THE TROPICANA NIGHTCLUB     -     "I LOVE LUCY"

   As the show progressed and the story line grew more interesting, new plots brought new people to the I Love Lucy scene - including a round up of celebrity guests while Lucy and the gang were vacationing in California. These celebrities were not only great friends of Lucy, they were also very popular at the time and provided new variety and more excitement to the show's plots...

1   Eve Arden & William Holden
...appeared in "L.A. At Last". Eve would later appear in a Desilu Studios television series
Our Miss Brooks, and William Holden had previously starred in the renowned Sunset Blvd.

2   Don Loper
...appeared in "The Fashion Show". Don was famous for his well-designed outfits and dresses for women. This episode also casted the wives of many notable stars, including Mrs. Dean Martin.

3   Hedda Hopper

...appeared in "The Hedda Hopper Story". Hedda was a good friend of Lucy's for a long while and was also popular with her column…
In this episode, Lucy and Ricky get themselves into some embarrassing moments with Hedda, and if only they had listened to Lucy's mother, they would have known that her "friend" from the airplane was nobody other than Hedda Hopper herself…
Hedda is once again referred to as a crazy hat wearer.

4   Cornel Wilde
...appeared in "The Star Upstairs". When Lucy spots a column about a movie star secretly staying in a hotel, she investigates and discovers that Cornel Wilde is just upstairs in the hotel.
Trying everything to get in to see him, her antics only lead to trouble when the chance finally comes to meet him but she's too tangled up with her dangerous stunts and attempts.

5   Rock Hudson

...appeared in "In Palm Springs". The males and females have a spat and Rock Hudson comes in to soften the girls up so Ricky and Fred won't appear to weak when they come to tell them they're sorry.
Ethel tops the laughs up when she offers "Mr. Candy" a "piece of rock".

6   Harpo Marx [to left]

...appeared in "Lucy and Harpo Marx". When Carolyn Appleby shows up in Hollywood, Lucy wants her to be impressed, so she dresses up as Harpo, only to find the real Harpo already there…
Lucy and Harpo perform a hilarious ['mime' mirror] scketch and Harpo plays his maginificent harp. (The other Marx Bros. did not appear, as Lucy only got along well with Harpo.)

7   Van Johnson

...appeared in "Dancing Star". In order to impress Carolyn Appleby, Lucy must be in a dance number with Van Johnson, who has been performing in the hotel just recently.
Lucy successfully gets her way into the scheme and ends up performing the dance number with Van to Ricky's disbelief.

8   Richard Widmark

...appeared in "The Tour". When Lucy and Ethel go on a bus tour in Hollywood, Lucy wants to grab a grapefruit from Richard Widmark's yard. Instead, she falls in and is trapped in his huge house.
Ricky, who was just on lunch with Richard, returns to the home with him and finds Lucy hiding. Lucy then asks him for his autograph - on the grapefruit she grabbed from the tree.


9   John Wayne

...appeared in "Lucy and John Wayne". After Lucy stole John Wayne's footprints from Grauman's, she must get them back soon or it's bad publicity and bad laws against her and the gang. So, Ricky calls up the Duke himself to print up another set of footprints, but Lucy ends up destroying all of them one way or another. Finally, the Duke creates so many footprints that could survive a years worth of damage!


OTHER CELEBRITY GUESTS
Besides their trip to California, there were also other times during the show when celebrity guests appeared...

  • Charles Boyer     Appeared in "Lucy Meets Charles Boyer"
  • Bob Hope            Appeared in "Lucy Meets Bob Hope"
  • Orson Welles      Appeared in "Lucy Meets Orson Welles"


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