Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball avoided using ethnic jokes, as well as humour based on physical handicaps or mental disabilities during the run of “I Love Lucy” due to a belief in “basic good taste”.
Lucy was also the only cast member allowed to make fun of Desi’s accent. She thought if anyone else did it, it would be insensitive and demeaning. Whereas playing (and being) his wife, she alone could get away with it for humors sake. Desi also had to wear lifts in his shoes because Lucy in heels towered over him. More as requested: Vivian Vance and William Frawley, aka the Mertz’s, absolutely hated each other. Mostly because Frawley was a raging alcoholic and old enough to be Vance’s dad. She did not like him one bit and they fought constantly on set. Vance was also under contract to weigh a minimum of 10 lbs (about 4.8 Kg) than Lucy so she would look older and frumpy, but mostly because she was an incredibly beautiful woman and lucy didn’t want to take the chance of her stealing the show. Lucy found out she was pregnant with her first child Lucille Arnaz on a radio broadcast while on vacation with Desi. She got very sick, went to the Dr. and had lab work done and told to wait a few days for results (this was in early 1950). Someone told the press who then put it on every major radio station and that’s how she got the news. Desi Arnaz’s mother was the Daughter of Ron Bacardi, of the famous Rum company.
