I Love Lucy character guide
Who is Ethel Mertz in I Love Lucy?
Lucy's landlady, best friend, and reluctant partner in crime, a sharp-tongued former vaudevillian who always says the scheme is a bad idea and then helps anyway.
By Sitcomdle · Sources and corrections
Updated
Ethel Mertz's Sitcomdle clue card
The five clues the game shows when Ethel Mertz is the answer or a guess.
- Show
- I Love Lucy
- Debut
- 1951
- Network
- CBS
- Role
- Main
- Gender
- Female
Ethel Mertz has not been a daily answer yet. Play today's Sitcomdle.
- Show
- I Love Lucy
- Played by
- Vivian Vance
- First episode
- “The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub”Season 1, Episode 1, aired October 15, 1951
- Role
- Main cast
- Network
- CBS
- Occupation
- Landlady and former vaudeville performer
- Show run
- 1951 to 1957
- Also known as
- Ethel, Ethel Mae Mertz, Ethel Potter
Ethel Mertz owns the brownstone where the Ricardos live and is pulled into nearly every one of Lucy's plans. Played by Vivian Vance, she is one of television's great sidekicks.
On I Love Lucy, Ethel Mertz's story runs through Fred Mertz (Husband), Lucy Ricardo (Best Friend), and Ricky Ricardo (Tenant).
Other CBS sitcom characters from around the same time include Frank Burns (M*A*S*H) and Hawkeye Pierce (M*A*S*H).
Who is Ethel Mertz?
Ethel is a former vaudeville performer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who married Fred Mertz and toured the stage with him before they settled down in New York. The couple own a brownstone apartment building in Manhattan and rent an apartment to Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Lucy and Ethel quickly become best friends.
Unlike Lucy, Ethel has already had a show business career and seems mostly content as a landlady and homemaker. She still has a fine singing voice and a performer's ego, and when Ricky needs extra acts for a show, Ethel is happy to step into the spotlight.
Personality and comedy
Ethel is practical, loyal, and quick with a wisecrack. She is usually the voice of reason when Lucy hatches a plan, but she is easily tempted by the excitement, and she almost always ends up in the costume, the closet, or the candy factory right beside her friend. She also has a weakness for gossip and cannot resist peeking at Lucy's mail.
Her marriage to Fred is a running comedy of insults. She complains about his stinginess and calls him names, and he jokes about her appetite, but the two always stand together in the end. Ethel and Lucy have their own feuds, too, often over show business, and they always make up by the end of the episode.
Key storylines
Ethel is Lucy's partner in the show's most famous set pieces, from wrapping chocolates at the candy factory to trying to sneak their way into Ricky's act. Their friendship is tested when they buy the same dress for a TV appearance, and again when Ethel hates the birthday gift Lucy chose for her.
On the road to Hollywood, the group stops in Ethel's hometown of Albuquerque, where she has told her father that she, not Ricky, is the one headed for Hollywood stardom. Ethel goes on to travel through Europe with the Ricardos and finally moves with Fred into the guest house at the Ricardos' new home in Connecticut.
Behind the scenes and legacy
Vivian Vance was a stage actress recommended by the show's director, and she won the Emmy for Best Series Supporting Actress at the 1954 ceremony. Off screen, Vance and William Frawley famously disliked each other, though they stayed professional on set. Vance was also uncomfortable that Ethel was married to a man old enough to be her father.
Vance went on to play Lucille Ball's best friend again on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, where she insisted the character be named Vivian. Entertainment Weekly has ranked Ethel among the greatest sidekicks in TV history.
Key Ethel Mertz episodes
- “The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub”Season 1, Episode 1Ethel and Lucy want to celebrate the Mertzes' anniversary at the Copacabana, not at the fights.
- “Job Switching”Season 2, Episode 1Ethel and Lucy take jobs at a candy factory and cannot keep up with the conveyor belt.
- “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress”Season 3, Episode 3Matching dresses for a TV appearance turn the best friends into rivals.
- “Ethel's Birthday”Season 4, Episode 9Ethel's dislike of Lucy's birthday gift sparks a feud the husbands have to end.
- “Ethel's Home Town”Season 4, Episode 16In Albuquerque, the town greets Ethel as a star because she told her father she was the one headed for Hollywood.
Season and episode numbers follow the original broadcast order.
Ethel Mertz: frequently asked questions
Who plays Ethel Mertz?
Vivian Vance plays Ethel in I Love Lucy from 1951 to 1957 and in the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour specials that followed.
Did Vivian Vance win an Emmy for playing Ethel?
Yes. Vance won the Emmy for Best Series Supporting Actress at the 1954 Emmy Awards and was nominated several more times for the role.
Where is Ethel Mertz from?
Ethel is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her father ran a sweet shop. The gang visits in "Ethel's Home Town" in season four.
Did Vivian Vance and William Frawley get along?
No. The two actors disliked each other off camera, but they remained professional while working together on the show.
Do Fred and Ethel have children?
No. The Mertzes are a childless couple, and they act as godparents to Little Ricky.
Test yourself: Ethel Mertz quiz
5 questions about Ethel Mertz. Think of your answer, then open the reveal to check it.
- Question 1
Who are the Ricardos' best friends and landlords?
- Fred and Ethel Mertz
- Ralph and Alice Kramden
- Rob and Laura Petrie
- Ward and June Cleaver
Show the answer
Answer: A. Fred and Ethel Mertz
Fred and Ethel own the apartment building where the Ricardos live, and Ethel is usually Lucy's partner in every scheme.
- Question 2
Where do Lucy and Ethel take jobs and lose a frantic battle with a speeding conveyor belt?
- A bakery
- A candy factory
- A laundry
- A department store
Show the answer
Answer: B. A candy factory
In "Job Switching," the women go to work while Ricky and Fred try housework, and both sides fail spectacularly.
- Question 3
What show business background do Fred and Ethel share?
- They were vaudeville performers
- They were radio actors
- They were circus acrobats
- They were silent film stars
Show the answer
Answer: A. They were vaudeville performers
The Mertzes are former vaudevillians, and because Ethel can genuinely sing and dance, Ricky is often more willing to put her in his shows than Lucy.
- Question 4
In "Ethel's Home Town," which city gives Ethel a star's welcome?
- Tulsa
- Santa Fe
- Phoenix
- Albuquerque
Show the answer
Answer: D. Albuquerque
Ethel had told her father she was the one headed for Hollywood, so the townsfolk treat her like a celebrity until her husband and friends decide to teach her a lesson.
- Question 5
In "The Diner," what do the Ricardos and Mertzes do when running their restaurant together falls apart?
- Sell it to Ricky's band
- Split it down the middle into two restaurants
- Turn it into a nightclub
- Give it back to the bank
Show the answer
Answer: B. Split it down the middle into two restaurants
After Ricky quits the club and the couples buy the diner, the Mertzes resent doing all the cooking, so each pair ends up running its own half.
Sources and corrections
Reference pages used for this guide, including character, cast, and episode details.
Could Ethel Mertz be today's mystery character? Name them in eight guesses.
Play today's SitcomdlePeople in Ethel Mertz's life
- Fred MertzHusbandPlayed by William FrawleyThe grumpy, penny-pinching landlord of the Ricardos' brownstone, a retired vaudeville song-and-dance man who becomes Ricky's best friend and Ethel's…
- Lucy RicardoBest FriendPlayed by Lucille BallThe redheaded New York housewife who dreams of breaking into her bandleader husband's nightclub act and keeps landing in hilarious trouble with her…
- Ricky RicardoTenantPlayed by Desi ArnazLucy's charming, hot-tempered Cuban husband, a bandleader and singer at a New York nightclub who loves his wife dearly and wants her to stay far…
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