The Original Opening of I Love Lucy

It was 75 years ago on this date that I Love Lucy debuted on CBS. Most of us are familiar with the "heart on satin" opening we saw in syndicated reruns of the show, but that wasn't its original opening. The original opening included animation that referenced the show's sponsor (Philip Morris was its first sponsor). 

The animation was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who refused credit as they were still under contract to MGM. The bellhop at the beginning was Johnny Roventini, who represented Philip Morris for decades. Several variations of the animated opening were made, each one referencing one of  I Love Lucy's sponsors. Besides Philip Morris, these included Proctor & Gamble (for Cheer laundry detergent and Lit Home Permanent), General Foods (for Sanka), and Ford Motor Company. 

The "the heart on satin" opening was created for the reruns CBS started airing in the daytime in the 1959-1960 season and was then subsequently used in syndication.  The reason for this was that the reruns on CBS and later in syndication would naturally have different sponsors, making references to the original sponsors irrelevant. The heat design and its typography were created by Verdun Philip Cook, who was a typographer and animator who did work for Desilu Productions. The post-production on the "heart on satin" opening was done by Howard Anderson Jr.'s studio. Howard Anderson Jr. was a visual effects artist who later worked on another Desilu show, Star Trek.

I Love Lucy was one of the earliest TV shows to have animated opening credits and possibly the first sitcom to do so. In that respect, it was yet another way in which I Love Lucy would prove influential. Animated openings to shows would prove popular during the Fifties and well into the Sixties, with such shows as Dobie Gillis (during its first season), Bachelor Father, My Three Sons, Bewitched, The Wild West West, and I Dream of Jeannie among those with animated credit sequences. 

Below is a video of the original opening from the debut episode of I Love Lucy  and the "heart on satin" opening used in reruns.

The 75th Anniversary of Goodyear Television Playhouse

It was 75 years ago on this date, October 14, 1951, that the anthology series Goodyear Television Playhouse debuted on NBC. The series was critically acclaimed. It was also nominated for its share of Emmy Awards. Goodyear Television Playhouse was also relatively popular with audiences. It ranked at no. 16 in the 1951-1952 season, no 15 in the 1952-1953 season, and no 22 in th 1953-1954.

Of course, in some ways The Goodyear Television Playhouse could simply be considered the same show as The Philco Television Playhouse give they shared the same producer (Fred Coe) and the same crew. Indeed, The Goodyear Television Playhouse and The Philco Television Playhouse are often referred to collectively as The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, even that was never the actual name of either program. The Philco Television Playhouse came about when Philco entered into a partnership with Actors Equity Association to produce adaptations of Broadway plays for television. It debuted on October 3, 1948. The show would shift to adaptations of popular novels in its second season and then its third season to original teleplays. 

It was in 1951 that Philco started sharing sponsorship with Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The two sponsors alternated weeks, so that one week The Philco Television Playhouse would air and the next week The Goodyear Television Playhouse would air. It was in 1955 that Philco dropped its sponsorship, so The Philco Television Playhouse came to an end. The Goodyear Television Playhouse then alternated weeks with The Alcoa Hour, sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation. Unlike The Philco Television Playhouse, it truly was a different show from The Goodyear Television Playhouse, with its own production team. 

Over the years, several well-known actors guest-starred on The Goodyear Television Playhouse, including Eddie Albert, Ernest Borgnine, Melvyn Douglas, John Forsythe, June Lockhart, Roddy McDowall, Tony Randall, and many more. Some of the young actors appearing on Goodyear Television Playhouse would go onto become major stars. These included Grace Kelly, Sal Mineo, and Tuesday Weld. It also produced teleplays that are remembered to this day, at least two of which were later adapted as movies ("Visit to a Small Planet" and "The Catered Affair").  The show also proved pivotal in the careers of several writers, including  Paddy Chayefsky, Horton Foote, Gore Vidal, and others. 

By 1957, live anthology shows had more or less run their course. Goodyear Television Playhouse ended its run and instead Goodyear sponsored a filmed, half-hour anthology series titled Goodyear Theatre. It ran for three seasons, ending in 1960. 

Sadly, as a live television show whose episodes were at best preserved on kinescopes, Goodyear Television Playhouse would not have a syndication run. Today it seems likely that not many beyond those alive at the time and television historians and classic television buffs know about it. But for a time, Goodyear Television Playhouse produced some of the best teleplays on American television. 

I Love Lucy and Its Place in Latino Television History

I Love Lucy debuted on CBS on October 15, 1951. That makes this Thursday the show's 75th anniversary. I Love Lucy numbers among the most influential shows of all time, from it being shot on 35 mm film in front of studio audience to Lucille Ball's real life pregnancy being written into the show's storylines. Among other things, I Love Lucy occupies a unique place in the history of Latinos on television.

For those few of you who are not familiar with I Love Lucy, it centred on Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) and her husband, Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo (Lucy's real life husband Desi Arnaz). They lived in an apartment in New York City that they rented from Ethel and Fred Mertz (Vivian Vance and William Frawley). Many of the show's plots centred on Lucy trying to break into show business or various other schemes.

Of course, in Lucy being married to Ricky, I Love Lucy was the first ever show to feature a multiethnic marriage. While Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were married in real life and no states expressly forbade individuals of Northern European descent from marrying Cubans, this was still revolutionary for the time. Indeed, many states did forbid white and various other ethnicities from marrying. For instance, Texas anti-miscegenation laws were so strict that whites could not marry anyone who wasn't white.

Given the times, it should come as no surprise that when I Love Lucy was in development, CBS initially objected to Desi Arnaz, playing Lucy's husband on the show, despite the fact that they were married in real life. They were convinced that television audiences would not accept an "all-American" woman being married to a Cuban man. To prove to CBS this was not the case, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz developed their own stage act, written by Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr., who had written Lucille Ball's radio show My Favorite Husband. They took this act on the road and proved to be very successful. It was the success of this act that convinced CBS executive Harry Ackerman that a show starring both Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz could be a hit. OF course, it also helped that Lucille Balll's proposed new show was drawing interest from CBS's rival NBC. With the prospect of losing Miss Ball to NBC, Harry Ackerman eventually gave into Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's wishes.

No secret was every made of Ricky Ricardo's Cuban ancestry and, in fact, the character was largely based on Desi Arnaz himself. Ricky was an immigrant from Cuba to the United States, just as Des Arnaz had been. Both were bandleaders who played Cuban music. Of course, to a degree Ricky Ricardo was something of a stereotype. e was highly excitable and he had a bit of a temper. When upset it was not unusual for Ricky to erupt with a stream of rapidly spoken Spanish.

While there were aspects of Ricky Ricardo that were stereotypical, there was much else about Ricky that ran counter to common assumptions about Latinos in the United States at the time. Ricky Ricardo was college educated, having attended Havana University. Starting out as the bandleader at the Tropicana, he eventually bought the club and renamed it the Club Babalu. This was a sharp contrast to other Latino characters on American sitcoms in the Fifties. Frank the gardener on Father Knows Best was so naive that it seems likely he couldn't function in American society without the Anderson family. Pepino on The Real McCoys always deferred to the McCoys and was often the target of Amos McCoy's tirades. Regardless, I Love Lucy was not only historic in featuring the first multiethnic marriage, but in featuring the first Latino lead character on an American sitcom.

Beyond the fact that I Love Lucy was the first American show to feature a mixed marriage and the first sitcom to have a Latino as one of its leads, it also exposed American audiences to a good deal of Cuban music. Many episodes feature performances by Ricky Ricardo and his band. Among the songs included on the show were Desi Arnaz's signature song "Babalú," "El Cumbanchero," and "The Straw Hat song." The musical numbers on I Love Lucy drew heavily upon Desi Arnaz's act in real life and his orchestra.

While Ricky Ricardo was the only Latino to appear regularly on I Love Lucy, the show featured several Latin guest stars. In "Ricky's Old Girlfriend," Mexican American actress Rosa Turich played Cuban singer Carlota Romero, after Ricky had just fabricated a story about an old girlfriend by that name.Guatemalan actress Lillian Molieri was also in the same episode, appearing as Carlotta in a nightmare that Lucy has. Cuban born actress Rita Conde appeared in the episode "Cuban Pals." "The Ricardos Visit Cuba" featured some of Ricky's relatives played by Mexican American actor Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Mexican American actor Jorge Treviño, and Nicaraguan actress Lillian Molieri: At the time of I Love Lucy, Latinos appeared infrequently on American TV shows outside of Westerns (where they were often stereotypical Mexican bandidos).

Ultimately, I Love Lucy broke a good deal of new ground with regards to Latinos on American television. It was the first show ever to feature a multiethnic marriage. It was also the first American sitcom to feature a Latino as a lead character. It exposed American audiences to Cuban and Latin music on a somewhat regular basis. And it occasionally featured Latino guest stars in prominent roles.

"Number 9 Dream" by John Lennon

John Lennon was born on this date in 1940. With that in mind, I thought that for today I would just leave you with one of my favourite songs he did as a solo artist. "Number 9 Dream" was released on December 16, 1974. It was the second single from John's Walls and Bridges album. Fittingly enough, it peaked at no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Also fittingly enough, "Number 9 Dream" came to John Lennon in a dream. While the chorus, "Ah! böwakawa poussé, poussé" sounds like it is from an actual language, in reality it has no meaning. The song was one of John Lennon's favourites, although he would later dismiss it as a "throwaway." Personally, I think John was being too hard on the song. I think it is an excellent song and reminds me quite a bit of the sort of the work John Lennon had done with The Beatles.

Popi (1969)

Today one does not hear very much about the movie Popi (1969), but upon its release it received mostly positive reviews and it did moderately well at the box office. It was also nominated for various awards, from the Golden Globes to the WGA. It also happens to be significant in the history of Latinos in American film.

Popi (1969) centres on Abraham Rodriguez (Alan Arkin), a Puerto Rican living in Brooklyn, New York. He is the father of two sons, who both refer to him as "Popi." He wants to marry his girlfriend Lupe (Rita Moreno), but hasn't the money to do so. What is worse, his neighbourhood is increasingly being affected by gang violence. Popi then hatches a scheme to get a better life for his sons. 

Popi (1969) was written by Lester and Tina Pine, both of who had earlier written for television. It was directed by Arthur Hiller, who had already directed such films as The Wheeler Dealers (1963), The Americanization of Emily (1964), and Penelope (1966). Alan Arkin had initially rejected the part of Popi, whereupon producer Herbert B. Leonard offered it to Marcello Mastroianni, who turned it down, but he rejected the idea of playing a Puerto Rican. The script was then reworked and once more offer to Alan Arkin, who this time accepted the role of Abraham "Popi" Rodriguez. As to Popi's sons, around 5000 boys auditioned for the roles. Many of the boys who tried out for the role came from both Spanish Harlem (in which Popi was set) and  the 11th & Second Avenue Boys Club in East Harlem.

Filming began on Popi (1969) on April 21, 1968. It was shot on location in New York. Among the locations used in the film were 91 Central Park West, the apartment building where Popi worked as a handyman and the New York Hilton Midtown, where Popi worked as a busboy. Part of the film was also shot in Miami, Florida, where the latter part of the movie takes place.

Popi premiered in New York City on May 27, 1969. Popi (1969) premiered in New York City on May 27, 1969. For the most part it received positive reviews with a few critics who did not care for the film very much. Roger Ebert in The Chicago Sun-Times was among the critics who gave Popi (1969) a good review, although he did have some problems with the movie. He felt with Popi's scheme in the second half of the movie that it was where the film "...bogs down."  He went onto write, "The first half, set in New York, is rich and warm, filled with the flavor of city life. The second half, involving the Florida plan, functions only on the level of TV situation comedy." While Roger Ebert liked Popi (1969), the critic at Variety did not, commenting, "Arkin is given too much free rein for his very personal style, and is sometimes guilty of working a scene, meant to be poignant or even dramatic, for a laugh, which he usually gets. The undecided mood of the film works against it for any lasting impression on the viewer." Vincent Canby in The New York Times outright hated Popi (1968). He referred to it as "insidious" and even claimed it played poverty for laughs. Regardless of what critics thought of Popi (1968), it did fairly well at the box office, where it made $2 million in North America.

Today viewers (including myself0 would object to Alan Arkin being cast as a Puerto Rican. Apparently, neither Herbert B. Leonard nor Arthur Hiller considered any Latinos for the role of Popi. Even in the Sixties it was not unusual for actors of other ethnicities to play Latino characters. Except for Rita Moreno, the Sharks and other Puerto Rican characters were all played by whites in West Side Story (1961). Egyptian Omar Sharif played Che Guevara in the movie Che! released the same year as Popi (1969). Brownface was still very much a fact of life in Hollywood in the late Sixties. It is perhaps fortunate that Rita Moreno, who is Puerto Rican, played Lupe in the film.

While Alan Arkin was miscast as Popi, his performance in the role is a bit more complicated. Alan Arkin's performance as Popi is nuanced and does possess emotional depth. It is not one-dimensional at all. At the same time, there are times where Alan Arkin's accent seems a bit too exaggerated and there is a stark contrast between Mr. Arkin and Rita Moreno and the young actors who played Popi's sons. The emphasis on slapstick, prominent in the latter half of the film, has also been criticised in later years. Regardless, Alan Arkin's portrayal of Popi was much more sensitive and much more humanistic than other Latino characters played by non-Latno actors.

The success of Popi (1969) would lead to a short-lived sitcom of the same name that aired during the 1975-1976. In the TV show Popi, Popi was played by an actual Puerto Rican, Héctor Elizondo. The show received positive reviews from critics, but it failed in the ratings. Scheduled against Laverne & Shirley on ABC and Movin' On on NBC, it was cancelled after 10 episodes.

While most people today would object to Alan Arkin being cast as a Puerto Rican, Popi (1969) is still somewhat historic with regards to Latino characters in American films. In 1969, there were not very many movies centred on Latino characters. When Latino characters did appear in movies of the era, they were often blatant stereotypes. Popi (1969), for what flaws it may have, presented a Puerto Rican father with some sympathy and even some dignity. 

The Legendary Eva Marie Saint

Eva Marie Saint, who starred in such movies as On the Waterfront (1954) and North by Northwest (1959), died yesterday, October 6, 2026, at the age of 102.

Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey. She grew up in Delmar, New York attended Bethlehem Central High School there. In high school she played field hockey and she was a cheerleader. She attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she majored in elementary education. She tried out for the school play Personal Appearance, and was cast as the lead. Afterwards, she changed her major to drama. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she moved to New York City to pursue a career as an actress. 

Her first work as a professional actress was for The Borden Show, for which she was paid to applaud off camera. She also appeared as a cheerleader in a commercial for Keds and had bit part consisting of two lines as a telephone operator on the radio soap opera Rosemary. During this period, she studied acting at  Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio. On television, she appeared on such shows as Kraft Television Theatre; The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre; Lights Out; Suspense; Actors Studio; The Clock; Buck Rogers; The Prudential Family Playhouse, and  One Man's Family. She also appeared on radio.

In 1953, she appeared in the Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse in "The Trip to Bountiful." It would be adapted as a Broadway play, in which she also appeared. This lead Ms.Saint to being cast as Edie Doyle on On the Waterfront (1954). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In the Fifties, she also appeared in the movies That Certain Feeling (1956), A Hatful of Rain (1957), Raintree County (1957), and Exodus (1960). She appeared in what could be her most famous role, that of Eve Kendall, in North by Northwest in 1959. On television, she appeared on City Hospital, Man Against Crime, Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, ABC Album, The Web, Robert Montgomery Presents, Eye Witness, Studio One, The Revlon Mirror Theatre, Bonino, Kraft Television Theatre, Omnibus, General Electric Theatre, and Producer's Showcase. She was a regular on Martin Kane, Private Eye.

In the Sixties, Eva Marie Saint appeared in the movies All Fall Down (1962), 36 Hours (1964), The Sandpiper (1965), The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming (1966), Grand Prix (1966), The Stalking Moon (1968), and Loving (1970). She appeared on television in Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre and the TV movie Carol for Another Christmas.

In the Seventies, she concentrated on television appearances rather than movies. She appeared several TV movies and on the TV series How the West Was Won. She appeared on Broadway in The Lincoln Mask. She appeared in the movie Cancel My Reservation (1982). In the Eighties, Eva Marie Saint appeared as Maddie Hayes's mother on the TV show Moonlighting. She guest starred on the TV show The Love Boat and was a narrator on an episode of American Masters. She appeared in the mini-series Fatal Vision and A Year in the Life, as well as several TV movies. She appeared in the movie Nothing in Common (1986).

In the Nineties, Eva Marie Saint appeared n television in the mini-series Titanic. She appeared in several TV movies, including an adaptation of Willa Cahter's My Antonia. She guest starred on the sitcom Frasier.  She appeared in the movie I Dream of Africa (2000). In 2003, she appeared in the TV movie Open House. She was a voice on the TV series The Legend of Korra from 2012 to 2014. In the Naughts, she appeared in the movies Because of Winn-Dixie (2005), Don't Come Knocking (2005), and Superman Returns (2006). In the Teens, she appeared in the movies Winter's Tale (2014) and Mariette in Ecstasy (2019). 

Eva Marie Saint was a remarkable actress with an incredible range. This can be seen in her two best-known roles. Edie Doyle in On the Waterfront was virginal and yet at the same time bold, indignant, and resilient. Eve Kendall in North by Northwest was nearly her opposite. She ws cool and confident, and could be both seductive and duplicitous. In between those two parts, Eva Marie Saint played a wide variety of roles. She played Elspeth Whittaker, the wife of Walt (Carl Reiner). While Walt was constantly stressed out, Elspeth was calm, composed,  and level-headed. As Maddie's mother Virginia on Moonlighting, she was both intelligent and resourceful, yet the same time vulnerable. Eva Marie Saint gave a number of great performances during her career, and in a variety of roles.

By all accounts, Eva Marie Saint was also a remarkable person. One never heard a bad word about her. She was married to Jeffrey Hayden for 85 years and devoted to her family. She was known for both her kindness and her generosity, Eva Marie Saint was known for her elegance and dignity, and she was the very definition of a lady. 

The Late Great Bob Mackie

Bob Mackie, the costumer and fashion designer known for his work on The Carol Burnett Show and for designing fashions for everyone from Cher to Taylor Swift, died on September 14, 2026, at the age of 87. 

Bob Mackie was born on March 24, 1940 in Monterey Park, California. He attended Rosemead High School in Rosemead, California and then Pasadena City College and the Chouinard Art Institute. He started his career as a sketch artist with Jean Louis. It was during this period that he drew the original sketch of the gown work by Marilyn Monroe at President John F. Kennedy's 1962 birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He also worked as a sketch artist with Frank Thompson at Paramount. He worked under designer Ray Aghayan as a novice designer and assistant. He worked with Edith Head on the movies Donovan's Reef (1967) and A New Kind of Love (1963). 

Bob Mackie did his first work for television on the special Arthur Freed's Hollywood Melody in 1962. In the Sixties, he worked on such shows as The King Family Show; ABC Stage '67; and The Hollywood Palace. He worked on The Carol Burnett Show from the very beginning in 1967 and stayed with the show for all eleven seasons. He also worked on several TV specials and movies during the decade. He designed costumes for the movie Divorce, American Style (1967). In 1966, he was hired by Mitzi Gaynor to design her costumes for her Las Vegas shows. He would go onto work on several of her TV specials. 

In the Seventies, Bob Mackie continued to work on The Carol Burnett Show. He worked on the TV shows Cher; The Sonny & Cher Show;; Carol & Company; and Donny & Marie. He also worked on several TV specials, including the notorious Star Wars Holiday Special. He worked on the movies Lady Sings the Blues (1972) and Funny Lady (1975). On Broadway, he worked on Lorelei; Debbie; and Platinum.

The Eighties saw Bob Mackie work on the TV mini-series Fresno and several TV shows and events, including the 54th Annual Academy Awards. He worked in the movies ...All the Marbles (1981), Pennies from Heaven (1981), and Max Dugan Returns (1983). In the Nineties, he worked on Broadway on The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Goes Public; Moon Over Buffalo; Putting It Together; and Minnelli on Minnelli. On television he primarily worked on specials and big events, including various Carol Burnett specials and the TV movie Mrs. Santa Claus. On Broadway, he worked on the special benefit Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares.

The Naugths into the Teens saw Bob Mackie work in television on the TV movie Putting It Together (based on the Broadway show), specials featuring Cher and Diahann Carroll, and and the game show Wheel of Fortune. In 2018, he worked on Broadway on The Cher Show. 

Bob Mackie was known for his over-the-top fashions. Indeed, he was known as "the King of Sequins." At the same time, his costumes were always appealing to the eye. And Bob Mackie was nothing if not versatile. Others might look to his work with Cher, The Supremes, Mitzi Gaynor and so on, but to me the height of his career was his work on The Carol Burnett Show. On the show, he proved he could design nearly anything. He not only designed evening gowns, but everyday clothing worn by characters in sketches and costumes for the musical guests on the show. He designed the famous curtain rod dress for the "Went with the Wind" Gone with the Wind parody, which could well be his best known work. He also designed the overly tight skirts for Mrs. Wiggins (Carol Burnett), the secretary of Mr. Tudball (Tim Conway) and the dowdy clothes worn by Eunice Higgins in "The Family" sketches. Quite simply, Bob Mackie was not only creative, but he had a sense of humour that came through on The Carol Burnett Show.

Beyond being a great costume and fashion designer, Bob Mackie simply seemed like a various nice man. He  not only appeared at the TCM Classic Movie Festival, but multiple times on the channel itself. He always amiable, down-to-earth, and, despite his accomplishment, entirely humble. He also had a wonderful sense-of-humour and a youthful energy that many half his age would find envious. In the end, Bob Mackie wasn't just a remarkable designer, but an all-around great human being.