Although Lucie Arnaz is announced in the opening credits, her brother Desi Arnaz Jr. says that she could not be there because she is doing "The Guardsman" on the East Coast.
For the first several years, honorees received glass statuettes created by sculptor and painter Pascal called "Discipline of Creation." Since 1988, inductees have received a crystal television screen atop a cast-bronze base designed by art director Romain Johnston.
The special lost not only its time slot but the entire evening with just a 16 share and a 10 rating. ABC's TV remake of "A Streetcar Named Desire" won the night with a 39 share and a 23.1 rating.
Of the participants in this initial outing, Carol Burnett would be inducted in 1985, Steve Allen in 1986, Eric Sevareid in 1987, Barbara Walters in 1989, Jean Stapleton in 2002, and Bea Arthur in 2008.
Seven years later, Desi Arnaz, whose name was brought up in committee as a possible nominee at this first ceremony, was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with "I Love Lucy" itself, the only television show to be so honored.