October 23, 1948
“The Quiz Show” is episode #14 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on October 23, 1948.
Synopsis ~ Liz and George need a new dishwasher, and Cory gets them a chance to win one on the radio quiz show, “His and Hers.”
This script was used as the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Gets Ricky On the Radio” (ILL S1;E32) first aired on May 19, 1952.
Note: This episode of “My Favorite Husband” was aired before the characters names were changed from Cugat to Cooper. It was also before Jell-O came aboard to sponsor the show and before the regular cast featured Bea Benadaret and Gale Gordon as the Atterburys.
“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 Cugat) 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. “My Favorite Husband” 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 Cugat) 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 / Mrs. Van Tassle) 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.
Mrs. Van Tassel only giggles. Since Perrott is the only other female in the show, the role would fall to her. In other episodes, Mrs. Marge Von Tassle is played by Elvia Allman.
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
John Hiestand (Cory Cartwright) served as the announcer for the radio show “Let George Do It” from 1946 to 1950. In 1955 he did an episode of “Our Miss Brooks” opposite Gale Gordon.
Frank Nelson (Smiley Stembottom, Radio Host) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs. His trademark was playing clerks and other working stiffs, suddenly turning to Benny with a drawn out “Yeeeeeeeeees?” Nelson appeared in 11 episodes of “I Love Lucy”, including three as quiz master Freddy Fillmore, and two as Ralph Ramsey, plus appearance on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” – making him the only actor to play two different recurring roles on “I Love Lucy.” Nelson returned to the role of the frazzled Train Conductor for an episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1963. This marked his final appearance on a Lucille Ball sitcom.
Hans Conried (Mr. Atterbury, George’s Boss) 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.
Hans Conried played Mr. Atterbury in several episodes until the role was assumed by Gale Gordon and became a series regular in 1949.
Herb Vigran (Harry, George’s Friend / Radio Announcer) made several appearances on “My Favorite Husband.” He would later play Jule, Ricky’s music union agent on two episodes of “I Love Lucy”. He would go on to play Joe (and Mrs. Trumbull’s nephew), the washing machine repairman in “Never Do Business With Friends” (S2;E31) and Al Sparks, the publicity man who hires Lucy and Ethel to play Martians on top of the Empire State Building in “Lucy is Envious” (S3;E23). Of his 350 screen roles, he also made six appearances on “The Lucy Show.”
Rolfe Sedan (Mr. Charles Van Tassle) first worked with Lucille Ball in the 1934 film Kid Millions. When Lucy Ricardo ate snails in “Paris at Last” (ILL S5;E18), Sedan played the Chef who was outraged that Lucy wants to put ketchup on his food. He is probably best remembered as Mr. Beasley the mailman on “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.”
Mr. Van Tassel is a lawyer who lives in Sheridan Falls. He is also competing on “Mr. & Mrs.”
THE EPISODE
ANNOUNCER: “It’s morning and George Cugat is seated alone at the breakfast table. Liz is helping Katie the maid in the kitchen by fixing the toast.”
From the dining room, George hears Liz scraping the toast and knows that breakfast has been burned – again! George has tried to fix the faulty toaster. He tightened the spring to make the toast pop up better.
LIZ: “You’d better apologize to Katie. She fell into the sink running back to catch a high fly. And if it ever learns to throw a curve we’re really in trouble.”
GEORGE: “Well, what do you do? Buy a new one?”
LIZ: “Either that or buy Katie a fielder’s mitt.”
The toaster proved to be one of Lucille Ball’s favorite props on “I Love Lucy”. Many episodes began with the toast popping up into mid-air and Lucy (or Ricky) catching it (or not)!
Liz compares George’s morning kisses to coffee – they wake her up.
GEORGE: “I have a confession to make. My caffeine’s been removed.”
(GEORGE and LIZ kiss)
LIZ: “Mmmm. Sanka!”
GEORGE: “You’re welcome!”
Sanka was one of the first caffeine-free brands of coffee. It came to the USA in 1910 as Dekafa, but was re-branded in 1914 as Sanka, a name derived from the French “sans caffeine”. Sanka was a sponsor of “I Love Lucy” after their relationship with Philip Morris ended. They were included on the animated sequences leading into commercial breaks.
A commotion in the kitchen finds Katie fighting off the automatic dishwasher run-amok! Liz pleads with George to buy a new dishwasher if only to insure that they don’t lose Katie.
George insists that women have it too easy, stating that pioneer women didn’t have a lot of electronic gadgets to do their housework.
LIZ: “Of course they didn’t. And where are those women today? Dead!”
A failed attempt at getting Ricky and Fred to buy them automatic dishwashers brings the same accusation from Ricky and response from Lucy in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25) in 1952. They agree to turn back the clock to see who can cope with life without electronic gadgets – the men or the women.
Liz says that without a new dishwasher, she’ll have to help Katie with the dishes and get dishpan hands – not very kissable. George still refuses. They argue who (or whom) will tell Katie that she isn’t getting a new dishwasher.
Later, Liz invites Cory Cartwright over to ask him if he knows of any radio give-away shows where she might win a dishwasher. She notices he has bottle of Tabu on a string – fishing for women!
Tabu is a perfume from Dana that started marketing in the US in the 1940s. The scent is primarily of patchouli oils. It was called the “forbidden” scent!
Cory has friend that produces radio giveaway shows and provides Liz a long list of the many items that are up for grabs, ending with “Arrowhead Springs”!
Arrowhead Springs is a mountainous neighborhood of San Bernardino, California. It is named for a geographical formation in the side of the mountain that resembles a large arrowhead. A resort and spa sprung up at the foot of the mountains. In 1948, Life Magazine brought attention to Arrowhead Springs with a photo shoot featuring 6 Hollywood fashion models, which is likely why it is on Cory’s list!
Cory phones his friend, Smiley Stembottom, host of “His & Hers” – a husband and wife game show. Liz is doubtful George will want to participate, but promises to get George to listen to the broadcast airing that night.
On “I Love Lucy,” the radio quiz show was known as “Mr. and Mrs. Quiz” and Frank Nelson’s host character was named Freddy Fillmore instead of Smiley Stembottom.
After dinner, Liz convinces Liz to stay home and listen to the radio, something she rarely does and George knows it. Liz spurts out several nonsensical titles of shows she says she listens to:
- “Portia Faces John’s Other Wife” ~ a mash-up of “John’s Other Wife” (1936-42) and “Portia Faces Life” (1940-53).
- “Ma Perkins Can Be Beautiful” ~ a mash-up of “Ma Perkins” (1933-60) and “Life Can Be Beautiful” (1940-56)
- “When A Girl Marries It Pays To Be Ignorant” ~ a mash-up of “When A Girl Marries” (1939-57) and “It Pays To Be Ignorant” (1942-51), a comedy show sponsored by Philip Morris.
- “Libbey Owens: Girl Glassblower” ~ Libbey-Owens-Ford was a North American glass manufacturer in business from 1930 to 1986.
Liz suggests a quiz show, but George is resistant. He calls them “horrible” and full of “a lot of silly characters making fools of themselves in front of a microphone.”
On the radio, host Smiley Stembottom (Frank Nelson) of “His & Hers” introduces Mr. and Mrs. Paul Roni. He asks them the jackpot question: “What is stored at Fort Knox?” Liz answers “gelatine”. The answer, as George knows, is gold.
Liz is thinking of Knox Gelatine, not the Kentucky military installations that are home to much of America’s gold supply. Charles Knox developed the world’s first pre-granulated gelatine. He packaged dried sheets of gelatin and then hired salesmen to travel door-to-door to show women how to add liquid to the sheets and use it to make aspics, molds, and desserts. Gelatin is also the prime ingredient of Jell-O, a dessert that will become the main sponsor of “My Favorite Husband” in 1949. Fort Knox, the gold depository, will be frequently mentioned by money-grubbing Mr. Mooney and Harry Carter (both played by Gale Gordon) on “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy,” respectively.
Smiley signs off by announcing the contestants for next week: Mr. and Mrs. Tom LeFevre, Dr. and Mrs. Charles Van Tassle, and Mr. and Mrs. George Cugat. Liz hasn’t had time to tell him and George is furious!
The phone rings and it is Harry (Herb Vigran), George’s friend, who ribs him about being on a quiz show, comparing it to “Queen for a Day”!
“Queen for a Day” had women competing for prizes by disclosing their hardships for an audience vote. It began as a radio program in 1945 and moved to television in 1947. Its final queen was crowned in 1964. The show was mentioned by Ethel Mertz as a way for Lucy to get Ricky’s name in the press on “The Publicity Agent” (ILL S1;E31) in 1952. Instead, she pretends to be the Maharincess of Franistan!
George’s boss Mr. Atterbury (Hans Conried) calls and instead of being angry, he thinks it is a great idea as it will give the bank publicity and prove how smart bankers can be.
Next day, George brings home a bunch of reference books to bone up for the quiz. He asks Liz a history questions to test her:
“What is the Monroe Doctrine?” ~ Liz doesn’t know for sure, but thinks it is about the guy who sang “Racing With the Moon.” Imitating Vaughn Monroe in a gravlley voice, she sings a few bars before George cuts her off.
It actually refers to President James Monroe. The Monroe Doctrine (1823) warns European nations that the United States will not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs.
They move on to Natural History:
“What is the name of and animal with long, sharp, fangs and a shaggy head who stalks his prey at night?” ~ This reminds Liz of Corey Cartwright!
The real answer is undoubtedly wolf. In parlance of the 1940s, it was also an analogous term for a womanizing man. Hence the term “wolf whistle”.
George resolves that on the show he will answer all the questions and Liz will just stand there smiling.
The day of the quiz, Cory consoles a worried Liz by telling her that he has the answer sheet, thanks to last night’s date with Adele, the producer’s secretary. Although Liz is sure it is wrong, she sneaks a peak at the answers anyway.
- Al Jolson
- The sap runs every two years.
- “Life With Father”
- To scrap the barnacles off of her hull.
Liz memorizes the answers, even though she doesn’t know the questions.
On “I Love Lucy” there were only three questions before the jackpot question, not four. Also, the prize was $500, not a new automatic dishwasher.
Before leaving for the studio, Liz is dressing and repeating the answers to herself. George reminds her that he will answer all the questions.
At the studio, the show begins with the announcer (Herb Vigran) introducing Smiley and three couples. Mr. Atterbury cheers from the audience when the Cugats are introduced. Smiley announces that because the men on the show are so intelligent (a lawyer, a doctor, and a banker) they have thrown out the easy questions they were going to use in favor of more difficult ones.
Attorney Mr. Van Tassle (Rolfe Sedan) is first up. Whatever Smiley says, Mrs. Van Tassel just giggles. His question is:
- Q (Smiley): “Who discovered the Fountain of Youth and claimed he could live forever?”
- A (Mr. Van Tassle): “Ponce de
León.”
In “Desert Island” (ILL S6;E8) in 1956,
Ricky announces that he’s going to be in a film about the history of the state of Florida. The state’s history begins in 1513 with its founding by Spanish explorer Ponce de León. Ricky says he will appear in the ‘modern’ scenes playing with his band in the hotel nightclub.
Meanwhile, just offstage, presumably while the LeFevre’s are answering their questions, Liz and George nervously review their procedure: George will do all the talking – or so he thinks! Liz and George are called to the stage.
-
Q (Smiley): “Who discovered the Fountain of Youth and claimed he could live forever?”
- A (Liz): “Al Jolson.”
Al Jolson was the name of a popular jazz singer of the time. He was a rival of William Frawley (Fred Mertz) in vaudeville. A film of his life was released in 1946 and in early 1948 it was done for radio starring Jolson as himself.
On “I Love Lucy” the first question is different: “To whom do you make your federal tax check out on March 15?” but instead Fillmore asks “What is the name of the animal that fastens itself to you and drains you of your blood?” The answer Lucy memorized was “The collector of Internal Revenue.” when the real answer was “A vampire bat.” [Tax Day was first set on March 1st in 1913. It was moved to March 15th in 1918 before being finally set as April 15th in 1955.]
Smiley asks the Cugats his second question:
- Q (Smiley): “What is your congressman’s term of office?”
- A (Liz): “The sap runs every four years.”
Liz is wrong. The answer is every six years.
This is the same question that will be asked on “I Love Lucy”, although on radio we never hear the original question that Lucy / Liz is answering: “How do subfreezing temperatures in the arctic affect the growth of trees?”
George begs to be allowed to answer. Smiley asks question number three:
- Q (Smiley): “What has caused America to have such a large increase in population?”
- A (Liz): “Is it ‘Life With Father’?”
Life With Father holds the record for being the longest-running non-musical Broadway play in history. It opened in November 1939 and played until April 1947 amassing 3,224 performances. The play was written by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, adapted from stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day.
The play was adapted into a 1947 feature film and a 1953-55 CBS television series running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.”
Smiley asks his fourth and final question:
- Q (Smiley): “Why did the French people put Marie Antoinette under the sharp blade of the guillotine?
- A (Liz): “To scrape the barnacles off her hull!”
Liz is wrong again. George never got a chance to answer. They become the first couple never to get any of the answers right.
The real answer is not given on the show, but after the French monarchy was abolished in 1792, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason and executed by having her head cut off in a public square.
Since the jackpot counts for 100 points, George and Liz could still win the electric dishwasher – plus the bonus prize of 300 dirty dishes. Liz finally realizes that they switched the questions after she memorized them!
- Jackpot Q (Smiley): “At the last session of the big four foreign minsters in Paris, when Russia and the United States were in disagreement, what did Andrey Vyshinsky say to Secretary of State Marshall?”
- A (Liz): “I give up, George. Let’s go home.”
A Big Four Conference of foreign ministers in June and July 1946 involved much haggling between the Soviet and Western ministers. However, the attendees managed to agree on final treaties with Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland. George C. Marshall was Secretary of State under Harry S. Truman between 1947 and 1949.
Liz gets it right. She has won the new dishwasher!
On “I Love Lucy” the bonus (aka jackpot) question was "What did George Washington say when crossing the Delaware?” Ricky is truly queasy at how poorly he’s doing on the show, so he blurts out to Lucy, “Please let me sit down. This is making me sick!” which was the correct answer!
LIZ: “I didn’t even know I spoke Russian!”
In the usual bedtime tag scene, Liz and George are in bed trying to sleep. She wonders if George ever pretends. George appeases her.
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