classic sitcoms Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

Here’s Lucy

Here’s Lucy kept Lucille Ball on Monday night TV with the same kind of physical comedy, celebrity guest stars, and family-style chaos that made her a television legend. This time, Lucy Carter was a widow working for her brother-in-law Harry, played by Gale Gordon, while her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. played her kids.

The show had that familiar Lucy formula: a simple situation gets out of control, Lucy gets into trouble, Harry gets frustrated, and somehow the whole thing turns into comedy. It also became known for big guest stars, including classic Hollywood and TV names, which made each episode feel like a little variety-show surprise.

For fans, Here’s Lucy was not just another sitcom. It was Lucille Ball proving she could still carry a hit show after I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show, while bringing her own family into the act.

What Would the Clampetts Be Selling Today?

I remember watching this commercial as a kid, surprised that Jed smoked. I think we all knew Granny smoked, along with her moonshine.

What would Granny, Jed, Jethro, Ellie May, and Miss Jane be promoting today?

The Patty Duke Show

The Patty Duke Show is another one of those shows that reminds us not to believe everything we see on TV. I remember not believing my mom when she told me Patty Duke played both roles, Patty Lane and her “identical cousin” Cathy Lane. Maybe I couldn’t read the credits yet, but to a kid, it sure looked like two different girls.

The show ran on ABC from 1963 to 1966 and starred Patty Duke as both cousins. Patty Lane was the fun, typical American teenager from Brooklyn Heights, while Cathy Lane was the more refined, well-traveled cousin from Scotland. The whole joke of the show was that they looked exactly alike but acted completely different.

What made it even more fun was how they pulled off those split-screen and double-exposure tricks back then. Years later, when I became a video producer, I had a whole new appreciation for it. Anytime I could recreate one of those effects myself, I was pretty proud of it. Back then, it looked like TV magic, and in a lot of ways, it really was.