A longtime friend of Lucille Ball, Wickes played frequent guest roles on "I Love Lucy", "The Lucy Show", and "Here's Lucy". In 1970–1971, she guest starred on "The Doris Day Show" (Day was another of her friends). She was also a regular on the Sid and Marty Krofft children's television show "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters" and the sitcom "Doc". She made numerous appearances as a celebrity panelist on the game show "Match Game". By the 1980s, her appearances in television series such as "Our Man Higgins", "M*A*S*H", "The Love Boat", "", and "Murder, She Wrote" had made her a widely recognizable character actress. She also appeared in a variety of Broadway shows, including a 1979 revival of "Oklahoma!" as Aunt Eller, for which she received rave reviews.