Lucille Ball on what it was like using stilts, falling down and cracking up on her show
Lucille Ball is known for being a comedy queen with series like I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy being among the top-rated programs in the nation.
She had a knack for physical comedy and would display it through falling, flailing and using any kind of prop she got her hands on in order to aid her slapstick comedy routine.
Viewers first fell in love with Lucy during her time on I Love Lucy in 1951. This is where the audience had their first look at Lucy's antics. From performing various falls to a trapeze act and pie fights, Lucy always had some splainin' to do.
After I Love Lucy, Ball went on to The Lucy Show (1962) where she starred as Lucy Carmichael. According to a 1962 interview with Winston-Salem Journal, the physical comedy didn't quit with a new character.
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In season one of The Lucy Show, Lucy wore stilts as a method to reach the top bunk of her son's new bunk bed. The hilarious moment could be seen in the episode "Lucy and Her Electric Mattress."
"The day they brought those stilts on set I hadn't been on a pair since I was nine or 10 years old," Ball said. "After all, who wears them these days?"
Ball said "Lucy and Her Electric Mattress" was one of her favorite episodes of the entire season. She also considered it to be one of the funniest moments of physical comedy in the show.
"The show is more physical now and also tougher, but it's more fun," Ball said. "I love physical bits, and it makes for good comedy."
During her time in show business, Ball worked with trampolines, stomped on grapes, steered a fire truck and even worked with an elephant, among other animals. According to the interview, Ball said the use of constant physical comedy took its toll on her health after awhile.
She used props to aid her comedy and Band-Aids to help put her back together after a stunt on her show.
"I've pulled a tendon, been gored by an artificial bull, been stepped on by a cow and a horse, suffered a concussion and had my fingers injured by a chimpanzee," Ball said.
According to the interview, Ball's arm was sliced when the fake bull's horns were mounted on a camera aimed her way. The camera was faster than Ball and she wasn't quite ready for the bullfighting to begin. She said that stunt caused her quite a bit of pain.
Ball was willing to do almost anything for a laugh — even risk her life onstage. The Lucy Show became one of the highest-rated shows on television at the time in part because Ball never changed who Lucy was.
Her image of shouting, falling down and performing stunts onstage remained the same in The Lucy Show as it did in most of Ball's projects. Fans were happy to see Lucy, and she was happy to see them — even if it meant falling down here and there.
"I think those who change their show's format are more susceptible to trouble," Ball said. "Lucy is Lucy and we were careful not to change her."
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