Lucille Ball was a citizen, comedian, and a communist. Did she led 3 lives too?"In 1953, Ball was subpoenaed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities because she had registered to vote in the Communist party primary election in 1936" (from Wikipedia) "I Led 3 Lives" was part of the early 1950s, right wing extremism that gave us Joe McCarthy, John Birchers and HUAC (House Un-American Activies Committee).Someone once described the Eisenhower years (1950s) as 'Washington Sept Here'Thank you JFK for getting us back on track and thank you Lucy for your tremendous contributions to our culture. Ricky/Desi (commenting on these charges) was right:"The only thing red about Lucy is her hair, and even that's not legitimate." Neither is "I Led 3 Lives" Skip this show, except as historical reference for the politics of that time.

I watched this show at first out of curiosity and I laughed just as many of my generation probably have . . .or will. Then I started researching that era and now I know they were deadly serious when they made that series! This was the sort of thing that Americans were truly fearful of, a Communist takeover. This was just as serious in the 50's as a Chinese invasion was in the late 1930's. Okay so maybe they dramatised things but they did that in "Dragnet" too, right? This was American propaganda made to make Mr and Mrs. Average American believe that Commies were around every conner trying to subvert the mentality of Post (Korean) War America. This could have been what led to people building fallout shelters instead of swimming pools and schools teaching kids to "duck and cover".Okay, so maybe I got a little heavy handed in that last paragraph but watching the adventures of Mr. Philbrick led me to wonder just how much of it was Hollywood and how much was real? A certain Mr. Kruschev did promise "We will bury you without firing a shot!" so I really began to wonder and started watching the episodes with a less cynical eye. The one about vacuum cleaners that were really missile launchers smacked of the gadgetry that proliferated the James Bond movies of the 1960's but then, where did they get that idea? The one about taking over an American newsreel company and making propaganda movies seems unreal too but then, remember wasn't the US Government doing the same thing at the same time too?Today watching "I Led Three Lives" gives me a chill. Everything they were talking about might really have happened. Perhaps all that paranoia was not unfounded. Mr. Herbert Philbrick, wherever you are, thank you.

I recall the series very well and always tried to watch it. The series portrayed Mr. Hoover and his bureau as a professional, passionate, serious operation. I was a believer then. However, after Hoover's death, quite a bit was focused on how his bureau was run during the '50's and '60's, and his own hatred for Communists. A PBS program even depicted him as a power-hungry tyrant and a homosexual. Taking my own limited knowledge of the 1950 decade while growing up as a child, this TV series was very good. And, as far as Hoover is concerned, he knew how to handle the bunch of politicians in Washington probably better than anyone else. It would seem that this series is on some form of blacklist, as it never appears on cable, satellite, or independent TV channels running old shows. Why this is, I don't know. But, maybe after Mr. Khruschev's speech at the UN in 1960; "We Will Bury You", the country is in the form of being buried!

"I Led 3 Lives" Was Lee Harvey Oswald's favorite TV show when he is young boy Living in Forth Worth, Texas. This was confirmed by his older brother during his interview on "Frontline" Lee was immersed in the series during the 1952 Season. After his older brother left to the Marine Corps. Lee was intrigued by the idea of a man creating a new and separate identity. The early Black and White Espionage Television show was based on the true-life exploits of Herbert Philbrick, an FBI agent who worked undercover as a communist sympathizer infiltrating communist cells and suspected subversive groups. His love for the show was also noted in the Warren Commission Report.