This was definitely a four star vehicle, it's how they got to Hollywood and was used extensively in four different episodes in 1955.
-- Last edit: 2013-03-28 04:23:40
jage750
◊ 2009-05-21 04:04
Does anyone know what the original color of this car was? I've heard light blue and I've heard gray. Does anyone know for sure?
- JJ
car nerd
◊ 2009-05-21 04:06
I always assumed it was red over white.
tv boy
◊ 2009-05-22 13:49
I could've sworn, when Lucy, Fred and Ethel are all seeing it for the first time, Ethel makes some reference to it being green. Personally I always assumed it was dark blue over light blue.
BTW notice the shots inside the TV studio, the car has no windshield, but in the location establishers it does? Evidently there was an issue with the window reflecting studio lights.
"When Ricky and Lucy Ricardo (Desi Arnaz/Lucille Ball) take a cross country trip from New York to California on episode #110 "California, Here We Come" (January 10, 1955) they drive a red & white 1955 Pontiac convertible passenger car. It had 180 horse power and an automatic transmission."
- JJ
tv boy
◊ 2009-05-25 16:41
Red & white? No kidding. Personally I always thought the "light" color looked a little too dark to be white, but then again GM used a lot of off-white, ivory shades in those days for their "white" cars and trucks.
sodapop
◊ 2009-09-08 06:02
Does anyone know if this car still exists and who owns it? Thanks. David Sodapop1957@sbcglobal.net
Commander 57
◊ 2009-09-08 16:15
I hope so but doubt it.
62imperial
◊ 2009-09-22 07:30
I've seen a color photo taken on the set that shows it was definitely two-tone light and dark green. A white car would probably have been too bright for the way they were filming in black and white (even the appliances in the Ricardos' kitchen were painted light blue rather than white).
This car was on auction in 2004, but the colors would have to be reversed.
"A 1955 Pontiac Star Chief convertible used in several episodes of the show "I Love Lucy" will be auctioned by Barrett-Jackson. In the show, the car belonged to Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), who used it to give driving lessons to his wife, Lucy (Lucille Ball, for those of you only recently emerging from a lifetime spent in a very deep cave). The car later performed on-camera in an episode that saw the Ricardos and their neighbors, the Mertzes -- extra points if you know who played them -- drive cross-country to California."
It says the car was restored, so it may have been given a new color combination.
puterboy1
◊ 2013-03-27 01:14
Where did you see this color photo?
jazzfi
◊ 2013-12-06 20:12
too funny... it's a b&w episode so everyone's imagination offers a different color.. i always thought blue & white because I used to own a '55 Chieftain 4-door, but it could really be any color.. a good book about ILL with color photos might offer the truth..
PorscheRyder
◊ 2015-05-28 10:22
I would think somehow getting the vin might help to obtain the build specs, if they go back that far?
Hi all. I've always wondered about this, too. There must exist at CBS some production notes and color stills of the car in its original scheme.
Until then, here's how CBS colorized the car for their 2016 ILL specials. Looks like Marietta Blue (lower) and Beaumont Blue to me. That's Pontiac color code 5558.
Also, according to a scrapbook compiled by a friend of the show, Pontiac donated five Star Chiefs to Desilu for the cross-country location shots (New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Albuquerque, and LA). That raises the possibility of different color schemes being used among the five cars, though looking at the TV footage they all appear to be two-tone dark over light.
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