January 19, 1953 – Lucy Ricardo gave birth to baby Ricky on I Love Lucy. The episode of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz sitcom drew more viewers (44 million) than the inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower as President the following day.
The seven shows concerning the pregnancy were filmed early the prior fall, until Ball – in a case of life imitating art, pregnant herself with her first child, at age 41 – decided that carrying 33 extra pounds was too much.
As it happened, “Little Ricky” Ricardo and Lucy and Desi’s real-life child, Desi Jr., were both delivered on this date. The madcap redhead – who, many Hollywood insiders had thought only a few years ago, was approaching the end of her reign as “The Queen of the B’s” – found seven thousand letters and a thousand telegrams waiting for her at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. Before long, more than 1 million well-wishers would write her.
Fans of I Love Lucy can learn more about this episode – and many, many more – at the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, N.Y. I visited this fascinating museum last summer, combining it with a trip to nearby Chautauqua, N.Y.
I hope to write, at far greater length, about this museum at a future time, and perhaps even another venue. But for now, I thought I would include this tidbit from her life, as well as a photo I took – the first one of my own that I’ve ever posted to this blog.
This particular shot is one of four giant murals in downtown Jamestown. It depicts another fondly remembered episode from the show – in which Lucy Ricardo extols the benefits of “Vitameatavegamin” to disastrous, and increasingly hilarious, effect in a commercial.
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