When Lucy Stole from Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny in Forward March Hare

This is one of those just for fun blog posts: Toon in with Me, MeTV's excellent early-morning cartoon show recently aired Forward March Hare, released on Feb. 14, 1953 in which Bugs Bunny mistakenly receives a draft notice meant for his neighbor B. (for Bertram) Bonny. What are the odds? Bugs causes mayhem and chaos as he applies for his physical and then attempts to fit in with his unit. After nearly blowing up his sargeant, dressing a flock of chickens in tuxedoes, and bathing in the general's helmut, the brass realizes their mistake and Bugs does his bit for his country by testing bombs.

Lucy in full make-up (notice the eyelashes
and lipstick) joins the Marines

Thirteen years and nine months later--to the day--on Nov. 14, 1966, CBS aired "Lucy Gets Caught Up in the Draft" on Season Five of The Lucy Show. By this time, Lucy Carmichael had moved to Los Angeles and forgotten all about her two children and (aside for occasional guest shots) her best friend Viv. She was now working for Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) as his secretary. In this episode, she receives a draft notice intended for Lou C. Carmichael. I don't remember if there was such a person or if the draft board just made a mistake with the name. Anyway, the same thing that happened to Bugs, happens to Lucy. She causes slapstick-y problems and is eventually replaced by Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle in a cameo.

The premise is basically the same--oddball protagonist gets drafted by mistake, even down to receiving a letter with the wrong name. So one has to wonder if Lucy writers Milt Josefberg, Ray Singer and Robert O'Brien had seen Forward March Hare and thought, "Say, this could work for Lucy?"