The Desilu Playhouse Christmas Revue - 1959 - TV HISTORY

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The Desilu Playhouse Christmas Revue

Season 2, Episode 10

12/25/59 ~ CBS-TV

Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, Hedda Hopper, Danny Thomas, Ann Southern, Hugh OÍBrien, Carole Cook, Dick Kallman, Lassie.

This special is also known as "The Lost Lucy/Desi Christmas Special".

On Christmas Day, 1959, The Desilu Playhouse (1958-1960) presented a special Christmas broadcast starring the whole I Love Lucy gang, in addition to the Desilu Players and numerous stars of other popular Desilu productions.

The wrap-around plot has Hollywood gossip queen Hedda Hopper interviewing Lucy and Desi about the Desilu Players and the show they recently staged.

This leads to flashbacks of Lucy (who is directing the stage show) making chaos backstage between the musical numbers.

The Desilu Christmas special was produced and (essentially) directed by Lucille Ball herself.

This is the only Desilu production that features the I Love Lucy cast members playing themselves.

ItÍs interesting to note that this is one of the last shows Lucy and Desi did together, a Christmas special that has never been re-broadcast.

This program is significant because it's one of the last appearances of the four I Love Lucy cast members together, Lucy and Desi filed for divorce just a few months after this special was filmed.

They only did one more Lucy/Desi program together before ending The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Show and never again performing together on another TV show.

The Desilu Players was a pet project of Lucille Ball's, who hand-picked each of the versatile performers as her prot_g_s (they actually were appearing in a stage revue that she produced around the time of this broadcast).

The musical and comedy numbers from the live show were filmed almost exactly as originally staged, but only the musical numbers ended up in the Christmas special's final edit.

Commercials have been edited out.

Starring:

´ Jerry Antes

´ Desi Arnaz

´ Lucille Ball

´ Spring Byington

´ Rory Calhoun

´ Janice Carroll

´ Carole Cook

´ Georgine Darcy

´ William Demarest

´ William Frawley

´ Hedda Hopper

´ Dick Kallman

´ Lassie

´ George Murphy

´ Hugh OÍBrian

´ Robert Osborne (as Bob Osborne) - a young, pre-TCM Host, Robert Osborne

´ Roger Perry

´ Ann Sothern

´ Howard Storm

´ Mark Tobin

´ Vivian Vance

Year: 12.25.59

Run time: 54m

Country: USA

Language: English

Color/B&W: B&W