1021

Happy Birthday!
Eric Wilton (1882)
Jonathan Harris (1914)


Also today marks the 56th anniversary of the show that directly followed "I Love Lucy."  Originally known as "The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show" it was later called "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse presents the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show" and then finally "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" in reruns.  Its first installment, "Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana", originally aired on November 6, 1957.  This episode was 75 minutes long and featured several guest stars.  Here is a look back at the cast.

Lucille Ball (1911-1989)
Desi Arnaz (1917-1986)
Vivian Vance (1909-1979)
William Frawley (1887-1966)

Special Guest Stars
Hedda Hopper (1885-1966) as herself
Rudy Vallee (1901-1986) as himself
Cesar Romero (1907-1994) as Carlos Garcia
Ann Sothern (1909-2001) as Susie MacNamara
Frank Nelson (1911-1986) as the Cruise Director

Sothern crossed over from her show "Private Secretary" where she portrayed Susie MacNamara from 1953 to 1957.  Twelve more installments of the "I Love Lucy" format would follow this episode under various titles only they ran for an hour instead of 75 minutes.

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