The Original Opening of I Love Lucy

It was 75 years ago on this date that I Love Lucy debuted on CBS. Most of us are familiar with the "heart on satin" opening we saw in syndicated reruns of the show, but that wasn't its original opening. The original opening included animation that referenced the show's sponsor (Philip Morris was its first sponsor). The animation was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who refused credit as they were still under contract to MGM. The bellhop at the beginning was Johnny Roventini, who represented Philip Morris for decades. Several variations of the animated opening were made, each one referencing one of I Love Lucy's sponsors. Besides Philip Morris, these included Proctor & Gamble (for Cheer laundry detergent and Lit Home Permanent), General Foods (for Sanka), and Ford Motor Company. The "the heart on satin" opening was created for the reruns CBS started airing in the daytime in the 1959-1960 season and was then subsequently used in syndication. The reason for this was that the…