PIANO & VIOLIN LESSONS

January 14, 1949

“Piano and Violin Lessons” (aka “Professor
Krausmeyer’s Talent Scouts”) is episode #26 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on January 14, 1949 on the Armed Forces Radio Network.

Synopsis ~ Liz takes up the piano to win a radio talent contest. To get even, George starts playing the violin. Who will win?

“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 Benadaret 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.

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.

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.

Announcer Bob LeMond is not heard in this episode as it is part of the American Forces Network and has a different announcer. 

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) and Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) had not yet joined the cast as regular characters.

GUEST CAST

Hans Conried (Professor Krausemeyer) 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.

Conried uses a German accent for the role. Professor Krausmeyer is likely the inspiration for Professor Gitterman on “The Lucy Show.” 

A character named Esther Weiss, a young cymbal player, makes a brief appearance voiced by an uncredited performer. 

EPISODE

George is in the attic looking for his decoy ducks and has found a stack of old National Geographic magazines. 

National Geographic magazine started publishing in 1888 and became one of the most widely-read magazines of all time. They specialized in science, geography, history, and world culture. The magazine is known for its distinctive appearance: a thick square-bound glossy format with a yellow rectangular border and its use of dramatic photography. It was not uncommon for readers to collect and store them, as George has. 

George finds the magazines fascinating, but Liz is bored, except for the car ads from 20 years ago. 

LIZ (reading): “New Cadillac: $1,100.”

The Cadillac Automobile Company was established in 1902, named after French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701. The brand became associated with luxury cars, a reputation it still has today. On a 1954 episode of “I Love Lucy” Fred Mertz bought a rundown 1923 Cadillac convertible for the gang’s trip to California, much to the dismay of the other passengers. Even though he only paid $300, Fred was swindled! 

George admires the features of the cars in the ad, rhapsodizing about the isinglass windows, the retractable top, tires that took 60lbs of pressure, but all Liz can think of is the rumble seat!  

A rumble seat was an additional padded passenger seat that popped up from the rear of the vehicle, usually just big enough for two. This led it to becoming synonymous with romantic trysts!  Liz definitely has that in mind. 

Liz reveals that the decoy ducks George was originally searching for were used for target practice at the charity bazaar shooting gallery.  Liz wants to throw away George’s workout equipment, like his barbells. George can’t even lift them off the floor!  George insists she sell her old piano.  Liz plays him a few bars, but George reveals that she is using the player piano, not playing it herself. 

A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano, containing a mechanism that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in the late 19th and early 20th century. Sales peaked in 1924, then declined due to the advent of phonograph recordings and radio. The stock market crash of 1929 virtually wiped out production

Liz insists that she can also play all by herself and offers to play “Glow Worm” although George wants to hear “The Tchaikovsky

Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor”.  Liz starts to play and all that comes out is an out-of-tune rendition of “Glow Worm.” 

“The Glow-Worm” is a song from Paul Lincke’s 1902 operetta Lysistrata. The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875.  On “I Love Lucy”, Lucy Ricardo found her old saxophone in the attic, much the way Liz finds her old piano. Like Liz, all Lucy can play is “Glow Worm” even when asked to play something else!     

Liz has the piano moved down to the living room, and asks Katie the Maid to clean it up. Liz tells her she has arranged to take piano lessons to prove something to George. Although it has just been tuned, Liz’s rendition of “Glow Worm” is just as out-of-key as ever! 

Liz is waiting for her childhood piano instructor, Professor Krausmeyer (Hans Conried), to arrive. When he gets there they reminisce about how all she could ever play was “Glow Worm.”  Even back then, Liz claimed the piano was out-of-tune.  

PROFESSOR: “Nobody is hopeless. I can teach anybody to play the piano who has only three qualifications: a left hand, a right hand, and five dollars an hour.” 

The Professor entices her to take five lessons a week so that she can appear on his radio talent contest.  Liz agrees!  

Three days later, Liz is practicing “Swannee River” for the talent show. George and Katie lament her non-stop practicing. Katie claims they even got a telegram asking her to stop, signed “The Friends of Stephen Foster”! 

“Swanee River” aka “Old Folks at Home” was written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Lucille Ball attempts to play “Swanee River” on the banjo in “Carol + 2″ in 1966. In “World’s Greatest Grandma” (1986), an un-aired episode of “Life With Lucy” Lucy Barker’s son-in-law Ted sings “Swanee River” while Lucy does a few clumsy shuffle steps.     

George tries to get her to stop, but she refuses. George goes to see Professor Krausmeyer.  George is no sooner in the door when the Professor says he has the hands of an artists. When George says he used to play the violin a little, the Professor urges him to try playing the one in his studio, declaring him to be the next Jascha Heifitz.  

Jascha Heifetz (1901-87, inset photo) is considered to be the greatest violinist of all time. In “Lucy and Jack Benny’s Biography” (HL S3;E11) in 1970, Lucy plays Jack Benny’s mother, getting a call from Jascha Heifetz’s mother, about their sons’ violin playing! 

The Professor enters George in the contest as well, just to teach Liz a lesson. At home, it is George’s violin versus Liz’s piano, with a defensive Katie playing the harmonica in retaliation. George tells Liz that he’s also going to be in the contest. Liz bets him $100 that she will win.

To foil him, Liz glues his strings together. Before bedtime, Liz puts on her protective gloves, but George has filled them with quick drying glue!  Laying out their clothes for the contest, George hides her new dress – as well as the rest of her clothing. Liz locks him in the bathroom and tries to find something to wear to the contest. 

At the radio station, Liz shows up wearing one of George’s suits. Professor Krausmeyer doesn’t recognize her. George suddenly arrives wearing one of Liz’s sun dresses. They argue about who will play first and end up playing simultaneously: Liz’s “Swanee River” on the piano at the same time as George’s “Humoresques” on the violin. 

In “Bullfight Dance” (ILL S4;E23), Ricky proposes he and Lucy do a counterpoint of “Humoresques”, a piano composition by Antonín Dvořák written in 1894 and “Swanee River”. Ricky decides Lucy can’t handle the complexity of the piece and decides to switch the act to a matador routine. 

The Professor declares that they both have won for best duet!  The prize is six months lessons with Professor Krausmeyer!

In bed that night, Liz wakes up George angrily to chide him for smooching Betty Grable in her dream. He says that he was dreaming, too! In his dream she was dancing with Gregory Peck – while he was smooching with Betty Grable! 

Betty Grable (1916-73) was one of Hollywood’s biggest starlets. At the time of this episode, her film When My Baby Smiles at Me was in cinemas.  She would appear with her second husband Harry James on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” In 1958. Gregory Peck (1916-2003) was one of Hollywood’s most distinguished leading men. His film Yellow Sky had premiered just three weeks earlier. 

Liz smacks him hard and says “Goodnight, George!”