Top 10 Classic I Love Lucy Moments

Sure, the idea of shared parenting might have been a subject best mined for laughs back in 1954, but it's the heart and humor of "Ricky Minds The Baby" which makes it such a warm moment. Here, Lucy takes up Ricky on his offer to take care of their child, Little Ricky, for a week, while his club is closed. The key scene here is when Little Ricky is fighting being put down for the night, so his dad decides to tell him a bedtime story. Hearing Ricky tell the tale of "Little Red Riding Hood" in Spanish may not seem like much, but the delivery of Desi Arnaz somehow makes it all work as something both sweet AND funny.

Ricky's Latin temper and machismo was always used to comedic effect during the run of "I Love Lucy," and this idea was put to excellent effect in the episode "Ricky Thinks He's Going Bald" from 1952. Paranoid about what he thinks is hair loss, and terrified about the repercussions it might have on his nightclub act, Ricky submits to all sorts of wacky cure-alls from Lucy. The combination of Ricky's increased panic and the always amazing gifts of physical comedy Lucille Ball brought to the screen make this episode a definite winner.

Ok, in our next entry, the main plot is sort of secondary to the execution. Basically, Lucy wants to be in Ricky's show (as usual), and he agrees, on the condition that she loses twelve pounds in four days. Body image commentary aside, the kicker here is when Lucy surprises Ricky at the club during his "Cuban Pete" routine. She makes a grand entrance, all dolled up as "Sally Sweet," and the pair perform an amazing song-and-dance number together. It's the sort of classy spectacle that could've only come from these iconic Old Hollywood performers, and it was even parodied in 1994 by Jim Carrey in "The Mask."

In the sixth season episode "Lucy Does The Tango," The Ricardos are running a chicken farm with their friends and neighbors The Mertzes. Unfortunately, their hens don't seem to be laying any eggs, so Lucy and Ethel hatch a scheme to sneak some purchased eggs into the henhouse, so their husbands won't back out on the farm. Here's where it gets good: Ricky decides (of course) to stop in unannounced, in order to practice a tango number he's including in his show. He dances with Lucy, who naturally has a shirt filled to bursting with fresh eggs. The audience laughter at the end of this one must be heard to be believed.

Art imitates life in our next entry, as the real life pregnancy of Lucille Ball was written into her hit show, with predictably hilarious results. Lucy Ricardo’s pregnancy was announced - in “appropriate” language - in the second season episode, "Lucy Is Enceinte." Although Little Ricky was portrayed by different actors than the real-life Desi Arnaz, Jr., , the air date of the character's birth on "Lucy Goes To The Hospital" was actually the same as Ball's real life delivery. The chaos which ensues as Lucy plainly announces "this is it" may seem predictable today, but it's important to realize how incredible the timing is of all the pratfalls and physical comedy going on in this scene.

Hey, we all sometimes get star struck! This is what happens to Lucy during a trip to Hollywood, as she's spending time at the Brown Derby restaurant while Ricky is at a meeting with MGM Studios. It's here where she runs into "Stalag 17" and future "Wild Bunch" actor William Holden, and she simply can't keep her eyes off him. He decides to return the favor, embarrassing Lucy to the point where she accidentally dumps a pie on him, in a rush to escape. Later, Holden is invited back to Ricky's suite, where Lucy tries to disguise herself with a fake nose and glasses. The jig is finally up, though, when her schnozz goes up in flames after Holden tries to light a cigarette.

This next entry is a virtual gold mine for old school Hollywood fans, and it presents one of the immortal Marx Brothers, Harpo, as the episode's guest star. Lucy and Harpo join forces to do the latter's famous "mirror routine," with Ball dressed up as the spitting image of the famous comedian. Watching the pair work off each other honestly feels just as magical now as it likely did back in 1955. The only difference is now we have the passing of time to truly appreciate how much hard work it took to get this amazing moment in the can.

We're getting to the nitty gritty here: the "I Love Lucy" moments that even the casual fan is likely to recognize. "Lucy's Italian Movie" is just one of those episodes that everyone loves to revisit. There's good reason for that, too, as it's just another example of Lucille Ball's stellar knack for physical comedy. The plot is typically straightforward, as Lucy is asked to audition for an Italian film production titled "Bitter Grapes." She decides to do some research for the role, mistakenly assuming that the film is about wine. The sight of Lucy fighting another woman as the pair are stomping out grapes to make wine the old fashioned way never fails to get tons of laughs.

This battle of the sexes managed to create not one, but two of the series' most memorable moments, thanks to the old mantra of "anything you can do, I can do better." The Ricardos and The Mertzes decide to switch places, with the girls heading off to work, while the guys stay home with the cooking and cleaning. The end results went on to become comedy gold, as not only do Ricky and Fred nearly destroy the kitchen with their attempts at cooking, but Lucy and Ethel one up them with shenanigans of their own. We're talking about the iconic conveyor belt sequence, where the ladies can't keep up with all of the chocolates they're supposed to wrap. Watch it right now. You'll thank us!


Before we name our number one pick, here are a few hilarious honorable mentions!

Lucy's a Liar
"Lucy Tells the Truth" (1953)

Mama Yo Quiero
"Be a Pal" (1951)

Lost in Translation
"Paris at Last" (1956)

Meeting the Man of Steel
"Lucy and Superman" (1957)

Lucy and the Duke
"Lucy and John Wayne" (1955)

Lucy finally gets onto Ricky's show! Well...sort of. She gets to be a live pitch girl for what she believes is an all natural health drink. What she doesn't realize is that it's almost a quarter percent alcohol. This, combined with the multiple takes Lucy has to do where she tries the stuff means that, by the end of the episode...well, she's just completely smashed. Hearing her get progressively more loose with each take is funny enough, but Ball's facial expressions and delivery just hammers this clip home as the definitive, hilarious moment from "I Love Lucy."