Podcast appearances and mentions of jess oppenheimer

Game show legend Jim Peck joined me to talk about living in Milwaukee during the Happy Days era; favorite radio shows; the first time he saw a television; going to Marquette University; getting the performing bug; his first job as a booth announcer at WISN; Don Pardo; hosting a series called Confrontation; Jim Peck's Hotline; hard to get guests; Take it from Here from Washington DC; Big Showdown; falling down during entrance and having it be on YouTube today; emulating Johnny Carson; contestant interviews; Hot Seat; the Richard Dawson "feud": Second Cance; Peter Tomarken; going out with Monty Hall on his 94th birthday; Peter Marshall; his unaired late night pilot After Hours: The Jim Peck Special which would have featured Susan Anton, Robin Williams, and Loni Anderson; You Don't Say; Nipsey Russell; Dick Gautier; Robert Ridgely; 3's a Crowd; led to divorces and firings; originally pitched by Jess Oppenheimer as a clean game show and sexed up by Chuck Barris; Chuck realizes "no one had fun on the show"; cheating on game shows; Press Your Luck; The Price is Right; his famous perm; Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; Everything's Relative and other game show pilots; You Tube 3's A Crowd reaction video; being hired to sub for and take over for Jack Barry on Joker's Wild; Barry dying and the syndicator choosing to go with Bill Cullen; calling his mother's friend out of the audience to play game; Divorce Court; Doug Llewellyn; Judge William Keane; show was done with actors and scripts; guest lawyers including John Erlichman; Judge Keane decided case by what he saw, not original outcome; hosting the Drum Corps International on PBS; Milwaukee; retiring from WTMJ-AM in 2021 - his first radio job.

This week we discuss season 1 episode 34- ‘Ricky Thinks He's Getting Bald'. We chat about the inspiration of this episode, some lessons head writer, Jess Oppenheimer learned while filming this episode- how NOT to film a ‘Lucy' show - and some of the treatments Lucy gives Ricky and the nice approach Lucy tried before the "torture" regimen.  •• Please rate and review our podcast! ••• Connect with all things 'Having A Ball' ••• YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDXuCxbfhUNJzJ_8wMfMD_w/featured Having A Ball Podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Having-a-Ball-Podcast-103319291812682 Having A Ball Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havingaballpod/ Erika on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erikamurrietta/ Erika on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erika.murrietta.3 Erika on Twitter: https://twitter.com/erikamurrietta Ziva on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luciana.ehrlinger Ziva on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ziva_e/ Email: havingaballpod@gmail.com ••• Photos: CBS/ Getty/ Desilu Produced by: Erika Murrietta Music provided by: Feather Duster via SilvermanSound https://www.silvermansound.com/free-music/feather-duster

Nicole Kidman brings American TV icon Lucille Ball to life in Being the Ricardos Actors Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem on Dec. 6 launched their latest film Being the Ricardos in Los Angeles about Hollywood icon Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who starred in the classic American sitcom I Love Lucy but were also a couple off-screen. Tony Hale, who plays the sitcom's executive producer Jess Oppenheimer, said audiences don't need to know I Love Lucy prior to watching the film. The film depicts the huge strides Ball made as a woman in show business, heading her own production studio and being pregnant on camera. Being the Ricardos released in theaters on Dec. 10 in the United States and was set to stream on Amazon on Dec. 21. (Reuters) Thailand allows visitors back to beach made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio film Thailand has reopened Maya Bay, a white sand beach made famous by the 2000 film The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The film attracted many tourists to the beach — thousands each day. They damaged its coral reefs and beach areas, so officials closed the beach in 2018. They wanted the ecosystem to recover. But since the start of this year, Thailand has allowed some visitors back. “The sharks have come back, coral reefs are regrowing and the water is clear again,” said, Yuthasak Supasorn, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The beach is surrounded by 100-meter-high cliffs on the island of Phi Phi Leh in the Andaman Sea. It can be reached only by boat from nearby spots such as the islands of Phuket or Phi Phi. Authorities said only up to 375 visitors will be allowed at a time and swimming will not be allowed for now. (Reuters) These articles were provided by The Japan Times Alpha.

Chatting With Sherri welcomes back Gregg Openheimer! GREGG OPPENHEIMER (Producer-Director), son of "I Love Lucy" creator-producer-head writer Jess Oppenheimer, got his start in comedy at the tender age of four when his father introduced him to Lucille Ball on the "I Love Lucy" set. Kneeling down, a smiling Lucy asked Gregg, "Where did you get those big brown eyes?" Gregg's deadpan reply: "They came with the face." Lucy nearly fell over laughing. In 1996, he left a successful law career in order to complete his late father's humorous memoir, "Laughs, Luck...and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time" (Syracuse University Press). That book's success led Gregg's hit comedy play, "I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom."  His latest project is SPERDVAC (The Society to Preserve & Encourage Radio Drama, Variety And Comedy) presents "Jack Benny Program" veterans Beverly Washburn, Stuffy Singer & Ivan Cury in Peg Lynch's comedy gem, "THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ETHEL & ALBERT" Written by Peg Lynch Produced and directed by Gregg Oppenheimer. It is on Youtube on Dec. 20, 2020 5pm PT.  You can find it  at; SPERDVAC Presents "Ethel & Albert" - Dec. 20, 2020 5pm PT - YouTube;  

In 1961, My Favorite Husband/I Love Lucy Producer and Director Jess Oppenheimer sat down for a wide-ranging interview on his life and career. During the course of the chat, he spoke about why he was so lucky to work with two of the most popular female comedians of all-time, Lucille Ball and Fanny Brice. This clip comes courtesy of Jess' son, Gregg Oppenheimer, and Gregg's book, "I Love Lucy: The Untold Story."

In Breaking Walls episode 100 we focus on the radio career of Lucille Ball, arguably the most famous comedienne of the twentieth century. She rose through the ranks in New York as a model before a small role in Eddie Cantor’s Roman Scandals brought her to Hollywood in 1933 where she gained prominence. When the 1940s began, Ball was a b-film actress known for playing the other woman. As she gained critical respect for both her dramatic and comedic ability, she insisted that her and Desi Arnaz made a perfect on-screen duo. It led to a revolution in the way TV was shot and produced in the 1950s, all under their company Desilu. —————————— Highlights: • Jack Haley, Phil Baker, and RKO • Lucy Meets Gale Gordon • How a Holiday Publicity Trip to New York changed Lucy’s Life • Lucy meets Desi • Too Many Girls • Lucy and Desi Elope in November 1940 • Harold Lloyd’s A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob and The Old Gold Comedy Theater • The Tragic Death of Carole Lombard and Lucy’s First Miscarriage • Lucy Stars on Suspense • Desi Strays and Lucy Files for Divorce • The Couple Reconciles and Decides To Work in Radio • Desi and Bob Hope • CBS, My Sister Eileen, and My Friend Irma • Lucy Guests with Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope • Eve Arden and Our Miss Brooks • Lucy Says "Yes" to Bill Paley and My Favorite Husband is Born • Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr., and Madelyn Pugh Join The Team • Lucy Wants to Work With Desi • I Love Lucy is Developed and Philip Morris Signs On • The I Love Lucy Radio Pilot • Changing History and Looking Ahead —————————— The WallBreakers: http://thewallbreakers.com Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts. To support the show: http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers —————————— The reading material used in today’s episode was: • The I Love Lucy Book - By Bart Andrews • Love Lucy - By Lucille Ball • On the Air - By John Dunning • Desilu - By Coyne Stevens Sanders and Tom Gilbert • The Complete History of the Most Popular TV Show Ever - By Michael McClay • Forever Lucy - By Joe Morella • Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg As well as several articles from: Broadcasting Magazine and Radio Daily, from between 1938 and 1951 —————————— On the interview front: • Lucille Ball was interviewed by Dick Cavett in 1970 and 1971; by Johnny Carson in 1974; and by Joan Rivers in 1984 • Desi Arnaz was interviewed with Bob Hope by Johnny Carson in 1976 and by David Letterman in 1983 • Jess Oppenheimer was interviewed in 1961. This interview came courtesy of Gregg Oppenheimer and I Love Lucy: The Untold Story. Gregg also provided My Favorite Husband outtakes. • Chuck Schaden spoke to Gale Gordon, Jack Haley, and Herb Vigran. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com. • SPERDVAC was with Madeline Pugh Davis and Bob Carroll Jr. on March 12th, 1994 • Hans Conried was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. • William Paley gave a speech while receiving an award on November 20th, 1958, and spoke in memoriam of Lucille Ball in 1989. • Lee Philip was with Connee Boswell. —————————— Selected Music featured in today’s episode was: • Black Coffee and Fly Me To The Moon - By Julie London • The Look of Love - By Billy May • Cuban Pete - By Desi Arnaz —————————— Special thanks to our sponsors! The Fireside Mystery Theatre https://www.firesidemysterytheatre.com/ Radio Drama Revival https://www.radiodramarevival.com/ Twelve Chimes, It’s Midnight https://www.twelvechimesradio.com/ —————————— A special thank you to Ted Davenport and Jerry Haendiges: two radio show collectors who helped supply material for this episode. They’re who the large retailers go to. Ted’s got a Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/otrteddavenport/ For Jerry, please visit http://otrsite.com/ I’d also like to thank Walden Hughes and John and Larry Gassman of SPERDVAC - http://sperdvac.com/

Chatting With Sherri  welcomes back Author/Playwright/Director; Gregg Oppenheimer! Gregg's hit comedy play -- based the experiences of his father, Jess Oppenheimer, Creator/Producer/Head Writer of "I Love Lucy" -- is called "I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom." It starred Sarah Drew ("Grey’s Anatomy") and Oscar Nuñez ("The Office") as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. It's available at Amazon.com, and begins its first national tour next year

 Chatting With Sherri welcomes author and playwright; Gregg Oppenheimer! Gregg is the son of “I Love Lucy” creator-producer-head writer Jess Oppenheimer.  He got his start in comedy at the tender age of four, when his father introduced him to Lucille Ball on the set of “I Love Lucy.” Kneeling down, a smiling Lucy asked Gregg, “Where did you get those big brown eyes?” Gregg's deadpan reply: "They came with the face." Lucy nearly fell over laughing. And now Gregg has written a new play. Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) and Oscar Nuñez (The Office) will portray Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the world premiere of I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom. Five performances will take place July 12 through July 15 at the James Bridges Theater, located on the campus of UCLA, To purchase tickets, call L.A. Theatre Works at 310-827-0889 or go to www.latw.org. “This is a comedy about the comedy business,” he says. “It’s a true story, but sometimes it almost feels like an episode of I Love Lucy itself.” In 1996, he left a successful career as partner in the international law firm O'Melveny & Myers in order to complete his late father's humorous memoir, “Laughs, Luck...and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time,” which was published by Syracuse University Press. That book, which went through eight printings, From 2000 to 2007, he produced the award-winning “I Love Lucy” DVD Series for CBS and Paramount.   

SURPRISE SPECIAL EPISODE! Playwright Gregg Oppenheimer and son of Jess Oppenheimer, creator of I Love Lucy, joins us to discuss his new play about getting the show on the air and his childhood at Desilu. I LOVE LUCY: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE SITCOM is playing in LA July 12-15. Use code LAUGH for $15 off any ticket here: https://bit.ly/2uqo6Ir

It seemed unlikely, I know, that there'd ever be another post here. I'm sure everyone thought the Hard-Boiled Poker Radio Show had gone the way of so many other poker podcasts over the last several years, never to be heard from again. But like a runner-runner straight unexpectedly coming to save your tourney life, the show goes on! Show notes for Episode 21: This episode highlights the great comic actress Lucille Ball, star of film, radio, and television. Also given some attention in this one, of course, is Desi Arnaz, Ball's husband of twenty years and I Love Lucy co-star. “Strip Polka” by the Andrews Sisters, music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer There's a burlesque theatre where the gang loves to go
To see Queenie the cutie of the burlesque show
And the thrill of the evening is when out Queenie skips
 And the band plays the polka while she strips.

 “Take it off, take it off,” cries a voice from the rear.
“Take it off, take it off.” Soon it's all you can hear.But she's always a lady even in pantomime
So she stops! And always just in time.

 She's as fresh and as wholesome as the flowers in May
And she hopes to retire to the farm someday.
But you can't buy a farm until you're up in the chips
 So the band plays the polka while she strips.
 “Take it off, take it off,” all the customers shout.
“Down in front, down in front,” while the band beats it out.
 But she's always a lady even in pantomime
So she stops! And always just in time.

 Queenie, queen of them all.
Queenie, someday you'll fall.
Someday church bells will chime
In strip polka time.

 Oh! She hates corny waltzes and she hates the gavotte
And there's one big advantage if the music's hot.
It's a fast moving exit just in case something rips
So the band plays the polka while she strips.

 Drop around, take it in, it's the best in the west.“Take it off, take it off, take it off, take it off” -- yell like the rest.
Take her out when it's over, she's a peach when she's dressed
But she stops! And always just in time.

 Queenie, queen of them all.
Queenie, someday you'll fall -- ouch!
 Someday the church bells, the ol' church bells will chime
In strip polka time. “Be a Pal,” My Favorite Husband, June 18, 1950 This show ran from 1948-1951 on the CBS Radio network, a comedy starring Ball and Richard Denning as Liz and George Cugat (later Cooper). The show provided inspiration for Ball's landmark TV series I Love Lucy (1951-1957). As I explain, this particular episode was a reworking of an earlier one on the radio show (assigned the title “Be Your Husband's Best Friend”) while also providing the basis for one of the first I Love Lucy episodes (see below). There were 124 episodes altogether, many of which are available over at the Internet Archive. Along with Ball and Denning, Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet appear as the Atterburys, with Ruth Perrott as Katy, the maid. Jess Oppenheimer produced and directed the episode, and he also co-wrote the script with Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. Marlin Skiles composed the music, with Wilbur Hatch conducting. “Be a Pal,” I Love Lucy, October 22, 1951 At the end I play a couple of audio excerpts from the second ever episode of I Love Lucy, one that borrowed the plot and many lines from the earlier radio show. Any feedback on the show is welcome, as are suggestions for further episodes. Here's hoping it doesn't take as long for me to get to Episode 22. Download.

Baby Snooks - FIRST BROADCAST: 29th February 1936 as part of The Ziegfield Follies of the Air LAST BROADCAST: 29th May 1951 CAST: Fanny Brice as Baby Snooks. Henley Stafford as Lancelot âDaddyâ Higgins, Baby Snooks father. Lalive Brownell as âMommyâ Higgins (later played by Lois Corbet and Arlene Harris).Leone Ledoux as Snookâs little brother Roberspierre. ANNOUNCERS: John Conte (late 30s and early 40s). Tobe Reed (1944-45), Harlow Willcox (mid to late 1940s), Dick Joy, Don Wilson and Ken Wilson. VOCALIST: Bob Graham MUSIC: Meredith Willson (37-44), Carmen Dragon. PRODUCER-DIRECTORS: Mann Holiner (early 1940s), Al Kaye (1944), Ted Bliss, Walter Bunker, Arthur Stander. WRITERS: Phil Rapp, Jess Oppenheimer, Everett Freeman, Bill Danch, Sid Dorfman, Arthur Stander, Robert Fisher. SOUND EFFECTS: Clark Casey, David Light. Baby Snooks became a character for Fanny Brice at some point in the early 30s, nobody seems to know exactly when. What is for sure is that by 1934 Fanny was appearing on-stage in her baby costume as part of the Follies show on Broadway. In 1936, at 45 years of age, she used this baby persona to great effect on the CBS show The Ziegfield Follies of the Air and a radio legend was born.

While producing films for Columbia Pictures, CBS offered Lucy a Radio show based upon the book, Mr. and Mrs. Cugat by Isabelle Scott Rorick. Lucy was interested, and she was soon teamed with Richard Denning in My Favorite Husband. This half-hour weekly show revolved around the travails of Liz and George Cugat, a very normal, middle-class couple from Minneapolis. Liz is a dizzy, scheming wife who gets into relatively minor but vexing scrapes that makes life challenging for her long-suffering husband, a banker played by Richard Denning. Gale Gordon was the bank president, the same role that was to be his on The Lucy Show. The characters of Liz and George Cugat soon had their names changed to Liz and George Cooper. Her writers for the show were Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr. and the producer-director was Jess Oppenheimer, a connection that would become particularly fruitful in the years to come.

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No one wants to be average. But everyone wants to be normal. What's up with that? You can't imitate your way to excellence. It can be achieved only by breaking away from the pack, abandoning the status quo. But breaking away from the pack is also the way to spectacular failure. Are you beginning to understand why there is so little excellence in the world? A weird person who succeeds is called eccentric. A weird person who fails is called a loser. Most people just walk the middle path and wonder what might have been. If there is, somewhere, a Book of Days, what will be written in it about you? Will the book say you played it safe, never took a chance and were buried in such-and-such a place? I think Tom Peters gave excellent advice to managers when he said, “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” The New York Times tells us, “She embarked on a show-business career at 15 by going to Manhattan and enrolling in John Murray Anderson's dramatic school. From the first, she was repeatedly told she had no talent and should return home. She tried and failed to get into four Broadway chorus lines, so she became a model for commercial photographers. She won national attention as the Chesterfield Cigarette Girl in 1933. This got her to Hollywood as a Goldwyn chorus girl. For the next two years she played unbilled, bit roles in two dozen movies. She then spent seven years at RKO, where she got leading roles in low-budget movies. But she was wrongly cast and mostly wasted in films.” In all, Lucille Ball appeared in 72 B-movies before she became too old to be credible as a female love-interest. Her lackluster career on the silver screen ended without fanfare in 1948. So at the age of 37, Lucy left the movies, swallowed her pride and became Liz Cooper on the live radio show, My Favorite Husband. Jess Oppenheimer, her director, tells the story. “I remember telling Lucy, 'Let go. Act it out. Take your time.' But she was simply afraid to try. So one day, at rehearsal, I handed Lucy a couple of Jack Benny tickets. She looked at me blankly. 'What are these for?' 'I want you to go to school,' I told her. It did the trick. When Lucy came into the studio for the next rehearsal, I could see she was excited. 'Oh my God, Jess,' she gushed, 'I didn't realize!' She just couldn't wait to get started trying out the new, emancipated attitude she had discovered. On that week's show Lucy really hammed it up, playing it much broader than she ever had before. She coupled this with her newfound freedom of movement, and there were times I thought we'd have to catch her with a butterfly net to get her back to the microphone. The audience roared their approval, and Lucy loved it. So did I.” Released from her fear, Lucy Ricardo had been born. In 1951, a middle-aged Lucy leaped out from our black-and-white television screens into every living room in America. “To say that Lucille Ball was a phenomenon is an understatement. Through sheer determination and hard work, this one woman fundamentally changed the broadcast industry forever.” – Susan Lacy, winner of 5 Emmys as executive producer of American Masters Most people, when they finally become successful, become conservative. Fearful of losing what they've gained, they abandon the behaviors that brought them success. But not Lucy. As the fearless owner of Desilu Studios, she took two enormous chances: Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. American television would never be the same. On April 27, 1989, the New York Times ran her obituary. Its last few sentences were these: Addressing a group of would-be actors, she said the best way to get along with tough directors was “don't die when they knock you down.” She said she was very shy at the start of her career, but overcame it when “it finally occurred to me that nobody cared a damn.” Associates called Miss Ball self-reliant,...