I Love Lucy Quiz

ENTERTAINMENT

By: Staff Writer

6 Min Quiz

Image: CBS

About This Quiz

Do you remember Lucy's maiden name or the club where Ricky sang "Babaloo?" If you call yourself an "I Love Lucy" fan, and you can't ace this quiz, you might have some 'splaining to do!"

"I Love Lucy" premiered during the dawn of the television era. When it first hit the airwaves on October 15, 1951, only about one out of every 10 U.S. homes had a TV. By the time the show and its successor, "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour," went off the air in 1960, 90 percent of American homes had at least one TV.

During its decade-long run, the series revolutionized television technology and production. Desi Arnaz developed a three-camera filming technique that had never been used before but continues to be the standard to this day. Lucy and Desi also formed Desilu Productions. When Lucy bought Desi out in 1962, she became the very first woman ever to head a major production company. 

Finally, there's the extraordinary fact that a TV show featuring a beautiful young American woman in a "mixed marriage" ever made it onto TV at all. In the late '40s, Lucille Ball and Richard Denning played Liz and George Cooper on a radio series called "My Favorite Husband." When the networks wanted to move the show to television, Lucy wanted real-life husband Desi to co-star, but the network was adamant that viewers would never accept this cross-cultural pairing. Luckily, Ball got her way, and the show went on to become comedy gold, and to live on in syndication for decades.

Think you know everything there is to know about this classic series? Take our quiz and prove it!

Which famous scene do we see in the episode called “Lucy’s Italian Movie”?

The local woman who fought with Lucy in the vat spoke no English and truly fought with her. Lucy had to call cut to catch her breath in the middle of the scene.

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How did Lucy and Ricky meet Fred and Ethel?

The apartment Ricky and Lucy rented from the Mertzes was located at 623 East 68th Street in New York City.

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Ricky Ricardo is a famous:

“Ricky, why don’t you have the rehearsal here?” “Honey, are you crazy? I’ve got a 16-piece band. I’ll blow the roof off the joint.”

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Lucy always wants to break into show business, but what does Ricky want her to do for a living?

“I want a wife who’s just a wife. Now, all you have to do is clean the house for me, bring me my slippers when I come home at night, cook for me, and be the mother for my children.”

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What does Ricky Ricardo do when he gets upset?

When “I Love Lucy” was first pitched, CBS declined it because they did not think Americans would believe Lucy would be married to a foreigner with a Spanish accent, so Lucy and Desi created the vaudeville skit shown in “The Audition” and performed it wherever Desi’s band performed around the country to show it would work.

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In “Job Switching,” for which job do Lucy and Ethel apply?

“Job Switching” is one of the most well-known episodes because of the scene where Lucy and Ethel are eating candy off the conveyor belt while they are trying to be candy makers.

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Where was Ricky Ricardo from originally?

Cuba was a series of revolts and revolutions in the 20th century that caused many to flee to America.

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What is the biggest problem Lucy has with her mother-in-law the first time they meet?

Mary Emery played Lucy’s mother-in-law and was incredibly sweet but didn’t speak English.

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In “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress,” what song do they sing together?

Ray Charles & Ricky Skaggs, Bing Crosby & Dorothy Kirsten, and Frank Sinatra & Ethel Merman were a few of the other people who also sang Cole Porter’s “Friendship.”

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Why does Lucy miss the boat in “Bon Voyage”?

The helicopter made this the most expensive episode to film.

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The reoccurring character of Mrs Trumbull first appeared in which episode?

Although Mrs. Trumbull initially pointed out that no children were allowed in the apartment, she eventually became little Ricky’s babysitter, and her sister took over managing the apartment building when the Ricardos and the Mertzes moved to Connecticut.

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How much beef did Lucy and Ethel order in “The Freezer”?

“I’m gonna paste this animal back together again.” “Look, ladies, even if you defrosted it, pasted it together, and taught it to walk, I couldn’t take it back.”

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Where is Ethel’s Hometown?

Lucille Ball initially did not want Vivian Vance to play the part of Ethel, but the two eventually became close friends.

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Lucille Ball used Bob Carrol Jr and Madylyn Pugh Martin Davis as writers on many of her projects. What radio show had they done together before I Love Lucy?

"My Favorite Husband" filled in a gap before "Our Miss Brooks" aired and was so popular that CBS kept it for 124 episodes.

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In the “Great Train Robbery,” how many times did Lucy pull the emergency brake?

By the fourth time, the Mertzes wore raincoats to dinner. Sanka was a sponsor for this episode.

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What did the Ricardos and Mertzes rename the diner after the argument in “The Diner”?

Cuba and America had to come together under one roof when the Mertz’s know-how and the Ricardo’s name meant the work fell completely on Fred and Ethel.

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What famous actor who hosted "The $64,000 Question" guest starred as himself in “Lucy Fakes Illness?”

Hal March also guest starred on "Gidget" and "The Monkees" and hosted "It’s Your Bet".

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According to “The Fur Coat,” when did the Ricardos move into the Mertzes brownstone?

“What do you mean finally? When was the first time you told me this drain leaked?” “The day after we moved here: August 6, 1948.” “That’s right, and that’s pretty good service for my building.”

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Which episode was the first to air in the series?

“Your life should be just one gay round of nightclubs.” “Yeah, that’s what I thought when I married a bandleader, but ever since we said ‘I do’ there’s so many things ‘we don’t.’”

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Which twins played little Ricky Ricardo from 1953-1956?

Joseph and Michael Mayer’s mother had a walk-on part in “Homecoming.” They replaced Ronald and Richard Simmons in the part.

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Which theatrical production does “Lucy Goes to Scotland” resemble?

In the I Love Lucy version of Brigadoon, Lucy arrives in a Scottish town and discovers that since she is a McGillicuddy, she must be sacrificed to the two-headed dragon that lives outside of town.

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In “Lucy is Enceinte,” Lucy tells Ethel she is going to the doctor because?

“Dauncey?” “Yeah, that’s a word my grandmother made up for when you’re not really sick, but you just feel lousy.”

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In which episode did Lucy sell all the furniture for $75?

Although Lucy’s redecorating didn’t go well, they were able to buy all the furniture back for the bargain price of $395.

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Most people are familiar with the opening heart image, but that did not appear until after the show began airing as reruns How did the show initially open?

Philip Morris sponsored the show and so the opening advertised their cigarettes The Ricardos also smoked in all the beginning episodes.

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When did “The Lost Pilot” air on television for the first time?

Although the actual pilot did not air until its only copy was found in the 90’s, an episode with a similar plot line, “The Audition,” aired in the first season.

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William Frawley and Vivian Vance played Fred and Ethel, how far apart in age were the actors in real life?

With a wife 22 years younger, one wonders why he insulted her so much.

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In which episode does Ricky take over the Tropicana Night Club and rename it Club Babalu?

In addition to performing 57 USO shows for troops overseas, Bob Hope really did own a stake in the Cleveland Indians baseball team.

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In “Lucy Does a TV Commercial,” what product is Lucy advertising that gets her drunk?

Vitameatavegamin contains 23% alcohol according to the label. However, in real life, it was apple pectin.

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Which actor played Ricky’s new boss, Mr Chambers, in “Ricky Loses His Voice”?

Arthur Q. Bryan is most well known for being the voice of Elmer Fudd.

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Who wrote the music for the I Love Lucy theme song?

Eliot Daniel originally did not want his name associated with the show, but after a couple of years, he asked to receive credit.

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Which show did Lucille Ball star in immediately after I Love Lucy ended?

I Love Lucy was the first show to end with a number 1 rank. The Lucy-Desi Comedy hour appeared as occasional specials because of Desi’s poor health.

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Which three episodes were combined to make I Love Lucy: The Movie?

Additional footage was added to the episodes “The Benefit,” “Breaking the Lease,” and “The Ballet” to create a more fluent storyline for the movie.

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In “Equal Rights,” what is one thing the men don’t do when treating the women as equals?

Lucy doesn’t learn to drive until season 4: “If we’re gonna live in Los Angeles, I have to know how to drive.” “Lucy, please, they got enough traffic problems in Los Angeles already.”

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Who started directing in season 2 and continued directing the show in seasons 3 and 4?

William Asher also produced and directed Bewitched.

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What is I Love Lucy credited as being the first show to do?

The cost of film was so expensive that Lucy and Desi had to fund it with their own money to get the show they wanted.

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