In the I Love Lucy episode Ricky Sells the Car (24 Oct. 1955) Ricky finds his safety razor – minus blade – attached to Little Ricky’s toy rifle.
Ricky’s safety razor is a Gillette Super Speed Safety Razor.
The toy rifle is a 1950’s Hubley Davy Crockett Buffalo Rifle Cap Gun
Find a Hubley Davy Crockett Buffalo Rifle on eBay
The Brown Derby location used in the “L.A. at Last” episode was located at 1628 Vine Street in Hollywood, just below Hollywood Blvd. Sadly, in 1987 this historic restaurant was lost in a fire. The Taft Building and a facade of the nearby Dinner Bell cafe remains, which has been part of the Hollywood revitalization since the 1990’s.
Here is the screen grab of the ‘watering hole’ where Lucy, Fred and Ethel meet William Holden and below a fun, vintage postcard of the actual location with arrow indicating the approximate colors of the same sign with the yellow neon of “The Brown Derby” and the white neon of “Restaurant”.
1950’s color footage of The Hollywood Brown Derby near the start of this video.
And the same location as it is today…
A comparison of a 1940 photo with a current picture shows the Taft building with its fire escape on the left and a facade that corresponds to the Dinner Bell Cafe ( the old street no. of the Dinner Bell Cafe was 1604-1/2 North Vine Street). The Brown Derby location seen on the right of the old photo has been taken over by newer buildings.
The Hollywood Brown Derby features in the the video Game L.A. Noire see walkthrough on Youtube here
Reference:
At the Brown Derby Restaurant the meat sauce was a specialty of the house according the the 1949 Brown Derby cookbook, Lucy Ricardo ordered her spaghetti and meatballs with extra meat sauce, The set decoration scene looks very like the real Brown Derby. ( see archival photo here ).
In real life Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz along with many Hollywood stars regularly dined at the Brown Derby. Google image search brings up numerous 1950’s photos that match the decor of the scene. The dinner ware in use in the restaurant was classic Willow Pattern – in the original color photos of the day pink/red willow pattern dishes can be seen.
Original Vintage Brown Derby Ashtray Seen on Etsy – Click to View Details
Bill Holden gets the Cobb Salad he ordered in the hilarious Brown Derby scene from the I Love Lucy show. The Brown Derby was the birthplace of the Cobb salad invented by owner Robert H. Cobb. The original Cobb salad recipe uses a French Dressing – not blue cheese. Get the Brown Derby Old-fashioned French dressing recipe at the end of this post.
The Cobb Salad was invented by Bob Cobb of the Brown Derby however another house salad the Derby Mixed Green Salad was very popular as a side dish. In the Brown Derby Scene, episode “L.A. At Last!,” Lucy selects a tossed salad from the menu which the waiter explains is a mixed green salad. The Derby Mixed Green Salad recipe can be found in the Brown Derby Cookbook.
Make your own Mixed Green Salad and the Derby Old-fashioned French Dressing to go with it from the original recipes pictured below from The Brown Derby Cookbook.
Derby Mixed Green Salad
Serves 4
1/2 head romaine cut in 1-in pieces
1/2 head (medium size) Lettuce, pulled
1/2 bunch watercress
1/2 head chicory
2 tomatoes,peeled and quartered
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup Brown Derby Old-fashioned French Dressing (see recipe below)
Toss the greens in a large cold salad bowl and mix lightly. Garnish with the tomatoes. Sprinkle chopped celery on top. Just before serving add French Dressing and toss lightly.
Brown Derby Old-Fashioned French Dressing, 1/ 1/2 qts.
This is the French Dressing which became so popular among the stars that the Brown Derby was prevailed upon to bottle it for home use. The cup of water is optional depending upon the degree of oiliness desired in this dressing.
1 cup water
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
Juice of 1.2 lemon
2 1/2 tbs.* salt
1 tbs. ground black pepper
1 tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbs. English mustard
1 bead garlic chopped
1 cup olive oil
3 cups salad oil
(*Uk readers note a US tablespoon = British dessert spoon)
Blend together all ingredients except oils. Then add olive and salad oils and mix well again. Chill. Shake before serving.
This dressing keeps well in the refrigerator. Can be made and stored in a 2 qt. Mason jar.
The I Love Lucy Episode “L.A. At Last!,” 1955, is memorable for the famous scene at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Lucy is hoping to spot movie stars, so she and Ethel and Fred go to the Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch where she has the hilarious scene with Bill Holden. Lucy orders a Derby tossed salad and spaghetti and meatballs with lots of meat sauce and Ethel opts for the same. I have an old Brown Derby cookbook – pictured below – so I looked up the recipes. You can find the Brown Derby Mixed Green Salad, on p. 74. Spaghetti Derby p 27 and the Derby Meat Sauce on p 28
The Menu Lucy choses from is similar to the vintage menu pictured below
In the I Love Lucy Season 4 episode The Business Manager the show opens with Lucy making waffles for breakfast on her Westinghouse “Grill-n-Waffler” Waffle Iron. Unfortunately these waffles don’t get cooked because Lucy has not been paying the electric bills on time. You may notice the studio audience laughing while Lucy is pouring the waffle batter, but at this point in the story line we don’t yet know the power has been cut – apparently the audience knew the plot, or perhaps this was not the first take . On eBay this week is a Westinghouse Waffle Iron model HW 40-1 pictures below or Click Here to view the listing . I also see a very similar model SGWB-521 with original booklet.
Lucy and Desi are frequently seen using their Franciscan Ivy dining set. In the opening scene of “The Freezer” episode Lucy apparently uses the light colored shaker to sprinkle fine sugar on her breakfast grapefruit. The ivy leaf shaped salt and pepper shaker set are easy to spot. The Franciscan Ivy pieces can still be found. The shaker set pictured below is currently on eBay
In the above capture from I Love Lucy Season 1, Episode 4 “Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her” we see two porcelain apothecary jars on the kitchen shelf. The apothecary jars appear in several episodes as set dressing in the kitchen in various locations. I have not found an exact match for the jars on the show but similar ones are seen on ebay such as the example below.
To see this one on ebay Click here
The Rubber squeak toy Ricky finds is a Disney Pinocchio Cleo Rubber Squeak Toy from the Sun Rubber Co.
