LIZ TEACHES THE SAMBA

February 17, 1950

“Liz Teaches the Samba” (aka “Liz Teaches Wally the Samba”) is episode #76 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on February 16, 1950.

Synopsis ~ George talks Liz into teaching Wally, the son of the bank’s newest director, Mr. Forsythe, how to dance the Samba, and Wally gets a crush on Liz.

Note: This is a rewrite of episode #5 of the same title, the first episode Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. ever wrote for Lucy. This program was a basis for the “I Love Lucy” “The Young Fans” (ILL S1;E20) filmed on January 18, 1952 and aired on February 25, 1952.

“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.

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) is not heard in this episode.

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.

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

Jim Backus (Mr. Forsyte) is best remembered as Thurston Howell the Third (aka The Millionaire) on TV’s “Gilligan’s Island”. His unique voice also gave life to Mr. Magoo. He appeared in two films with Lucille Ball: Easy Living (1949) and Critic’s Choice (1963). 

Richard Crenna (Wally Forsyte) would make his television debut with Lucille Ball as Arthur Morton in “The Young Fans” (ILL S1;E20), the episode inspired by this radio program. The character is virtually a carbon copy of Walter Denton, the role he played for four years on radio’s “Our Miss Brooks” starring Eve Arden. In 1952, Desilu brought the show to television where Crenna recreated his role. He later starred in Desilu’s “The Real McCoys.” He would become one of Hollywood’s busiest actors, starring in “Vega$” and Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo films. 

Richard Crenna played Wally in the first version of the script in August 1948, although his surname then was Kimbrough. George and Liz were then known as the Cugats. 

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers this morning, they are just about to have breakfast.”

Liz has a song on her lips anticipating going to the dance at the Starlight Roof that night with the Rickys. 

Although Liz is undoubtedly referring to another night spot in or near Sheridan Falls, the Starlight Roof was on the 19th floor of Manhattan’s iconic Waldorf Astoria reigned as the nightclub where the see-and-be-seen spent their evenings from the hotel’s opening in 1931 until well into the 1950s. On “I Love Lucy’s” first-aired episode “The Girls Want To Go To a Nightclub” Lucy calls Ginny Jones, who who works there and claims to knows every eligible man in town. 

GEORGE: “Just slide that lower lip back about a foot!”

The audience breaks out in loud laughter even before Liz tries to speak with her lower lip pulled back. No doubt Lucille Ball did some sort of comic facial expression with her lower jaw exclusively for the studio audience, but nothing is heard but laughter by those listening on radio.  

Liz relents and agrees to call the Rickeys and cancel. George says he is bringing his ‘jerky’ son along, but his ‘horsey’ wife is out of town. She agrees to laugh at all his stories, except the one about the dog and the cat.  

Hearing Lucille Ball use the name ‘Rickeys’ is a bit strange, since the character of Ricky Ricardo had not even been created yet. 

At dinner that night, as expected Mr. Forsyte (Jim Backus) launches into his usual story of the dog and the cat. Anticipating every line, Liz even supplies the name of the song the cat sings: “Listen To The Mocking Bird.”  

“Listen to the Mocking Bird” (1855) had lyrics written by Septimus Winner under the pseudonym Alice Hawthorne, and its music was by Richard Milburn.  A few notes of the song are warbled by Fred and Ethel Mertz on "Lucy Goes To A Rodeo” (ILL S5;8) in 1955. 

Mr. Forsyte gets to the punchline, but George has to remind Liz to laugh. He says that his son Wally is worried that there’s a big school dance coming up and he doesn’t know how to Samba.  Mr. Atterbury and George volunteer Liz to teach him. She reluctantly agrees. 

Next day, Katie the Maid finds Liz dancing around the living room. Liz says she’s getting ready to teach the painfully shy Wally Forsyte (Richard Crenna) to Samba. When he arrives he is mute with fear.  Liz demonstrates the Samba steps. His eyes are glued to her swaying hips instead of her feet.  

Samba is a ballroom dance of Brazilian origin, popularized in western Europe and the United States in the early 1940s. It is characterized by simple forward and backward steps and tilting, rocking body movements, it is danced to music with a syncopated rhythm.  In 1946, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra recorded a Samba on the RCA record Carnival in Rio. As a gag, Lucille Ball did a brief comic vocal on the track. RCA publicized Ball’s name on the album cover, despite her minimal contributions. Ball sued RCA and won. For all future releases RCA removed her name from the credits. 

While Liz attempts to lead Wally through the steps she hums “Tico-Tico no Fubá" by Brazilian composer Zequinha de Abreu. It was famously sung in the 1947 film Copacabana by Carmen Miranda. In “Be a Pal” (ILL S1;E2) in October 1951, Lucy Ricardo does a hilarious Carmen Miranda impersonation and lip syncs to “Mamãe Eu Quero,” a song Miranda sang in the films Down Argentine Way (1940) and Four Jills in a Jeep (1944).

In the television version, the character of Wally is named Arthur Morton but is once again played by Richard Crenna.  Arthur is equally as infatuated with Lucy as Wally is with Liz. Unlike Liz, Lucy starts slower by teaching Arthur a simple box step – eventually side stepping him right out the front door. 

George comes home and finds Liz soaking her feet. 

LIZ: “My feet look like a couple of thermometers. Wally dances the Samba like a kangaroo with hot coals in his pouch.” 

George said that it was worth it because Mr. Forsyte came by his desk to talk and it may end in a promotion. Then he breaks it to her that Wally is coming over again tomorrow night! 

Next day Liz and Wally finish their dancing lesson. This time Liz has worn George’s old football shoes for protection. He asks her advice. He says he is in love.  He wants to know if he should tell her, or keep it to himself.  Liz encourages him to take the girl by the hand and say ‘I love you’.  Wally reaches for Liz’s hand and Liz suddenly realizes that she is the one with whom he is in love. 

WALLY: “I think you’re real gone!”
LIZ: “Well, at least my feet are.” 

Wally wants Liz to leave George because he’s too old. Liz pretends she can’t leave George because he needs him to nurse her in his old age!  Not having ever met George, Wally believe her and begs Liz for a parting kiss. After parking his gum, he kisses her and his braces scratch her hand!  

The idea that George could be a feeble old man as a tactic for driving Wally away is played out even fuller on television, with old age make-up for both Lucy and Ricky. For TV, a female admirer named Peggy (Janet Waldo) is invented for Ricky, Lucy’s ‘favorite husband’. 

Later, George and Mr. Atterbury are all having a big laugh about Wally’s crush, although Liz doesn’t think it is very funny that a young man should find her attractive. Mr. Atterbury thanks Liz for helping get on the good side of Mr. Forsyte and Mr. Atterbury wants to treat them to a night on the town – at the Starlight Roof.  

Wally bursts in to protest his love for Liz. He wants to take her away with him. He claims George is too old for her blurting out what Liz said to him that afternoon.  Through her tone of voice, Liz tries to persuade George about her tactics and he finally gets the message. 

WALLY: “You can get someone else to blow on your mush!” 

Wally realizes his plight is useless and says a fond farewell.  They are about to go out to celebrate when the phone rings. It is Mr. Forsyte.  

GEORGE: “He says you did such a good job with Wally that he wants to learn the Samba!”
LIZ: “Oh, no!” 

END OF EPISODE