LIZ BECOMES A SCULPTRESS

October 7, 1950

“Liz Becomes a Sculptress” (aka “Liz the Sculptress” aka “Liz Turns Sculptress”) is episode #100 [some sources say #99] of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on October 7, 1950.

This was the fifth episode of the third season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 31 new episodes, with the season ending on March 31, 1951.

This program was the basis for “I Love Lucy” episode titled “Lucy Becomes a Sculptress” (ILL S2;E15), first aired on January 15, 1953.

Synopsis ~ Liz decides that she needs a hobby, and the proprietor of the local arts and crafts store convinces her she’s a natural artistic genius when it comes to sculpting clay.

“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 Cooper. 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.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury / Miss Crawford) 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 Ricardo’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.

It is not unusual for radio performers to double up on voices, especially if they have very little to do as their principal character. Iris only has a brief phone chat with Liz before Miss Crawford’s entrance. It would not make sense to hire another actress for the role when Benadaret was under contract.

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.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) and Ruth Perrott (Katie the Maid) do not appear in this episode.

GUEST CAST

Hans Conried (Carl, Art Store Owner) 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 Professor (aka Sam) and Muscles Malcolm the model are played by uncredited performers.

THE EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on 321 Bundy Drive, Sheridan Falls, it’s late afternoon. Liz is just arriving home from her club meeting, and is met at the door by George.” 

Liz has had a very educational day at the club today. They had a lecture on older people and how they can be kept happy and useful, but as Liz has no hobbies, the lecturer pointed out that she’s on a slippery slope to being lonely and unhappy when she gets older. So she’s going to get a hobby!

On “I Love Lucy,” the motivation for Lucy Ricardo to take up art as a hobby is so that her baby will be born into a cultured household. Lucy shows Ricky a portrait of her great-grandfather (above).

After some conversation about who will pre-decease whom (and whether they will re-marry), Liz vows to go down to the art store first thing in the morning to get a hobby.

Liz enters Carl’s Arts and Crafts shop and is welcomed by Carl.

CARL: “I have all media. What do you usually like to work in?”
LIZ: “Oh, just an old housedress.”

On TV, Lucy is confused by the term ‘media’ and likes to work in ‘an old smock.’ On TV the art store clerk will be played by Russian-born Leon Belasco (right) who had done three movies with Lucille Ball between 1939 and 1944. William Abbott, the shop owner, is played by Shepard Menken.  

Liz flirts with the idea of finger painting. After all, she already has fingers!

LIZ: “Are these the right kind of fingers?”
CARL: “You can start with those. Later on I’ll sell you some better ones.”

Instead, Carl convinces Liz to try sculpting with their in store clay display. Carl suddenly is taken aback by her handling of the clay!  It becomes apparent to the listener that Carl is more salesman that art lover. He gushes over her primative squeezings.

CARL: “All the world is waiting for a squeezer like you!” 

CARL: “The next aspiring artist to come in I get to be the Professor. You have all the fun!”   

The idea of a convincing a customer to make a purchase by staging a deceptive scenario will also be used on in “The Girls Go Into Business” (ILL S3;E2) in which dress shop owner Mrs. Hansen (Mabel Paige) tries to convince Lucy and Ethel her shop does a booming business by recruiting two ‘shoppers’ (Kay Wiley and Barbara Pepper) to buy lots of merchandise while Lucy and Ethel look on in amazement. The scam works and Lucy and Ethel buy the store.

George comes home from work to find Liz has set up an art studio in his den. To George’s surprise Liz is wearing an artist’s smock and a tam.

LIZ / LUCY: “This is the official outfit of all us sculptressessss.”
GEORGE / RICKY: “All us whatressesessss?”

Liz proudly shows off her latest work to George, who teases her about not knowing exactly what it is. Finally, he says it is a bunch of grapes and Liz bursts into tears. She’s sculpted a man’s head!

On TV, Ricky guesses Lucy’s first sculpture is supposed to be a boy and his dog or a girl and her dog but Lucy says it is a child at its mother’s knee.  Ethel guesses it is the nose on somebody’s face.

After Bob LeMond does a commercial for Jell-O (”You can turn out a work of art with Jell-O!”), the story resumes with Liz sobbing and George comforting her. Liz says she’d do much better if she could hire a model. George volunteers as her model but Liz quickly rejects him. George asks why.

LIZ: “Your muscles. They’re all in your coat.”

LIZ: “Well! Gypsy Rose Cooper!”

Liz is referring to the famous strip tease artist and burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, 1911–1970), whose life was the inspiration for the Broadway musical and film Gypsy in 1959. Above, Gypsy Rose Lee visited the set of “I Love Lucy” during the filming of “Hollywood Anniversary” in February 1955.

Liz unfavorably compares George’s physique to the Discus Thrower, a Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical Period, depicting a youthful athlete throwing discus, circa 460–450 BC. Liz measures George’s ‘bicups’ (biceps) but they fall short.

On “I Love Lucy,” Ricky avoids being a model, but Fred is recruited to pose as the Discus Thrower – and throws his back out in the process!

George scolds Liz for spending so much money on her ‘hobby’ – $50, which is equal to more than $500 in today’s economy. George demands she return everything to the art store and Liz bursts into tears again.

The next day, Liz telephones Iris to tell her that she has hired a model anyway.  The doorbell rings and it is ‘Muscles Malcolm’ from the modeling agency. To Liz’s surprise he wants to pose ‘au naturel’ but Liz convinces him to wear a tiger skin.

George comes home early from dinner so Liz quickly stashes Malcolm in the closet. George sees Malcolm’s street clothes.  Liz tries to convince him that they are his clothes!  Malcolm suddenly sneezes from inside the closet.

LIZ (quickly): “I didn’t hear anything. Nobody sneezed!”
GEORGE (suspicious): “I didn’t say anyone did.” 

In “The Saxophone” (ILL S2;E2), Ricky stashes a handsome man in the closet to turn the tables on Lucy. Writer Madelyn Pugh remembers: “For some reason, Bob [Carrol Jr.] and I liked the idea of people hiding in a closet. We used it in this show, and in a couple of other ‘Lucys.’ We even used it in the pilot of ‘The Mothers-in-Law’ fifteen years later – and it always got a laugh!”

The jig is up and Malcolm emerges from the closet. Surprisingly, George is not mad at all.  He leaves the house calmly, but Liz smells a rat.

MISS CRAWFORD: “Do you want me to pose draped or undraped?  I usually pose undraped.”
LIZ: “Draped. You’ve got a bad enough cold already.”

NOTE: This line gets the biggest audience reaction of the entire episode, perhaps because of the intimation of nudity or because Bea Benadaret’s voice sounds very scratchy. Perhaps the audience knows that she is under the weather and feels in on the joke?

In the live Jell-O commercial, Lucille Ball, in a seductive voice, tells Bob LeMond claims she always wanted to be…a ballet dancer!  Instead, Ball switches to her “Professor” voice; a deep, husky, and blunt tone.

LUCILLE BALL: “I ain’t gonna do the Jell-O jiggle. I had an accident. I had on my new shoes; they’re kinda sharp. I spun six times. Once for strawberry like this. Once for raspberry like this. Once for cherry, like so. And once for orange, lemon and lime, like this. Darn that Jell-O jiggle, I dun it again. I dug myself right into the ground!” 

ANNOUNCER: “Lucille Ball can currently be seen in Columbia’s laugh-fest ‘The Fuller Brush Girl’.  Watch for it when it comes to your city.”

A recorded commercial for Instant Sanka coffee and the Jell-O jingle ends the broadcast.

FAST FORWARD!

The television version of this script ends very differently. Lucy tries to pass off her own head as an example of her art work. Ricky invites an important art critic to assess it, and he attempts to buy Lucy’s head and take it with him!  The highly visual ending, with Lucille Ball’s head stuck through a table and covered with clay, works much better than the radio conclusion.

This isn’t the last time Lucy had a brush (pun intended) with the visual arts.

In “Lucy Goes To Art Class” (TLS S2;E15) in 1964, Lucy Carmichael also visited an art store and took a drawing to meet an eligible bachelor (Robert Alda).

In “Lucy and Uncle Harry’s Pot” (HL S5;E21) in 1973, Lucy Carter took up pottery in order to recreate a vase she’s broken which had sentimental value to Harry.