spelling learned of the show's cancellation by ABC; he decided to tell Lucille's husband Gary Morton, who decided not to reveal the news to her until after filming had ended. The last episode to be aired, "Mother of the Bride", featured Audrey Meadows, who was going to be cast as a regular to give the show a new direction and Lucille's character someone else to play off of. Its premiere episode on September 20 made the Nielsen's Top 25 (#23 for the week) for its week; however, following episodes dropped steadily in viewership. It ranked only 73rd out of 79 shows, with a 9.0/16 rating/share.

CBS Paramount Television currently owns the rights to this series as it owns the Aaron Spelling library, it also owns all the other series starring Lucille Ball (except "Here's Lucy").

Premise

Ball played a widowed grandmother who had inherited her husband's half-interest in a South Pasadena, California hardware store (the other half being owned by his partner, Curtis McGibbon, played by Gale Gordon). She insisted on "helping" in the store, even though when her husband was alive she had taken no part in the business and hence knew nothing about it. The unlikely partners were also in-laws, her daughter being married to his son, and all of them, along with their young grandchildren, lived together.

Creative control

In order to get Ball to agree to a new series, ABC allowed her complete creative control, no requirement to make a pilot episode, and no requirement for testing before focus groups or other tryouts. As all of Ball's previous efforts had proven to be hugely successful, the network acquiesced in this, even though she was at the time already 75 years old and her long-time co-star Gale Gordon was 80.

Cast

*Lucille Ball .... Lucy Barker
*Gale Gordon .... Curtis McGibbon
*Ann Dusenberry .... Margo Barker McGibbon
*Larry Anderson .... Ted McGibbon
*Jenny Lewis .... Becky McGibbon
*Philip J. Amelio II .... Kevin McGibbon
*Donovan Scott .... Leonard Stoner

External links

*imdb title|id=0090473|name=Life With Lucy
* [http://www.geocities.com/gale_gordon The Gale Gordon Archive]
* [http://lucylounge.suddenlaunch2.com The Lucy Lounge]
* [http://everythinglucy.blogspot.com/ Everything Lucy Blog]
* [http://www.tvparty.com/movlucy4.html Life With Lucy : The Lucy Shows]