Gale Gordon wasn't concerned with awards during his time on Here's Lucy

Winning isn’t everything, but receiving an award is certainly a meaningful validation for any actor. 

Actors’ work usually comes down to a couple of award shows a year, and it’s an important event for most in Hollywood. Who wouldn’t want to be in the same room with Carol Burnett or Lucille Ball?

However, Here's Lucy star Gale Gordon wasn’t concerned at all with awards, even though his co-star Lucille Ball was bothered that Gordon had never won one.

According to a 1972 interview with the Calgary Herald, Gordon was usually considered TV’s most expert second banana, right next to Harvey Korman on The Carol Burnett Show. 

A "second banana" is just someone who feeds into the series’ star, which was exactly what Gordon loved to do best.

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"I've never expected any prizes for my work," Gordon said. "I'm the guy they always hire when they want someone to shout and scream."

In Here’s Lucy, the comedy chemistry between Gordon and Ball was obvious. According to the interview, some bits between the two were so funny they had to be cut from the series.

According to another interview with Good Morning America in 1986, their chemistry started before Here’s Lucy. 

The two worked together in the late 1930s on the CBS Radio program The Wonder Show and again in the late 1940s, when Gordon and Ball worked together on the radio sitcom My Favorite Husband.

"There are times when people meet, and you could almost anticipate what they are doing. For instance, whenever we do a scene together, I am never nervous, and I'm always nervous with everybody else," Gordon said. "We almost anticipate when the other one is going to stop saying something or start saying something, and it's a great feeling of joy and security to work with someone like that."

He loved doing Here's Lucy with her, and while he was her biggest advocate, she was his.

"I would've crawled on my knees and paid her, and in fact, I asked her, 'How much do I have to pay you?' And I meant it," Gordon said. "I have the most glorious title of anyone in this business. I am second banana to the one and only Lucille Ball, and I don't want anything else."

Award or no award. Gordon had everything he needed in Here’s Lucy.