It was October 15th, 1951 when sitcom history was first made with the debut of the I Love Lucy show on CBS. A lot of work and backstory went into making what would become a groundbreaking show. Lucile Ball had already found success in modeling and then in movies and radio. Her biggest hit prior to I Love Lucy was the CBS radio show My Favorite Husband. CBS wanted to take the premise of My Favorite Husband to television along with her radio co-host Richard Denning. Ball, however, felt that the television program would be the perfect opportunity to work with her husband, Desi Arnaz. CBS, in turn, felt that the inclusion of the Cuban Arnaz would be unbelievable to the general audience. In response, Ball and Arnaz developed a vaudeville act that they took on the road to great success. Through the success of the roadshow (and perhaps because networks NBC and ABC were also showing interest), CBS was finally convinced. 

The making of the show pushed the boundaries of traditional sitcom production. Ball and Arnaz insisted that the sitcom be produced in Hollywood where their burgeoning family with daughter Lucie lived, whereas most were produced in New York. Ball and Arnaz also insisted on a live, studio audience knowing that Ball worked best with immediate feedback. CBS pushed back and Ball and Arnaz formed their own production company, DesiLu to have more creative control - and their live audience. (Prior sitcoms had canned laughter.) The last big first for a sitcom was that it was recorded on 35mm film on three cameras to capture the action in one long take. Normally sitcoms were recorded on one camera with multiple takes. With a live studio audience, Ball and Arnaz wanted the production to feel more like a play while still capturing the action from three different cameras that were edited together for the show's airing.

I Love Lucy was a hit from the start and was the most-watched show for four seasons. In 1956 I Love Lucy was the first show to end production at the number one spot in the Nielsen ratings after six seasons.

Evan and John started a quest six-and-a-half years ago, purchasing a one-family-owned home from a friend. They lived with their new-old modest 1947 ranch for a year before embarking on a five-year restoration journey. They were in it for the long haul. The home had long been neglected of everyday maintenance. A slow leak in the bathroom had rotted everything down through the oak floorboards, so the bathroom was where John and Evan started.

They also worked on their living room/dining room. (Check out the beautiful Roman brick on the fireplace!)

Next came the kitchen, and that's where we came in. Evan and John chose our solid tile in Graphite for their walls. I'm jumping ahead, though, because the first part of the renovation was to take the entire kitchen down to the studs, similar to what they had done with the bathroom. Even though it was December (2020) they carefully removed all of the wood cabinets out to a tent in the yard where Evan lovingly scraped, sanded, repaired, and repainted the cabinets so that they look brand new. John is also handy and worked on the plumbing and electrical. (A true DIY couple!) They chose colors that they thought might have been appropriate to the 1948 roots of the home with a few modern upgrades.

I'll let Evan close up this section by quoting some words of wisdom:

"It will always take longer, cost more, and give many more headaches than you think it will. A job like this never runs as smoothly as you think it will. We were lucky that between John and me we had lots of skills and talents that we didn't have to hire done, which is nice. There were days when my frustration level was off the charts! When I spent all of last winter cooking supper on a two-burner hot plate, a small microwave, and a tabletop oven; and so it was a treat to get take out once a week or so. I will say this: It's SO worth it. Do it. Just do it, you'll be so glad you did."

Thanks, John and Evan. We're so happy to be a part of your home for years to come!

Speaking of our solid-color tile, we were so fortunate to get such good press this week from the best mid-century website of them all, RetroRenovation.com. They were particularly interested in our two pink tiles. I tried to send photos (oh, how I tried) but I could never capture the pink; it always looked brown on film*. Finally, instead of trying to instantly learn photography, I sent Pam Kueber samples of the two tiles, and she took this photo above. So much better than anything I was able to produce! (*Hahahaha - I'm old).

If you'd like to read the full article, you can find it here.

How about a quick history of the lava lamp? It was the brainchild of one Edward Craven Walker of Poole, Dorset, who was enjoying a pint at his local pub. Behind the bar, he spotted an unusual egg timer on a stovetop. He loved the random bubbling action and it put his brain into overdrive. The first model for his brainchild used the bottle of a British cordial (orange squash) with a light bulb as the heat source. Special ingredients (it's a trade secret) were placed in the bottle and the Astro Lamp was born. It was patented in 1964.

Have a beautiful fall and a Happy Halloween! Looking forward to seeing you all next month.