Ethel's Middle Name
Ethel's Middle Name
#0Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 8:30pm
I know three of Ethel (Mertz's) middle names.
Can you name them? Do you know of more than three?
The Grovers Corners Yenta
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/3/04
#1re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 8:58pmMae was one of them, I think
#2re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 8:59pmYes, Ethel Mae Potter (We never forgot her.)
The Grovers Corners Yenta
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/3/04
#3re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 9:00pmOk Glebb,do I win anything?
#4re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 9:02pmA wink and a nod.
The Grovers Corners Yenta
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/3/04
#5re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 9:05pmGlebb.not good enough. My doctor says I need a ticket to a Broadway show or I wont pull through. Dinner would be nice too
#6re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 9:08pm
I guess you need an eye exam too! The fine print said "A wink and a nod to all contest winners."
LOL!
Cheers Yenta!
#7re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 9:11pm
Ethel Agnes Zimmerman.
Oh.
That's the OTHER Ethel. The LOUD one.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#8re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 11:43pmRoberta was one of them.
#9re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/23/04 at 11:45pm
Yes Gothampc!
One more left that I know of. :)
#11re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 7:45amDing Ding Ding Ding Ding!!!!!
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#12re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 7:47amJust out of curiosity, was this a running gag on the show?
#13re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 7:57amI've always wondered if they simply forgot, had a gag, or just said what felt good in the moment.
#15re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 8:37amFred once scolded Ethel Louise, Lucy said: "Come Ethel Roberta," and we all know about the newspaper in "Ethel's Hometown." The headline read: "Ethel Mae Potter, we never forgot her."
#16re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 9:12amGlebb, have you read the biography of Vivan Vance? it's a great book!
#17re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 9:14amI'm reading the new Jerome Robbins bio (thanks to PalJoey,) but I will check out Ms. Vance. Thanks joeyjoe! :)
#18re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 9:14am
There were a number of mistakes and inconsistencies in the Lucy scripts. Ethel had the numerous middle names as a result. Lucy and Ricky had been married for 20 years, 25 years, 15 years. There were a lot of inconsistencies in the stories of how Lucy and Ricky met and how the Ricardo's met the Mertz'. I guess they didn't pay as much attention back then to the histories of their characters and didn't bother editing out mistakes. There is one episode where Ethel clearly calls Ricky, Desi and it was left in the show.
Has anyone ever noticed the huge inconsistencies in The Odd Couple? There are three or four episodes that show how Oscar and Felix met and each contradicts another. Ther are also a few episodes that go back to an eralier time to show when Oscar and felix were still married to tehir wives and how their divorces occured. Each epsiode has different version and different time lines, none of which match the opening sequence of the show.
#19re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 9:54amGlebb, you're welcome... redhot and i had seen the Vance bio when we were on vacation in florida, and a month later, he bought me a copy for my birthday...
#20re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 9:56amSweet! Hey, I grew up on Coconut Grove. Know that area?
#21re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 10:22am
JoeyJoe--I LOVED that Vivian Vance book.
I still get goosebumps thinking of what Cole Porter's Let's Face It must have been like: Danny Kaye, a beautiful and sexy (!) Vivian Vance, Eve Arden, Nanette Fabray (that's how she spelled it then!), Billy Daniels...
#22re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 10:23amno, i'm from NY via san francisco... redhot grew up in Fla, though...
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#23re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 1:50pm
Roberta was Vance's real middle name.
There's also a great blooper when the Ricardos decide to remodel the Mertz apartment. Ricky goofs his lines but Lucy covers brilliantly.
#24re: Ethel's Middle Name
Posted: 9/24/04 at 8:23pm
Even though there's a live audience there must also be some canned reactions.
There is a very distinctive "Uh Oh!" followed by laughter that sounds exactly the same on several episodes.
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