IRS PLOTLINE TAXING FOR `I LOVE LUCY' WRITERS

IRS PLOTLINE TAXING FOR `I LOVE LUCY' WRITERS

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- "I Love Lucy" may have been a comedy, but story plots about cheating the IRS returns were no laughing matter. According to Gregg Oppenheimer, the son of "I Love Lucy" creator Jess Oppenheimer, one episode entitled "Lucy Tells The Truth" was intended to climax with Lucy telling an IRS agent about Ricky's secret tax shelters. However, two hours before filming, Desi Arnaz rejected the ending because he didn't want his Cuban character to be a bad role model. Amazingly, with only minutes to spare, the writers cobbled together a new second act in which Lucy is interviewed for a job as a knife thrower's assistant. Tonight (Jan. 19) at the Museum of Television and Radio in Los Angeles, Oppenheimer and other "I Love Lucy" staffers will discuss working with Desi and Lucy.