BE A PAL aka BE A PAL TO YOUR HUSBAND

June 18, 1950

“Be A Pal” aka “Be A Pal To Your Husband” is episode #93 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on June 18, 1950 on the CBS Radio Network.

Synopsis ~ Liz feels thinks George would rather not spend time with her anymore, so she tries everything she can think of to be a pal to her husband. 

REGULAR CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born as Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his  roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.”  From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) had worked with Lucille Ball on “The Wonder Show” on radio in 1938. One of the front-runners to play Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy,” he eventually played Alvin Littlefield, owner of the Tropicana, during two episodes in 1952. After playing a Judge in an episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in 1958, he would re-team with Lucy for all of her subsequent series’: as Theodore J. Mooney in ”The Lucy Show”; as Harrison Otis Carter in “Here’s Lucy”; and as Curtis McGibbon on “Life with Lucy.” Gordon died in 1995 at the age of 89.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) was considered the front-runner to be cast as Ethel Mertz but when “I Love Lucy” was ready to start production she was already playing a similar role on TV’s “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” so Vivian Vance was cast instead. On “I Love Lucy” she was cast as Lucy Ricarodo’s spinster neighbor, Miss Lewis, in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) in early 1952. Later, she was a success in her own show, “Petticoat Junction” as Shady Rest Hotel proprietress Kate Bradley. She starred in the series until her death in 1968.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz (above right), a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

GUEST CAST

Hans Conried (Professor Millmoss / Joe) first co-starred with Lucille Ball in The Big Street (1942). He then appeared on “I Love Lucy” as used furniture man Dan Jenkins in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) and later that same season as Percy Livermore in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (ILL S2;E13) – both in 1952. The following year he began an association with Disney by voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan. On “The Lucy Show” he played Professor Gitterman in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (TLS S1;E19) and in “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (TLS S2;E1). He was probably best known as Uncle Tonoose on “Make Room for Daddy” starring Danny Thomas, which was filmed on the Desilu lot. He joined Thomas on a season 6 episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1973. He died in 1982 at age 64.

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Coope.  The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

This script is a revision of "Be Your Husband’s Best Friend” episode #21 of “My Favorite Husband” aired December 8, 1948. The program was aired before Liz and George’s last name was changed from Cugat to Cooper. Hans Conried was in that episode as well. 

This program was the basis for “I Love Lucy” episode “The Camping Trip” (ILL S2;E29)

and parts of the identically titled “Be a Pal” (ILL S1;E2). 

“Jell-O Everybody!”

The episode opens with Liz and George having an argument over breakfast about where to spend their evening. Liz wants to go to a symphony concert, while George wants to play poker.  

At their club luncheon, Liz and Iris listen to a guest speaker talk about “How To Be Happy, Though Married”. Professor Phillip Millmoss (Hans Conried) suggests the ladies be a pal to their husbands. Liz wonders why it has to be the woman who gives in – but Millmoss tells her to consult his new book (page 65):  

PROFESSOR MILLMOSS (reading): “Be your husband’s best friend. Be like his dog. You’ll never hear a man arguing with his dog!” 

On “I Love Lucy,” the book Lucy Ricardo takes advice from was written by Dr. Humphries. Unlike the radio version, the author is not a character in the script. When taking his advice doesn’t work out the way she hoped, Lucy quips “Doctor Humphries can go jumphries.” 

Liz resolves to employ the “Millmoss Treatment” with George and sits beside him to read the evening newspaper. Liz pretends to be interested in the sports section. 

LIZ (reading headline): “Williams Bags Crown By TKO in eighth.″ 

Liz pronounces TKO phonetically as ‘Tuh-Ko” although George corrects her.  The exchange was repeated verbatim between Lucy and Ricky in

“The Camping Trip.”

LIZ (reading): “Midget Racing! They oughta be ashamed making those little men racing around the track.” 

George sarcastically calls Liz Ted Husing, and then Red Barbar.

Ted Husing (1901-62) was one of CBS Radio’s most popular sportscasters. By 1950 his salary was an astronomical million dollars!  Red Barber (1908-92) was a play-by-play announcer for major league baseball, then announcing for the Brooklyn Dodgers and holding down his own CBS TV sports show “Red Barber’s Club House.” 

LIZ (reads): “Now they’re racing little girls! It says so right here,‘Yesterday at Tanforan a race was won by a three year-old maiden!’  She certainly was carrying a lot of money for a little girl. She had $2,000 in her purse.”

The line is virtually identical on television, except that Tanforan (a horse racetrack outside San Francisco) was changed to the more familiar Churchill Downs. 

George / Ricky then refers to Liz / Lucy as Grantland Rice (1880–1954), a sportswriter known for his elegant prose, although the reference was removed for TV syndication when Rice died in 1954. It was restored for the DVD release. Clueless Liz / Lucy think he is a food!

Liz is determined to join in the poker game that evening, despite not knowing anything about the card game. Lucy also tried this tactic on “Be A Pal”. 

LIZ / LUCY (looking over her cards): “There’s her sister! What do you have?” 

MR. ATTERBURY / FRED: “I shouldn’t talk, but tell your two Andrews Sisters not to wait up for LaVerne!” 

Interestingly, the poker players consist of Joe (also voiced by Hans Conried), George, and Mr. Atterbury played by Gale Gordon. Gordon was on the short-list to play Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy,” so it is fitting that these lines were given to William Frawley in the TV version. The Andrews Sisters were a close-harmony singing group most popular during World War II. In 1969 Lucy played LaVerne Andrews on an episode of “Here’s Lucy” that guest-starred Patty Andrews as herself. Lucille Ball’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz (not yet born at the time of the radio show) took the role of the third Andrews sister, Maxene.

Mr. Atterbury suggests that George take Liz on a rigorous camping trip to dissuade her from being George’s ‘pal’. Iris warns Liz about her husband’s plan, just as Ethel does in “The Camping Trip.” Liz / Lucy recruits Iris / Ethel to turn the tables at the campsite.  

Liz and George engage in a fishing contest, just like Lucy and Ricky.  Iris / Ethel arrives with some store-bought trout to fool George / Ricky.  

LIZ: “Throw them to me, Iris. That way I can tell George I caught them.” 

On radio, George becomes suspicious. It seems Iris has purchased LAKE trout, not the kind found in a stream. On TV this is goof is omitted. 

 Liz / Lucy challenges George / Ricky to a footrace back to camp.  

GEORGE / RICKY: “Since I’m a man, I’ll give you a head start.”
LIZ / LUCY: “Since I’m a woman, I’ll take it!” 

Back at camp, Liz is patiently waiting for George, having hitched a ride back in Iris’s car.  

LIZ / LUCY: “I got back so early, I had time to wash my hair.” 

Next morning Liz and Iris conspire to make George think she’s an expert duck hunter and sharp-shooter!  The same scenario is repeated in “The Camping Trip” with some minor line changes. Liz takes aim at the tree, and on cue Iris tosses a duck at her feet. 

GEORGE: “I don’t get it. Liz. First you catch a Lake Trout in a stream, now you shoot a duck marked Birdseye Frozen Foods!” 

Lucille Ball (as Liz) then does her classic spider face “Ewww!”  On television, the duck Ethel has bought is not the frozen variety, but one freshly plucked!  

RICKY: “You know, that’s pretty good shooting. Not only did you kill the duck, but you knocked its feathers off and cleaned it, too!” 

It is likely that CBS did not want to give an unpaid promotional mention to the Birdseye Company, although the thawed bird resembles the classic rubber chicken that is so associated with vaudeville comedy. 

The main difference in this scene on radio and television is that Liz demonstrates her shooting skill with the horseshoe AFTER the duck hunting, but before it on television. When Iris is exposed, Liz and George decide to stop being pals and go back to being just husband and wife. 

BOB LEMOND: “Watch for Lucille Ball in ‘Fancy Pants’ with Bob Hope.”

Fancy Pants was a musical adaptation of Ruggles of Red Gap that premiered on July 19, 1950. It was the second of four films Ball and Hope did together.

A short commercial for Sugar Crisp follows the mention of Ball’s film. A final rendition of the Jell-O pudding jingle ends the program.