VALENTINE’S DAY

February 11, 1949

“Valentine’s Day” (aka “Valentine’s Day Mischief”) is episode #30 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on February 11, 1949 on the CBS radio network.

Synopsis ~ Katie, the Maid, is sweet on Mr. Dabney, the butcher, and Liz offers to help. But when Liz’s Valentine to George gets switched with her check to pay the butcher’s bill, Mr. Dabney gets the wrong idea.

Note: This program was a basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) filmed on December 13, 1951 and first aired on January 21, 1952. The titled was changed to reflect the fact that it would not be aired on or around Valentine’s Day.  The TV cast included Bea Benadaret, who had already been heard on “My Favorite Husband” and would soon be assigned the regular role of Iris Atterbury. It is ironic that Benadaret was cast as Miss Lewis since she is not heard in the radio version.   

“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.

In this episode we learn that Katie is a redhead, like Liz, and a heavy-set woman. 

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 (who appears here as the Judge) and Bea Benadaret had not yet joined the cast in the roles of Rudolph and Iris Atterbury. 

GUEST CAST

Gale Gordon (Judge Skinner) 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.

Hans Conried (Mr. Dabney, the Butcher / Weary Mailman) 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.

On television, the character will be renamed Mr. Ritter and be played by Edward Everett Horton, who had appeared in three movies with Lucille Ball, including 1935’s Top Hat.

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “Now let’s look in on the Coopers. It’s three days before Valentine’s Day. Well, she’s been hinting about it all morning, but George doesn’t seem to notice. And now at breakfast, Liz is making one last try – by arranging her toast crusts in the shape of a heart.”

George doesn’t get the message so Liz comes right out and announces that St. Valentine’s Day is coming up. George calls it a racket and cynically tells her the day started with two kindly old gentlemen: a candy maker and a florist.  

LIZ: “What’s Valentine’s Day without candy and flowers?”

Much to his surprise, Liz screams her love for George at the top of her lungs!  When George warns that they neighbors might hear, they switch to hushed whispering. Katie comes in to serve more coffee and says she has a written a poem for her Valentine – Mr. Dabney the butcher.  Liz calls him “old heavy thumbs”.  

KATIE: “Some people may have better beef, but his liver’s good. And no one has oxtails and pig’s feet like him!”

Katie is too shy to hand Mr. Dabney the Valentine herself, so Liz volunteers to give it to him when they go shopping. George warns Liz against playing Cupid, but she figures they might get better cuts of meat in the long run. 

Later, at the meat market, Katie hands Liz the Valentine, which is soggy with bacon grease. Liz greets Mr. Dabney (Hans Conried) and tells him that one of his customers likes him a lot. 

MR. DABNEY: “You know something, Mrs. Cooper. I like you a lot, too!” 

Liz tries to correct his misapprehension and hands him the Valentine, which she hopes will clear things up. 

MR. DABNEY (sniffing): “How did you know?  My favorite aroma!  Swift’s Premium!” 

Swift & Company was meat-packing company founded in 1855 and based in Chicago from 1875. The majority of their products were pork-based. They perfected vacuum packing and the refrigerated boxcar. Swift was subsumed by Brazilian company JBS in 2007.  

He reads the Valentine aloud:

If you’ll be mine, then I’ll be thyne.
You set my heart a-quiver.
Say you’ll be my Valentine, 
And send two pounds of liver.

It is signed “your bashful redhead”.  Mr. Dabney is convinced that the Valentine is from Liz, even though Katie is a redhead, too!

MR. DABNEY: “Listen, two houses may have red roofs, but you don’t pick the one with the sagging foundation!  Don’t try to fight this thing, my little tenderloin, it’s bigger than both of us!” 
LIZ: “Now stop this, Mr. Dabney. What about Katie?”
MR. DABNEY: “She’s bigger than both of us, too! I’ve admired you for years. Each little lamb chop you bought I personally put the pants on!” 

Liz storms out and Mr. Dabney chases her down the street. Katie isn’t too bothered. She has a date with the milkman! She’s written him a poem, too! She left it in an empty milk bottle. 

I love you, dear, don’t be surprised. 
Leave two quarts of homogenized!

Liz off-handedly refers to Katie as Edgar Guest. 

Edgar Albert Guest (1881-1959) was a British-born American poet who became known as the People’s Poet. His poems often had an inspirational and optimistic view of everyday life. In 1949 he wrote Living the Years.

Liz tells Katie to mail Mr. Dabney a check so she doesn’t have to see him and also pop into the mail a copy of the first Valentine she wrote to George at age 16. She thinks it will be fun for him to get it at the bank. 

George comes home in the middle of the afternoon because he has to pack to go out of town to Chicago on bank business and won’t be back before Monday. Liz rushes out to find Katie before she mails the Valentine. She intercepts the weary mailman (Hans Conried, again) as he is about to empty the mailbox. 

LIZ: “Are you picking up the mail?”
MAILMAN (sarcastically): “No, I’m a Confederate soldier and these are messages for General Lee.” 

Robert Edward Lee (1807-70) was a Confederate general best known as  commander of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He commanded the Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until its surrender in 1865 and earned a reputation as a skilled tactician. Coincidentally in 1949, his face was on a postage stamp commemorating the 200th anniversary of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. 

Liz wants to retrieve the Valentine, but the mailman won’t allow her to touch the mail without proof of identity. Liz shows him her purse with the monogram L.C. on it, but that isn’t enough for him. 

L.C. will also be Lucille Ball’s initials when she plays Lucy Carmichael in “The Lucy Show”, Lucy Carter in “Here’s Lucy” and Lucy Collins in “Lucy Gets Lucky.” 

She urges the mailman to peak inside the envelope to confirm that it is just a Valentine to her husband. When he does, he is shocked to find the check to Mr. Dabney, and assumes she is trying to steal from the US Mail!  Liz realizes that the check went to George and the Valentine went to Mr. Dabney, who already believes Liz to have a crush on him as it is!

Early the next morning, Liz is at the Meat Market to intercept the Valentine when the mail is delivered. To make it look as if she is there merely shopping, she continually makes purchases. 

MR. DABNEY: “Mrs. Cooper, you’ve already bought a roast, two pounds of bacon, three steaks, four lamb chops, five veal cutlets, and some liverwurst!  You now have more meat than I do. Why don’t you start selling it back to me?”

She finally asks him when the mailman arrives, but he still thinks she is just staying around to be near him.  The mailman arrives and Liz tries to grab the envelope, blurting out that there is a Valentine inside. She grabs the envelope and runs. The postman and the butcher call the police! 

At home at last, Liz tells Katie all that has happened, including being dragged in front of a judge! George comes home from work.

GEORGE: “Well, what’s new?”
LIZ: “I am being sent to Alcatraz!”
GEORGE: “Liz!  You’ve joined a pyramid club!”

Alcatraz is a maximum security prison located on an island off the coast of San Francisco. It opened in 1934, and closed in 1963. Today, Alcatraz is a public museum and one of San Francisco’s major tourist attractions, attracting some 1.5 million visitors annually. 

 A pyramid club (aka pyramid scheme) is a fraudulent system of making money based on recruiting an ever-increasing number of “investors.” The initial promoters recruit investors, who in turn recruit more investors, and so on. The scheme is called a “pyramid” because at each level, the number of investors increases. The pyramid club scams hit their peak in 1949 in California, with their  Grand Jury handing down indictments just two days before this episode aired!

Liz explains the convoluted story which ends with the fact that the judge will drop the charges if she and George will appear in domestic relations court tomorrow.  

LIZ: “The Judge wants to make up his mind or whether I should marry Mr. Dabney.”

Next morning, in the courtroom, Judge Skinner (Gale Gordon) introduces the case with George, Liz, and Mr. Dabney present. 

JUDGE: “There is no problem too big to solve. Into every life a little rain must fall. Every cloud must have a silver lining, and it is always darkest before the dawn.”
LIZ: “Well, now that we’ve had the weather report, let’s get on with the case.”

Liz asserts that she’s NOT in love with Mr. Dabney, although he is convinced otherwise. George insists it is all a mix-up. The Judge assumes that she is a bored and frustrated housewife who is bored with her marriage.  He directs Mrs. Cooper to read the Valentine in question aloud:

LIZ: “Dear sweetheart, I’m under your spell. I love you more than tongue can tell.”
MR. DABNEY: “Ah ha! Tongue! Fifty nine cents a pound!”
LIZ: “My lover, I have this to say: I care for you in the very worst way.”
MR. DABNEY: “That oughta prove it: Lover worst!”
LIZ: “My love for you is not a phony, this Valentine is…no baloney.”
JUDGE: “I must say she writes a Valentine with a lot of meat in it.”

George strongly objects that after ten years of marriage, no one is going to take her away from him!  The Judge bangs his gavel and hands down his ruling, giving custody of Liz to… Mr. Cooper. He summarizes that although Liz may love Mr. Dabney, he must consider the needs of a husband who would be lost without his wife. This judgment brings considerable conversation from both sides. George is glad things didn’t get nasty and leak to the newspapers!

JUDGE: “Quiet!  Quiet!  You have been listening to your daily radio session in kindly Judge Skinners Domestic Relations Court.”
LIZ: “Oh, no, George!  This whole thing’s been on the air!” 

End of Episode