Did you know that the show was almost known as “I Love Lopez” because originally the Ricardos were named Lucy and Larry Lopez?
The famous on-air bickering relationship of Fred and Ethel didn't require much acting; in real life Vivian Vance and William Frawley didn't care for each other. Gale Gordon, Desi's first choice to play Fred Mertz, was unavailable for the series, so William Frawley got the part instead. TV Executives told Desi that William Frawley would be a poor choice for Fred Mertz because he was a womanizer, a gambler, and a drunk. Arnaz replied, "He's perfect!" When Lucille Ball became pregnant, Desi Arnaz invented the “rerun” by re-airing some episodes from the first season to give Lucy some rest. I Love Lucy was one of the first TV shows to be filmed in Hollywood. Up until this time, most shows were done in New York. Space was so limited on the original sound stage that the Ricardo's bedroom and the Mertz's living room were shot on the same set with different furniture. The actual address of the The Ricardos' home was 623 E. 68th Street. However, E. 68th Street in Manhattan which puts the Ricardos' building in the middle of the East River. When Lucille Ball found out she was pregnant, she filmed three "flashback" episodes that were aired while she was recovering after giving birth to her son Desi Arnaz Jr. I Love Lucy was partially based on "My Favorite Husband", a popular radio comedy series Lucille Ball had starred in for several years earlier. When CBS brought the show to television, Lucy cast her real life husband, Desi Arnaz. Time warped for I Love Lucy fans when in March of 1977 a Disco version of the I Love Lucy theme became a hit single. The series writers took events from the actors' real lives for the character back stories. For example Lucy Ricardo, like Lucile Ball was born in Jamestown, New York and attended Celeron High School. Ricky and Lucy, like Desi and Lucy, eloped to Connecticut to get married. The series attracted some major Hollywood names as guest stars like John Wayne, Bob Hope, Van Johnson, Orson Welles, Rock Hudson, Charles Boyer and William Holden.