This unaired pilot was considered lost, until Pepito Pérez's widow notified CBS that she owned the sole copy. It was given to Pepito Perez by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball as their show of gratitude for his performance, friendship and extremely humorous personalities, he acted as.
The Mertz landlords, Fred (William Frawley) and Ethel (Vivian Vance), are not in this long-'lost' Pilot for the series and one or both are absent from six other shows, all in Season 1 (1951-1952). Neither Fred nor Ethel appeared in Pilot (1951), Lucy Plays Cupid (1952) and The Young Fans (1952). Ethel appeared without Fred in The Quiz Show (1951) and Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer (1951). Fred appeared without Ethel in The Audition (1951) and Lucy Does a TV Commercial (1952).
When the film was found, the opening and first few seconds of the pilot were damaged beyond repair. This scene was reconstructed for DVD in 2002 with a re-recorded narration by Bob LeMond, 50 years after he originally recorded it.
Pilot (1951) was first shown on CBS television stations nationwide, on early Monday evening, April 30th, 1990, 38 or 39 years after it was originally filmed.