Lucy Calls the President (1977) starring Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Mary Jane Croft, Gale Gordon, Ed McMahon
Lucy Calls The President is a one hour special that was originally aired on November 21, 1977 on CBS. It starred Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Gale Gordon, Mary Jane Croft, Mary Wickes (all from The Lucy Show) along with Ed McMahon, Steve Allen, Lillian Carter (President Jimmy Carter’s mother) and others.
Lucille Ball plays the part of Lucy Whittaker from Indiana, who calls in to then-President Jimmy Carter’s weekly “speak to the President” service, so she can bring up a topic of local importance. Lucy is surprised to hear that President Carter will discuss her local issues with her in person, as he’ll soon be in her area. Later, the President’s plans change so that the President will actually be at Lucy’s house to have dinner with her! Of course, everyone who has ever known Lucy in her life invites themselves to this special dinner for President Carter.
With five members of The Lucy Show‘s cast re-united for this special, it was their last time together. Vivian Vance had already been fighting breast cancer for some time, undergoing chemotherapy, when she suffered a stroke just a few months before the special began filming. This stroke left Vivian Vance’s left side of her face partially paralyzed, but she still went on to film this special with Lucy; this was her last appearance with Lucy, as she passed away from cancer 18 months later. In July of 1977, just 4 months before filming, Lucy lost her beloved mother DeDe Ball. DeDe had never missed a show of Lucy’s as she was always in the audience for every episode of I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy and all her television specials. This was the first time Lucy would do a show without her mother in the audience.
MPI says they are including the following bonus materials along with this great special:
- Never before seen rehearsal footage of Lucy and the cast
- a featurette with guest star James E. Brodhead
- Lucy on the Tonight Show in 1969
- and more rare Lucy footage.
Product Description of Lucy Calls the President
I LOVE LUCY CO-STAR VIVIAN VANCE REUNITES WITH LUCY
Following the long-running success of her Here’s Lucy series, the inimitable Lucille Ball returned to television with a series of special programs, pairing her with other legendary performers and friends.
When Indiana housewife Lucy Whittaker (LUCILLE BALL) calls the White House to complain about a housing project, she soon discovers the President accepting an invitation to visit her home for dinner. Calamity and comedy follows as Lucy frantically prepares for the special event with the befuddled help of her family, friends and even Secret Service agents. Includes a surprise cameo appearance.