Before Beyonce's Baby There Was Little Ricky Ricardo

Celebrity watchers seeking to know everything possible about Blue Ivy Carter, daughter of Beyonce and Jay-Z, might not know that six decades ago the nation was obsessed with the birth of another baby.

On Jan. 19, 1953, some 44 million people, representing 72 percent of the viewing audience, watched an episode of I Love Lucy on which Lucy Ricardo gave birth to a son, “Little Ricky” Ricardo.

Lucille Ball (1911-1989) played Lucy Ricardo. Her husband from 1940 to 1960, Desi Arnaz (1917-1986), played Ricky Ricardo, her husband in the show.

I Love Lucy was produced by their company, Desilu Productions. The show ran in glorious black and white from 1951 to 1957.

Lucille Ball suffered three miscarriages, in 1942, 1949 and 1950. Lucy was pregnant when she and Desi made the pilot episode of I Love Lucy.

You couldn't show a pregnant woman on television, so the network made sure that Lucy's expanding tummy was hidden behind furniture at all times. She gave birth to Lucie Arnaz on July 17, 1951.

Thanks to a scheduled cesarean section, Lucy's second child, Desi Arnaz, Jr., was born 18 months later, on the same night that her TV baby, Little Ricky, entered the world, albeit taped in advance. The show garnered greater media coverage than the inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower the following day. The first issue of TV Guide was released on Apr. 3, 1953, with a photo of Lucille Ball and Little Ricky on the cover.

Television in the 1950s was miles away from today's freewheeling broadcasts. For example, in the TV world, husband and wife slept in separate beds. Lucille Ball overcame stern opposition to convince CBS executives and the show's sponsor, Phillip Morris, to write her pregnancy into seven episodes of the show. Several religious figures oversaw the episodes, and the cast had to say “expecting” instead of “pregnant”.

Little Ricky was played by five actors. Twins Richard and Ronald Lee Simmons portrayed the infant, twins Joe and Mike Mayer played the part in seasons three through five and Keith Thibodeaux played him in later years.

Thibodeaux also played Opie's friend, Johnny Paul Jason, from 1962 until 1966 on The Andy Griffith Show, which was also produced by Desilu.