LIZ’S INFERIORITY COMPLEX

February 3, 1951

“Liz’s Inferiority Complex” (aka “Liz Develops an Inferiority Complex”) is episode #117 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on February 3, 1951.

This was the 19th episode of the third season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 31 new episodes, with the season (and series) ending on March 31, 1951.  

Synopsis ~ After messing up a joke, bombing at bridge, and lousing up George’s breakfast, Liz develops an inferiority complex.

Note: This program was the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Inferiority Complex” (ILL S2;E18) filmed on September 6, 1952 and first aired on February  2, 1953.  Much of the dialogue is repeated verbatim from the radio program. 

“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.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) had worked with Lucille Ball on “The Wonder Show” on radio in 1938. One of the front-runners to play Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy,” he eventually played Alvin Littlefield, owner of the Tropicana, during two episodes in 1952. After playing a Judge in an episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in 1958, he would re-team with Lucy for all of her subsequent series’: as Theodore J. Mooney in ”The Lucy Show”; as Harrison Otis Carter in “Here’s Lucy”; and as Curtis McGibbon on “Life with Lucy.” Gordon died in 1995 at the age of 89.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) 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.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) does not appear in this episode, although she is mentioned. 

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

Alan Reed (Dr. Auerbach) is probably best remembered as the voice of Fred Flintstone. He started his acting career in 1937. He played a cafe owner in “Lucy Visits the White House” (TLS S1;E25) first aired on March 25, 1963. In 1967, he made an appearance on the Desi Arnaz series “The Mothers-in-Law”. He died in 1977 at the age of 69. 

The character was likely named for comic actor Artie Auerbach. In 1938, he announced plans to marry Cleo, Lucille Ball’s cousin. Ball intervened because she was underage, but the couple later married anyway.  Like most psychiatrists on TV and radio, Reed speaks with a German accent, no doubt inspired by Sigmund Freud.  On the television version of “The Inferiority Complex” the psychiatrist was played by Gerard Mohr and the character’s name was Dr. Henry Molin.  

THE EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “Let’s look in on the Coopers. It’s evening and they’re entertaining George’s boss, Mr. Atterbury, and his wife Iris. Dinner is over and the group are now in the living room.”

They discuss what a wonderful meal Liz prepared for them. Mr. Atterbury ate a 17 oysters! He’s even got a joke to accompany the oysters, about a deep sea diver and a mermaid, but Iris won’t let him tell it in mixed company.

LIZ: “Iris, this company isn’t mixed, it’s married!

Liz decides that she’ll try to tell one instead, but she’s not very good at telling jokes. She cannot decide whether it is about a man or a woman – or a restaurant or a cafeteria.  Liz can’t remember the punch line, but George impatiently interrupts and tells the joke for her. 

GEORGE: “The woman said I’ll take two pork chops and make them lean. And the waiter said ‘yes, ma’am, which way?’” 

To change the subject, they decide to play bridge instead. Nobody wants to partner with Liz.  This fuels her feelings of inferiority. 

At breakfast the next day, Liz confesses that she’s not so bright and that she doesn’t do things well.  The breakfast is undercooked, so George tells her to talk to Katie. Liz is in tears again – it is Katie’s day off and she has prepared breakfast herself. She can’t tell jokes, she can’t play bridge, and now she can’t cook. She challenges George to name one thing she’s good at.

GEORGE: “You’re very good at….  Well, your wonderful at… You’re really great at, uh…”
LIZ: “Waaah!”
GEORGE: “What are you crying for?”
LIZ: “I can’t think of anything either.”

Later, Iris drops by and find Liz in bed, depressed. Iris refuses to believe that Liz is a failure.  

IRIS: “You can…  Well, for one thing you’re the best at…. Well, you’ve always been tops in…”
LIZ: “Those are the same ones George came up with.”

Iris says that at the very least that there isn’t another person in the world who gets their hair the color Liz does! George comes home from work and is surprised to find Liz still in bed.  He takes Iris aside and says that he will take Liz to a psychiatrist.

In the television version, Ricky convinces the Doctor to pretend to be an old friend, and brings him home instead of Lucy going to his office to provide his ‘treatment’.  Ricky gets jealous of the Doctor’s attentions, but Lucy reminds him it is all part of the “Treatment, Ricky!  Treatment!” 

MR. ATTERBURY (gushing): “Liz!  Dream girl!” 

Earlier, George also called Liz ‘Dream Girl’.  In 1947, just prior to starting “My Favorite Husband,” Lucille Ball starred in a revival tour of the Edgar Rice play Dream Girl.  

Everything Liz says or does, the others break out in laughter and compliments.  Liz is emboldened by their enthusiasm and keeps telling story after story – until the entire room is nodding off from boredom and it is 2:30 in the morning. 

Liz finally tells them to give it up – she heard George on the telephone with the psychiatrist and she’s been on to their scheme the whole time.  Why did she let them go on for so long?

LIZ: “Because this is the first time in my life I’ve gotten to be the center of attention for the whole evening and I liked it.”

End of Episode