MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Carolyn Appleby Marathon

Carolyn Appleby Marathon

posted 7 months ago by Garyandfilm (513)
22 replies | jump to latest

Carolyn only appears in nine episodes of ILL, and while she only has a bit part in the openings of "Lucy is Matchmaker" and "The Camping Trip", her presence is still so strongly felt. All the others in which she has a featured role, are stand-out episodes.

Carolyn was such a perfect frenemy, a perfect foil for Lucy to have a real bitch fest.

Carolyn seemed to get everything she wanted out of Charlie - a baby, a trip to Hawaii...even a nice nose job!

Looking forward to starting this weeklong marathon tomorrow night with "The Club Election." Who CARES if Carolyn sometimes preferred her middle name Lillian?

[–] AndrewHNPX2 (119) 7 months ago

She was a terrific and fun character and I wish we had seen more of her. I was happy to see her in some of the Hollywood episodes, but did you notice her personality was totally different? Her bitchiness was toned down a bit and she didn't seem to have a rivalry with Lucy anymore, of course it was back though by the Superman episode.

[–] Corryveckan45 (132) 7 months ago

I thought they changed her name from "Lillian" in the early episodes to "Carolyn" in the later ones pretty quickly, but I noticed in the Hollywood episode "Lucy Gets into Pictures," that Ricky is mad at Lucy for sending a postcard to "Lillian" telling her that she (Lucy) is appearing in a movie.

I also noticed that in "Baby Pictures" Carolyn spoke with a bit of an accent that she didn't have in other episodes.

I guess she didn't have a rivalry with Lucy in some of the episodes because she and Lucy weren't in competition.

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

Doris Singleton underwent an obvious nose job between seasons three and four. Although I thought Singleton was always attractive, she was much, much lovelier by the time of the Hollywood shows. She also lightened her hair. As it does with some people, the surgery changed the tone of her voice (one of the reasons, btw, that Streisand never had her nose fixed).

Carolyn bought into Lucy's b.s. about her rubbing elbows with the stars, so she suddenly got "nice."

I'm sure when Carolyn returned to New York, she made sure SHE was the center of the Hollywood stories.

[–] [email protected] (5504) 7 months ago

Carolyn was a trip. She really knew just how to get Lucy's goat. They always seemed like "sort of" friends to me. They socialized a lot.
In the episode when they complained about Sylvia Collins, Carolyn said that, "She's the biggest female wolf in our crowd." And she said it while playing bridge in Lucy's living room.

Lucy's friendship with Carolyn was not like the one she shared with Ethel. There was real love and caring between them ( despite some of their sillier fights).

Carolyn's presence was sometimes felt in episodes she didn't appear in like the salad dressing episode. Lucy was going to give her a cut of the profits if Carolyn convinced Charlie to give them an advertising spot on his station.

Lucy: She is the greediest, penny pinchingest...Hello Carolyn darling.

Their friendship wasn't too deep!

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

There was a REAL friendship and love between Lucy and Ethel. There was no real feeling or friendship between Lucy and Carolyn.

[–] [email protected] (5504) 7 months ago

Oh yes, Lucy and Ethel were real friends. I sometimes wonder how Lucy and Carolyn got together at first. Do you think Carolyn joined The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League and that's how they met?

Or were Ricky and Charlie acquainted since they both had show business ties? Sometimes spouses are dragged into a friendship. I mean, two guys are friends and their wives are forced to socialize even if they don't like each other (or vice versa).

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

I always thought that since Little Ricky and Little Stevie were born days apart, Lucy and Carolyn met while they were pregnant. The guys friendship seems to have fallen into place via their wives.

[–] AndrewHNPX2 (119) 7 months ago

Maybe, but wasn't Stevie born in California?

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

Doesn't mean that Carolyn and Charlie lived there...she could've gone into labor while vacationing.

The Applebys seemed very East Coast to me.

[–] AndrewHNPX2 (119) 7 months ago

I live on the East Coast too, I wonder if people think that about me.

[–] [email protected] (5504) 7 months ago

Who goes on vacation when they are nine months pregnant? lol. However your original idea makes sense. Perhaps Lucy and Carolyn met in the obstetrician's waiting room!

[–] Corryveckan45 (132) 7 months ago

Hi Gary,

I can understand Singleton's nose surgery changing the tone of her voice, but in "Baby Pictures" I thought she sounded like she had a definite accent, as when she refers to Little Ricky as being "funny lookin' ".

I assume that in the Van Johnson episode, when Lucy is surprised (and distressed!) to find that Carolyn has remained behind to attend Lucy's "Hollywood Party," that Lucy told her the party was postponed, or some such excuse.

I think you're right that Carolyn probably made the prominent participant in the Hollywood stories. She probably boasted about Harpo Marx chasing her around the room and carrying her off for months!

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

When you called out her "accent", I thought the opposite: that she sounds more East Coast pre-Hollywood. She seems more California laid back in L.A.

[–] Corryveckan45 (132) 7 months ago

Very possible. I hadn't considered that.

I'm still surprised at Carolyn's "accent" when she insults Little Ricky. It sounds almost like a "twang" to me.

On a different question related to that episode, I've never liked the ending. While Ricky had every right to be upset with Lucy for getting him fired from the variety special, I'm always a little annoyed that Ricky sacrifices defending his son from Carolyn's obnoxious behavior (carrying Little Ricky under one arm, calling him fat, a glutton", etc.) for the sake of his career.

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

Lucy was at fault. She deliberately stirred the pot and went over to Carolyn's to cause trouble, ignoring how this could jeopardize Ricky's TV appearance.

"Funny lookin'": Lots of people apply a twang to a word when they're being passive-aggressive. This doesn't mean they're from Arkansas.

[–] AndrewHNPX2 (119) 7 months ago

I never liked the ending either, but I had no problem with the way Ricky reacted. Like Gary said, Lucy was basically asking for trouble. I think if anything, she was the one who wasn't good to Little Ricky in this case, basically using him as a pawn in their silly feud.

As for the ending, it seemed like a silly and poorly thought out thing on Charlie's part. People would have likely just walked away from it perplexed wondering who that kid was and why he was there.

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

Yes, the ending wasn't particularly well written, although Ricky was right - Lucy should've never gone over there.

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

Oops!! Turns out Carolyn was in TEN episodes, not nine, as I originally posted.

They are:
The Club Election
Lucy is Matchmaker
The Camping Trip
Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress
Baby Pictures
Lucy Tells the Truth
Lucy's Club Dance
The Dancing Star
Harpo Marx
Lucy and Superman

I forgot about Carolyn's appearance in Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress.

[–] Corryveckan45 (132) 7 months ago

Of course Lucy was wrong to go to Carolyn's just to show her up with Little Ricky looking his best. As anyone knows, I sometimes have a problem with how selfish and unthinking Lucy can be.

But having Lucy show off "Stevie Appleby" as the most beautiful child she'd ever seen, was a real dis to Little Ricky.

I'm sure Lucy's "frienemy" club members didn't let this one pass.

[–] Garyandfilm (513) 7 months ago

We don't know HOW this came to pass, but I've always envisioned Lucy coming up with this dumb idea and Carolyn, so overtly aware of how Lucy would be eating crow, relished it. I envision Charlie checking back with Ricky and saying, "Okay, you can do the show, Rick, but Lucy better look sincere!!"

I think it's cool that the writers left so much to viewers' imaginations.

[–] AndrewHNPX2 (119) 7 months ago

[deleted]

[–] Corryveckan45 (132) 7 months ago

It probably was a good idea of the writers to leave so much to viewers' imaginations. Based on the evidence, though, I can't imagine Charlie or Carolyn ever letting it go.

The Applebys were always bragging and boasting about Stevie, even before the gathering that started the whole mess. As Ethel says, "Somebody's got to take them down a peg. To hear them talk, you'd think they'd invented babies!" I can't imagine either Charlie, and certainly not Carolyn, ever letting Lucy and Ricky forget that they publicly acknowledged that Stevie was a better looking more charming and charismatic child than Little Ricky.