Lucille Ball is still considered one of the most iconic actresses and comediennes of the 20th century, with her most iconic character, Lucy Ricardo, from “I Love Lucy,” still beloved despite the show being off the air for 61 years. Now, the character is being honored in a special way via a Christmas special that is airing on CBS.
The special, which airs at 8 p.m. EST, is a first for the series, and according to CBS, will feature two back-to-back colorized episodes of the hit show. The first episode airing, “The Christmas Episode,” finds Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (Ball’s husband Desi Arnaz) reminiscing about how their lives have changed since the birth of their son, Little Ricky (Keith Thibodeaux).
The second episode, “Pioneer Women,” sees Lucy and Ethel (Vivian Vance) making a bet with their husbands about who has it harder–men or women. All four then begin to live their lives as though they were in the turn of the last century, but it leads to hilarious complications for all of them.
Prior to watching the special, get reacquainted with the brilliant wit that Ball herself was known for, by reliving some of her best quotes, compliments of Access Hollywood, Women You Should Know and Brainy Quote:
1. “The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.”
2. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
3. “How was ‘I Love Lucy’ born? We decided that instead of divorce lawyers profiting from our mistakes, we’d profit from them.”
4. “Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous red head.”
5. “A man who correctly guesses a woman’s age may be smart, but he’s not very bright.”
6. “I’d rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven’t.”
7. “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”
8. “In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by.”
9. “Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work—and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.”