1955 ‘I Love Lucy' Episode, Starring William Holden, Was Ranked No. 1 in the Entire Series

I Love Lucy premiered in 1951 and ran for six seasons, ending in 1957. There were 180 episodes overall, but the highest rated of the entire series took place during season four. It was titled: "L.A. at Last!"

This episode revolved around the Ricardos and the Mertzes visiting Hollywood. Lucy decided to eat at the famous Brown Derby restaurant to hunt for celebrities and ended up sitting near one of the biggest actors of the time, William Holden.

However, Holden quickly got annoyed by her staring and gave her a taste of her own medicine, watching her every move. Lucy got into her usual antics throughout the rest of the episode, spilling a tray of pies all over Holden and lighting her fake nose on fire after getting into a disguise to fool him. In the end, she and Holden shared a kiss, and she fainted in his arms.

Lucille Ball and Holden knew each other in real life. Two and a half years before her iconic sitcom was created, they both starred in the 1949 romantic comedyMiss Grant Takes Richmond. It was about a "newly hired dumb secretary" working for a bookie who was pretending to be a realtor.

Holden was considered one of the greatest male stars in Classic Hollywood cinema. He won an Academy Award for his role in Stalag 17 and a Primetime Emmy for The Blue Knight. He also appeared in Sunset Boulevard, Sabrina, and The Bridge on the River Kwai.

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When speaking about Holden's episode of I Love Lucy, a writer fromClassic Film and TV Cornerpointed out that the scenes must have mirrored the actor's real life experiences: "Would those who think it is fine to approach celebrities in these places be happy to have people intrude on their personal space in the same way? I seriously doubt the answer to that would be yes. I have no doubt that William Holden must have loved being able to react to this issue in this episode in a way that he surely must have wished to do sometimes himself during various encounters with people."

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 7:12 AM.