In the I Love Lucy episode Lucy Does A TV Commercial (5 May 1952), the TV set Lucy climbs into to perform her Phillip Morris commercial is clearly a fake but it resembles the typical cabinet tv set of the early 50’s
This is a vintage RCA Victor 1953 Television Set that looks similar in style to the fake set – it is currently on eBay “Vintage RCA Victor 1953 television set, “the Jeffrey” Blond mahogany wood cabinet excellent condition no scratches Model Number 21-T-313″
Use the Inflation Calculator below to see what Lucy Ricardo would have to pay for her Westinghouse refrigerator, range and vacuum cleaners in today’s money. These are 1951 appliances on sale in 1952 – the regular pre-sale price may have been closer to the 1951 price.
Inflation calculator from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Continue reading 1952 Prices for Westinghouse Appliances
$89.95 Regularly $113.20
Its the famous Dyna-matic Tank Cleaner with a twelve-piece set of attachments to make all your home cleaning easy. And with all this you get the speedy floor polisher to keep your floors shiny and protected. All this at one remarkable price. ( Source 1952 Pittsburgh Post Gazette, May 16,1952)
Prices in Today’s Money:
Using an inflation calculator the full price of $ 113.20 in 1952 has the same buying power as $1,002.66 in 2015 and the sale price at $89.95 comes out to $796.73 in 2015.
In the I Love Lucy episode Sales Resistance Lucy falls for a slick sales patter and ends up with her “Handy Dandy” vacuum cleaner which is really an early 50’s Westinghouse Dyna-Matic tank vacuum cleaner. The Westinghouse Dyna-Matic tank sweeper had a throw away inner bag and a set of attachments as seen on the show.
See another similar one on eBay HERE
Pictured above is a well preserved Westinghouse tank vacuum cleaner with attachments found at http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?3848 looking very similar to the one seen on the show – even the paper tag looks the same.
A 1950 newspaper ad gives the price as $49.95 which is equivalent to almost $500 in 2015 so Ricky’s reaction is not surprising. Incidentally Lucy is seen using the upright model vacuum cleaner in The Black Eye episode.
According to this NY Times article ” Hoover executives saw an episode of ”I Love Lucy” in which Lucille Ball peddled vacuum cleaners door to door. Hoover cut a deal with the show’s producers to have one of its products, and especially its brand name, displayed whenever a vacuum appeared in the plot, Mr. Kravitz said.”
The Hoover that appeared on the show was possibly a Hoover upright model 62.
I Love Lucy Vitameatagvegamin Style dress seen on Etsy – click Here to view
The dress on Etsy appears to be a well made custom dress. For a less expensive costume see alternatives on eBay HERE
Byron Nelson Winning Golf
Author: Byron Nelson
Year: 1946
A.S. Barnes and Co, NY.
Byron Nelson Winning Golf 192 pages
In “The Golf Game” Ricky Ricardo played by Desi Arnaz is seen wearing a hat with a prominent Thunderbird Ranch & Country Club patch on the front. Lucille Ball and husband Desi Arnaz were early celebrity residents of Rancho Mirage, with a home at Thunderbird Country Club built in 1951, the same year that their hit television show, I Love Lucy debuted.
Desi was a keen golfer and Lucille and he spent a lot of their free time in their Rancho Mirage home facing the ninth and 18th fairways at the Thunderbird Country Club. Lucy was not a golfer, but she spent family time with Lucie and Desi Jr., swam in the pool and played cards with other ladies in the club. The Chamber of Commerce appointed Lucy as their first Honorary Mayor of Rancho Mirage. At one time, the valley’s honorary mayors were all members of Thunderbird or Tamarisk Country Clubs: Bob Hope, Palm Springs; Frank Sinatra, Cathedral City; Lucille Ball, Rancho Mirage; and Bing Crosby, Palm Desert. Lucy served as Rancho Mirage’s Honorary Mayor from 1958- 1965 and again from 1971 until the city’s incorporation in 1973.
The first logo golf caps were made by Cali Fame of Los Angeles for Thunderbird Country Club in Palm Springs, CA.
Among the items Desi Arnaz retained in the divorce settlement with Lucille were a golf cart and a membership in the Thunderbird Country Club in Palm Springs.
References
Seen on eBay this week are two Utrillo prints similar to the one on I Love lucy – although a slightly different version – Utrillo painted this scene several times. Also a mid-century ornate frame below to recreate the look of the one on the show. The exact print in I Love Lucy is hard to find. Click on the images to view the eBay listings.
Above is a Hollywood Regency frame in a similar style to the one on the show that should fit the above prints – its on ebay this week Click Here to view
Click here for earlier post about the original Utrillo print on I Love Lucy
Above L to R. Bob and Sally Cobb of the Brown Derby, Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance at the screening party for the Brown Derby episode.
Bob Cobb of the Brown Derby restaurant gave a party for the screening of The Brown Derby episode of I Love Lucy. The screening party took place in a new private dining room at the Los Feliz Brown Derby.
This week at my other blog:
Wilshire Brown Derby original location
1932 movie clips show the interior and exterior of the original Brown Derby Restaurant on Wilshire.
http://www.lookbackandhanker.com/the-brown-derby-scene-in-george-cukors-what-price-hollywood-1932.html During it’s history the Brown Derby on Wilshire was located at three different sites on the same street.
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