LOVELY, MARRIED & RENEWED

June 24, 1949

“Never underestimate the power of your studio audience in either direction.”

Those red-tinted words of wisdom come from the lady of the pink-tinted tresses, Lucille Ball. 

"I’ve learned that if you play up to your studio audience, the listeners at home have a tendency to feel left out. If you go to the other extreme, there’s no studio reaction and those at home think you’re playing to empty seats. 

Lucille also points out that it’s sudden death to get mad at a studio audience just because they’re not catching the gags. 

“Could be, you know, that the gags aren’t catching!" 

Lucille says she heard a comic the other night blast a slow-reacting studio audience with the comment, “I could understand you not catching the gags if they were subtle.” 

“Up to that point the show was doing nicely. The audience was not exactly giving out with (you’ll pardon the expression) ‘stomach laughs’. But there were enough pleasant chuckles to keep the opera moving at a good pace. The caustic remark had the effect of a pail of ice water being tossed on every individual in the studio. 

"About the only person in radio who can break these rules and get away with It Is Fred Allen. He can blister his a studio audience and they love him for it. But there’s only one Fred Allen. 

We try to treat the studio audience attending the ‘My Favorite Husband’ broadcast as normal, adult individuals. The warm-up, a simple explanation of the theme of the show, is delivered by Bob LeMond from the floor of the auditorium. When Bob’s finished the curtains are opened, each member of the cast is introduced and we go on the air. 

“No funny hats, no ad-lib asides to the audience. We figure if the script and our own performances won’t turn the trick, it’s too late for a funny hat to save us. But thanks to producer-writer Jess Oppenheimer and his co-writers, Bob Carroll Jr., and Madelyn Pugh, we’ve had great scripts this season." 

And Lucille’s right. She’s lovely. She’s married. And she’s been renewed for next season. Very few radio stars can make that statement.

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Walt Taliaferro, Radio & Television Editor
Los Angeles (CA) Daily News