 | | | Creating | |  | | | |  Intro: TV's First Megahit |
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| | Introduction:
TV's First Megahit
I LOVE LUCY,which first appeared on TV screens some 50 years ago, is no less than an American institution -- the single most popular and influential TV phenomenon in the history of the medium. All 179 episodes still air regularly the world over. At any given moment, someone, somewhere is watching -- and laughing at -- a rerun of "I Love Lucy."
More than than just a showcase for the extraordinary comedic talents of Lucille Ball. "I Love Lucy" established the sitcom as TV's dominant genre, pioneering the production of TV shows on film in front of a live audience. In the process, it shifted the center of TV production from New York to Hollywood.
This online exhibit, created by Gregg Oppenheimer, will continue with new installments each week throughout the next several months, tracing the development of this classic series through rarely seen scripts, documents and images, with a behind-the-scenes narrative taken from Laughs, Luck...and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time, by the show's creator-producer-head writer, Jess Oppenheimer. |
 | Part One: Lucille Ball on the Radio:
My Favorite Husband |
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