THE ATTIC

September 23, 1949

“The Attic” (aka “Trapped in the Attic”) is episode #55 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on September 23, 1949.

This was the fourth episode of the second season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 43 new episodes, with the season ending on June 25, 1950.  

Synopsis ~ One of George’s old Glee Club friends is in town and George wants to find his old ukulele, so he and Liz search for it in the attic but get locked in.

“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.

MAIN 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 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.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz, 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.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) and Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) do not appear in this episode. 

GUEST CAST

Hans Conried (Mr. Benjamin Wood / Jimmy the Paper Boy) 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.

The character’s first name is not mentioned here, but it is in other episodes where Conried plays Mr. Wood.

THE EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “Even in the happiest of marriages both the husband and wife have little habits that prove annoying over the years. With the Coopers it’s George’s habit of reading the newspaper at the breakfast table. 

Well, unable to break him of this habit Liz is setting up a counter irritant. As we look in on them now she has just started a barrage of toast munching… It’s a war of nerves!”

The episode opens at breakfast, where Liz is upset that George has buried himself in the morning newspaper instead of paying attention to her. 

This was a common complaint on early episodes of “I Love Lucy” as well. Ricky often didn’t lift his eyes from behind the newspaper.  

LIZ: “I’ll speak to Katie and asks her to buy quieter bread. Or, I could puree the bread and eat it with a spoon.”

The phone rings. It is George’s old friend Charlie Nichols. Charlie is a Bullfrog, a member of their college Glee Club.

Liz translates the slangy conversation between the old friends for Katie.

George riffs a few notes of “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” into the phone with Charlie. 

"Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” is a popular song from 1925 written by Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson. A week before this episode aired, it was also the title of a Universal motion picture starring Donald O’Connor and Gloria DeHaven. In 1980 the film was referenced in “Lucy Moves To NBC” which featured O’Connor and DeHaven in a show-within-a-show sitcom called “The Music Mart”. 

Liz anticipates that George will want to find his old ukulele for his reunion with Charlie. Naturally, she’s right and naturally Liz has no idea where it is! George reminds her of the time she disposed of all his old clothes, a hint at a future episode titled “Husbands Are Sloppy Dressers” (E95) which would become “Changing The Boys’ Wardrobe” on “I Love Lucy”.  

GEORGE: “A man’s old clothes are filled with sentiment.”
LIZ: “That’s sediment, not sentiment!” 

On “I Love Lucy” saxophone wasn’t the only instrument she was able to play. Lucy first plays the ukulele in “Ricky Loses His Voice” (ILL S2;E9), “Little Ricky Gets Stage Fright” (ILL S6;E4), and again in “Don Juan Is Shelved” (ILL S4;E22). Lucy Carmichael strummed the uke in “Lucy’s College Reunion” (TLS S2;E11). Fast forward to 1972 and Lucy and Kim Carter play the ukulele in “Lucy Goes Hawaiian: Part 2″ (HL S3;E24).

Liz denies having thrown away George’s prized ukulele. Liz asks George the last time he saw it and he says it was “just the other night at the alumni dinner” – in 1938!  Liz says it’s probably in the attic, and off they go to look for it. 

On “I Love Lucy,” Lucy Ricardo visited the attic to find a musical instrument, too – “The Saxophone” (ILL S2;E2). Of course, she finds other memories along the way. This was the series’ only visit to the attic of 623 East 68th Street. 

In the attic, George thinks he sees a prowler – but it is just Liz’s old dress dummy!  

Lucy Carter and her kids visits the attic for antiques and get a lesson in family history lesson in “Lucy Takes Over” (HL S2;E23). When first entering the darkened attic, Lucy screams when she runs into the dress dummy, just like George!

The box marked ‘ukulele’ is actually filled with ski boots!  Liz’s labeling system has resorted in confusion about what’s inside each box.  

This warped logic foreshadows Lucy Carmichael and Lucy Carter’s crazy filing system on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.”  It never failed to confound Mr. Mooney / Harry (Gale Gordon). 

Liz finds her corsage collection – dried flowers of corsages given to her by high school boys. George finds his old electric train. Liz wants to throw out the trains, while George wants to toss the corsages.  

"Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (LDCH S1;E5) opens with Lucy searching the living room closet for Ricky’s guitar strings. While doing so, she runs across  a pressed corsage of violets that Ricky gave to her during their courtship.

Hours later, Liz and George still haven’t thrown away anything and still haven’t found the ukulele. They agree to try again after lunch – but the attic door is locked. George calls for Katie – but she’s gone downtown to take George’s Glee Club sweater to the cleaners and is then off for the afternoon.  

From the attic window, Liz yells to neighbor Mr. Wood (Hans Conried) but he is working on his motorcycle and can’t hear them. Jimmy the Paper Boy (also Conried) thinks they want their newspaper tossed through the attic window.  It hits George square in the face.

George decides to ram the door with his shoulder like they do in the movies, but to no avail. 

GEORGE: “They must use fake doors in pictures.”
LIZ: “Maybe they use real men!”

George has landed on his ukulele, which emerges unharmed. He strums and sings a few more bars of “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” – much to Liz’s chagrin.

More time passes and they are still locked in the attic. Liz notices the calendar on the attic wall says March. 

LIZ: “I wonder if it’s been a tough winter?”  

Liz starts to cry, but George wants her to laugh it off and think of it as an exciting adventure. Hunger starts to set in. Liz finds a piece of their ten year-old wedding cake. Petrified!. She spies a piece of cheese in a mousetrap!   

It is here the episode starts to foreshadow “Lucy in the Swiss Alps” (ILL S5;E21) in which the Ricardos and Mertz’s are trapped in an Alpine cabin due to an avalanche, where hunger is also an issue.  

Panic sets in – Liz is stir crazy and wants George to jump out of the window to get help. George gets the idea to make a rope ladder out of old drapes and lower Liz to the ground. 

The idea of escaping a high confinement by knotting sheets (or blankets or curtains) together to form a rope ladder is a familiar trope. It was later used in “The Star Upstairs” (ILL S4;E25) when Lucy Ricardo finds herself trapped in Cornel Wilde’s upstairs suite and chooses this method of escape. 

LIZ: “Just a moment.  Who’s lowering whom?”
GEORGE: “I’m lowering you’m!”
LIZ: “Over my’m dead body you’m are!” 

This exchange is very similar to “Vacation from Marriage” (ILL S2;E6) which finds Lucy and Ethel trapped on the roof when the door locks behind them. Lucy gets the idea to put a plank across the alleyway (five flights up) to the neighboring building, but naturally she wants Ethel to go first!  Ethel is reluctant to be the one to go first!

Practically speaking, Liz is not strong enough to hold George’s weight, so she has to be the one to be lowered. As Liz climbs onto the window ledge, Mr. Wood sees her and thinks she’s going to kill herself!  He rushes into the attic to save her.

MR. WOOD: “You have so much to live for. You’re young! You’re beautiful! You’re vibrant! Think of your husband!  Think of the children!”
LIZ: “I don’t have any children.”
MR. WOOD: “Well I have eleven children, you can have a couple of mine.”

Liz explains that she wasn’t suicidal but that they were locked in the attic. She demonstrates by shutting the door – accidentally locking them in again!  Katie arrive just in time and admits that she’s been home the whole time – asleep on her good ear!  Just as they are about to leave – the wind slams the door shut. Katie calmly announces that the firemen will let them out when they arrive after the explosion. 

LIZ: “What explosion?”
KATIE: “I left the pressure cooker on the stove!”