Laughs, luck-- and Lucy

the long version

The man Lucille Ball once called "the brains" of I Love Lucy gives us an inside view of television history as it was being made. Jess Oppenheimer's famous sitcom was the most popular and influential television phenomenon in the history of the medium. Forty-five years after its debut, it remains a favorite the world over. Oppenheimer's book, written with his son, Gregg, is not only a reliable record of how this groundbreaking comedy was conceived and executed but also an amusing insider's account of the broadcasting industry's development from the early days of radio to television's "golden age.". Reading much like an episode of Lucy itself, Oppenheimer's comic genius shines through page after page. Hollywood aficionados will delight in his entertaining stories of stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Edgar Bergen, Fred Astaire, and, of course, Lucille Ball. Lucy lovers will relish more than fifty rare photos, never-before-published scripts (including the only I Love Lucy script that Lucy or Desi ever refused to perform), and an audio compact disc full of Lucy's previously unreleased radio comedy performances.