Top 20 Classic I Love Lucy Moments

Even the most loving of married couples require some alone time now and again. Lucy and Ethel decide to kick it in Palm Springs for this fourth season episode, away from Ricky and Fred. The impetus for this decision is typical for many long-time pairings: annoying personal habits. Lucy and Ethel's girls trip is soon interrupted by guest star Rock Hudson, however, and they soon realize that they miss the men in their lives. Although Lucy’s coffee-stirring and Ethel’s noisy eating are never canonically mentioned again, this humorous plot device (and Hudson’s star power) make “In Palm Springs” a memorable outing.

The inclusion of Rock Hudson as the special guest star in our last entry wasn’t just a fluke for the run of “I Love Lucy.” The beloved sitcom was actually no stranger to having high-profile Hollywood types making the rounds alongside Lucy, Ricky, and the gang. “The Tour” was no exception, this time guest-starring Richard Widmark. Lucy is totally starstruck while on a typical Hollywood tour of the stars’ homes. However, Lucy and Ethel accidentally wind up house-crashing into the garden of Widmark’s home… while Ricky just happens to be inside, of course. The physical comedy of the pair, trying to escape sight unseen, is predictably hilarious.

If there’s one thing we love… well, it’s Lucy. BUT, we also love Lucy’s schemes! The fourth season episode “Ricky Needs an Agent” features more cockamamie Lucy shenanigans, this time when Mrs. Ricardo dresses up like a big shot Hollywood agent, in order to hopefully get Ricky better work at MGM. The plan, predictably, goes pear-shaped, with Lucy’s efforts actually getting her husband released from his contract. Still, the couple's chemistry as Ricky is steamin’ mad about the whole debacle is comedy gold. The sight of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball hamming it up, breaking props all over the studio set is a sight to behold.

The plot device to our next entry is simple, and maybe even cliché at this point. However, it was pure magic back in 1952 when “The Handcuffs” first aired during the second season of “I Love Lucy.” Ricky and Lucy’s 24 hours of being accidentally handcuffed together is actually referenced in “Ricky Needs an Agent,” although Lucy mistakenly remembers it as being 48 hours. Still, it doesn’t really matter how long the pair were bound, the physical comedy of Arnaz and Ball trying to, somehow, enjoy a night’s sleep elicits some riotous laughs from the studio audience.

It didn’t take long for “I Love Lucy” to debut some sitcom moments that would go on to be considered iconic. “Be a Pal” was only the second episode of the debut season, but it featured an all-time classic moment, where Lucy does a spectacular dance while dressed up like Carmen Miranda. But, it doesn’t stop there. Lucy, in an attempt to win back affections she’s worried about losing from Ricky, transforms the entire living room into Little Havana. There’s singing, there’s dancing, there’s even what looks like a donkey or burro chillin’ in the corner of the room! This episode has it all.

The OG Superman, George Reeves, makes a special appearance during this thirteenth episode of “I Love Lucy’s’ final season. It’s a memorable one, too, and not just because “Lucy and Superman” features the Man of Steel. An attempt to book Reeves to appear at Little Ricky’s fifth birthday party falls through, so Lucy is forced to try and make things right by donning the cape and tights herself. Unfortunately, she gets stuck out on the ledge, while attempting to make it from one apartment to the other. It’s up to the REAL Superman to come in and save the day, and it’s so cool to see these two old-school Hollywood titans on the same screen.

The “battle of the sexes” plotline that runs through “Pioneer Women” is certainly funny, as The Ricardos and Mertzes attempt to “rough it,” as if they were living in the 1900s. However, this episode from the first season of “I Love Lucy” is probably better remembered for one supremely silly gag. It occurs when Lucy and Ethel are trying their best to bake some bread… only it doesn’t go exactly to plan. Quicker than you can say “too much yeast,” a comically oversized loaf of bread emerges from the oven, pinning Lucy in her own kitchen. The laughs are then doubled as Ethel leaves, only to return with yet another hilariously large bread-cutting device. Classic.

There is a lot happening within this fifth season episode of “I Love Lucy,” with hijinks galore, and a very special guest star. John Wayne appears at himself, at the center of a story that’s all about replacing the irreplaceable: a set of The Duke’s cement footprints from Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Lucy and Ethel steal (and break) the original set, while multiple attempts by Wayne to redo them are foiled by either Little Ricky, or Lucy and Ethel. Then, while at MGM trying to make things right, Lucy ends up a victim of mistaken identity, while alone with The Duke. Wayne begins to tell Lucy (who he thinks is his male masseur) a dirty story, only for the embarrassed redhead to make a quick exit.

Be careful what you wish for. This is, essentially, the core of what makes “Lucy Tells the Truth'' so funny. This third season episode essentially predates films like “Liar Liar,” with the catch being that Lucy has made a bet that she can’t be absolutely honest for a full 24 hours. The end results of this bet start off innocently enough, with Lucy spilling the tea about her friends’ ugly furniture and choices in headwear. However, pretty soon Lucy is digging the whole honesty thing so much that she’s firing off painful truths about the ones she loves. Then, the kicker: a panicked Lucy frightfully dodging what she thinks are real throwing knives, after lying in order to obtain a big Hollywood audition.

Hey, we get it: traveling can be tough! Lucy unfortunately finds this out firsthand after being duped into mistakenly exchanging her real American money for counterfeit French francs. She winds up in jail, and it’s up to Ricky to set her free! This is achieved via an absolutely hilarious bit where two Parisian police officers, one inebriated inmate, Ricky and Lucy utilize no less than FIVE languages to pass along the necessary information! It’s a segment that requires both tight writing and prepared performers, the kind of classic television humor that could’ve only been pulled off at this time by the “I Love Lucy” crew.

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!

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."