I've been a television junkie since I appeared as an occasional child performer/personality on local New York City television in 1946, two years before the remainder of the U.S. was hooked up on the coaxial cable to receive programs. The program was called KING'S PARTY LINE, hosted by then media (radio) giant, John Reed King. Our announcer, who later became a lifelong friend, was fellow Pittsburgh native, Bill Cullen, who also became a game-show giant during television's "Golden Age" in the 1950s and 1960s.

Among the great sitcoms of all time, in most everyone's opinion, was I LOVE LUCY, starring, of course, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I was privileged in later years to socially get to know the show's primary writers, Madeleine Pugh Davis and Bob Carroll, Jr. The stories they told me about Lucy, Desi and how they worked are historically memorable. One of the stories was how they decided to have Lucy and Ethel (portrayed by Vivian Vance, of course) become workers on a candy factory assembly line. That episode was voted by television historians to be the best in television sitcom history.

Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball's husband in real life (as most everyone knows, but these days, some readers may not remember or know that fact, thus the reminder), was a task-master and perfectionist, as was Lucy herself. All who knew him called him Desi (pronounced Dessee, not Dezzie), and which he stated was correct.

This past Sunday, however, the end credits stated the I LOVE LUCY theme song featured "Willbur Hatch conducting the Dezi Arnaz Orchestra". I almost fell off my rocking chiar! :) (Only kidding.) But I was shocked to see the mis-spelling of Desi's first name, with a z instead of an s, especially on a show that was produced by Desilu Productions, and starred Desi and Lucy. DUH!

My primary point is for those of us who think everything was perfect and first-class in those early days of television, I think we're mostly correct, but to see the mis-spelling of the co-boss's name on the show he and Lucy created, was disconcerting, to say the least, at least to THIS geezer!

Thanks for taking the time to read these blog comments. I hope you'll also take time to watch my STAR TRIBUNE webcasts at www.startribune.com/video. They're entitled A SENIOR MOMENT WITH BARRY ZeVAN. The subject changes every Monday. So do the channels I watch! :)

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE COMMENT WRITER WHO KINDLY CORRECTED THE NAME OF THE SHOW I WATCHED, FROM "THE LUCY SHOW" TO "I LOVE LUCY". MEA CULPA, AND THANK YOU!!! BZ