I Love Lucy
date: label: Date made
content: 1951
name: label: referenced
content: Arnaz, Desi
label: referenced
content: Ball, Lucille
label: maker
content: Columbia Broadcasting System
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Film recording of the pilot episode for the television series I Love Lucy, made for CBS in 1951. The brown metal reel of 16mm film is enclosed in a brown film can. The label reads, "Ball & Arnaz / Pepito / Audition / 2nd Edition with / Laught added / Serial number 51030201".
label: Description (Brief)
content: This pilot episode was directed by Ralph Levy and filmed before a live audience at CBS Columbia Square in Hollywood, California on March 2, 1951. The pilot episode was not made for broadcast and did not air as part of the show's original run, although it did convince CBS to greenlight the series for production. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz gave this reel of film to Pepito Perez as a personal gift and keepsake. Perez was an actor and comedian best known for his character "Pepito the Spanish Clown," an act he performed in this 1951 pilot episode. The pilot film was thought lost until Perez' widow Joanne discovered this copy, which CBS then restored and aired in a special broadcast March 30, 1990.
topic: label: subject association
content: Television
label: associated subject
content: Comedy
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Margaret E. Perez
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1990.0694.01
label: catalog number
content: 1990.0694.01
label: accession number
content: 1990.0694
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Film
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: film (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 in x 12 1/2 in; 2.54 cm x 31.75 cm