I Love Lucy. It’s a show that has earned an honored place on the list of the most popular television comedies of all time. Fans would surely rate it at the top; non-fans probably not nearly that high. But I think it’s safe to say that the series would make most Top Ten lists, and it most assuredly revolutionized in so many ways what we now know today as the situation comedy. Yet I Love Lucy’s roots reach back to the Golden Age of Radio, when a pilot show named My Favorite Husband went on the air in the timeslot originally slated for the premiere of Our Miss Brooks (a sitcom for which, strangely enough, Lucille Ball turned down the lead role).
Although the medium of television ultimately gave Lucille Ball her due, the actress-comedienne had carved quite a niche for herself on the silver screen, with standout performances in such films as Five Came Back (1939) and Dance, Girl, Dance (1940). She made her radio debut in 1938 on Jack Haley’s Log Cabin Jamboree (a program featuring a young Gale Gordon as its announcer), and later went on to a featured spot on Phil Baker’s popular Gulf Oil Headliner. Her talent for comedy won her rave reviews, and may have possibly paved the way for her role opposite the Marx Brothers in Room Service (1938) and as Edgar Bergen’s love interest in Look Who’s Laughing (1941), a comedy that also starred Jim & Marian Jordan in their radio roles of Fibber McGee & Molly.
Lucy met her future husband Desi Arnaz on the production of Too Many Girls, a 1940 RKO release based on the hit Broadway musical—and the couple were married in November of that same year. But married life was not all peaches and cream for the Arnazes—both Lucy’s film career and Desi’s long absences touring with his band put a severe strain on their marriage, so much so that Lucy began to seriously consider securing a regular gig in radio. She observed “that radio interfered less with a normal home life than any other entertainment medium, a fact borne out by the experience of such happily married radio greats as Mary Livingstone and Jack Benny, Fred Allen and Portland Hoffa, Gracie Allen and George Burns, and Harriet and Ozzie Nelson.”
Lucy’s agent Don Sharpe discussed her desire for a radio sitcom with Harry Ackerman, CBS’ vice president of programming. Ackerman had recently finished a book authored by Isabel Scott Rorick entitled Mr. & Mrs. Cugat: The Record of a Happy Marriage, which detailed the wacky marital bliss between a bandleader and his wife. (A bandleader and his wife? Hey…you know…there just might be a series in…oh, never mind…) Ackerman felt the novel “had terrific possibilities for a radio show” and Lucy was asked about starring in a sitcom based on Rorick’s book. Lucy was certainly game, although she lobbied CBS heavily to let husband Desi play opposite her. The network balked, stating firmly that Arnaz would hardly be believable in the role of her husband. (Lucy lost this round, but would triumph three years later when a similar debate erupted during the drawing-board stages of I Love Lucy.)
My Favorite Husband premiered over CBS on July 5, 1948 as a “one shot filler,” a half-hour comedy spotlighting the misadventures of a “daffy but intelligent” housewife and her husband, “the vice president of a Midwestern bank.” The critical and audience response was incredible; so positive that it convinced the network to give the audition a green light as a regular series starting July 23. Actor Lee Bowman, who originally played the part of husband George to Lucy’s Liz, had to bow out of the regular series due to contractual obligations, and so actor Richard Denning inherited his role.
The early My Favorite Husband scripts were penned by the veteran comedy writing team of Frank Fox and Bill Davenport, but when their regular writing assignment (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) returned after its summer hiatus, a new team of writers needed to be put in place. Fox and Davenport recommended to Ackerman two staff writers from the CBS Pacific coast network, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll, Jr., as their replacements. Ackerman also brought veteran comedy writer Jess Oppenheimer aboard; Oppenheimer had written for such radio stars as Edgar Bergen and Al Jolson, and most recently had scripted Fanny Brice’s The Baby Snooks Show. It was under the supervision of these three scribes that Husband really began to hit its comic stride.
Jess revamped the character of Liz Cugat, making her more childlike and impulsive (not unlike Baby Snooks—or Lucy Ricardo, for that matter), and toning down her socialite aspects, but retaining Liz’s housewife qualities. He decided to rename the couple from “Cugat” to “Cooper” and demoted George from vice-president to third vice-president of the bank. Oppenheimer was even handed the assignment of taking over the directing and producing chores of the show; it was thought his skill at handling the troublesome Fanny Brice on Snooks could no doubt be stretched to dealing with the equally temperamental Lucy.
But perhaps the most important change to Husband made by Oppenheimer was adding the characters of Rudolph Atterbury—the president of the bank that employed George—and his wife, Iris. The role of Rudolph was originated by actor Joseph Kearns, but it wasn’t until radio veteran Gale Gordon took over the role on March 11, 1949 that Lucy found the perfect comedy foil for her shenanigans. Two weeks later, the Iris character was introduced, played by comic actress Bea Benaderet.
I listened to “Liz Changes Her Mind,” a broadcast from June 24, 1949 last night. It is an interesting episode, due to the fact that it was the only episode of My Favorite Husband to be repeated (rearing its head again on September 30, 1950 ). (It also has a connection to I Love Lucy, which will be revealed at the end of this post—how's that for foreshadowing?) Late for a lunch date with the Atterburys, George is gently chiding Liz about her constant inability to reach a decision on anything, be it the dress she’s wearing (which is why they’re late) or choosing a parking spot. They no sooner arrive at the restaurant and are seated when Liz decides she’d like to change tables:
LIZ: Oh look! Some people are leaving that table by the window…if we move over there, we can have a view while we’re eating…
GEORGE (sotto voce to Liz) Remember what I told you, Liz…(loudly) uh, this table is fine…
LIZ: Oh come on, George…you’d like to move, wouldn’t you, Iris?
IRIS: Well, I…
LIZ: You’d like to move too, wouldn’t you, Mr. Atterbury…?
RUDOLPH: Well, I…
LIZ: See, George…it’s three to one…
GEORGE: But our stuff is already here…
LIZ: Well, we’ll take it with us…Iris, you carry the butter plates…Mr. Atterbury, the napkins…George, here, you take the water glasses and I’ll carry the silverware…hurry up, someone else is heading for it…(SFX: dishes clattering, assorted muttering) Good! We beat them…everybody pass the things around now…
RUDOLPH: Here’s a plate of water, Iris…uh…hand me a glass of butter…
LIZ: Has everyone everything they need?
GEORGE: Yes…I have three knives…
IRIS: I beat you, I have a full house…three forks and a pair of spoons…
RUDOLPH: You’d better call the waiter…he’s looking under the table for us…
The waiter—beautifully played by Frank Nelson—is ready to take the couples’ order, and it's here that Liz’s indecision gets a full workout:
LIZ: Let’s see…oh, everything looks so good…I’ll have the…um…uh…um…uh…
WAITER: Sorry…we’re all out of “um uh”…
LIZ: Very amusing…I’ll have the roast beef…
WAITER: One roast beef…
GEORGE: What would you like, Iris?
IRIS: I think I’ll try the lamb chops…
WAITER: One lamb chops…
RUDOLPH: George, what looks good to you?
LIZ: Lamb chops, huh…oh, that sounds good…and they’re not fattening, either…waiter, change mine to lamb chops, please…
WAITER: Yes, ma’am…two lamb chops…
LIZ: That’s two for each of us…
WAITER: Yes, ma’am…
LIZ: …and I don’t want too much fat on them, but I like them thick…
WAITER: Would you like me to trot the lamb by? You can pick out the chops you want…
LIZ: Well!
GEORGE: Liz, don’t make a scene…
RUDOLPH: Well, go ahead, George, you order…
GEORGE: I’d like the sirloin steak…
WAITER: Yes sir, one sirloin steak…how would you like it?
GEORGE: Rare…and thick and juicy…
WAITER: Right…and you, sir?
RUDOLPH: Well, I think I’ll have a nice…
LIZ (interrupting) Gee, George…you made that steak sound so tasty and…
WAITER (resignedly): How would you like it, madam…well, medium or rare?
LIZ: Rare.
RUDOLPH (after a pause, then quickly): I’d like the pork chops!
WAITER: Yes, sir! Now…what would you like to drink?
LIZ: I’d like…
WAITER: You order last!
IRIS: Coffee.
RUDOLPH: Coffee for me, too.
GEORGE: Milk.
WAITER: And what would you like, madam?
LIZ (after a pause) Pork chops, huh?
WAITER (wailing) Oh no…
LIZ: Would it be too much trouble to change my order?
WAITER (with heavy sarcasm) Why no! Whatever gave you that idea???
LIZ: Well, I think I’d like pork chops…
WAITER: Yes, ma’am…
LIZ (another pause) Well…why don’t you write it down?
WAITER: I wrote it down for you when he ordered it! (sticking out his tongue) Nyaaah!!!
LIZ (returning fire): Nyaaah!!!
WAITER: Now, let’s see if I got this straight…lamb chops for you, steak for you, pork chops for you…and a new eraser for me…
No sooner have they placed their orders when Liz decides she wants to switch tables again because she’s uncomfortable sitting near the drafty window (RUDOLPH: “Stand by for another troop movement.”). In the ensuing relocation, she manages to bump into the waiter who’s returned with a tray of appetizers, spilling shrimp cocktails all over the hapless Rudolph. George decides he’s had enough, and lays down the law to Liz that she has to finish what she starts. So, the next day, Liz takes the initiative to clean out the hall desk—and in doing so, finds an old letter she left unfinished in which she was planning to leave George. She decides to teach her husband a lesson by completing the letter with some help from the Cooper’s maid, Katie (Ruth Perrott):
KATIE: Oh, Mrs. Cooper…you’re not really gonna send it to him…
LIZ: You heard the man, I certainly am, Katie…I’m merely obeying orders…now, let’s see…”George, when you read this, I will be far away…I’m going home to Mother…I never want to see you again, you big…” You big…um…gee, it’s hard to choose…
KATIE: You want me to suggest some?
LIZ: No…I’ll just say “you big brute.” There you are…”Signed, tearfully, Liz.” Now I’ll mail it special delivery so he’ll get it this afternoon…
KATIE: How do you think Mr. Cooper will react when he thinks you’re leaving him?
LIZ: Oh, I know exactly how…he’ll come rushing home and beg me to stay…he’ll think I found out something he’s done…
KATIE: Supposing he hasn’t done anything?
LIZ: Katie…when a man’s wife is leaving him, he doesn’t say “Did I do something she found out about?” He says, “Which one did she find out about?”
At the bank, George and Rudolph are just getting ready to leave when George’s new secretary arrives with a special delivery letter—only it isn’t Liz’s. It’s a letter from her old State U. sorority, inviting her to a meet-and-greet reunion with her fellow sisters (GEORGE: “Delta Upsilon Delta…D-U-D…oh, that’s Liz’s sorority! Doesn’t Iris belong to the same one?” RUDOLPH: “Yes…she’s a DUD, too.”). The two men decide that the wives should attend the function and get away from them for a weekend, and rush off to tell Liz and Iris—but unbeknownst to the men, Liz’s “finished” letter arrives a second after their departure. Liz and Iris wait for their husbands’ return (Liz has filled Iris in on her little scheme) and as they so often say in sitcoms, the wacky complications ensue:
LIZ: Did you get a letter at the bank today?
GEORGE: Oh, your letter!
LIZ (coldly) Yes…my letter…
GEORGE: I’m glad you reminded me…I forgot all about it…
LIZ: Well, thanks a lot…weren’t you a little surprised when you opened it?
GEORGE: Well, as a matter of fact, I was…I couldn’t figure it out at first…
RUDOLPH: It sure sounded funny when he read it to me…
LIZ (horrified) George Cooper! You didn’t read my letter to Mr. Atterbury!
GEORGE: Well, sure…why not? Oh, let’s talk about it after dinner, it’s not important…
LIZ: Not important? We’ll talk about it after dinner? What do you have to say about it?
GEORGE: Well…I think you ought to go!
LIZ (sobbing) You think I ought to go?
GEORGE: Well, sure! Don’t worry about me, I’ll get along fine! (Liz engages in some patented Lucy-type crying) I don’t know why you’re crying, it’ll be wonderful for both of us! (more crying)
IRIS: George Cooper, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!
RUDOLPH: Now you keep out of this, Iris, this is their affair…
IRIS: Rudolph Atterbury…I think you even agree with that heel…
RUDOLPH: I do!
IRIS: What???
RUDOLPH: As a matter of fact, since Liz is going, I think you ought to go, too!
I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that everything is cleared up at the program’s end (“It was all a simple misunderstanding”), but no doubt many of you are probably experiencing a little déjà vu. “Haven’t we seen (or in this case, heard) this story before?” You are quite correct—it’s Episode 49 of I Love Lucy, “Lucy Changes Her Mind.”
My Favorite Husband became a victim of its own success. CBS pleaded with Lucy to transplant her successful radio sitcom to television, but Lucy remained firm this time—she would not do the series without husband Desi. So the network relented, and in the process created the colossal comedy hit we know today. (Husband did manage to make the transition to television, in a version that starred Joan Caufield and Barry Nelson in the Liz and George roles; it lasted just two seasons.) Many of the I Love Lucy scripts were, in fact, re-written from a hefty backlog of old My Favorite Husband drafts—mainly because Husband’s former scribes—Oppenheimer, Pugh and Carroll, Jr.—went with the Arnazes to work on the new TV program. The I Love Lucy version even hired Frank Nelson to reprise his original radio appearance as the waiter, and the episode was telecast on March 30, 1953 .
My Favorite Husband is kind of an underrated little OTR treat; it offers the listener the first opportunity to experience the comedy magic that would ultimately transform Lucy into a television superstar (her Jell-O commercials with announcer Bob Lemond are a joy to listen to, too). I was never too crazy about Richard Denning, however—but to give him his due, he also later made a big splash into television, appearing opposite Barbara Britton in the TV version of the radio mystery series Mr. and Mrs. North. When North's original stars—Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost—bowed out of those roles, Denning and Britton replaced them as the fun-loving mystery duo until the show’s cancellation on April 18, 1955 . But if you’re a true-blue Lucy fan, I can heartily recommend My Favorite Husband—just pop in a CD and “Jell-O, everybody!”
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