I Love Lucy Day celebrates the groundbreaking, and critically and commercially acclaimed sitcom, I Love Lucy, which premiered on this day in 1951, and ran until May of 1957. I Love Lucy starred Lucille Ball and her real life husband Desi Arnaz as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Ricky was a singer and bandleader, and Lucy was an aspiring television and film star. Lucy’s ambition for stardom, coupled with her naiveté, continually got Lucy and Ricky into trouble. The show allowed Ball to showcase her skill in physical comedy and clowning. Other main characters were Vivian Vance and William Frawley, who starred as Ethel and Fred Mertz, the landlords and friends of the Ricardos.
Shot in Hollywood, the show was innovative and groundbreaking in a few ways. It was the first sitcom to be shot in 35mm film in front of a live audience, meaning there were no canned laugh tracks, but real recorded laughs from the audience instead.