I LOVE LUCY actual original set prop LIGHT SWITCH PLATE - Connecticut Set 1957 -

Description

I LOVE LUCY actual original set prop LIGHT SWITCH PLATE - Connecticut Set 1957 -
A rare item like this doesn't come around too often. It would make a nice addition to a collection and needs to be saved!
One
Light Switch Plate
Antiqued Brass Color Metal
CONDITION:
Previously Owned - Used continuously for over 60 years!
It was hand washed lightly in dish-washing detergent. It may need more cleaning; I did not want to rub off the original finish. There are worn spots from being used daily.
Measures approximately
2 13/16 inches (71¾ mm) wide by 8½ inches (217 mm) tall
.
Weighs approximately
3.2 ounces
.
This is not the shipping weight and not the shipping dimensional weight.
There is a very difficult to see and even more difficult to read stamp (aka hallmark) on the back. I think its from when the item was originally made and not from the production studio.
Unique Pictures
of the actual item available in this listing. - Some of the pictures are with the flash on and some are with the flash off. It looks dark when I look at it in my hand, but with the flash on it brings out the underlying yellow color.
This is actual original item from the set of I LOVE LUCY.
The entire series ran from 1951 to 1957.
The shows cast was Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo, Desi Arnaz Sr. as Ricky Ricardo, Vivian Vance as Ethel Mertz, William Frawley as Fred Mertz, and Richard Keith as Little Ricky.
It is from the Westport Connecticut House. Which was in production in 1957.
After the film production set was demolished & destroyed. Some of the wood and hardware (props) made it's way to my house. After it was installed Lucille Ball herself did come by the house and look at the room. We used it as a functional item and not a collectible television prop. It was taken out of daily service on July 24, 2019. I do have several of these but they are still in use. Other studio chiefs and many others have been in the room at the new location. They all did this before I was born.
There's a common belief that items just end up in the trash. The actually not the whole truth. Certain items go into storage (prop houses). Some items go to other projects. Some items are sold and earmarked for certain individuals. They used a very high grade & quality wood for safety & insurance reasons. In general this wood could not be reused for certain celebrities, so it would be resold. Yes, some would make it to the "trash" or free pile. Most people had lived through the Great Depression and World Wars, things just didn't get thrown away. In the 1950's there were still alot of non-wasteful people around no matter how much money they had.
Many of the props that I have, like this one, were turned into usable items are part of my actual childhood and current real life.
A little back story for provenance and item authenticity: (and to give him his 15 seconds of fame, since he isn't credited anywhere and everybody has seen his work.) My father, which is my source for it, was born near Dallas, Texas. Where he worked as a cotton-picker for 75 cents a day & farm-ranch hand. Moved to driving the truck when they picked watermelons and black-eyed peas. He was the youngest in a large family, that were too drunk to drive. In the early 1930's as a teenager he became a Texas State Champion Yo-Yo trickster. He did work for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC, pronounced 3-c's). Motivated by his celebrity status and CCC work he did like many people at the time and hopped a freight train to the Golden State of California. He was at RKO as a laborer. He was even in a movie with Jason Robards SR with a spoken word. Along with a group his age, they went and joined the US Navy where loose lips sink ships. When he got out of the Navy after Pearl Harbor, he returned to Long Beach and worked building Liberty Ships. Then the US Government drafted into the US Navy! In some of his duties was an SP to get Marines out of the bars before a battle, drop them off for a battle, go back and pick some up or bury the rest. After that in 1946 he went back to RKO and got a full time job, and joined I.A.T.S.E.(International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Local 44. He worked for Desilu and then Paramount. Off season he did work for other major studios Universal, MGM, Pathe, Warner Bros to name a few. One of his specialties was lathe work, props, and picture frames. Well known for his steps and banisters; when actors weren't walking all over his work, they were leaning on it. He was also standby during filming for many shows for quick repairs, etc. He worked on such notable shows as the Jack Benny Show, I Love Lucy, Rawhide, Highway Patrol, Star Trek (Pilot & Original Series), Lost in Space, Good Times, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, Family Affair, That Girl, My Favorite Martian, My Three Sons, Gomer Pyle USMC, The Phil Silvers Show, Bonanza, I Spy, 77 Sunset Strip, My Mother the Car, Flying Nun, Land of the Giants, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Munsters, F-troop, Mayberry Andy Griffith Show, again just to name a few. He also directly worked with these specific people in regards to personal specific projects, like special films or work at their personal homes: Sheldon Leonard, Ronald Reagan, John Wayne. Danny Thomas, Brian Keith, Dan Blocker, Walt Disney, Lucille Ball, Walter Knott, Sheldon Leonard. His favorite and nicest person of the celebrities to work with was always Danny Thomas. He also did work that is still standing at the two major theme parks in Orange County. His experience with older brothers, the Navy, gave him the most important skill needed in the culture at that time beyond just the simple artisan and craftsman skills.
As far as his I Love Lucy involvement in addition to others: pushing the loaf of bread through the oven and then eating it later, pulling the ropes to make her as a witch fly, making the pipe come loose on the window as Superman, doing the brick BBQ, making all those frames for the cement for the boots, the vat for the grapes and being there when Lucy stomped.
If one looks in some of the books on the I Love Lucy show they will see some pictures with Lucy standing right next to one of the light switch plates.
Please only send serious questions about this specific item.
Thank you for reading this listing and it ended up being slightly longer than 15 seconds.
Bid Often and Bid High!
THIS ITEM IS
ON-HAND
AND
READY TO SHIP
TO THE LUCKY WINNER
DIRECTLY
FROM US!
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ID: tc2141
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