LIZ THE MATCHMAKER

November 18, 1949

“Liz The Matchmaker” (aka “Katie and Mr. Negley”) is episode #63 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on November 18, 1949.

Synopsis ~ After dating Mr. Negley the postman for three years, Katie feels that their relationship is not going anywhere, so she enlists Liz’s help!

This was the 12th episode of the second season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 43 new episodes, with the season ending on June 25, 1950.

Although similarly titled and themed, this radio episode is not the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episodes “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15), “Lucy is a Matchmaker” (ILL S2;E27), “The Matchmaker” (ILL S4;E4), or “Lucy, the Matchmaker” (HL S1;E12) in 1968. Safe to say that meddling in the romantic affairs of others was a trait of all of the Lucy characters! 

“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.

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.

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

GUEST CAST

Jay Novello (Mr. Negley, Postman) appeared on “I Love Lucy” as superstitious Mr. Merriweather in “The Seance" (ILL S1;E7), Mario the gondolier in “The Visitor from Italy” (ILL S6;E5), and nervous Mr. Beecher in “The Sublease” (ILL S3;E31). He also appeared on two episodes of “The Lucy Show,” but Novello is probably best remembered for playing Mayor Lugatto on “McHale’s Navy” in 1965.

Frank Nelson (Police Officer) 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.

Rolfe Sedan (Malt Shop Waiter) 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.”

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers it’s morning and Liz and George are at the breakfast table.”

George spits out his eggs and wonders why his breakfast is so badly cooked. Liz says that Katie’s romance with Mr. Negley the mailman is not going well, so she’s distracted. Even the toast is burned!

Liz tells says she wants to help bring the maid and the mailman together but George warns her to stay out of it!  Instead, George wants to warn Mr. Negley that Katie is trying to get a “wedlock headlock” on him! George makes Liz promise not to meddle, no matter how difficult it is.

In the kitchen, Katie is crying and singing: “I gotta right to sing the blues. I got a right to moan and cry.” 

“I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues” is a popular song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Ted Koehler, published in 1932 for the Broadway show Earl Carroll’s Vanities (1932) starring Milton Berle. The song became a jazz and blues standard. Popular recordings were by Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holliday. 

Mr. Anthony (aka John J. Anthony) was the pseudonym of Lester Kroll, who from 1937 to 1953 dispensed marital advice on the radio through “The Good Will Hour”, later renamed “The John J. Anthony Hour.”

In “The Courtship of Miles Standish” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow John Alden was asked by his friend, Miles Standish, to act as matchmaker for him with Priscilla Mullins. Priscilla made the classic response “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?"  

Mr. Negley finally agrees to the date and merrily goes off singing “Some enchanted evening, you will see a stranger…” 

”Some Enchanted Evening“ is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. It has been described as ”the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show.“  Billboard Chart Records for “Some Enchanted Evening” in 1949 alone included Ezio Pinza (#7), Perry Como (#1), Frank Sinatra (#6), and Bing Crosby (#3). 

That evening, Liz and George are at the movies. George wants to leave, but she must keep George out till 11:30 and it is only 9:30!  Liz pretends to lose a shoe, which George dutifully searches for in the darkened theatre to no avail. 

At 10:15, Liz and George are at the malt shop and Liz keeps ordering to kill time, despite getting gradually sick to her stomach. The Malt Shop waiter (Rolfe Sedan) tempts her with an “Eagles Nest”. 

WAITER: “It has a base of pound cake and macaroon. On top of that, a scoop of mocha, black walnut, pistachio, peppermint, burnt almond, and tutti-frutti.  And then a layer of whipped cream. A layer of chopped nuts. A layer of marshmallows. A layer of cherries. And then you flood the whole thing with hot fudge!” 

Liz’s stomach churns!  

They drive home. It is a quarter to eleven. Liz blurts out that they can’t go in until 11:30. She makes George promise not to mad, and tells him the truth. He breaks his promise. Liz reminds him that in their courtship, it would be blissful to stay in the car an extra half hour with Liz, but that was a long time ago. He tries to kiss her, but logistics interfere.

GEORGE: “That’s funny. I can’t turn around. The steering wheel’s in the way. In the old days the cars were built different.”
LIZ: “In the old days, the stomach was built different.”

Liz wants to be sure Mr. Negley is gone, so she peers through the living room window.  A policeman (Frank Nelson) is watching them and wants to know what they are doing. He doesn’t believe they are the homeowners or that they were in the car smooching, not staking out the place!  He hauls them down to the police station!

At 4:30 in the morning, George and Liz finally get home, exhausted from their ordeal. A worried Katie greets them. It turns out something came up and Mr. Negley didn’t come over after all!  

LIZ: “Oh, no!!!”

End of Episode