August 6th marks Lucille Ball’s 106th birthday and getTV is celebrating. Recently, the network announced they are airing a marathon of TV shows featuring Ball in honor of the I Love Lucy star’s birthday.
The special event will include episodes of The Merv Griffin Show and Van Dyke and Company that feature Lucille Ball, her family, and her friends. The marathon kicks off on getTV on August 6th at 10 p.m. ET.
Read more info and watch a few clips below:
Culver City, CA – July 28 2017 – This August 6 will mark the 106 th anniversary of the birth of TV’s all-time “queen of comedy,” Lucille Ball, and getTV is celebrating with three back to back one hour series episodes featuring guest appearances by Lucy.
At 10 PM ET, get TV will air a 1973 episode of “THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW,” featuring Lucy and her “Here’s Lucy” co-stars Gale Gordon, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., along with Lucy’s frequent film co-star, legendary comedian Bob Hope and Lucy’s husband, Gary Morton. “Here’s Lucy,” which originally aired from 1968 to 1974, was Ball’s fourth TV series, following “I Love Lucy,” “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” and “The Lucy Show,” which co-starred Gordon. Ball and Hope co-starred together in three movie comedies, “Fancy Pants, “The Facts of Life” and “Critics’ Choice.” Following her first marriage to Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, the father of Lucie and Desi Jr., Ball was married to Morton from 1961 until her death in 1989.
At 11 PM ET, a 1980 episode of “THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW” will follow, with Merv welcoming Lucy and fellow guests Natalie Wood, James Brolin and Michele Lee. Wood, a three-time Oscar nominee, on the show to promote her film “The Last Married Couple in America,” died tragically just 21 months later at age 43. Brolin, an Emmy winner for “Marcus Welby, MD,” went on to star on TV’s “Hotel” for five seasons, before marrying Barbra Streisand in 1998. Lee, before Broadway success, movie stardom and 14 seasons in the cul-de- sac of “Knots Landing,” worked for Lucille Ball’s family as a young adult.
At 12 midnight, Lucy is versatile funnyman Dick Van Dyke’s guest in an episode of the 1976 summer replacement series, “VAN DYKE AND COMPANY.” This was the first time the two legendary physical comedians appeared together, even though Lucy’s former production company, Desilu, produced Dick Van Dyke’s first sitcom, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961- 1966). After that hugely successful show, Van Dyke starred in another sitcom, “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” (1971-1974) and then went the comedy-variety route with “Van Dyke and Company.” Regulars on the series included another comedy giant, Andy Kaufman, best known for his multiple appearances on “Saturday Night Live” from 1975 to 1982 and for portraying Latka on the long-running comedy series “Taxi.”
What do you think? Are you a fan of Lucille Ball? Will you watch getTV’s birthday celebration?
