THIS Classic ‘I Love Lucy’ Scene Made Lucille Ball Fear for Her Life
I Love Lucy is classic television for a reason, full of iconic moments that made Lucille Ball one of the most celebrated comedians of all time. From the chocolate factory episode to the egg tango that inspired a record-breaking 67-second laugh, there’s no shortage of memorable moments.
One such moment happens in Season 5’s “Lucy’s Italian Movie.”
The setup seems manufactured for hilarity: a tub full of grapes, a language barrier, and Ball herself in top form. Lucy takes the place of another, more experienced grape stomper and climbs into the vat, convinced she’s up for the task. Only, mashing grapes for wine is harder than it looks. Exhausted, Lucy attempts to climb out of the vat. Her coworker, who only speaks Italian, tugs her right back in. An all-out grape fight commences.
What most viewers might not know is that the fight was real.
“[Tirelli] was told that there would be a fight, and it was also explained to her that there were times when my legs had to come up in this huge vat of real grapes,” Ball admitted during a 1974 interview on The Dick Cavett Show. “I slipped and when I slipped, I hit her, accidentally. And she took offense. So, she hauled off and let me have it…it took all the wind out of me.”
Worse still, the language barrier between the two actresses was also real, so Lucy couldn’t explain her mistake. Infuriated, Tirelli seemingly made a real-life murder attempt. “She kept me down by the throat,” Ball stated. “I had grapes in my nose and in my ears and she was choking me, and I am really beating her to get her off. I was drowning in these grapes. She was killing me.”
Ball was such a pro at physical comedy that neither the director nor the crew realized that anything was amiss. Cameras kept rolling, capturing the altercation between the two ladies.
“To drown in a vat of grapes was not the way I had planned to go,” Ball quipped.
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Originally published March 21, 2024
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