Long before Henry was posing in his union suit for his girl friend, some 66 years before, Fred Mertz was talked into posing in his union suit for Lucille Ball in an episode of "I Love Lucy,' entitled, "Lucy Becomes a Sculptrus." In Season Two, Episode 15, dated January 12, 1953, produced by Desilu Productions, Lucy decided she wanted to sculpt the human body. After her husband, Ricky, and best friend, Ethel, turned her down, she convinced Ethel's husband, Fred (William Frawley), to pose for her. He padded down from his New York apartment in his long underwear and socks. He climbed up on a table and posed as a discus thrower. Lucy was thrilled at the prospect of becoming a famous artist. I remember as a boy watching this show in syndication with my parents who loved Lucy. Here's Lucy and Fred:
Ricky returns home from a day rehearsing at his club, sees Lucy scuplting Fred in his union suit, and bursts out laughing!
Fred steps down to leave but has been standing so long posing, he can not straigten up. Ricky helps him out the door so he can return to his apartment still in his union suit!
Lucy's sculpture of an Olympian discus thrower....
This sculpture of Fred looks similar to Henry's. In television just as in real life, "What goes around comes around!"
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