Boys Costumes Depicted in U.S. Television Shows: I Love Lucy (America, 1951-60)


Figure 1.--.

I Love Lucy was not tthe first sit com, in fact the sitcom has been pioneered on radio. I Love Lucy was, however, a landmark on American television. It appeared in 1951 just as television was sweeping the nation. The popularity of the show made the Ricardo's son, Little Ricky, when he arrived the most clebrated kid in America. A child rumming prodigy was eventually chosen to portray Little Ricky and his costuming reflected the growing trend in America for boys of all ages to wear long pants--even very young boys.

Chronology

I Love Lucy first appeared on CBS on October 15, 1951. At the time television was dominated ny NBC. Lucy was a major factor in CBS's eventuall dominance of American television for 2 decades. I Love Lucy ceased production at the end of its 1956-57 season. The show was so popular that CBS continued to give the reruns prime-time play until September 1961--no other show was ever rerun in prime time. There were also some specials to keep interest alive.

Popularity

I Love Lucy was phenominally popular. Millions of Americans during Lucy's Monday time slot stopped whatever they were doing to see what new scheme Lucy had cooked up. ATT reporte that phone usage around the country dropped sharply for the half-hour that Lucy aired. Admittelly, in the early days of television there was far less competition for in-home entertainment than there is today, the ratings for I Love Lucy can still be considered extraordinary; its episodes routinely attracted over two-thirds of the television audience.

Cast

Adults

The main characters were of course Lucy and Ricky Ricardo played by Lucile Ball and Desi Arnez. This was quite notable as the idea of a Hispanic spouse was quite daring. It would be decades before another Hispanic would be so prominetly featuted on American television. CBS didn't like the idea, but Lucy insisted. The other two main characters were loandlord and friends Fred and Ethel Mertz played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance.

Keith Thibodeaux

Keith Thibodeaux played Little Ricky in I Love Lucy At the time he was probably the most well known boy in America. Today while manty recall Little Rickey, few if any remember the name of the boy who played him. He was a sweet little guy, about 5-8 years old when he worked on I Love Lucy. Given the popularity of the show, he was one of the most widely seen TV kids. He was personally picked by Lucy and Desi after play drums with Desi. His role was very disappointing and he never had interesting lines or situations that I recall. He was often dressed up, but rarely in short panrts. I have seen publicity shots, however, of him wearing a striped blazer, bow tie, nice dressy flannel shorts with Lucy. Keith joined the show in 1956 and played Little Ricky for 4 years.

Situation

The premise of I Love Lucy was the antics of a wacky wife who drives her "normal" husband to utter distraction. What made I Love Lucy so special, of course, was Lucille Ball an her almost manic commedy sence.

Filming

I Love Lucy is one of the few shows surviving from early television. The reason is that Desi called for the development of a three-camera live-to-film recording of the show, considered at the time to be technically farfetched. Desi insisted on this because both he and Lucy wanted to produce a live show--they thought the energy of a live audience would add to the production. The show's sponsor, however, would not accept the blurry kinescopes that were then the standard in the industry at the time. bThe result is the high-quality vfilm that today are enjoye aroun the worl in re-runs. This live-to-film production quickly became the standard for TV comedy.

Costuming

Even though he was only 5-years old when he began playing Little Ricky, Keith almost always appeared in long pants. This despite the fact that his father commonly dressed him up in short pants outfits. Also publicity shots often showed Keith in short pants. HBC does nmot know if this was a conscious dcission or they simply made the publicity shots in outfits in which Keith's parents dressed him.

In actual Lucy episodes, however, Keith was almost alwats in long pants. Clearly the producers, perhaps Lucy herself, decied that Little Ricky should wear long pants. We do not know why this decission was taken. HBC believes that it probably was a matter of wanting the family to see like a typical middle-class family and that short pants outfit had to much of an upper-class image. This is, however, just a specuklation at this time.






Christopher Wagner





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Created: February 24, 2001
Last updated: February 24, 2001