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”?
Lucy pantomimes Harpo Marx
Lucy gets a horse racing trophy stuck on her head
Lucy pretends to be Superman and gets stuck
Lucy stomps grapes
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?
Ricky and Fred served in WWI together
Lucy and Ethel went to high school together
Fred and Ethel own the apartment building where Ricky and Lucy live
The apartment Ricky and Lucy rented from the Mertzes was located at 623 East 68th Street in New York City.
Fred and Ethel own the nightclub where Ricky performs
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Ricky Ricardo is a famous:
Comedian
Musician
“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.”
Dancer
Writer
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Lucy always wants to break into show business, but what does Ricky want her to do for a living?
Cook, clean, bring him his slippers, and be a good mother.
“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.”
Be his agent and secretary.
He wants her to be by his side in show business, too.
He wants her to be a waitress.
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What does Ricky Ricardo do when he gets upset?
He begins speaking quickly in Spanish
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.
He starts dancing
He hits himself in the head repeatedly
He starts to sing “Babalu”
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In “Job Switching,” for which job do Lucy and Ethel apply?
Band leaders
Stenographers
Insurance adjuster
Candy makers
“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
Cuba was a series of revolts and revolutions in the 20th century that caused many to flee to America.
Puerto Rico
Brazil
Mexico
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What is the biggest problem Lucy has with her mother-in-law the first time they meet?
Lucy isn’t a good enough housekeeper for her mother-in-law
Lucy doesn’t take care of the baby the way her mother-in-law thinks she should
Lucy can’t cook her mother-in-law’s favorite food
Lucy’s mother-in-law only speaks Spanish
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?
“Friendship”
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.”
“Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)”
“So Rare”
“Blue Suede Shoes”
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Why does Lucy miss the boat in “Bon Voyage”?
Her skirt gets caught in a bicycle
The helicopter made this the most expensive episode to film.
She trips over a crate and breaks her leg
Ricky forgot to buy her a ticket
Little Ricky is sick, so she says she will join them later
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The reoccurring character of Mrs Trumbull first appeared in which episode?
“Little Ricky Learns to Play the Drums”
“Lucy Raises Chickens”
“Ricky’s Movie Offer”
“No Children Allowed”
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”?
30 lbs of beef
60 lbs of beef
1 side of beef
2 sides of beef
“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?
Cincinnati, OH
Hollywood, CA
Albuquerque, NM
Lucille Ball initially did not want Vivian Vance to play the part of Ethel, but the two eventually became close friends.
Bent Fork, TN
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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?
It Pays to Be Ignorant
Our Miss Brooks
My Favorite Husband
"My Favorite Husband" filled in a gap before "Our Miss Brooks" aired and was so popular that CBS kept it for 124 episodes.
Blondie
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In the “Great Train Robbery,” how many times did Lucy pull the emergency brake?
7
5
4
By the fourth time, the Mertzes wore raincoats to dinner. Sanka was a sponsor for this episode.
1
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What did the Ricardos and Mertzes rename the diner after the argument in “The Diner”?
Lucy’s Place/Ethel’s Place
Little Chunk of China/Big Hunk of New York
Ricky’s Place/Fred’s Place
Little Bit of Cuba/Big Hunk of America
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?”
George Reeves
Hal March
Hal March also guest starred on "Gidget" and "The Monkees" and hosted "It’s Your Bet".
Dean Martin
Jerry Lewis
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According to “The Fur Coat,” when did the Ricardos move into the Mertzes brownstone?
December 5, 1951
August 5, 1948
“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.”
October 15, 1951
September 15, 1950
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Which episode was the first to air in the series?
“Men Are Messy”
“The Audition”
“The Lost Pilot”
“The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub”
“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?
Conrad and Bonar Bain
Dennis and Phillip Crosby
Joseph and Michael Mayer
Joseph and Michael Mayer’s mother had a walk-on part in “Homecoming.” They replaced Ronald and Richard Simmons in the part.
Keith and Kevin Schultz
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Which theatrical production does “Lucy Goes to Scotland” resemble?
Brigadoon
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.
MacBeth
Finian’s Rainbow
Mary of Scotland
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In “Lucy is Enceinte,” Lucy tells Ethel she is going to the doctor because?
She feels like she is dying
She is feeling a little dizzy
She feels funny
She feels real dauncey
“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?
“Redecorating”
Although Lucy’s redecorating didn’t go well, they were able to buy all the furniture back for the bargain price of $395.
“Pregnant Women Are Unpredictable”
“The Anniversary Present”
“Lucy Wants New Furniture”
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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?
With cartoon Lucy and Ricky acting out what would happen on the show
With cartoon Lucy and Ricky dancing comically
With cartoon Lucy and Ricky advertising cigarettes
Philip Morris sponsored the show and so the opening advertised their cigarettes The Ricardos also smoked in all the beginning episodes.
With cartoon Lucy and Ricky doing a vaudeville act
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When did “The Lost Pilot” air on television for the first time?
March 2, 1951
October 15, 1951
April 30, 1990
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.
November 6, 1957
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William Frawley and Vivian Vance played Fred and Ethel, how far apart in age were the actors in real life?
7 years
12 years
22 years
With a wife 22 years younger, one wonders why he insulted her so much.
32 years
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In which episode does Ricky take over the Tropicana Night Club and rename it Club Babalu?
“Lucy Hires a Maid”
“Tennessee Ernie Visits”
“Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright”
“Lucy Meets Bob Hope”
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?
Vegavitameatamin
Vitavegameatamin
Vegameatavitamin
Vitameatavegamin
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”?
Harold Peary
Mel Blanc
Bob Clampett
Arthur Q Bryan
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?
Earle Hagen
Gerald Fried
Eliot Daniel
Eliot Daniel originally did not want his name associated with the show, but after a couple of years, he asked to receive credit.
Desi Arnez
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Which show did Lucille Ball star in immediately after I Love Lucy ended?
The Lucy Show
Here’s Lucy
Life with Lucy
The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour
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?
“Lucy Writes a Play,” “The Young Fans,” and “The Publicity Agent.”
“The Diet,” “The Audition,” and “Lucy is Jealous.”
“The Benefit,” “Breaking the Lease,” and “The Ballet.”
Additional footage was added to the episodes “The Benefit,” “Breaking the Lease,” and “The Ballet” to create a more fluent storyline for the movie.
“New Neighbors,” “The Gossip,” and “Ricky Thinks He’s Getting Bald.”
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In “Equal Rights,” what is one thing the men don’t do when treating the women as equals?
Order what they wanted first at the restaurant.
Make the women pay for their share of the dinner.
Make the girls drive them to the restaurant.
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.”
Start shaving while the women apply makeup after dinner.
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Who started directing in season 2 and continued directing the show in seasons 3 and 4?
Desi Arnez
William Asher
William Asher also produced and directed Bewitched.
James V Kern
Jerry Thorpe
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What is I Love Lucy credited as being the first show to do?
Use three cameras and film to create the show
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.
Happen in front of a live studio audience
Be filmed in color for television
Have commercial breaks
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You Got:
/35
CBS