Three-Camera Method

Regarding Andrews’ historical perspective on Lucy and Desi, I was pleased at the general degree of accuracy. However, on this particular day, the day after the Ackerman family put this marvelous man, Harry Ackerman, to final rest, I can’t ignore the one blatant inaccuracy, one that although clarified by contemporaries still persists.

Desi Arnaz, whatever his strengths or weaknesses, was not responsible for the inception or development of three-camera TV. The idea of filming “I Love Lucy” in front of a live audience was the idea of Harry Ackerman and producer Jess Oppenheimer and was presented to Bill Paley, head of CBS, by the two of them. The idea for three cameras came as a result of the commitment to a live audience and was an attempt to retain and maximize the spontaneity that was Lucy’s genius.

Ackerman and Oppenheimer put their collective rear on the line and persuaded a reluctant Paley to allow them to pursue this madness. Afterward Paley was more than happy to take credit for three-camera TV and the success of “Lucy” before a live audience.

As time passed and biographies began to appear, Harry Ackerman was moved to write his own (never completed), just to set the record straight.

Although biographies of Paley and Arnaz and others were riddled with inaccuracies, it was on this one point, this three-camera thing, that Harry Ackerman was finally outraged enough to begin to compile his own version of television history.

Usually, he handled little disturbances such as this one himself. I feel it’s only fitting, under the circumstances, that I help him out on this one. After all, he was my father.

STEVE ACKERMAN

Sepulveda