Desilu Studios was the home of dozens of classic tv shows from "I Love Lucy," "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Danny Thomas Show," "The Untouchables," "Mission Impossible," and "Star Trek."
They believed in,and loved Star Trek.They did everything they could to help keep the show airing when it was in danger of being canceled by the network. Which unfortunately happened anyway. Thanks Desilu!
Desi Arnaz actually talked with that accent. If you have viewed this whole video you will see when Desi addresses the Westinghouse executives about their upcoming programs. He actually pronounces psychiatrist as physokiatris in his serious presentation at the end.
Dad worked at the Wesinghouse washer,drayer electric range plant here in Mansfield Ohio.Dad and a lot others that worked there started to call it Westing-gouse. "You Can Be Shure If It's Westing-gouse
Rod submitted his original "TWILIGHT ZONE" script proposal- "The Time Element"- to "WESTINGHOUSE DESILU PLAYHOUSE" in the fall of 1958 after CBS originally rejected the idea. The attention it received from viewers caused the network to take a second look at Rod's proposed series.....and it went on the air in the fall of '59.
Desilu also filmed 3 Thomas-Spelling shows, Rango, early episodes of The Guns of Will Sonnett and The Danny Thomas Hour. Might have filmed Bing Crosby Productions projects like Hogan's Heroes as well.
Roy Rowan, Lucy's long-time announcer, is the opening narrator; Wilbur Hatch wrote and conducted the music. Ross Elliott (who guest-starred several times on "I LOVE LUCY") portrays "Mr. Hayden", the Westinghouse rep. For "entertainment purposes", this promotional film plays like an extended episode of "I LOVE LUCY", with a laugh track [no audience was actually in attendance, though] and Desi & Lucy acting like "Ricky & Lucy".
uh..even after Lucy and Desi divorced she credited him for all of the business related issues. She said that Desi was a genius and she was just happy being on the show and raising the kids. Desi was the one with the idea of buying RKO, establishing Desilu, buying the rights to I Love Lucy for reruns, having Lucy pregnant on television and having the show recorded on film in front of an audience with the 3 camera system. It wasn't Lucy and she has said it herself.
@@bradsmack1 From what I know Desi himself didn't invent the 3-camera system, but his contribution was to make it compatible with a live studio audience . Before I Love Lucy it was one method or the other, but he was the first to combine both.
Yes, Desi was the brains behind the show, and a real pioneer when it came to insisting that the show be filmed live with three cameras at once in front of an audience. But they were two very strong personalities. He was a workaholic, drank too much and was a womanizer. Lucy was extremely career driven. When their marriage was crumbling, Desi wanted to sell out and quit for a while, and Lucy didn't want to stop. That really ended it more than anything else. They did remain friends, however
By 1962, Desi finally told her "You buy me out, or I'll buy you out.". Lucy did, acquiring Desilu in November 1962 after the first handful of "LUCY SHOW" episodes were produced.
Beautiful clothes back then , I love the colors , wow , as much as I love black and white films , color really stands out more , the jacket Desi is wearing looks like something you might see from Italy today , very cool looking .
Rod's script, "The Time Element" (which was intended to be a pilot for "THE TWLIGHT ZONE", which CBS initially rejected), was produced by Desilu as an episode of "WESTINGHOUSE DESILU PLAYHOUSE" on November 24, 1958. The success of that telecast convinced the network to reconsider their decision about "TWILIGHT ZONE", and bought the series for the fall of 1959 {produced by Rod and CBS, and filmed at MGM}.
Remember, kids, it's not 'Westing-house', it's 'Westin-GHOUSE'...actually, this is very funny. The couple was hilarious...the Westinghouse appliances were, however 'Westin-LOUSES'
This was produced by Desilu [originally in black and white] as a 1958 promotional film for a Westinghouse sales meeting (attended by key salesmen, dealers and other company personnel) to acquaint them with the new series they were sponsoring that fall on CBS, 'WESTINGHOUSE DESILU PLAYHOUSE" [Mondays, 10-11pm(et)], which also featured monthly hour-long "WESTINGHOUSE LUCILLE BALL-DESI ARNAZ SHOW" episodes {later repeated as "THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR"}.
Notice that Desi is graying & Lucy's voice is slightly deeper. Is this towards the end of the I Love Lucy series? Lucy aged gracefully but her voice was pretty deep by the time "Here's Lucy" premeired. Desi, though still a good looking guy sadly, didn't age as well. Interesting that years later even though she remarried, she still cared very much about Desi, especially after becoming grandparents.
This was during the period when they appeared every month- or so- in the hour-long "LUCILLE BALL-DESI ARNAZ SHOW" format (soon to add "WESTINGHOUSE" to the title; it was repeated as "THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR" after 1962).
Actually, it was Al Simon who perfected the multiple-camera technique (which was initially used by producer Jerry Fairbanks as early as 1949, without a audience) for Ralph Edwards' 1950-'51 filmed TV edition of "TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES". Desi hired Simon as his production manager to use that same method for "I LOVE LUCY". After the first season, Simon moved on to supervise filming of "THE GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN SHOW" and Joan Davis' "I MARRIED JOAN".
Ross Elliot was a ubiquitous figure as a character actor and appeared in all of the comedy, police dramas, westerns, anthologies and horror pictures during the 40s thru the 70's. He ended up playing an elder patrioch character on General Hospital....possibly Alan Quartermaine.
@fujiwan1960 he always played a supporting role, second banana or character actor. he like many actors of his stature was very familiar, recognizable, but his name was not really a house hold one.
The no 2nd takes thing was good and bad. The laughs were genuine hearing the jokes for the first time laughs all the time, but unfortunately we have no bloopers from the show.
Actually, this looks like an old video camera set on automatic focus was shooting a film projected on a screen. Old video cameras with autofocus used to have great difficulty knowing what to focus on and repeatedly checked itself causing the image to go out of focus.
That is not Desi Arnaz or Lucille Ball ... that is Ricky and Lucy Ricardo. This could be an episode of I Love Lucy ... "Lucy and Ricky By a Studio" First off Lucille Ball wouldn't say "Mr Hayden." Lucy Ricardo would, as well as "Oh hi, dear." The dynamic between the 2 is the same as Lucy and Ricky, where he tells her she's not going to the meeting ... leading Lucy into hijinks, and bedlam ensues
Westinghouse and Desilu partnership promo. Lucy and Desi really had made it by 1958. The pressures of working together abd GREED killed their marriage. Money was Lucy's GOD!
Lucie and Desi Jr. wished the same thing. At one point, she said to her father, "But, Daddy- a divorce? Isn't there any way you can take it all back?" "That was more than we could take", Lucy recalled with regret.
Have you seen a movie in a theater in the last 20 years? Or any professional sport aired on TV? Anheuser-Busch/Inbev, Coca Cola, Ford, Toyota, are even more obvious about product placement than this!
