Here's just some of the interesting trivia surrounding this legendary show. Benaderet and Gale Gordon were Lucy and Desi's first choice to play the Mertzes. Gale Gordon was the first choice to play Fred Mertz, but he was unavailable. When they came across William Frawley, Desi Arnaz wanted him, but he was told that Frawley would be a poor choice because he was a womanizer, a gambler, and a drunk. Arnaz said, "He's perfect!" Desi Arnaz invented the rerun during the pregnancy episodes of this series by re-airing some episodes from the first season to give Lucy some rest. When Lucy was pregnant with Little Ricky, network censors wouldn't permit her to say "pregnant." She had to say "expectant". The full names of Fred and Ethel are Fredrick Hobart Mertz and Ethel Louise Roberta Mae Potter Mertz Because of limited space on the sound stage, the Ricardo's bedroom and the Mertz's living room is the same set with different furniture. Desi Arnaz Jr. appears in the final first-run episode of the series. Although his sister, Lucie Arnaz, for some reason, doesn't. The Ricardos' address was 623 E. 68th Street. However, E. 68th Street in Manhattan only goes up to 600 - which means that the Ricardos' building was in the middle of the East River. Three "flashback" episodes were shown during the period when Lucille Ball was recovering after giving birth to Desi Arnaz Jr.. These episodes were filmed in advance after Ball found out she was pregnant. Although they slept in twin beds throughout the entire run of the series, during the first two seasons of the show, 1951-1953, Ricky and Lucy slept in twin beds that were pushed together in the same box spring. Once little Ricky was born CBS suggested that the beds be pushed apart to diminish the impact of the suggested sexual history of Lucy and Ricky. The only time we see the Ricardo's in two bed pushed together again is when they first move to the bigger apartment in the Mertz building, however, subsequently after that the beds are pushed apart again.