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PAUL DOUGLAS
April 11, 1907
Paul Douglas Fleischer was born in Philadelphia in 1907. After attending Yale, he made his Broadway debut in 1936. A decade later he appeared on the Great White Way in the highly successful Born Yesterday with Judy Holliday, winning both the Theatre World and Clarence Derwent awards. He turned down the opportunity to recreate his role in the 1950 film version of Born Yesterday when he found his part had been severely reduced. He did, however, get to play the role in a 1956 TV film with Mary Martin standing in for Holliday.
“I was a character (actor) ever since I was born!” ~ Paul Douglas
Early in his career Douglas had worked in radio as a sportscaster and narrated documentary films. He made his feature film debut playing an uncredited role in 1943′s Margin for Error, starring Milton Berle.
Douglas made his television debut in May 1946, in “Hour Glass” – television’s first variety show.
In 1952, Douglas did a film with “I Love Lucy’s” William Frawley: Rhubarb, the Millionaire Tom-Cat. Douglas was uncredited, but was in the company of many future “Lucy” performers: Larry J. Blake, Madge Blake, Oliver Blake, Gail Bonney, Harry Cheshire, Tristram Coffin, James Conaty, James Flavin, Sandra Gould, Strother Martin, Frank J. Scannell, and Bert Stevens. The film starred Douglass’ fifth wife, Jan Sterling.
“If you go to bat often enough, you’re bound to get a hit.” ~ Paul Douglas, on marrying Jan Sterling, his fifth wife
On April 13, 1959, Douglas appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” episode “Lucy Wants a Career” (LDCH S2;E4) playing himself.
This is one of Paul Douglas’s last appearances. He died of a heart attack six months after the episode aired. He was 52 years old. He was married five times and had two children.
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DICK PATTERSON
April 11, 1929
Dick Patterson was born Richard Neal Patterson in Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1929. In 1961, he got his ‘big break’ on Broadway replacing Dick Van Dyke in the original cast of the musical Bye Bye Birdie. His Broadway debut was in the short-lived Vintage ‘60. Next he was seen opposite Ken Berry in The Billy Barnes People, the show where Lucille Ball claims to have ‘discovered’ Berry. In between Vintage and Barnes, Lucille Ball appeared on Broadway, too, in Wildcat.
In 1964, he played opposite Carol Burnett in Fade Out – Fade In on Broadway.
He made his television debut in 1958 on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” which was filmed in New York City, and often featured Broadway performers.
On March 22, 1965, he was made his first appearance opposite Lucille Ball in “Lucy and the Beauty Doctor” (TLS S3;E24). As usual in cases like this, Patterson was not really playing himself, just using his own name and aspects of his personality. He was never the host of a hidden camera show.
He returned to “The Lucy Show” on November 1, 1965 for “Lucy Helps Danny Thomas” (TLS S4;E7). He played Marty King, director of Thomas’s television show.
The hallways of the studio (presumably CBS) are decorated with photos of television stars like Jim Nabors of “Gomer Pyle USMC”, which was filmed on the Desilu backlot.
Coincidentally, in January 1969, Dick Patterson appeared on an episode of the series “Win-A-Date” playing the host of a TV dating show. In 1966, “The Lucy Show” did a cross-over episode featuring Jim Nabors in a cameo.
In September 1966, Patterson and his wife Gita were seen on “Lucy Week” of the game show “Password” along with other “Lucy Show” performers. Patterson tells host Allen Ludden that Lucy first saw him in a play in 1960.
In addition to working with Lucy, he also was on the Desilu lot for a 1963 episode of “My Three Sons” with William Frawley, and a 1964 episode of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (above), reuniting him with the man he replaced in Bye Bye Birdie. After filming “The Lucy Show” he starred in an episode of Desilu’s “Vacation Playhouse” titled “My Son the Doctor” (1966).
Patterson appeared on “Here’s Lucy” as Mr. Morton of the Select-A-Spouse Dating Service in “Lucy, The Matchmaker” (HL S1;E12) in December 1968. Morton was Lucille Ball’s married name!
In “Lucy’s Lucky Day” (HL S4;E15) in December 1971, Patterson was once again cast as a TV show host. This time he was Dick Dunkirk, host of the game show “The Milky Way To Riches.”
For a change of pace, he played a football coach in “Lucy and Joe Namath” (HL S5;E5) airing on October 9, 1972.
In his final appearance on the series, he played the director of a pickle commercial, Steve Thompson, wearing a goatee and using an accent. “Lucy is Really in a Pickle” (HL S5;E15) aired on January 1, 1973.
He attempted a return to Broadway in 1977, but the show only lasted one night. He tried once more in 1986 with the musical Smile, but that lasted only 48 performances.
From 1974 to 1976 he reunited with his Broadway co-star Carol Burnett on a dozen episodes of her television show, although none of the episodes also featured Lucille Ball. One of the shows, however, featured Ken Berry, another of his Broadway co-stars.
He was in the film musicals Can’t Stop the Music (1980), Grease (1978), and Grease 2 (1982). His final screen appearance was a December 1991 episode of “Columbo” playing an Emcee.
He died on September 20, 1999 at the age of 70. He was married twice and had two children.
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HAZEL PIERCE
April 10, 1893
Hazel Pierce was born in Los Angles, California. Because she was the same general height and weight as Lucile Ball, she was hired to be her camera and lighting stand-in on “I Love Lucy.” This required her to attend rehearsals where camera’s and lighting instruments would be aimed and focused, a time consuming and tedious job, although necessary. Desi Arnaz also had a stand-in. His name was Bennett Green.
Hazel was married to Wesley Pierce. They were a comedic dance team called Pierce & Harris (her maiden name was Hazel Harris). Wesley had died by the time “I Love Lucy came along”. Ball allowed Pierce to live in her guest house.
“Hazel was a very nervous person, and ditsy in a kind of Gracie Allen / Stan Laurel kind of way. Instead of ‘What?’ she would say ‘Hello?’ Lucie recalls that Hazel would be walking down the hall, carrying a big stack of papers, and Lucy would scream, ‘Hazel! Get over here!’ really loud, causing Hazel to throw the papers in the air in surprise.” ~ Life After Lucy, by Keith Thibodeaux (aka Little Ricky)
In return Pierce would be given small roles on the show, usually in the background, but sometimes even given a character name or a line. She also worked on the first seasons of “The Lucy Show” and one episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”
She was sometimes in the company of Bess Flowers aka The Queen of the Extras.
On a few occasions she stepped out of the crowd and sometimes spoke a line. She won the TV set given away by the Ladies Overseas Aid.
Nearly unrecognizable under the bandages, she played Mrs. Peterson, who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel to win a radio contest! This was her first episode of more than twenty where she can be spotted.
She was usually present when Lucy’s friends and neighbors gathered.
She was a waitress at the corner drugstore. The next episode that was set at the same location, the waitress is not present, but Fred calls out “Oh, Hazel!” anyway.
She also waited tables in Sun Valley!
She is the flapper who says “I’m an angel!”
Pierce, who is usually a poker faced performer who has trouble with focus during scenes, is here having the time of her life singing and dancing!
Although the role was later taken over by Ruth Brady, Pierce was the first to play Grace Munson.
She was also a maternity nurse! When she wasn’t hanging around with Green, Pepper (Barbara, left) was often nearby!
She was a member of the Westport Country Club, sharing the scene with Ruth Brady meaning that both Grace Munsons were in the same room at the same time!
She was there when Bill Holden got a pie in the face!
When Lucy entered a baking contest – Hazel did too!
When Lucy went to night school – so did Hazel!
If Lucy took an interest in politics – so did Hazel.
Courtrooms always needed spectators and jurors!
In Danfield, Pierce was part of the volunteer fire brigade.
As well as the Danfield Community Theatre.
At a Dude Ranch, both former stand-ins are backing up Lucy: Hazel and Bennett Green!
When Hazel Pierce attends a Hollywood premiere dressed in a full-length white fur coat, Lucy meekly asks her “Are you anybody”? This is a fitting joke for a woman who made a career out of standing in Lucille Ball’s shadow. For once, the tables are turned – at least for one episode!
In some episodes, Pierce actually had a character name!
In 1961 and 62, without Lucy, but on her turf, she worked on episodes of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Joey Bishop Show,” both filmed at Desilu, as well as six episodes of the hit Desilu series “The Untouchables.” She often turns up on other Desilu-filmed series as well, such as “Angel” (above) and some episodes of “The Jack Benny Show.” The names of uncredited performers were rarely published, but relied upon eagle-eyed fans for attribution.
Thanks to Lucy, Pierce was also briefly seen in movies, too! She had bit roles in Forever, Darling (1956) and The Facts of Life (1960).
Pierce died on March 1, 1984 at age 90.
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CHUCK CONNORS
April 10, 1921
Chuck Connors was born Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors in Brooklyn, New York. He was one of only 13 athletes in history to have played both Major League Baseball (Brooklyn Dodgers 1949, Chicago Cubs, 1951) and in the National Basketball Association (Boston Celtics 1947–48).
With a 40-year film and television career, he is best known for his five-year role as Lucas McCain in the highly rated ABC series “The Rifleman” (168 episodes; 1958–63).
On the cancellation of “The Rifleman” in 1963: “I knew what ‘The Lucy Show’ would do to our ratings and I didn’t want to wait around until our show was dropped and I might be an actor nobody wanted. The show would have gone five years, and that’s long enough. By that time, you have done everything possible with your characters. If you keep on going, you’re just cheating the public.”
He made his screen debut as a Policeman in the 1952 film Pat and Mike starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
“They paid me $500 for my week’s work in that movie. I figured they’d made some mistake on the adding machine, but I stuck the check in my pocket and shut up. Baseball, I told myself, just lost a first baseman.” ~ Chuck Connors
The following year he made his television debut on a December 1953 episode of “Your Jeweler’s Showcase” titled “Three and One Half Musketeers”.
In 1955, he did an episode of “Cavalcade of America” filmed at Desilu Studios, and in 1958 he did two episodes of Desilu’s “The Adventures of Jim Bowie” as Cephas K. Ham.
On December 17, 1973 Connors played himself on “Here’s Lucy” in “Lucy and Chuck Connors Have a Surprise Slumber Party” (HL S6;E13).
At the time, Connors was also hosting “Thrillseekers” (1972-73), which he promotes on “Here’s Lucy.”
Although this is his only appearance with Lucille Ball, he returned to playing comedy in 1982’s Airplane II: The Sequel.
Connors died on November 10, 1992 at age 71. He was married three times and had four children.
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JANE KEAN
April 10, 1924
Jane Kean was born in Hartford, Connecticut on April 10, 1924. Her show business career spanned seven decades. Among her most famous roles were as Trixie Norton on “The Jackie Gleason Show”, and as the voice of Belle in the perennial favorite “Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol.”
Kean and her older sister Betty Kean, formed a comedy duo that worked the nightclub circuit throughout the 1940s and ‘50s. The two appeared on Broadway as sisters in the1955 musical, Ankles Aweigh. She studied acting with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She had a featured role in the Broadway musical Take Me Along which starred Jackie Gleason, who would remember her a few years later when casting his television program. Audiences remember Kean for her role of Trixie Norton in 48 hour-long “Honeymooners” episodes—in color and with music—on “The Jackie Gleason Show” from 1966 to 1970. She succeeded Joyce Randolph, who had played the role in earlier sketches and on the 1955–56 sitcom.
Her feature films include the character of Miss Taylor in Walt Disney’s live-action musical with animation Pete’s Dragon
She made her screen debut in Sailors on Leave (1941) playing Sunshine. Her television debut came in 1949 in an episode of “Fireside Theatre” with her sister.
In January 1955, the Kean Sisters were musical guests on Desilu Productions’ “Shower
of Stars”. They shared the stage with Ethel Merman and Red Skelton.
In 1956, she was on the Desilu lot to film an episode of “The Danny Thomas Show” titled “Bunny Gets into the Act”. She played Cactus Kate.
On January 31, 1966, Kean appeared on “The Lucy Show” as Pussycat on “Lucy and the Soap Opera” (TLS S4;E19). Actually, Pussycat was a character on the soap opera “Camden Cove”. Pussycat is a key figure in a courtroom scene, along with spectator Lucy Carmichael.
In 2003, she wrote a memoir, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Honeymooners…I Had a Life.
Her final screen role was playing Aunt Ida in the 2013 film Abner the Invisible Dog. She died a month after its release, in November 2013, at age 90.
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RIP PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH
1921-2021
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born in on June 10, 1921, in Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu. He was the only son and fifth and final child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. On November 20, 1947, he married Princess Elizabeth, who became Queen Elizabeth in February 1952. Due to his longevity and prominent position, his name naturally entered pop culture, as it did on a few episodes of Lucille Ball sitcoms.
In “Lucy Meets The Queen” (ILL S5;E15) on January 30, 1956, Lucy and Ethel stand at the gates of Buckingham Palace, hoping for a glimpse of the Queen or Prince Philip.
Lucy: I see a man! Do you think that might be Philip?
Ethel: I doubt it I hardly think Philip would be out wrestling ash cans.
Ricky’s European agent is named Philip Wilcox. Although the character is unseen, his first name was chosen to coincide with Queen Elizabeth’s husband, leading to a funny misunderstanding when Ricky calls Wilcox on the phone.
Newly arrived in London, Lucy is anxious to know who has seen Queen. She even asks the Bellhop.
Lucy: Have you ever seen the Queen?
Bellhop: No, ma’am. But I came frightful close during the coronation. I just missed her.
Bellhop: But I did catch a glimpse of him.
Lucy: Philip?
Bellhop: No, ma’am. Danny Kaye.
In a 1959 episode of “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour” “Lucy Wants A Career”, Lucy complains about how many meals she’s cooked as a housewife.
Ricky (reading Variety): It says here that Danny Kaye is going to London to give another command performance for Quinn Elizabeth.
Lucy: I wonder what the ‘Quinn’ is cooking for Philip tonight?
With the fancy ring on her finger in “Lucy and the Ring-a-Ding Ring” (TLS S5;E5) on October 10, 1966, Lucy pretends to be talking to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, even doing a curtsy.
Lucy Ricardo practiced curtsying for Elizabeth and Philip when “Lucy Meets the Queen” (ILL S5;E15) after Ricky’s show at the Palladium.
Crazy Crackpot Conspiracy Theory! This website wonders if Prince Philip is actually Gary Morton, and if Lucy might be the Queen.
As pop culture figures even into the 21st century, Lucy and Philip have had to face many more than their share of salacious gossip and tabloid tales.
Like Lucy, Prince Philip’s legacy will live on!
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HOBBIES
April 9, 1950
“Hobbies” (aka “Hobbies Have Consequences”) is episode #83 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on April 9, 1950.
Synopsis ~
Liz and Iris are tired of waiting at home on weekends while George and Rudolph are at the golf course, so they decide to leave half-smoked cigars around the house to make the boys jealous.
The episode has some elements that were later used on “I Love Lucy” in “The Golf Game” (ILL S3;E30) filmed on April 15, 1954, and first aired on May 17, 1954.
“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) was considered the front-runner to be cast as Ethel Mertz but when “I Love Lucy” was ready to start production she was already playing a similar role on TV’s “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” so Vivian Vance was cast instead. On “I Love Lucy” she was cast as Lucy Ricardo’s spinster neighbor, Miss Lewis, in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) in early 1952. Later, she was a success in her own show, “Petticoat Junction” as Shady Rest Hotel proprietress Kate Bradley. She starred in the series until her death in 1968.
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
Arthur Q. Bryan (Man in the Street) appeared with Lucille Ball in Look Who’s Laughing (1941). He is best remembered as the original voice of Elmer Fudd in the Warner Brothers cartoons. He also was an accomplished radio actor appearing for ten seasons as Doc Gamble on “Fibber McGee and Molly.” In 1952′s “Ricky Loses His Voice” (ILL S2;E9) he played Mr. Chambers, new owner of the Tropicana, a former vaudevillian looking to return to the stage.
Jack Moyles (Man in the Street / Caddy) was best known for starring as café owner / amateur detective Rocky Jordan in the CBS radio serials “A Man Named Jordan” and “The Adventures of Rocky Jordan.”
EPISODE
ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers tonight, George and Liz are entertaining Mr. Atterbury and his wife Iris. Dinner is over, and Iris has called Liz to one side.”
The girls want to hustle the boys off to see a movie, rather than listen to them talk about stamp collecting. Liz laments the days when they went to the cinema to sit in the balcony and neck. Liz suggests that in the car they sit next to their husbands in the car, rather than ‘the married way’ – the husbands in the front, and the women in the back. Before they leave, George wants to show Rudolph his new frank of Andorra stamps. George brags about his sheet of unperforated Andorran stamps.LIZ: “George Cooper, you come back or I’ll perforate your Andorre!”
The Principality of Andorra is a sovereign landlocked microstate on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south.
Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe.
At 1:30am Liz and Iris are playing their 15th game of cards and the boys are still in the other room looking at stamps! George and Rudolph tell the girls they’d be welcome in the world of philately.
LIZ: “Well phooey on philately! Who cares about those faded bits of colored paper?”
Philately (or stamp collecting) was the theme of “Lucy and the Missing Stamp” (TLS S3;E14) first aired on December 21, 1964. Lucy accidentally mails a priceless stamp and goes to elaborate lengths to get it back.
The girls want to go out and get a hamburger, but they boys say they need to get up early to play golf. Liz and Iris are tired of playing second fiddle to the boys’ hobbies.
The next morning, Iris rings Liz’s doorbell.
IRIS: “I just dropped Snead and Hogan off a the golf course.”
Samuel Jackson Snead (1912-2002) was a professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. William Ben Hogan (1912-97) was also considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and his legendary ball-striking ability.
Iris has come by to talk about what they are going to do about their husbands’ obsession with hobbies like stamps and golf. Katie, a former golf widow herself, suggests she did what she did with her first husband, Clarence. Leave a smoldering cigar in the ashtray to make them jealous.
Liz and Iris go on a hunt up and down the streets of Sheridan Falls to find a cigar butt – to no avail. They spot a man smoking a cigar, and Liz darts to get it as soon as she throws it to the ground. Before just as she does – a bum claims it for himself. He calls for help!
BUM: “Help! This dame swiped my butt!”
LIz tries to buy if from him, but he gives it up thinking she’s crazy. Iris also found one! They rush home to plant the cigars before their husbands come home. When George gets back from golfing, he sees the cigar and gets suspicious.
GEORGE: “Is there another?”
LIZ: “Another? You have no idea the trouble I had with this one.”Liz warns him not to leave ‘a beautiful creature’ like her home alone so much. Just then, the phone rings. George answers it and it is Mr. Atterbury. He wants to know if he’s got a cigar in his ashtray, too. He caught Iris planting the cigar while she thought he was asleep on the sofa. They are wise to the girls’ tricks.
George calls her out on her deception. George tells her he intends to play golf tomorrow, too!
Next day Liz and Iris meet to plan another tact – operation stinker. They plan to join the boys on the links. Dressing in bloomers, they rush to the golf course to make their duo a foursome! Mr. Atterbury insists that the girls don’t know how to play. Liz claims she saw it in the news reels. Liz doesn’t even know not to talk when a player is driving.
As Iris steps up to the tee, Liz calls her Didrikson.
Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias (1911-56) was an athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. She won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer Olympics, before turning to professional golf in 1950 and winning 10 LPGA major championships. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
IRIS: “Is it alright to stand like this, Rudolph?”
RUDOLPH: “Don’t ask me. I didn’t see the newsreel.”Iris hits the ball – but also the club – which goes flying twenty yards. George suggests Liz use a spoon, but Liz insists on a caddy. She swings and misses. She swings four times – missing every time.
LIZ: “Am I getting warm?”
RUDOLPH: “If you are, it’s from the exercise.”Miraculously, Liz hits the ball and it lands a few feet from the hole. Liz is mad at George for not telling her that was the goal all along! George and Rudolph decide there’s no choice. They break their clubs in half!
End of Episode
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ALLEN JENKINS
April 9, 1900
Allen Curtis Jenkins was born Alfred McGonegal on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In his first stage appearance, he danced next to James Cagney in a chorus line for an off-Broadway musical called Pitter-Patter, earning five dollars a week. He also appeared in eight Broadway plays between 1923 and 1962, including The Front Page (1928). His big break came when he replaced Spencer Tracy for three weeks in the Broadway play The Last Mile.
He originated the character of Frankie Wells in the Broadway production of Blessed Event and reprised the role in the 1932 film adaptation.
Jenkins was called to Hollywood by Darryl F. Zanuck and signed first to Paramount Pictures and shortly afterward to Warner Bros. His first role in films came in 1931, when he appeared as an ex-convict in the short Straight and Narrow. Jenkins was labeled “the greatest scene-stealer of the 1930s” by the The New York Times. He was in 42nd Street (1933), Pillow Talk (1959), and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).
In 1939 he appeared with Lucille Ball in the film Five Came Back.
He made his television debut in a November 1952 episode of “Racket Squad”.
He was seen in three episodes of “I Love Lucy,” all as policemen. “New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21) was filmed on January 25, 1952 and aired on March 3, 1952. Jenkins plays the officer who nearly gets his head blown off by the Ricardos and Mertzes home militia. He’s also the one who lets them out of jail when it is revealed that the new neighbors aren’t dangerous spies, but actors!
In “Ricky and Fred are TV Fans” (ILL S2;E30), filmed on May 22, 1953, and first aired on June 22, 1953, he played Officer Jenkins (badge #585) who discovers Lucy about to cut the wires to the apartment building. When they get away, he finds them with their hand in the till at the corner diner. He ends up hauling them down to the station to face Sergeant Nelson.
Finally, in “Too Many Crooks” (ILL S4;E23) filmed on October 29, 1953, and aired on November 30, 1953 he was investigating Madame X. Lucy thinks it’s is Ethel, and Ethel thinks it’s Lucy.
Jenkins later voiced the character of Officer Charlie Dibble on the Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon, “Top Cat” (1961–62).
He appeared on one episode of Desilu’s “The Real McCoys” in October 1962. He also did an episode of “The Danny Thomas Show” in January 1964, filmed on the Desilu lot.
Coincidentally, his final screen role was an appearance in the remake of The Front Page starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon in 1974.
Jenkins publicized his own alcoholism and was the first actor to speak in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate about it. He was involved in beginning the first Alcoholics Anonymous programs in California prisons for women.
He was married to Mary Landee from 1931 to 1962 when they divorced. They had three children.
Allen Jenkins died on July 20, 1974 after undergoing surgery.
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PAULA STEWART
April 9, 1933
Paula Stewart was born Dorothy Paula Zürndorfer in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother, Esther Morris, was an actress.
She was signed as understudy to Anne Crowley in a production of Seventeen on Broadway in June 1, 1951. Her third Broadway show was The Most Happy Fella, a show produced partly by Desilu and featured on “I Love Lucy.” Stewart joined the cast in 1959, well after the episode aired.
Stewart was chosen by Lucille Ball to play her younger sister, Janie, on Broadway in Wildcat. Although Lucille Ball had met Gary Morton previously, it was Paula Stewart who suggested that she date him. Stewart was then in a relationship with a Jack Carter, a comedian who was a contemporary of Morton’s. When Lucy and Gary said “I do”, Stewart and Carter were their best man and maid of honor. They, too, married, in March 1961. Stewart’s first husband was songwriter Burt Bacharach. They were married from 1953 to 1958.
In February 1961, Stewart and Ball appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” to perform “Hey Look Me Over” from Wildcat.
In January 1964, she appeared as herself on “The Joey Bishop Show” (filmed at Desilu Studios) in an episode titled “Jack Carter Helps Joey Propose”. Clearly the story was inspired by their experience with Lucy and Gary.
In December 1965, she was back at Desilu Studios to film an episode of “Hogan’s Heroes”.
In October 1969, Stewart was reunited with Lucille Ball on “Here’s Lucy” in “Lucy and Harry’s Tonsils” (HL S2;E5). She played Nurse Dean, a sexy alternative to Mary Wickes.
On December 29, 1969, Stewart guest-starred with George Gobel and Vivian Vance on “Love American Style” in the segment “Love and the Medium.”
In 2017, she published a memoir titled Lucy Loved Me, about her friendship with Lucille Ball.
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GUM MACHINE
April 8, 1949
“Gum Machine” (aka “The Principal of the Thing” aka “Demand Your Rights”) is episode #38 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on April 9, 1949 on the CBS radio network.
Synopsis ~ George tells Liz that she needs to stand up for her rights and stop letting people push her around. So when Liz loses a penny in a broken gum machine, she vows to get her penny back no matter what the cost.
“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 Benaderet 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 and Bea Benadaret do not appear 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
Hans Conried (Milkman / Eddie) 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.
Frank Nelson (Cop on the Beat) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. This is one of his 11 performances on “My Favorite Husband.” On “I Love Lucy” he holds the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring roles: Freddie Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, as well as six one-off characters, including the frazzled train conductor in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5), a character he repeated on “The Lucy Show.” Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs.
Florence Halop (”The Brooklyn Blabbermouth” aka “Nasal Hazel”) was first seen on television with Lucille Ball in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) in which she reprised her role as the party line phone hog. She wouldn’t work for Lucy again until 1974, when she played a Little Old Lady on a Western-themed episode of “Here’s Lucy.” In 1985, she replaced Selma Diamond (who had died of lung cancer) as the bailiff on “Night Court.”
Johnny McGovern (Boy) was just 13 years old when he did this episode. During this time he also played Little Beaver on the radio series “Red Ryder”. He was eventually replaced by Sammy Ogg, who played one of the Hudson Twins on “I Love Lucy.” On television, he played Will Thornberry in four episodes of “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” from 1953 to 1955.
EPISODE
ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers today, it is breakfast time and at the table a little domestic drama is taking place. George is engrossed in the morning paper and Liz finds herself sitting there with no one to talk to. This of course is a scene, which never happens in any other home. One thing about George though, no matter how interested he is in the paper when Liz speaks he comes right to attention.”
George doesn’t respond when Liz asks for a morning kiss. She lights his newspaper on fire!
Lucy Ricardo also did this to get Ricky’s attention in “Be a Pal” (ILL S1;E2).
LIZ: “Ever since spring training started there are eleven of us at breakfast: you, me, and the Dodgers.”
George promises to put the paper down… as soon as he finishes the article about golf and Demeret.
Golf pro Jimmy Demaret (1910-83) appeared as himself on “I Love Lucy” in 1954, then again on “The Lucy Show” in 1964. In real life, Lucille Ball and her husbands Desi and Gary were golfers.
Liz begs him for a kiss, and without paying much attention, he complies. Instead of her lips, he has kissed Liz’s morning grapefruit without even noticing!
Lucy Ricardo also did this to Ricky in
in “Be a Pal” (ILL S1;E2).
Liz begs him for a favor: tell Katie the maid she cannot have Saturday night off. They have guests coming, and Liz was afraid to ask for herself. George asks her himself, and Katie isn’t bothered at all. Liz agrees that from now on she’ll stand up for her rights.
When George finds the cream for the coffee has soured, he insists Liz tell the milkman about it – stand up for her rights. The milkman arrives, delivers the milk, and then leaves. Liz chickened out. George calls him back to tell him Hogan’s Frolicking Milkmaid Cream was sour. The milkman (Hans Conried) says that Mr. Hogan will take it out on the cow! He gives them free items instead of losing their business.
MILKMAN: “You see, we can’t afford a radio program!”
It was common that large companies would sponsor radio programs, their names becoming part of the title, and the stars doing live commercials for them. Pet and Carnation were two of the most ubiquitous dairy sponsors on radio.
While downtown shopping with Katie, Liz is bragging about how she told off the butcher. She stops for a piece of gum from a gumball machine. It takes her penny, but doesn’t give her any good. Liz is angry. A crowd gathers, including a cop (Frank Nelson). He says that someone has been robbing the machines of their pennies, and wants to know if Liz knows anything about it.
LIZ: “Yeah, I’m the ring leader: Two-Gun Jean the Chicle Queen!”
Chicle is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. The American Chicle Company was an American chewing gum company, incorporated in 1899. Its products eventually grew to include breath mints, antacids, cough drops and other items. American Chicle was acquired by Warner-Lambert in 1962, which in turn was acquired by Pfizer in 2000.
Liz demands to know the name of the company who owns the ‘one-finger bandit’.
When she gets home she finds their phone number for the Ballyhoo Vending Machine Company. When she tries to call, the ‘Brooklyn Blabbermouth’ aka ‘Nasal Hazel’ (Florence Halop) is on the party line, talking to her boyfriend, Eddie.
ANNOUNCER: “Liz is embarking on a battle for her rights with the Ballyhoo Vending Machine Company. As we find her now, she is on her way to do battle, and George is dropping her off in front of the vending machine company.”
George needs to visit the bank, so he says he will meet Liz in an hour for lunch at Nickodells.
Nickodell Restaurant was located at 5511 Melrose Avenue, built into the side of RKO (later Desilu) Studio. Nickodell was the place folks working on the lot escaped to for a mid-day cocktail, and many important deals were made at its tables. When “I Love Lucy” was casting Desi Arnaz got a call from an actor named William Frawley and they arranged to get together and discuss the role over drinks at Nickodell. It closed for good in 1993.
GEORGE: “So long, Carrie Nation!”
Caroline Amelia Nation (1846-1911) was an activist who was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent of Prohibition. Nation is noted for attacking alcohol-serving establishments (most often taverns) with a hatchet. Lucille Ball played Nation in a sketch in 1962′s “The Good Years” on CBS TV.
Liz enters the ‘crooked’ gum machine company, and demands to see the complain manager. It is ‘the Brooklyn Blabbermouth’! Despite their differences, Liz tells her that she wants her penny back.
BLABBERMOUTH: “Why you so in love with that penny? Did Lincoln give it to you personally?”
Rather than fill out a refund form (which asks for her birth year) she vows to hire a lawyer to get her refund.
LIZ: “I’ll get that penny back if it takes every cent I’ve got!”
On her way to lunch, she sees a little boy (Johnny McGovern) crying that he isn’t tall enough to reach the gum machine! She tries to convince him he’s better off short! She agrees to put his penny into the machine to get him a piece of gum. Naturally, no gum comes out. She doesn’t have another penny of her own. The little boy tells her to hit it on the side. She does and a flood of pennies spill out on the sidewalk. They both take a penny for their refunds. The cop finds them standing in a pile of pennies. He accuses her of being the ring leader, just as sarcastically said earlier.
COP: “You’re going to jail, Mrs. Fagin!”
The name ‘Fagin’ was borrowed from the Charles Dickens’ 1838 novel Oliver Twist. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a “receiver of stolen goods”. He is the leader of a group of child pickpockets and prostitutes. Alec Guinness portrayed Fagin in David Lean’s 1948 film adaptation of Oliver Twist, The release of the film in the USA was delayed for three years on charges of being anti-Semitic. It was finally released in the United States in 1951. Fagin will also be mentioned in “Liz and Iris’s Easter” (March 24, 1951), in a scene also featuring Frank Nelson!
Later, George has paid $50 bail to get Liz out of jail, and is not happy about it. Liz jollies him into kissing him – in the middle of the street. Before going home, George wants to get some cigarettes – from a machine! Naturally, no cigarettes come out. Just when George is jiggling the handle, you-know-who comes by!
COP: “Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Fagin. I see you’re working with older boys now.”
He arrests them both!
End of Episode
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