Babalu – The Lucy Room

Finger Cots Worn by Lucille Ball on I Love Lucy “The Audition” Episode

“The Audition” was filmed on October 12, 1951, a mere three days before the official television premiere of I Love Lucy. This was the sixth episode of the show where Lucy Ricardo replaces a clown named Buffo for an act at Ricky’s club. Lucy is referred to as “the professor” and is dressed in an oversized blue suit who plays the cello.

This act was initially conceived by the Arnazes along with Pepito & Joanne Perez as part of a vaudeville style act Lucy and Desi used, touring the country proving to CBS audiences across America would accept them. They also used the skit for the I Love Lucy pilot.

Part of Lucy’s costume were these cotton finger cots. Each used to cover the fingers of her left hand as she takes them off in dramatic fashion to the beat of the drum. The entire costume was originally on display at Universal Studios Hollywood ‘Lucy A Tribute’ exhibit for over 20 years. The rest of the outfit is now displayed alongside the prop cello in Lucy’s hometown of Jamestown, NY at the Lucy-Desi Museum.

February 6, 2025February 6, 2025 by The Lucy Room Categories: Babalu, CBS, Costume, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Ethel Mertz, I Love Lucy, Jamestown, Lucille Ball, Lucy Ricardo, Pepito the Spanish Clown, Prop, Ricky Ricardo, Shown Worn, Television, Vivian Vance, William FrawleyTags: CBS, Cello, Costume, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Ethel Mertz, Fred Mertz, Hollywood, I Love Lucy, Jamestown, Lucille Ball, Lucille Ball Worn, Lucy Ricardo, Pilot, Prop, Ricky Ricardo, Screen Used, Screen Worn, Show Worn, Universal Studios, Vaudeville, Vivian Vance, WIlliam Frawley Leave a comment

Desi Arnaz Indian Wells Hotel Liquor License Application

In 1957, Desi Arnaz opened a hotel outside of Palm Springs in Indian Wells, CA reported by The Desert Sun as “a new, luxurious, million-dollar hotel which nestles at the edge of the desert near the Santa Rosa mountains, bordering on the beautiful greens of the Indian Wells Golf Course.”

Presented here is Desi’s application for an alcoholic beverage license for the hotel. Filed on November 15, 1956 in front of Sergeant Forbes of the L.A.P.D., the two page document includes Arnaz’s personal information, signatures and full set of fringerprints.

The hotel still exists today under the name Indian Wells Resort Hotel and pays homage to its founder with many photos of Desi and Lucille Ball throughout the property.

July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 by The Lucy Room Categories: Autograph, Babalu, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Handwritten, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, Palm Springs, Personal, Ricky RicardoTags: Alcohol, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Fingerprints, Handwritten, Hotel, I Love Lucy, Indian Wells, License, Liquor, Lucille Ball, Palm Springs, Personal, Western Hills Hotel Leave a comment

Desi Arnaz Autographed Del Mar Race Track Program

Desi Arnaz loved horse racing and even had a ranch in Corona, California where racers were bred. In the 1950’s a favorite getaway of his was going down to Del Mar, just north of San Diego. There at the famous race track and thoroughbred club “where the turf meets the surf,” Mr. Aranz could be found each racing season. After he and Lucy divorced, Desi bought a home mere feet from the track, right on the ocean and lived there until his passing. This program from the 1977 season was signed by Desi on the cover. Many photos of Desi and family can be seen in and around the track to this day.

May 30, 2024May 30, 2024 by The Lucy Room Categories: Autograph, Babalu, Desi Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr, Desilu, Here's Lucy, I Love Lucy, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, TelevisionTags: 1977, Autograph, Del Mar, Desi Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr., Desilu, Horse Racing, Horses, I Love Lucy, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Racetrack, Signed, Television, Thoroughbred Leave a comment

Dolores “Lolita” Arnaz Portrait

Dolores (Lolita) Arnaz de Acha y de Socias was considered to be one of the most beautiful women in Cuba. For Lucy fans she was the mother of none other than, Desi Arnaz. Dolores was born in 1896 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and her father was a founding member of the Bacardi Rum Company in Cuba.

The Arnaz family lived a life of privilege until they lost everything in 1933 when the Cuban Revolution began. Desi helped his mother flee their home before it was destroyed, eventually coming to Miami. Desi continued to diligently care for his mother for the rest of his life and beyond until her passing on October 24, 1988.

This is an original, over-sized photo one owned by the family of Lolita where Desi handwrote on the back “1 Big one for me – D.A.”

February 22, 2024February 22, 2024 by The Lucy Room Categories: Autograph, Babalu, Desi Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr, Desilu, Dolores Arnaz, Handwritten, I Love Lucy, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Personal, Photo, Ricky RicardoTags: Bacardi Rum, Cuba, Desi Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr, Desilu, Dolores Arnaz, Handwritten, I Love Lucy, Lolita, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Mother, Personal, Photo, Santo Domingo Leave a comment

My Favorite Husband 1950 Audience Ticket

Lucille Ball ventured into a regular radio show in 1948 with CBS’s My Favorite Husband. Ball starred in the program as “Liz Cooper”, a slightly zany housewife, alongside her husband “George”, a business man, played by Richard Denning. The show was based on the book by Isabel Scott Rorick called Mr. & Mrs. Cugat.

It was very popular with high ratings and CBS decided to turn the radio show into a television series by 1950, keeping Lucy as the main character with Denning recurring his role as well. She refused wanting her real husband, Desi Arnaz to be her TV husband. Writers for the show were Bob Carroll, Jr. Madelyn Pugh Davis and Jess Oppenheimer who also all moved to the TV version. They were the brillant minds that turned Lucille into the LUCY we all know and love.

This is an original audience ticket for the May 10, 1950 recording, admitting entrance into the Columbia Square Playhouse on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

January 31, 2024August 29, 2024 by The Lucy Room Categories: Babalu, CBS, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Ethel Mertz, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, Lucy Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo, Television, Ticket, Vivian Vance, William FrawleyTags: CBS, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Ethel Mertz, Fred Mertz, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, Lucy Ricardo, My Favorite Husband, Radio, Ricky Ricardo, Ticket, Vivian Vance, WIlliam Frawley Leave a comment

Desi Arnaz’s 1959 US Passport

By the late 1950’s Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s marriage was sadly coming to an end. As a “last ditch effort” attempt to possibly rekindle what was left, they went on a trip to Europe in May of 1959. What should have been a getaway of just the two of them became a mini entourage that included their children, Lucie and Desi Jr., Lucy’s cousin Cleo and her husband Ken Morgan.

The group traveled to London, Paris and Rome from the end of May to early June. This was the passport Desi carried with him on that trip. Issued on April 21, 1959 this U.S. Passport includes a handsome photo of Mr. Arnaz, multiple signatures, the addresses in Beverly Hills and Del Mar, plus all the original visa stamps entering and exiting various countries.

In November 1959 Desi left the country alone, going back to Europe as he and Lucy’s marrage was all but over by that point. The visa stamps from this trip are also present. The estate created “Lucy & Desi: The Real Life Scrapbook of America’s Favorite TV Couple” in 2004 which includes copies of documents and photos throughout their lives. This passport was used in that book to illustrate that particular time in their relationship.

January 18, 2024August 29, 2024 by The Lucy Room Categories: Autograph, Babalu, Desi Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr, Desilu, Handwritten, I Love Lucy, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Passport, Personal, Ricky RicardoTags: Desi Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr., Desilu, Europe, France, Handwritten, I Love Lucy, Italy, London, Lucie Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Paris, Passport, Personal, Rome, United Kingdom, United States Leave a comment

Lucille Ball – Desi Arnaz Show Ticket to “Lucy Hunts Uranium”

For the third episode of the new Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show (aka The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour) the Ricardos and Mertzs are in Las Vegas for Ricky’s band performing at The Sands Casino. Fred MacMurray and June Haver are the special guest stars with MacMurray joining the two couples in hunting for uranium around the desert.

Shown here is an original audience ticket for the November 15, 1957 filming of the episode. Tickets for all the LBDAS are much larger than previous I Love Lucy tickets or any future ‘Lucy series’ for that matter with more of an invitation, square style.

This show had a couple of ‘firsts’ for the series. It was the first epsiode to go outside the studio for location filming as well as the debut of Lucille Ball’s and Lucy Ricardo’s new hairstyle, dubbed by Irma Kusley as the “artichoke cut” which Lucy had variations of for the rest of her life.

December 7, 2023August 29, 2024 by The Lucy Room Categories: Babalu, CBS, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Ethel Mertz, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, Lucy Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo, Television, The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, Ticket, Vivian Vance, William FrawleyTags: 1957, CBS, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Ethel Mertz, Fred MacMurray, Fred Mertz, I Love Lucy, Invitation, June Haver, Lucille Ball, Lucy Ricardo, Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, Ricky Ricardo, The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Show, Ticket, Vivian Vance, WIlliam Frawley Leave a comment

I Love Lucy Studio Audience Ticket to “The Audition” Episode

On October 12, 1951, three days before the official television premiere of I Love Lucy, an audience packed the Desilu Playhouse to watch the filming of an episode called “The Audition.” This was the sixth I Love Lucy show of season one where Lucy Ricardo replaces a clown named Buffo for an act at Ricky’s club. Lucy is referred to as “the professor” and is dressed in an oversized blue suit who plays the cello. Shown here is an original ticket to that show. Tickets were complementary and given out in excess to fill the roughly 300 member audience each week. Accounting for all the episodes of I Love Lucy and number of people in each audience, over 50,000 tickets would have been made during the series run. However so few still exist today making them a rarity and highly collectible among fans.

April 14, 2023August 29, 2024 by The Lucy Room Categories: Babalu, CBS, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Ethel Mertz, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, Lucy Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo, Television, Ticket, Vivian Vance, William FrawleyTags: CBS, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Ethel Mertz, Fred Mertz, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, Lucy Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo, Ticket, Vivian Vance, WIlliam Frawley Leave a comment

1950’s Desi Arnaz Toy Conga Drum

In the 1950’s fans couldn’t get enough of I Love Lucy. Promotional products, clothing and furniture endorsements by Lucy and Desi were everywhere, especially after the birth of Little Ricky on the show. This also included toys for the baby boomer generation such as dolls and accessories. Considered one of the rarest ‘Lucy’ collectibles, this toy conga drum was inspired by Desi’s talent and love of the instrument. Kids could belt out their own version of Babalu just like Desi Arnaz or Ricky Ricardo.

Made of a tough cardboard-like material and labeled “Desi’s Conga Drum” the body features a sketched image of Desi playing a conga just like it. It measures a little under 19 inches tall and the top “skin” is made of paper with a circumference of 11 inches. Both the top and bottom have a black metal band and the back seam which is stapled together, also has an attached green plastic shoulder strap.

It is unknown how many of these drums were actually produced by A & A American Metal Toy Company of Brooklyn, NY but very seldom have they surfaced. With nearly all of it made of some form of paper, it’s not hard to see why hardly any still exist. Most probably tore or fell apart after a few beatings and they would not hold up too well when exposed to other elements like water. This is also one of the few products created with Desi in mind, making it extra special.

February 9, 2023August 29, 2024 by The Lucy Room Categories: Babalu, Conga Drum, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, Ricky Ricardo, Television, ToyTags: 1950's, Conga Drum, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball, Ricky Ricardo, Toy Leave a comment