One of the Most Iconic ‘I Love Lucy’ Scenes Was Unscripted
The classic TV series I Love Lucy aired 180 episodes. The series premiered in 1951 and aired its final episode in 1957. Despite ending more than 60 years ago, I Love Lucy remains a beloved show, amassing new fans even today. While most episodes are considered classic and iconic, a few scenes are more treasured than all the others. Not all of them were scripted. In fact, the show’s iconic grape stomping scene was completely unscripted, and the fight was the real deal.
The famed grape stomping scene in ‘I Love Lucy’ was unscripted
Fans of the classic sitcom often cite the chocolate factory scene, with Lucy and Ethel shoveling chocolates into their mouths and blouses, as comedy gold. Some viewers insist Lucy’s drunken “Vitameatavegamin” commercial is the most iconic scene of the series, while others point to Lucy’s grape stomping moment as the show’s very best. All three scenes are wonderfully entertaining, but a producer once revealed that Lucy’s grape stomping scene was entirely unscripted. We think that makes it a bit more special.
The famed scene of Lucille Ball stomping grapes with Teresa Tirelli wasn’t really planned in advance. In the 1999 book Laughs, Luck…and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time, Jess Oppenheimer revealed that the scene originally called for Lucy to climb into the vat with the worker and have a misunderstanding. The two actors had a real misunderstanding, leading to a far more in-depth brawl than anyone intended. Oppenheimer was a producer on I Love Lucy.
The fight only took a dark turn because of a language barrier and a misconstrued mistake on Ball’s part. The scene that made it onto the show isn’t all there was, either. The studio audience caught a much more in-depth fight scene. Ball revealed that more than half of the scene ended up on the cutting room floor.
Lucille Ball’s favorite episode was the one that she feared would kill her
The famed I Love Lucy episode included an entirely unscripted scene. Still, it is a fan favorite. It also happened to be the star’s favorite, too. In 1974 Ball sat down for an interview on The Dick Cavett Show. During the interview, she revealed that the “Grapes” episode was her favorite, despite its unscripted and rather raucous nature. She explained that while the episode, officially titled “Lucy’s Italian Movie,” was her favorite, it was also the episode where she feared she’d die.
In the interview, Ball recalled that the grape stomping scene devolved into a true brawl, where she feared she’d be drowned in the vat. The production team had no idea things had gone awry until Ball was able to break free and call over the director. In the end, Ball was mostly fine with what happened since it led to one of the show’s most iconic scenes.
