The Real Reason Why “I Love Lucy”!

By Daria Campbell

I own the first 3 seasons of I Love Lucy on DVD. And I was thinking recently about the show and the character of Lucy Ricardo and the main premise. If you never watched the show, I would highly recommend a stroll down memory lane and watch at least the first season in all of its black and white glory.  

The show revolves around a Cuban Bandleader and his American wife who apparently cannot hold a tune but wants to perform with him in his nightclub, desperately. Each episode is about how she is either trying to get herself out of predicament she got herself into or how to get herself on stage and in the spotlight.  All of this is done with the greatest of comedic timing ever seen and therefore generating some of the most classic comedy moments in history. 

The reason I bring it up is because these characters showed a great virtue in this show, tenacity.  Yes, it was a television show and therefore not based on reality, but there are still lessons to be learned from the characters and story arcs.

First, Lucy never gave up.  Even if she finally had to admit defeat, she would have only done so, because she exhausted every avenue possible. Even some of these “schemes” made things even worse but she always tried and tried again.

Second, Lucy did always have the right heart. She really wanted to entertain people even though she was completely tone-deaf. She really loved her husband and respected him even though she put him in some weird situations and embarrassing cringe-worthy moments. She really did care about her best friend Ethel even though she always dragged her into her problems asking her to help with the most cockamamy of ideas. Her heart was never malice driven, always from a place of love.

Third, Lucy thought outside of the box constantly.  She was way ahead of her time!  If she were working today instead of being a housewife back in the 1950s, I believe she would be a President or CEO of a Fortune 500 company because she never thought like everyone else. She would take risks.  She never went the direct route she would try detours and see where they lead her.

And finally, she always kept her sense of humor about everything. Again, even when it went completely south and pear shaped, she still would laugh through her tears.  That takes courage as well as the tenacity to get up and try another way when it did not work. She never was upset or apologized for having a go.

And on a side note the actors who played these roles also exhibited this same tenacity in real life. Lucille Ball had been on the Hollywood scene since 1934 and was in many movies with greats like Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rodgers but never became a movie star. She worked on her comedy all that time and at age 40 her and Desi Arnaz, the actor who played Ricky in the show, who was her real life husband, bought their own television studio in 1950 because no one would take on their show.

Talk about tenacity!! Then not only did they start a 6-season successful show, but Desi literally changed the way television was viewed when he used 3 cameras to film the show instead of 1 which gave the show more depth. They had a dream and they stuck to it and the decades of fans to the show are happy they did.

So, if you ever feel like you are never going to see that vision or dream come true try thinking a little differently about the way you are approaching it but keep trying until you see results. That is what Lucy would do. Now I think I will go and binge a few episodes myself.