MY FAVORITE HUSBAND ~ Season 1, Part 1 (Cugat)

July 5, 1948 – December 26, 1948

“My Favorite Husband” ~ Season one aired on CBS Radio from July 5, 1948 to July 1, 1949.  There were 51 half hour episodes.  Starting in 1949, the characters would have their last name changed to Cugat, the character of Cory Cartwright would was phased out, Gale Gordon and Bea Benadaret became regulars as the Atterburys, and the main sponsor became Jell-O. 

Regular Cast: Lucille Ball as Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Cugat, Richard Denning as George Cugat, Hal March / John Hiestand as Cory Cartwright, Ruth Perrott as Katie the Maid, and Bob LeMond, Announcer.  

Season 1 (Part One) Guest Cast:

Hans Conried (12 episodes), Frank Nelson (8 episodes), 

Bea Benadaret (5), Jay Novello (4 episodes),

Joe Kearns (4 episode),

Florence Halop (3 episodes)

Herb Vigran (3 episodes),

Jean Vander Pyl (3 episodes), William Johnstone (2 episodes), Mary Shipp (2 episodes),

Jack Carroll (2 episodes),

Elvia Allman, Richard Crenna, Doris Singleton, Rolfe Sedan, Harry Bartell, Jeff Chandler, Isobel Randolph, Sarah Selby, Laurette Fillbrandt, Janet Scott, Sandra Gould, Barbara Eiler, Erwin Lee, Gil Stratton, Mary Lansing, Frances Chaney, Ed Max, Frankie Albertson, and Tommy Bernard. 

To Experience the Full Episode Blogs – for both “My Favorite Husband” and “I Love Lucy” – simply click on the hyperlinked (underlined) text.

* = Episodes not available for preview or considered lost. 

“The Cugat’s Tenth Wedding Anniversary”* ~ July 5, 1948

Synopsis ~ A married couple who have been happily married for 10 years, and still seem to be actually in love. The Cugats flashback to moments of their wedding day, as they prepare for their anniversary. Liz, the well to do socialite, and George, the up and coming banker.

• Lee Bowman played George in this pilot episode.

“Literary Club’s Speaker Comes to Dinner”* ~ July 23, 1948

Synopsis ~ 

Liz invites the Literary Club’s guest speaker, big game hunter and author Captain Derek Allingham, over to the house for dinner.

“The Magazine Photographer”* ~ July 30, 1948

Synopsis ~ 

With George sick in bed, a magazine photographer is coming to take pictures of the Cugat home.

“The Portrait Artist” (aka “The Portrait Painter” aka “The Portrait”) ~ August 6, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz is having her portrait painted by a handsome but gruff artist. George gets jealous and fakes illness, and he is attended to by a sexy young nurse – causing the green-eyed monster to rear between both Cugats!

“The Kissing Booth” (aka “The Charity Bazaar Kissing Booth”)* ~ August 13, 1948

Synopsis ~ George and Liz both think helping out the local charity bazaar is a great idea, until each finds out that the other one volunteered to run a kissing booth.

“Liz Teaches the Samba”* ~ August 20, 1948

Synopsis ~ George talks Liz into teaching Wally, the son of the bank’s First Vice President, Mr. Kimbrough, how to dance the Samba, and Wally gets a crush on Liz.

• Re-made on February 17, 1950. This is the first script written by Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. 

“Is Your Ship of Matrimony on the Rocks?”* ~ August 27, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz buys a book called "Is Your Ship of Matrimony on the Rocks”, and George goes to talk to the psychiatrist author, who turns out to be a gorgeous female.

“Liz’s Mother Has Second Thoughts” (aka “Mother’s Surprise”) ~ September 3, 1948.

Synopsis ~ Liz’s mother Adele Elliott is all set to marry Houston oil man Dan Carson, but suddenly gets cold feet.

“The Swami” (aka “Liz Has Her Fortune Told”)* ~ September 7, 1948

Synopsis ~ A swami at the Gypsy Tea Room predicts that one of Liz’s old flames will reappear to menace her marriage.

“Liz and the General” (aka “Making Friends with General Timberlake”) ~ September 17, 1948.

Synopsis ~ Liz befriends an eccentric neighbor, General Timberlake, who makes her re-enact major battles from history – in the living room! 

“Knitting Baby Booties” ~ September 24, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz is knitting baby booties for an expectant friend, and George and Mr. Atterbury think Liz is pregnant.

“George’s Old Flame”* ~ October 3, 1948

Synopsis ~ Instead of celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary, George takes Liz to a party to see his old flame, Myra Ponsonby.

“Young Matron’s League Tryouts” ~ October 2, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz tries to butter up George in hopes that he’ll let her try out for the play that the Young Matrons League will be performing.

• First episode scripted by Jess Oppenheimer. The show moved from Fridays at 9:00pm to Saturdays at 7:00pm.

“Young Matron’s League Play” ~ October 9, 1948

Synopsis ~ George finds out that Liz is in the Young Matrons’ League play and finds a clever way to surprise her!

“Liz Sells Dresses” ~ October 16, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz accidentally returns a dress to a more expensive store than where she bought it, and makes money on the deal. She then decides to go into business buying dresses at one store and returning them at another.

“The Quiz Show” ~ October 23, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz and George need a new dishwasher, and Cory gets them a chance to win one on the radio quiz show, “His and Hers.”

• Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Lucy Gets Ricky On the Radio” (ILL S1;E32).

“The Election”* ~ October 30, 1948 

Synopsis ~ Liz and George run against each other in the Sheridan Falls City Council elections.

“Katie & Roscoe” ~ November 6, 1948

Synopsis ~ Katie, the Cugat’s maid, has been telling her long-distance romance that she was rich. Can Liz convince Roscoe that she’s the maid and Katie is her employer? It all depends on whether or not George finds out!

• Partly the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Mertz and Kurtz” (ILL S1;E32).

“Liz Learns To Drive” (aka “Liz’s Driving License” and “Liz Learns to Drive”)  ~ November 13, 1948.

Synopsis ~ George teaches Liz to drive and she immediately gets in an accident. Through a communications mix-up, George thinks Liz has intentionally run over George’s high school sweetheart, Myra Ponsenby!

“George Attends a Teenage Dance” ~ November 20, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz gives advice to her adolescent neighbor, Sally Hopkins, on how to snare the boy she likes, but her meddling only makes things worse.

• Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Young Fans” (ILL S1;E20).  

“Is There A Baby In The House?” (aka “There’s A Baby In The House”) ~ November 27, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz goes over to meet the new neighbors and winds up minding a four-month old baby overnight.

“Be Your Husband’s Best Friend” (aka “Be a Pal to Your Husband”) ~ December 4, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz buys a book that says that the way to get along with your husband is to share all of his interests. With that in mind, she joins him in a poker game and tags along on a camping trip.

• Re-written as a 1950 episode of “My Favorite Husband” also titled “Be a Pal” and broadcast June 18, 1950. This program was also the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “Be a Pal” (ILL S1;E2).  This radio version also contains story elements in its second half that were later incorporated into “The Camping Trip” (ILL S2;E29).

“Respective Mustaches”* ~ December 11, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz puts on a fake mustache to show George how ridiculous his real one looks, but by mistake she uses cement instead of spirit gum, and it won’t come off.

• Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Mustache” (ILL S1;E23).

“Liz’s New Dress” ~ December 18, 1948

Synopsis ~ Liz is determined to have a new dress to wear to he Atterburys’ party, even if she has to make it herself!

“Numerology”* ~ December 25, 1948

Mr. Curry, George and Liz’s landlord, is raising the rent, supposedly on instructions from his late wife, Bernice. Liz figures that she can fix things with a crooked Ouija Board.

• Basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode "The Séance” (ILL S1;E7). The show moves to Sunday for this program only as a Christmas Special. This episode was re-written and aired on May 14, 1950.