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I Love Lucy character guide

Who is Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy?

The redheaded New York housewife who dreams of breaking into her bandleader husband's nightclub act and keeps landing in hilarious trouble with her best friend Ethel.

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Lucy Ricardo's Sitcomdle clue card

The five clues the game shows when Lucy Ricardo is the answer or a guess.

Show
I Love Lucy
Debut
1951
Network
CBS
Role
Lead
Gender
Female

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Show
I Love Lucy
Played by
Lucille Ball
First episode
“The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub”Season 1, Episode 1, aired October 15, 1951
Role
Lead
Network
CBS
Occupation
Homemaker and would-be star
Show run
1951 to 1957
Also known as
Lucy McGillicuddy, Lucille Ricardo, Lucille McGillicuddy, Lucy

Lucy Ricardo wants nothing more than to be in show business, and her schemes to get there are the engine of I Love Lucy. Played by Lucille Ball, she is one of the most famous comic characters in television history.

On I Love Lucy, Lucy Ricardo's story runs through Ricky Ricardo (Husband), Ethel Mertz (Best Friend), and Fred Mertz (Landlord).

Other CBS sitcom characters from around the same time include Frank Burns (M*A*S*H) and Hawkeye Pierce (M*A*S*H).

Lucy Ricardo from I Love Lucy: Sitcomdle character card

Who is Lucy Ricardo?

Lucy, born Lucy McGillicuddy in Jamestown, New York, is married to Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo. The couple rent an apartment in a Manhattan brownstone owned by their best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz. Ricky works nights headlining at the Tropicana, while Lucy is expected to keep house.

She finds that life far too dull. Lucy is desperate to perform, and she will audition, sneak into rehearsals, or disguise herself to get onstage with Ricky, who would much rather she stayed home. When she is not chasing stardom, she is chasing a new hat, a new piece of furniture, or a scheme to get even.

Personality and comedy

Lucy is impulsive, stubborn, endlessly inventive, and usually caught. Her plans start small and spiral into chaos, and the show's biggest laughs come from Lucille Ball's fearless physical comedy as each disaster unfolds. She pulls Ethel into nearly every plot and talks her way out of trouble just long enough to get into more.

For all the trouble she causes, Lucy is warm and deeply loving, and her marriage to Ricky is the heart of the show. Their fights are loud and their reconciliations are sweet, and the audience is always on her side.

Key storylines

Lucy's greatest hits include getting tipsy while filming a commercial for the tonic Vitameatavegamin, losing a race against a speeding conveyor belt at a candy factory, and stomping grapes in an Italian vineyard. In season two she learns she is pregnant and tells Ricky by sending a song request to his club, and Little Ricky is born that same season.

Later seasons take the Ricardos and Mertzes on the road. Ricky lands a movie deal, and in Hollywood Lucy meets stars such as William Holden, John Wayne, and Harpo Marx. A European band tour follows, and in the final season the Ricardos buy a house in Westport, Connecticut, with the Mertzes moving into their guest house.

Behind the scenes and legacy

Lucille Ball and her real husband, Desi Arnaz, insisted on making the show together in Hollywood, and it became the first scripted series filmed on 35 mm film before a live studio audience. Little Ricky's birth episode aired the same day Ball gave birth to Desi Arnaz Jr. Ball won Emmys for the role in 1953 and 1956.

After I Love Lucy, Ball played Lucy-like characters on The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy. In 2012 a poll by ABC News and People named I Love Lucy the best TV show of all time, and Lucy Ricardo remains the template for the scheming sitcom heroine.

Key Lucy Ricardo episodes

  1. “Lucy Does a TV Commercial”Season 1, Episode 30Lucy talks her way into a commercial for Vitameatavegamin and gets drunker with every take.
  2. “Job Switching”Season 2, Episode 1Lucy and Ethel take jobs at a candy factory and lose the battle with a speeding conveyor belt.
  3. “Lucy Is Enceinte”Season 2, Episode 10Lucy learns she is pregnant and finally breaks the news to Ricky at his club.
  4. “L.A. at Last”Season 4, Episode 17Star-struck Lucy torments William Holden at the Brown Derby, then hides behind a putty nose that catches fire.
  5. “Harpo Marx”Season 4, Episode 28Lucy fakes a roomful of celebrities in masks, only for the real Harpo Marx to catch her dressed as him.
  6. “Lucy's Italian Movie”Season 5, Episode 23Researching a film role, Lucy stomps grapes in a vineyard and ends up in a fight in the vat.

Season and episode numbers follow the original broadcast order.

Famous sitcom couple

Lucy Ricardo: frequently asked questions

Who plays Lucy Ricardo?

Lucille Ball plays Lucy in I Love Lucy, which aired on CBS from 1951 to 1957, and in The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour specials that followed.

What was Lucy Ricardo's maiden name?

Lucy's maiden name is McGillicuddy, and her full name is given as Lucille Esmeralda McGillicuddy Ricardo. She is from Jamestown, New York.

What is the Vitameatavegamin episode called?

It is "Lucy Does a TV Commercial," season one, episode 30, first aired May 5, 1952. The tonic turns out to be heavily alcoholic, and Lucy gets tipsier with every take.

Which episode has the chocolate factory scene?

The candy factory conveyor belt is in "Job Switching," the season two premiere, first aired September 15, 1952.

Do Lucy and Ricky ever divorce on the show?

No. The Ricardos are still married when the series ends, although Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz divorced in real life in 1960.

Test yourself: Lucy Ricardo quiz

5 questions about Lucy Ricardo. Think of your answer, then open the reveal to check it.

  1. Question 1

    What health tonic does Lucy pitch, with dizzying results, in her first TV commercial?

    1. Vegemeatamin
    2. Healthaflex
    3. Mertz's Miracle Tonic
    4. Vitameatavegamin
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. Vitameatavegamin

    In "Lucy Does a TV Commercial," the tonic turns out to be 23 percent alcohol, so every take leaves Lucy a little tipsier.

    See question 3 in the full quiz

  2. Question 2

    Where do Lucy and Ethel take jobs and lose a frantic battle with a speeding conveyor belt?

    1. A bakery
    2. A candy factory
    3. A laundry
    4. 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.

    See question 4 in the full quiz

  3. Question 3

    In which city do the Ricardos live for most of the series?

    1. Chicago
    2. Los Angeles
    3. Havana
    4. New York City
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. New York City

    Their apartment building sits at a fictional address on East 68th Street in Manhattan until the family moves to the suburbs.

    See question 6 in the full quiz

  4. Question 4

    In "Lucy Is Enceinte," how does Lucy finally let Ricky know she is expecting?

    1. She sends him a telegram
    2. She bakes the news into a cake
    3. She has Fred tell him
    4. She anonymously requests a song at his club
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. She anonymously requests a song at his club

    After several interrupted attempts at home, Lucy asks for "We're Having a Baby" at the club, and Ricky realizes the request came from his own wife.

    See question 9 in the full quiz

  5. Question 5

    Which movie star does Lucy pester at the Brown Derby in "L.A. at Last"?

    1. John Wayne
    2. Rock Hudson
    3. William Holden
    4. Cary Grant
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. William Holden

    Lucy stares at Holden from behind a plant and gets him hit with a pie, then has to disguise herself when Ricky brings him home.

    See question 11 in the full quiz

Take the full I Love Lucy quiz (20 questions)

Sources and corrections

Reference pages used for this guide, including character, cast, and episode details.

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