For some, every day is I Love Lucy day.
But today, Oct. 15, is actually the 64th anniversary of the classic sitcom’s premiere on CBS in 1951—so today is National I Love Lucy Day for all!
And wouldn’t you know, there are quite a few stars who missed the show’s original run by a few decades who are paying tribute to the inimitable Lucille Ball for inspiring them to be the entertainers they are today. Even if there only was, and will ever be, one proudly henna-rinsed redhead quite like Lucy.
“It’s national #ilovelucy day !” Kaley Cuoco posted an homage on Instagram, featuring Lucy’s famous oops face. “Thank you Lucille Ball, for paving the way for us comedy chicks to make adorable, silly faces, roll our big eyes, and not take our selves so fricken serious.”
Not only did Lucy break the TV mold technologically, becoming the first sitcom to tape using three cameras in front of a live audience (the multi-cam formula we’re all familiar with today) there was nothing like it on television ever before—or since, really. Lucy and Ricky were actually hot for each other, in 1951 of all times, and the humor wasn’t just slapstick, though the images of Lucy shoving candy in her mouth, getting drunk on Vitameatavegamin or cat-fighting in a vat of grapes endure for good reason.
But the show remains evergreen, albeit in black and white, because the delivery of all that humor was flawless. Ricky’s expressions when Lucy got into a jam were made for GIFs, and Fred and Ethel easily had as many zingers as Lucy had pratfalls.
And while we’d happily gift-wrap the complete series for everyone who isn’t intimately familiar with Lucy‘s nuances, here are nine moments (and a few life lessons) to savor in the meantime:
How not to make friends in a wine vat. When Lucy wanted to “soak up local color” in Italy, she didn’t mess around.
Sometimes best friends fight for perfectly good reasons, such as when one gets mad because the other is singing “Sweet Sue” too loudly in the middle of the night.
