Friday, March 2, 1951
On March 2, 1951, Jess Oppenheimer registered his treatment with the Screen Writer’s Guild for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy.” The final paragraph: “The first story concerns a TV audition for Ricky, where Pepito, the clown, due to an accident, fails to appear and Lucy takes his place for the show. Although she does a band-up job she forgoes the chance at a career that is offered to her in order to keep Ricky happy and closer to his dress of normalcy.”
Source:
Pepito & Joanne 