The Untold Truth Of I Love Lucy

While the official title of the episode is "Job Switching," many folks may remember it as "The Candy Episode" — the one where Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz get jobs working at a candy factory. In an effort to keep up with a conveyor belt carrying chocolates, Lucy begins stuffing them in her mouth.

According to the book, Ball on Fire, Desi Arnaz found a real-life candy dipper at the "farmer's market on Fairfax Avenue" to play the guest star in the episode. The woman, Amanda Milligan, plays another factory employee who works alongside Lucy and Ethel. "He thought the professional's deadpan movements would make her an ideal straight man for Lucy's antics."

When it was time to film the episode, Lucy got nervous. She said, "We explained the scene to her a couple of times, and she thought we were all crazy. She never cracked a smile once. We began to think, 'Is this funny or isn't it?'" In the scene Milligan is supposed to hit Lucille Ball, but in rehearsals she'd merely "tap" her. When they finally shot the scene, Ball remembers, "Well, it came time for me to hit her, which I did, and then for her to hit me, which she did! Bam! She gave me such a shot. I thought she had broken my nose." After, Ball confronted her, and Milligan replied, "That's what you wanted, wasn't it?"

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