SPRING HOUSE CLEANING

April 30, 1950

“Spring House Cleaning” (aka “Spring Cleaning”) is episode #86 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on April 30, 1950.

Synopsis ~ 

Liz sends George an anonymous love letter that she wrote to him during his bachelor days, and he thinks its from his secretary, Gladys.

“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) does not appear in this episode. 

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.

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers, it’s a beautiful spring day, and Liz is just going into the kitchen to talk to Katie, the maid.”

Liz tells Katie that they are going to give her a raise.  Katie thinks there’s a catch.  And there is.  Today is the day of Spring housecleaning.  This year, George is going to help – although he doesn’t know it yet.  After five marriages, Katie knows the only way to get a man to help with cleaning is to shame him into doing it. 

Meanwhile, at the bank, Mr. Atterbury calls George into his office to tell him that he can’t make their golf date that afternoon.  He suggests George stay at work and dictate to his new secretary Gladys.  Mr. Atterbury says that Gladys is sweet on George – calling him “Cuddles Cooper” to the other secretaries.  George wants Mr. Atterbury to transfer her so he can get some work done.  

George found a poem on his desk:

Oh, what a lucky girl am I,
Who wouldn’t want to be me?
Who wouldn’t like to have a boss,
So handsome, tall, and dreamy? 

Mr. Atterbury says that if George still wants Gladys transferred, he’ll consider it on Monday, maybe switching with Joe Ridgely. 

At home, Liz and Katie are putting their plan in action by pretending to lift heavy items just as George comes through the door.  George sees her trying to lug a ‘heavy’ bucket of ashes, but makes no attempt to help her.  He quickly realizes he needs to help – but when he tries to lift the ‘heavy’ can of ashes, the can goes flying across the room – along with the ashes. George says for her tricks she can do the cleaning herself. 

Katie comes into the room from cleaning with an handful of love letters to George, written in a woman’s hand.  Naturally, they can’t resist reading it.  Katie does the reading so Liz can technically say she hasn’t read it.  

Katie reads a mushy love letter to “Coopie Whoopie”.  Katie lets it slip that she’s read the entire pile.  The letters are signed E.E.  Liz admits that she was E.E.  Liz gets a fun idea. She’ll finish one of those letters and send it to George to see his reaction. 

Later, Liz tells George that a letter came for him ‘special delivery’.  George reads a few lines and immediately thinks it is from his secretary Gladys.  He tells her it is just a bill from the gas company.  

LIZ: “How come the gas company sends you special delivery? You got bigger burners?”

Liz taunts him a bit more and George gets angry and storms out – just as she is about to tell him that she wrote it!  She breaks down in tears thinking there’s  another woman in his life!  

KATIE: “But you wanted him to think it was someone else!”
LIZ: “Sure, I wanted him to think it was from someone else. But he thinks it was from someone else!” 

End of Part One

Announcer Bob LeMond does a commercial for Jell-O Tapioca pudding.

ANNOUNCER: “As we return to the Coopers, Liz is burning up about the supposed other woman in George’s life. Right now, George has shut himself in the den to use the phone.”

George calls Mr. Atterbury to tell him that Gladys sent him a special delivery love letter. Mr. Atterbury asks whether she used bank stamps!  Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Liz and Katie wonder who George is talking to on the phone.  Liz is sure it is ‘her’.  Liz wants to open the den door on the premise of letting the dog out.  Katie reminds her that they don’t have a dog!   

Liz and Katie have cracked the door enough to overhear:  

GEORGE (on phone): “There’s just one thing to do: I’m going to get rid of her. I’d like to make it as painless as possible. First thing Monday morning I’ll ask her to leave.  I’ll tell her you arranged for a transfer.
LIZ (to Katie): “Transfer?  What does he expect me to do? Go to Reno on a streetcar?”

From 1904 to 1927 there was a network of streetcars in Reno, Nevada, that served as the main mode of public transit. While Las Vegas was known for quickie weddings, Reno was known for its fast divorces. Nevada divorce laws,  allowed people to divorce each other after six weeks of residency, instead of six months. People wishing to divorce stayed in Reno while waiting out the mandatory period. The association of Reno with divorce has entered pop culture references. 

GEORGE (on the phone): “Joe Ridgely can have her, and I’ll take his.”
LIZ (to Katie): “He’s going to trade me in on a later model!”

Here the plot is very similar to “Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her” (ILL S1;E4) the very first episode of “I Love Lucy” filmed, but the fourth aired.  Ricky tells Jerry on the phone that he has decided to ‘get rid’ of his girl singer Marilyn.  Lucy overhears and think she is “a future doornail”!

George tells Mr. Atterbury that he’ll call Gladys and tell her about the change.  George hangs up and Liz and Katie pretend to be casual.  Liz picks up the nearest book – the dictionary. 

George says he has to do something. And Liz and Katie hide in the closet while he calls Gladys.  Katie is straddling a vacuum cleaner.  The dusty closet nearly makes her sneeze.  

GEORGE (on phone): “I’ve decided to do something about it.  I’ll be sorry to lose you. I don’t care what they told you in business school, I love my wife!”  

Liz hears nothing but compliments from her hiding place in the closet.  The dust makes her sneeze.  George thinks it is Gladys.  Or that the operator is listening in.  He wants to give Gladys a second chance.  George wants Gladys to talk to Liz on the telephone.  From the closet, Liz tries to make it sound like she’s in the attic.  Liz sneezes again.  George realizes it came from the closet and throws open the door to find Liz giving Katie fine points on spring cleaning the closet!