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Television and Popular Culture
I Love Lucy: The Untold Story
Your exclusive backstage pass to the creation of "I Love Lucy"
“A true genius. I owe so much to his creativity and friendship.” —Lucille Ball
Jess Oppenheimer, “the brains” of "I Love Lucy," gives us an insider’s view of this groundbreaking show, generously interspersed with script excerpts of many classic Lucy radio and TV comedy performances—including her famous “Vitameatavegamin” routine.
Oppenheimer weaves a wonderfully entertaining tale of the creation of this landmark series and its evolution from Lucy’s hit radio sitcom, "My Favorite Husband." Lucy aficionados will delight in his personal accounts of such stars as Desi Arnaz, William Frawley, Vivian Vance, and of course, Lucille Ball.
Oppenheimer’s reminiscences come to life in his son Gregg’s new radio play,"I Love Lucy: The Untold Story," the complete script of which is included in this edition.
[Note: A much-expanded edition of Oppenheimer's memoir has been published under the title "Laughs, Luck...and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time".]
“A true genius. I owe so much to his creativity and friendship.” —Lucille Ball
Jess Oppenheimer, “the brains” of "I Love Lucy," gives us an insider’s view of this groundbreaking show, generously interspersed with script excerpts of many classic Lucy radio and TV comedy performances—including her famous “Vitameatavegamin” routine.
Oppenheimer weaves a wonderfully entertaining tale of the creation of this landmark series and its evolution from Lucy’s hit radio sitcom, "My Favorite Husband." Lucy aficionados will delight in his personal accounts of such stars as Desi Arnaz, William Frawley, Vivian Vance, and of course, Lucille Ball.
Oppenheimer’s reminiscences come to life in his son Gregg’s new radio play,"I Love Lucy: The Untold Story," the complete script of which is included in this edition.
[Note: A much-expanded edition of Oppenheimer's memoir has been published under the title "Laughs, Luck...and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time".]
165 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
October 17, 2024
Any ‘I Love Lucy’ fans out there?
What’s your favourite episode?
I laugh just thinking about Lucy and Ethel in ‘Job Switching’ at the chocolate factory!
Did you know today is National I Love Lucy day?
To celebrate I read “Laughs, Luck and Lucy” by Jess Oppenheimer, the “brains behind the ‘I Love Lucy’ show.” Oppenheimer was the producer and head writer for the show from its conception in 1951 and through 153 episodes.
The first sentence of the book grabbed my attention:
“On January 19, 1953, Lucille Ball gave birth to two baby boys. One was born in the morning in Los Angeles and the other that night, three thousand miles away in New York City.”
The TV birth of Little Ricky on CBS was watched by 44M viewers (1.5M more than for President Eisenhower’s inauguration the next day on all three networks)!
The first section highlights Oppenheimer’s life and segues into inspiration for the episodes.
I enjoyed:
✔the San Fransico setting
✔the story about when he was in Gr4 and was making $30/week holding a floating crap game after school. When his mom went to do laundry one day and found a roll of bills in his pocket she was floored to discover that it was enough to support their family for 6 months. The episode where Ricky bets Lucy $100 that she can’t go for 24h without fibbing was inspired by what happened the day his mom discovered his bankroll.
✔the day his German mother went to get her passport and discovered that she couldn’t prove that her husband was a naturalized citizen, making her subject to deportation, inspired the ‘The Passports’ episode where Lucy tries to get a passport for her trip to Europe.
✔seeing a document registered with the Writers’ Guild in 1951 for $1.00 containing “an idea for a radio and/or television program incorporating characters named Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.”
Things I learned:
✔Lucy’s fight in the grape-stomping scene in ‘Lucy’s Italian Movie’ with the woman in the grape vat wasn’t in the script
✔“Lucille Ball was about as different from Lucy Ricardo as anyone could possibly be.”
✔Why they used three cameras instead of one
✔How many sets they had
✔What it was like directing and dealing with Lucy’s pregnancy and location challenges
✔Some of the outtakes and unfilmed scripts were included
✔Lucy and Desi sold their rights to CBS for $4.3M 1956
What’s your favourite episode?
I laugh just thinking about Lucy and Ethel in ‘Job Switching’ at the chocolate factory!
Did you know today is National I Love Lucy day?
To celebrate I read “Laughs, Luck and Lucy” by Jess Oppenheimer, the “brains behind the ‘I Love Lucy’ show.” Oppenheimer was the producer and head writer for the show from its conception in 1951 and through 153 episodes.
The first sentence of the book grabbed my attention:
“On January 19, 1953, Lucille Ball gave birth to two baby boys. One was born in the morning in Los Angeles and the other that night, three thousand miles away in New York City.”
The TV birth of Little Ricky on CBS was watched by 44M viewers (1.5M more than for President Eisenhower’s inauguration the next day on all three networks)!
The first section highlights Oppenheimer’s life and segues into inspiration for the episodes.
I enjoyed:
✔the San Fransico setting
✔the story about when he was in Gr4 and was making $30/week holding a floating crap game after school. When his mom went to do laundry one day and found a roll of bills in his pocket she was floored to discover that it was enough to support their family for 6 months. The episode where Ricky bets Lucy $100 that she can’t go for 24h without fibbing was inspired by what happened the day his mom discovered his bankroll.
✔the day his German mother went to get her passport and discovered that she couldn’t prove that her husband was a naturalized citizen, making her subject to deportation, inspired the ‘The Passports’ episode where Lucy tries to get a passport for her trip to Europe.
✔seeing a document registered with the Writers’ Guild in 1951 for $1.00 containing “an idea for a radio and/or television program incorporating characters named Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.”
Things I learned:
✔Lucy’s fight in the grape-stomping scene in ‘Lucy’s Italian Movie’ with the woman in the grape vat wasn’t in the script
✔“Lucille Ball was about as different from Lucy Ricardo as anyone could possibly be.”
✔Why they used three cameras instead of one
✔How many sets they had
✔What it was like directing and dealing with Lucy’s pregnancy and location challenges
✔Some of the outtakes and unfilmed scripts were included
✔Lucy and Desi sold their rights to CBS for $4.3M 1956
December 28, 2018
Jess Oppenheimer started his career quite early in radio, and when he ended up on a show called My Favorite Husband, starring Queen of the B's, Lucille Ball, I'm not sure even he realized just how different his life and career would become.
Once we get to the My Favorite Husband through I Love Lucy years, the book takes off for me (since that's what I was interested in reading about, after all). The sections devoted to Oppenheimer's childhood and early career left me feeling a bit impatient. Aside from a particularly memorable story having to do with a train whistle, which I found to be laugh-out-loud funny, there were a lot of pages devoted to administrative machinations and personal decisions, and I just didn't find that very interesting.
When we got to Lucy, however, well, what a difference. Much as she did for the two shows this discusses, she transforms the story into something very different. From the explanation of how her funny faces came to be written into the scripts, and how she had to be convinced that the radio audience would like to see her perform, and not just read, her My Favorite Husband role, to how her second pregnancy was worked into the I Love Lucy storyline (which was a first for television then), the anecdotes, innovations and problems solved are fascinating.
Jess Oppenheimer takes a lot of credit for the good things that happened either to make I Love Lucy a popular and profitable program or to continue its success. After awhile that can become tiresome. The astute reader can see through it, however, to find that the show was truly a group effort; a collaboration of people who came together with exactly the right talents at exactly the right time, to create entertainment history.
Oh, and for those who hate to see a politician reading from a TelePrompter? You now know whom to blame for its creation, because Oppenheimer invented it to solve a technical problem, and then patented it.
Included in the edition that I read were rare photos, a My Favorite Husband script, a script to a radio show about the launch of I Love Lucy, an article about how the show was filmed and rehearsed, and a portion of the only I Love Lucy scene that Lucy and Desi refused to perform as it went against their principles. I believe there were a few other extras that now slip my mind, but these were the most interesting to me.
Once we get to the My Favorite Husband through I Love Lucy years, the book takes off for me (since that's what I was interested in reading about, after all). The sections devoted to Oppenheimer's childhood and early career left me feeling a bit impatient. Aside from a particularly memorable story having to do with a train whistle, which I found to be laugh-out-loud funny, there were a lot of pages devoted to administrative machinations and personal decisions, and I just didn't find that very interesting.
When we got to Lucy, however, well, what a difference. Much as she did for the two shows this discusses, she transforms the story into something very different. From the explanation of how her funny faces came to be written into the scripts, and how she had to be convinced that the radio audience would like to see her perform, and not just read, her My Favorite Husband role, to how her second pregnancy was worked into the I Love Lucy storyline (which was a first for television then), the anecdotes, innovations and problems solved are fascinating.
Jess Oppenheimer takes a lot of credit for the good things that happened either to make I Love Lucy a popular and profitable program or to continue its success. After awhile that can become tiresome. The astute reader can see through it, however, to find that the show was truly a group effort; a collaboration of people who came together with exactly the right talents at exactly the right time, to create entertainment history.
Oh, and for those who hate to see a politician reading from a TelePrompter? You now know whom to blame for its creation, because Oppenheimer invented it to solve a technical problem, and then patented it.
Included in the edition that I read were rare photos, a My Favorite Husband script, a script to a radio show about the launch of I Love Lucy, an article about how the show was filmed and rehearsed, and a portion of the only I Love Lucy scene that Lucy and Desi refused to perform as it went against their principles. I believe there were a few other extras that now slip my mind, but these were the most interesting to me.
October 11, 2023
Very short book, but essential for Lucy fans for a few reasons. You get access to some recordings of Lucille Ball performances, which are fascinating. I really loved the chance to compare a scene from My Favorite Husband with a nearly identical scene from I Love Lucy.
And I also loved that Oppenheimer goes through the steps of how a script for I Love Lucy was created, right down to the stress they were under to create a new script every week for 40 weeks a season.
Oppenheimer clearly has a wonderful sense of humor (I love the bit about his photo mistakenly appeared once with an article about the atomic bomb), but also sharp insights. His descriptions of Desi's maneuverings to become executive producer show both Oppenheimer's genuine hurt and his awareness that Desi could be as generous as he was manipulative.
I found it interesting that his conception of the show, while he clearly understood it was to showcase Lucille Ball, centered a lot on the male character (as in, he just wants a normal home life and he has to cope with his wife, who doesn't understand that the entertainment field isn't all glamor and wants to get into showbiz). I viewed the show in a slightly different way, centered on the Lucy character. In my experience, and in the tellings of most I Love Lucy fans, the premise of the show rests on Lucy's desire to go into showbiz and be more than just a housewife, and Ricky's constant efforts to reel her in. A small shift in focus perhaps, but still very telling.
I also cringed every time he describes how Lucille Ball "needed to be dominated." I've read other historians describe Lucy this way, and I'm sure it comes from Oppenheimer. It feels very offensive. To me, her behavior suggests much more a person with some insecurities and fear of failure who wanted to be sure that the person in charge was smart and sure-footed, rather than a milquetoast. Yes, Oppenheimer clearly credits her genuine talent, but there's an off-putting denigration of her that hit me the wrong way.
And I also loved that Oppenheimer goes through the steps of how a script for I Love Lucy was created, right down to the stress they were under to create a new script every week for 40 weeks a season.
Oppenheimer clearly has a wonderful sense of humor (I love the bit about his photo mistakenly appeared once with an article about the atomic bomb), but also sharp insights. His descriptions of Desi's maneuverings to become executive producer show both Oppenheimer's genuine hurt and his awareness that Desi could be as generous as he was manipulative.
I found it interesting that his conception of the show, while he clearly understood it was to showcase Lucille Ball, centered a lot on the male character (as in, he just wants a normal home life and he has to cope with his wife, who doesn't understand that the entertainment field isn't all glamor and wants to get into showbiz). I viewed the show in a slightly different way, centered on the Lucy character. In my experience, and in the tellings of most I Love Lucy fans, the premise of the show rests on Lucy's desire to go into showbiz and be more than just a housewife, and Ricky's constant efforts to reel her in. A small shift in focus perhaps, but still very telling.
I also cringed every time he describes how Lucille Ball "needed to be dominated." I've read other historians describe Lucy this way, and I'm sure it comes from Oppenheimer. It feels very offensive. To me, her behavior suggests much more a person with some insecurities and fear of failure who wanted to be sure that the person in charge was smart and sure-footed, rather than a milquetoast. Yes, Oppenheimer clearly credits her genuine talent, but there's an off-putting denigration of her that hit me the wrong way.
October 2, 2017
Just ok. A few fun facts and stories. Filled with script from My Favorite Husband and I Love Lucy episodes that didn’t seem necessary. Very quick read.
March 30, 2024
As a long-time fan of "I Love Lucy", this was a wonderful glimpse behind the scenes from the show's creator and producer.
November 9, 2015
Lucille Ball was the funny female face of a generation. But as anyone knows, the star of the show is just a small part of the whole operation. The key to the success of I Love Lucy fell into the capable hands of Jess Oppenheimer, a man with a remarkable story that led him to work on one of the most celebrated television shows of all time.
Jess Oppenheimer's story starts out simply enough in San Francisco with his family. The one setback that Oppenheimer had throughout his childhood and early adulthood was poor sight that made him have double vision. This led to many confusing and amusing situations.
Where Oppenheimer's professional story starts is in radio. Although he had what some would consider dumb luck in getting into the profession. He just hung around his favorite radio station. Eventually, this led to a job. A variety of jobs and radios stations later, he ends up working with Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband. When he's turned over to television, the real magic happens (including Oppenheimer creating and patenting one of the first versions of the teleprompter; who knew?).
The actual biography is relatively short. Most of the book's content is reproduced radio and television scripts, photos and other important historic documents. As a writer, I was especially interested in reading the scripts, knowing both the radio program and the TV show so well. Oppenheimer's detail in the biography and in the scripts on just how precise a script had to be to take an ordinary situation and turn it into slapstick comedy is enlightening. Any who want to read more about the technical side of classic radio and television will definitely enjoy this book.
Jess Oppenheimer's story starts out simply enough in San Francisco with his family. The one setback that Oppenheimer had throughout his childhood and early adulthood was poor sight that made him have double vision. This led to many confusing and amusing situations.
Where Oppenheimer's professional story starts is in radio. Although he had what some would consider dumb luck in getting into the profession. He just hung around his favorite radio station. Eventually, this led to a job. A variety of jobs and radios stations later, he ends up working with Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband. When he's turned over to television, the real magic happens (including Oppenheimer creating and patenting one of the first versions of the teleprompter; who knew?).
The actual biography is relatively short. Most of the book's content is reproduced radio and television scripts, photos and other important historic documents. As a writer, I was especially interested in reading the scripts, knowing both the radio program and the TV show so well. Oppenheimer's detail in the biography and in the scripts on just how precise a script had to be to take an ordinary situation and turn it into slapstick comedy is enlightening. Any who want to read more about the technical side of classic radio and television will definitely enjoy this book.
July 20, 2015
I would give this a 3.5. this was written by Jess Oppenheimer years ago. He died years ago but his son, Gregg,found some of papers written by his father and decided to have it put out as a memoir. Jess Oppenheimer was a producer and writer for I Love Lucy. the first part of the book is a memoir of his childhood, stint in the services, and his work on radio. It was there he wrote for the radio show My Favorite Husband with Lucille Ball.when it was decided to make this into a TV show in 1951, Jess O. was hired. this was fun to read. Mr. O. shared a lot about what is was like to make a tv show in 1951. the introduction of the "Three camera" filming. Hiring the cast and the fight to hire Desi Arnaz as the husband { silly as it sounds now although Lucille Ball was actually married to Desi Arnaz the higher us brass did not think they should hire a Cuban person to play the husband} Anyway it was fun to have some of the episodes described, such and the "Vitameatavegiman" episode, the freezer, or the one with the candy production. Also trying to have a show when Lucille Ball actually got pregnant, taboo at this time. { A pregnant woman on tv in 1951? gasp!} the end of the book shows some actual pieces of scripts. Learned a bit about the I Love Lucy show. If you are a fan of this wonderful show. you may enjoy reading this. I read it on my kindle.
July 10, 2013
Highly recommend this to anyone interested in I Love Lucy, comedy writing, the history of radio/television, or just reading a really great collection of anecdotes. Jess Oppenheimer is a great storyteller and he's got great stories to tell. Not only did he create I Love Lucy, but he also invented the teleprompter, was run over by Herbert Hoover, and learned the trick for getting free Coca Cola in Hollywood. This is definitely a book worth reading, and it even comes with a disc of Lucille Ball radio tracks.
January 27, 2025
I enjoyed this book quite a lot. A fair portion was dedicated to Jess' pre-Lucy years, which is not the reason I picked up the book, but I found those portions equally entertaining and quite an interesting look into a time period and field that I didn't know too much about.
Any flaws in the book are likely due to the fact, as is disclosed in the introduction, Jess actually died before the book was completed and it was completed by his son Gregg. I don't mean this to say that Gregg didn't do a superb job, but if Jess didn't leave material about something in form of his drafted portions, notes, interviews, etc, then Gregg simply wouldn't have been able to add it in. This can lead to a bit of disjointedness and some unfleshed out items, or aspects where more detail would have been appreciated. (I would be happy if the section on the Lucy era were longer and had even more details about the creative process and the making of different episodes.) That could be the reason (or not, but I've giving him the benefit of the doubt) that things might come off a little differently than intended. For example, there seem to be more negatives than positives when talking about some of his coworkers and I think a few more positive aspects that may have just not been left in his materials could have helped him come off as a bit less arrogant. (For example, seeming to think that only by him redictating the scripts would the characters sound consistent, not really showing confidence in Bob and Madelyn's writing abilities, and mostly describing only negative anecdotes about Desi.) (Also the thing repeated twice about Lucille needing to be "dominated" was weird and unnecessary...let's not even get into that.)
It was definitely interesting to hear his side of the story on some of the show items and I'm looking forward to reading Madelyn, Lucille, and Desi's books to compare and contrast. (There certainly seem to be some conflicts on credit for some of the show's innovations between Desi and Jess, specifically.)
All in all, I enjoyed this and am glad we had it. I'm also excited for the included audio CD, which I haven't listened to yet!
Any flaws in the book are likely due to the fact, as is disclosed in the introduction, Jess actually died before the book was completed and it was completed by his son Gregg. I don't mean this to say that Gregg didn't do a superb job, but if Jess didn't leave material about something in form of his drafted portions, notes, interviews, etc, then Gregg simply wouldn't have been able to add it in. This can lead to a bit of disjointedness and some unfleshed out items, or aspects where more detail would have been appreciated. (I would be happy if the section on the Lucy era were longer and had even more details about the creative process and the making of different episodes.) That could be the reason (or not, but I've giving him the benefit of the doubt) that things might come off a little differently than intended. For example, there seem to be more negatives than positives when talking about some of his coworkers and I think a few more positive aspects that may have just not been left in his materials could have helped him come off as a bit less arrogant. (For example, seeming to think that only by him redictating the scripts would the characters sound consistent, not really showing confidence in Bob and Madelyn's writing abilities, and mostly describing only negative anecdotes about Desi.) (Also the thing repeated twice about Lucille needing to be "dominated" was weird and unnecessary...let's not even get into that.)
It was definitely interesting to hear his side of the story on some of the show items and I'm looking forward to reading Madelyn, Lucille, and Desi's books to compare and contrast. (There certainly seem to be some conflicts on credit for some of the show's innovations between Desi and Jess, specifically.)
All in all, I enjoyed this and am glad we had it. I'm also excited for the included audio CD, which I haven't listened to yet!
January 16, 2019
This is built on anecdotes. The anecdotes are funny but they're heavily tilted to early in Jess Oppenheimer's career (he was born in, and started out in San Francisco), long before Lucy came into the picture.
It's an interesting, idiosyncratic portrait of a long-past age, both in the television and radio industries, and in society.
Did you know Jess invented the TelePrompter? He did!
The book was compiled by Oppenheimer's son, who took the already-written beginning section and then edited in most of the book from notes and interviews. He did a great job and I'm so thankful we have this book. I just wish it could've been a little tighter, but a book made from collected bits is always going to be a bit loose in construction and focused on anecdotes and stories.
We do learn some really fascinating things about Lucille Ball's personality (no spoilers) and I did get the sense the Oppenheimer, like a lot of talented producers, was determined to make himself the story's hero. He downplayed Desi Arnaz's accomplishments in getting ownership of the films, and even the epoch-changing decision to use expensive film rather than air the show live and use cheap kinescopes for the West Coast. Without that decision, we'd not have the genius of these shows (Oppenheimer was one of the writers as well) to enjoy in their peculiar timeless world (like P. G. Wodehouse and Seinfeld).
It's an interesting, idiosyncratic portrait of a long-past age, both in the television and radio industries, and in society.
Did you know Jess invented the TelePrompter? He did!
The book was compiled by Oppenheimer's son, who took the already-written beginning section and then edited in most of the book from notes and interviews. He did a great job and I'm so thankful we have this book. I just wish it could've been a little tighter, but a book made from collected bits is always going to be a bit loose in construction and focused on anecdotes and stories.
We do learn some really fascinating things about Lucille Ball's personality (no spoilers) and I did get the sense the Oppenheimer, like a lot of talented producers, was determined to make himself the story's hero. He downplayed Desi Arnaz's accomplishments in getting ownership of the films, and even the epoch-changing decision to use expensive film rather than air the show live and use cheap kinescopes for the West Coast. Without that decision, we'd not have the genius of these shows (Oppenheimer was one of the writers as well) to enjoy in their peculiar timeless world (like P. G. Wodehouse and Seinfeld).
October 23, 2016
This book was very enjoyable. Jess Oppenheimer began working in radio and was also the producer and head writer of the “I Love Lucy” TV show. He has lots of interesting stories to share including fascinating behind-the-scenes stories. What a great job to go to work and laugh every day. I never realized that this TV show was the first to air a re-run, the first to use 3 cameras, and one of the first to be filmed, which enables us to continue to watch these classic shows. Lucy was also the first pregnant woman on TV. Jess explains the evolution of the show which began on radio with another actor playing Lucy’s husband. The show was called “My Favorite Husband.” Lucy had to fight to have her real husband, Desi Arnaz play her husband on the TV show. There was resistance because he was Cuban, difficult to understand, and a bandleader, not an actor. He also fought for top billing. Jess was instrumental in changing Lucy’s character from a spoiled wife to a scatterbrain which was the perfect excuse for her physical comedy. There are lots of great photos and other extras in the book such as links for audio of shows and full scripts. This book is highly entertaining and made me appreciate all that went into this enduring classic groundbreaking show.
July 10, 2018
I interviewed Gregg Oppenheimer for my show Chatting With Sherri. It was a charming chat about his dad Jess Oppenheimer and Gregg's play about Lucy called; "I Love Lucy; A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Sitcom." So as research I began to read this book.
I truly enjoyed it because it was full of information not just about I Love Lucy, which I love but radio shows with Jack Benny, Fanny Brice, Fred Astaire and ultimately Lucille Ball. It was about the life story of Jess Oppenheimer and his memories of the period of Live Radio which was like catnip to me.
In case you can't tell I loved this book and in it are recording from My Favorite Wife and I Love Lucy that you can't hear anywhere else. Definitely worth a read :)
By the way, the play I mentioned is also going to be a radio show, isn't that cool? I can hardly wait!
I truly enjoyed it because it was full of information not just about I Love Lucy, which I love but radio shows with Jack Benny, Fanny Brice, Fred Astaire and ultimately Lucille Ball. It was about the life story of Jess Oppenheimer and his memories of the period of Live Radio which was like catnip to me.
In case you can't tell I loved this book and in it are recording from My Favorite Wife and I Love Lucy that you can't hear anywhere else. Definitely worth a read :)
By the way, the play I mentioned is also going to be a radio show, isn't that cool? I can hardly wait!
June 12, 2025
I noticed a lot of people giving this book lower rankings because there's not enough Lucy stuff. Well, I like a good show business biography, and I thought this was great. Not only did a learn a lot about early radio programs and how they were created, but I learned a lot about early TV programming - and how much writing went into all of it. The first half focuses a lot on Jess Oppenheimer's young life and how he got into writing for radio and eventually TV. Then it switches gears to be about his involvement with Lucy's radio show and then the evolution of the TV show. At the end there are some clips from both, so I do recommend the audiobook for this reason.
I'm gearing up to direct the play based on this book: Lucy Loves Desi, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Sitcom. Listening to this gave me a lot more background. I recommend it to writers and classic TV buffs.
I'm gearing up to direct the play based on this book: Lucy Loves Desi, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Sitcom. Listening to this gave me a lot more background. I recommend it to writers and classic TV buffs.
October 6, 2020
I was looking for I Love Lucy scripts and came across this book. It's an enjoyable read full of great stories about Jess Oppenheimer's life and career, beginning in San Francisco - Fair warning, he doesn't start working with Lucille Ball until halfway through the book, and at that point it's working with her in radio, so don't expect this to be cover to cover about I Love Lucy! The book came with a fantastic surprise - a CD - with a full "My Favorite Husband" radio play, which you can follow along while listening with a copy of the annotated script in the book. Another great surprise - The script for the I Love Lucy episode, "The Freezer", so at the very least I ended up finding one Lucy script.
December 26, 2021
Kind of a love/hate review
I loved the book, it was a great story and brought me back to my childhood when I watched all these episodes with my mom. Then the book just stopped at about 75% through. The remaining 25% was just scripts and appendixes. Also his childhood was very personal, but once he started working for Lucy you don’t know much else other then he got married and had 2 kids. I feel as the book came up to the edge of a cliff and jumped - which is a shame as I was really enjoying it.
I loved the book, it was a great story and brought me back to my childhood when I watched all these episodes with my mom. Then the book just stopped at about 75% through. The remaining 25% was just scripts and appendixes. Also his childhood was very personal, but once he started working for Lucy you don’t know much else other then he got married and had 2 kids. I feel as the book came up to the edge of a cliff and jumped - which is a shame as I was really enjoying it.
June 7, 2025
Most of the stories here are legendary myths by now, filled with prescribed platitudes that perhaps lack nuance or insight. But it's still a foundational look at the cultivation of "I Love Lucy," with emphasis on its transition out of "My Favorite Husband" (the radio program). Jess Oppenheimer still does not get enough credit for how much of Lucille Ball's classic TV series is the result of his own creative hand.
November 11, 2017
I may have misunderstood what I was selecting. This seemed more like a magazine article. The book did not contain much new information but was a quick read of memories regarding the tv show’s inception and first five years. I kept feeling like many ideas and even passages were repeated throughout. A little disappointed.
March 15, 2019
I'd have loved to have given this book more stars, but it took half of the book to get to I Love Lucy, and considering the title and cover, this was the bit I was interested in, not Oppenheimers childhood or his radio career. Loved reading the included scripts at the back. Lucy was a great star and comedy actress.
November 9, 2021
Fun read. Oppenheimer tells the story from his perspective, so of course, it sounds like he was the real brains and talent behind the entire show. Maybe he was. There have been so many different stories from so many other people behind the scenes, but it still gives insight into one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time.
March 3, 2022
Interesting behind the scenes info on I Love Lucy from the show's executive producer, with lots of anecdotes I hadn't heard before despite devouring every bit of information possible on Lucille Ball and I Love Lucy. Only complaint, such as it is, is that it was far too short and Oppenheimer mostly only reminisces about the first and second season.
June 6, 2017
A Comedy Classic
In this memoir the author tells about his showbiz career but the bulk of it si about the creation of I Love Lucy and the behind the scenes stories about working on the show.
Even then he knew this show would become a comedy classic.
In this memoir the author tells about his showbiz career but the bulk of it si about the creation of I Love Lucy and the behind the scenes stories about working on the show.
Even then he knew this show would become a comedy classic.
January 1, 2018
Very informative!
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be very difficult to put down. I feel like I have a better understanding of what everyone went through to get I Love Lucy on air, and enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at my favorite show and actress, Lucille Ball.
I really enjoyed this book and found it to be very difficult to put down. I feel like I have a better understanding of what everyone went through to get I Love Lucy on air, and enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at my favorite show and actress, Lucille Ball.
August 3, 2020
I was fascinated even by Oppenheimer's life BEFORE he got involved with show biz... even more so afterwards. Of course I expected a writer to be good at writing but I found this to be well written, well thought out and well worth reading!
February 8, 2022
This is mostly a book about Jess Oppenheimer and how he put the I Love Lucy show together. Lucy does not come in till the middle of the book, and the last quarter are appendixes of screen plays. Felt there was more info left out which was sad
September 5, 2017
This was just okay. A bit of new information, but not much.
September 29, 2018
I laughed for 3 straight minutes at his story of "The Most Happy Fella."
Charming. Not much that I didn't know but it was a fun ride anyway.
Charming. Not much that I didn't know but it was a fun ride anyway.
March 24, 2019
I loved reading the history of the I Love Lucy show. I grew up watching this show.
April 26, 2019
Some interesting behind the scenes details, but prett6short. There is a lot scripts added to "pad" it out a bit.
September 28, 2019
A good book telling what it was like at the end of radio days and the start of the golden days of TV!
The Great "I love Lucy" the greatest show ever on TV! Thanks for telling this story!
The Great "I love Lucy" the greatest show ever on TV! Thanks for telling this story!
June 5, 2020
Very choppy
Hard to follow very choppy, read entire book hoping it would get better it didn't! Will not read any more from this author
Hard to follow very choppy, read entire book hoping it would get better it didn't! Will not read any more from this author
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