-
NEVER HAPPENED!
Lucille Ball projects announced on January 17, 1962 & 1974 that never came to pass!
Sheila Graham reported that Desi Arnaz had an idea for a film starring Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball. The two were friends and co-stars from their movie-making days and Desilu produced Sothern’s second TV series, “The Ann Sothern Show.” Sothern was featured on the very first episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”
” “Lucy Takes a Cruise to Havana” (1957) as her first TV character, private secretary Susie MacNamara.
Although the film collaboration never came to pass, Ball did invite Sothern to become a cast member of “The Lucy Show” in 1965, after Vivian Vance decided to leave the show.
Speaking of Vivian Vance, Graham reports that Vance has relocated to Stamford, Connecticut, to live with her husband John Dodd. Despite the distance to Hollywood, Vance was lured back to Desilu a few months after this article was printed in order to once again play second fiddle to Lucille Ball on her new TV series, “The Lucy Show.” She stayed with the show for three seasons and then made guest appearances.
On January 17, 1974, UPI’s Vernon Scott announced that Lucille Ball’s no-holds-barred publicity tour for her Warner Brothers film Mame had been cancelled. The reason was the nation’s energy crisis. The resources needed for such a tour would have been an extravagance when the nation was conserving energy. The primary excess came from the specially outfitted 727B jet that was to be redesigned especially for Lucy. Despite this announcement, Lucille Ball and Warner Brothers did come to an agreement to do a smaller scale national publicity tour with Ball flying commercial and doing only larger cities. Alt
Also on January 17, 1974, columnist Shirley Eder reported a banner year for the Arnaz / Morton family. Although some of what Eder reports did indeed happen, the big news that Desi Sr. would be returning to work for Lew Wasserman of Universal never came to pass. Desi did no acting or creative work behind the camera after 1968, although the idea of him playing a Cuban bartender who inherits a major corporation sounds intriguing. He did indeed pen his autobiography. “A Book” by Desi Arnaz was released in 1976. Lucille Ball’s autobiography “Love Lucy” was released in 1996, after her death in 1989.
-
BOUNCING BALL
January 16, 1965
By JOAN CROSBY, NEW YORK — (NEA) —
Lucille Ball looked very much the glamor queen as she descended an orange-carpeted circular stairway, her gold and white silk sari hostess gown trailing her one arm gracefully behind her back
“They are great stairs for falling down” she said as she got to the bottom “so I come down barefoot" She was holding a pair of high-heeled mules in her hidden hand!
Lucy, who is a star of both CBS television and radio, may have looked like a glamor girl and acted like the zany character she is to fans, but she was concerned with a mother-next-door problem.
“I don’t have any pessimistic thoughts, nothing drags me down. I don’t have moods of depression and I think everything is possible, but" Lucy said “I find it a little hard to help a teen-age daughter.”
ADDED BURDEN
Lucy’s daughter, Lucie, is 13. Her son, Desi IV, is 11. As the children of a wealthy and famous mother there is an added burden on Lucy to keep them normal, something she says "the average layman doesn’t understand.”
Middle class Americans have too much free time and too easy a life to make disciplining youngsters easy Lucy believes.
"Electric appliances make everything in the kitchen easier and the laundry is generally sent out. What is a mother going to do?”
“Force her child to iron shirts because that’s what her grandmother did when the grandmother was a girl?”
“It’s harder these days for young people to have a purpose of direction because families don’t demand responsibilities from their children”
LITTLE CHANGE
Lucy, who feels she hasn’t changed much over the years, is sensitive to the fact that people in small towns act unnaturally with celebrities.
“I went back to a small town where I spent some early years and I found the people who expected me to be different had beaten me to it. I walked in one room and It was cold as Siberia. The highest compliment these people can give you eventually is to say ‘Gee, you’re real’”
[The photograph accompanying the article was taken from “Lucy Gets the Bird” (TLS S3;E12).]
-
LUCILLE BALL THRIVES ON MISTAKES
January 16, 1965
The original, un-cropped photograph.
[CLICK ON THE UNDERLINED TEXT TO VISIT THE EPISODES WHERE LUCY LEARNS A NEW SKILL!]
TV Week now presents a girl who has made a career out of making mistakes.
Meet Lucille Ball.
She admits that the art of making mistakes is not only fun, but highly educational.
“Perhaps I should explain,” explains Lucy, who appears Monday nights at 8 o’clock on the CBS network, “that before you purposely make a mistake before millions of television viewers, you must first learn to do whatever you’re doing right before you start clowning it up."
Once you have mastered the proper method of doing something, she said, you find it infinitely easier to louse it up. a job at which the red-haired comedienne has few peers.
"For example,” Lucy continued, “for one show, I had to learn to be a dignified and efficient secretary. Well, I knew how to type, but any resemblance between my style and that of a professional secretary is open to discussion. Of course, there were such other items as how to take dictation, operate an intricate intercom system, answer the phone correctly, and how to act in front of the boss. So I had to take a short course in how to do it right, then when it came time for a show, I had to do everything wrong, and brother, what I did to that scene would send a professional into shock.”
DURING her career on television, Lucy has learned how to make candy, bake bread, play the violin, install plumbing, paint, lay bricks, jerk sodas, be an announcer, refinish furniture, play golf, drive a dump truck, fly-cast, put up a tent, scale fish, raise chickens, tango, tap dance, twist, waltz, rhumba, box, jiu jitsu, ride a horse, raise flowers, fight a bull, play softball, sail a boat, walk on stilts, erect a TV antenna, skin dive, and even catch butterflies.
And just to make sure she doesn’t lose her touch, Miss Ball will do the following this season: fly a helicopter*, play every percussion instrument in an orchestra, jump into a life net**, plaster a house, and assemble and dismantle an army rifle.
And if you should say, “Tennis, anyone?” you’ve got yourself a partner.
* = Although Lucy Ricardo famously dropped from a helicopter and Desilu produced a series about helicopters, “The Lucy Show” never featured an episode where Lucy flies a helicopter.
** = Lucy did this stunt in 1963, but did not repeat it in 1965.
“Lucy Goes To Las Vegas” (TLS S3;E17) premiered on Monday night, January 18th.
This Guide also includes a listing for A Girl, A Guy, and A Gob (1941) starring Lucille Ball on Tuesday, January 19 at midnight.
-
ELLIOTT REID
January 16, 1920
Edgeworth Blair “Elliott” Reid was born in New York City in 1920. He attended the Professional Children’s School. In 1935, Reid debuted on the radio program “The March of Time”, which led to regular work on radio dramas during the golden age of radio. From 1937 to 1960 Reid also appeared on Broadway.
In some early performances he was credited as ‘Ted Reid’.
In 1940 Reid made his screen debut in the film The Ramparts We Watch.
Reid got into television in its early stages, acting in a Kraft Television Theatre production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” in December 1947.
Reid’s first time acting with Lucille Ball came in “Face To Face” aka “The Ricardos are Interviewed” (ILL S5;E7) filmed on October 20, 1955 and aired on November 14, 1955.
In it, Reid played Edward Warren, a parody of Edward R. Murrow (right), who hosted “Person to Person” from 1953 to 1959. Reid was a master imitator who studied tapes of Murrow to perfect the characterization.
Reid returned to work with Lucille Ball in “Lucy Visits the White House” (TLS S1;E25) airing on March 25, 1963. In addition to his brief scene in a trackside diner (above), Reid’s skill at imitating famous voices was used to impersonate the off-screen voice of President John F. Kennedy in the episode’s final moments, although he was never credited for it. His impersonation of JFK later got him invited to the White House to perform for the President himself.
Two years later, Reid returned to “The Lucy Show” to play a German doctor in “Lucy the Stockholder” (TLS S3;E25) first aired on March 29, 1965.
Dr. Kurtzman (Reid) hypnotizes Lucy and Viv, thinking they are subjects of his age regression experiment.
On “Here’s Lucy” Reid first played police detective Harvey Gaynes, investigating a series of neighborhood break-ins.
He hilariously gets caught up in Lucy’s home-made theft-protection system as the finale to “Lucy’s Burglar Alarm” (HL S2;E7) first airing on November 7, 1969.
In “Lucy Meets Sammy Davis Jr.” (HL S3;E3), Reid played Otto, a film director making a movie with Sammy Davis Jr. Reid once again uses his German accent for the character. The episode first aired on September 28, 1970.
His final appearance with Lucille Ball was in “Milton Berle Is The Life of the Party” (HL S6;E19) first aired on February 19, 1974.
Reid played the host of a telethon.
Auctioning off Milton Berle as a party guest, Milton begs Reid for mercy when he realizes that loony Lucy has made the top bid!
In addition, he appeared on the “Our Miss Brooks” (1955) and “The Danny Thomas Show” (1959), two shows filmed at Desilu Studios.
Reid’s final screen appearance was on an episode of “Maybe This Time” starring Betty White on September 15, 1995.
Elliott Reid died of heart failure on June 21, 2013. He was 93 years old.
-
ETHEL MERMAN
January 16, 1908
Ethel Merman was born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann in Astoria, Queens. Known primarily for her distinctive, powerful voice and leading roles in musical theatre, she has been called “the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage”.
Merman began by appearing in nightclubs, first hired by Jimmy Durante’s partner Lou Clayton. At this time, she decided the name Ethel Zimmermann was too long for a theater marquee and shortened it to Ethel Merman.
While performing on the prestigious Keith Circuit, Merman was signed to replace Ruth Etting in the Paramount film Follow the Leader (1930), starring Ed Wynn and Ginger Rogers. This was her feature film debut.
That same year, Merman made her Broadway debut in Girl Crazy. When the LP was released, Mary Martin sang Merman’s role. When the film was released, Judy Garland replaced Merman. This began a history of Merman being thought too “big and theatrical” for motion pictures.
Except for Call Me Madam, Merman was replaced with other performers when her stage hits were made into feature films. Lucille Ball replaced Merman in Du Barry Was A Lady (1943) and Rosalind Russell replaced her in Gypsy (1962).
In 1934, Vivian Vance understudied Merman in Broadway’s Anything Goes and was also seen with her in 1936′s Red Hot & Blue. Many believe Vance’s character of Ethel Mertz was named in honor of Merman.
While on Broadway with Vance, Merman was on screen with Lucy, in Kid Millions starring Eddie Cantor, one of Ball’s first films.
Merman’s first appearance on television was in 1954, recreating “Anything Goes” on “The Colgate Comedy Hour” with Frank Sinatra.
In 1956, both Lucy and Ethel were among the many celebrities who appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Eighth Anniversary Show.”
In 1963, Merman filmed a TV pilot for Desilu titled “Maggie Brown”. Merman played a widow running a nightclub near a Marine base, while raising a daughter (Susan Watson). The pilot did not sell, and Lucy felt indebted to Merman so created a guest-starring appearance for her on “The Lucy Show.”
“Lucy Teaches Ethel Merman To Sing” (TLS S2;E18) had Merman temporarily relocating to Danfield under an assumed name. It isn’t long until she is being compared to Merman and the truth comes out when Lucy dares to teach her how to sing!
Originally, this was intended to be one episode, but the material seemed rushed and the stars were enjoying the work so it was extended into a second episode. The final scene of this episode was rewritten to lead into Part Two. However, it wasn’t filmed until they shot the second episode a month later.
By then, Lucille had begun wearing a different wig, Vivian had taken a holiday and was tanned, and Merman had changed the color of her hair from dark brown to auburn.
“Ethel Merman and the Boy Scout Show” (TLS S2;E19) was centered on performances, with Merman singing her iconic “There’s No Business Like Show Business” from Annie Get Your Gun.
After the filming was complete, Merman recalled that she and Vance went to Lucille Ball’s house for some girl talk and Lucille styled their hair – to disastrous results.
These two Ethel Merman episodes were re-run on CBS on May 24 and June 1, 1964.
Ball also threw Merman a bridal shower (above) before her month-long marriage to Ernest Borgnine in 1964.
“Not to pat myself on the back, but when I do a show, the whole show revolves around me. And if I don’t show up, they can just forget it!” ~ Ethel Merman
On June 24, 1982, near the end of their careers, Merman, Ball, and Ginger Rogers appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show.”
Merman’s final screen appearance was in a two-part episode of “The Love Boat” in 1982. It also featured Lucy colleagues and friends Ann Miller and Van Johnson (Too Many Girls).
In addition to her two-month marriage to actor Ernest Borgnine in 1964, Merman married and divorced:
- William B. Smith (1940-1941)
- Robert Daniels Levitt (1941-1952)
- Robert Logan Forman Six (1953-1960)
Merman won a Tony Award in 1951, and was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 1972. She won a Grammy in 1960 and a Golden Globe in 1953.
Merman died on February 15, 1984. She was 76 years old.
-
LUCILLE BALL IS ON THE WARPATH
January 15, 1973
By ELAINE SHEPARD, HOLLYWOOD (WNS)
Faint-hearted TV and film executives had better start circling the wagons. Lucille Ball is on the warpath.
Lucy never does anything by halves, and is feisty enough to take on the whole show business establishment. She has become one of the television industry’s richest, most influential leaders, and she has a very personal set of moral weights and measures.
“A lot of dirty old men have been on a ragged, jagged toot of making money and pandering to an audience’s basest instincts. As soon as they are not making money which is happening already those pictures will sit in the vault.”
"I know my audience is still out there so I’m not worried. But it’s a terrible thing as a mother or father to try to shape your children morally and in every other way and have it torn down in one short season of movie-going. Because once they are 15 and a certain height they are allowed in to the theatres and everything they were taught to believe in is ripped apart. All this permissiveness has put tremendous responsibility on young people’s shoulders. At least you and I had guidelines. Now they are not even allowed a conscience that tells them right from wrong."
Tacky pictures are something to be avoided like drafts and bad cooking, says Lucy. "At home, I’ve stopped many movies in the middle and sent guests and projectionists home.”
"Violence has gone beyond the bounds of tolerance. Today’s films leave the young people in a spiritual wasteland. No direction. Everything is dirty, smelly, icky, lousy. They should have something to hope for, to dream about. We need a little fantasy. Not just sexual fantasies. We give them no hope any place."
Lucy was one of the first to demolish forever the cliché that beauty and brains are incompatible. Her energy is atomic. Smoking cigarettes at a cancerous rate, she was on the phone arranging last-minute details for her 80-year-old carrot – topped mother, Dede, to go fishing in Colorado. "My condominium is at 9,800 feet. You should see Dede going down the mountain with the kids on a belly-whacker at 40 miles an hour."
Tall and handsome Gary Morton says his 11-year alliance with Lucille is "the most wonderful thing that ever happened to him.” It is a marriage that hums. You can sense the little waves of approval and the love arrows going back and forth. He gave Lucy a white juiced-up golf cart with her name on the door to carry her around the Universal Studios lot. Gary is executive producer of “Here’s Lucy.” This season represents his wife’s 22nd year as a major CBS Television Network star.
With every rung of the theatrical ladder greased and the most slippery one at the top, Lucille keeps her watchful big blue eyes on 21-year-old daughter Lucie, a costar on the program. “She is quite serious about her career."
Lucie and her brother Desi IV (20 this month) have been raised with every advantage that wealth and love could provide. "Their father (Desi Arnaz III) is proud of them. He has a Moroccan palace in Baja. The kids, including Liza Minelli, visit them there. My son loves Liza very much and so do we. I knew her before I knew my own children. Our family is so close now it hurts. Very close. So close that the telephone bills from Desi’s movie locations in Japan and Israel are astronomical."
She has no plans to retire. "I don’t know what I’m going to do from one minute to the next. When it’s time to make a decision I make it. I don’t feel any need to change the comedy format. Response from the fans indicates it works."
How did movie standards get twisted? "Some producers have been given so much rope they are hanging themselves. A lot of pornographic stuff is going begging. We have good directors but no big studios with jobs for them. No ‘papas’ around anymore; nobody to set standards and give direction. Among the exceptions in this town are Disney and Ross Hunter. I say ‘thank God’ for them.”
Former waitress, soda jerk, wholesale garment model and chorus girl, Lucy became the first woman president of a major Hollywood film producing company (Desilu Productions) with an estimated annual gross of $25,000,000. In 1967 she sold her interest in Desilu to Golf & Western Industries and is a substantial shareholder in that financial empire.
In 1968 she formed Lucille Ball Productions. Headquarters is rented from Universal Studios. “I am happy to be a tenant and not interested in being a big tycoon anymore. We will create new TV programs, specials and movies.”
We didn’t discuss Women’s Lib. For Lucy is Women’s Lib personified.
She also is Auntie Mame. The movie starts this month, will make a fortune for Warner Bros., and be a coronation for the queen of comedy.
Monday, January 15, 1973, also saw the premiere of “Lucy and Her Genuine Twimby” (HL S5;E17) guest-starring Robert Cummings.
On the same date, UPI reported that “Here’s Lucy” would return for a sixth season, marking Ball’s 23rd year on TV. Coincidentally, the following item reports that Lucy’s friend and frequent co-star Mary Wickes would recreated her Broadway and film role in a television version of “The Man Who Came To Dinner” for Hallmark Hall of Fame.
[January 15, 1973, was also just before production began on the film musical Mame. Joan Crosby reported on the press event.]
It was like the old days of Hollywood. The red carpet was laid at Studio One at The Burbank Studios (nee Warner Brothers) and 200 people showed up for lunch with Lucille Ball and the cast of “Mame,” the day before production.
Lucy made a great entrance in her silver-and-black outfit, with long earrings, cigarette holder to match, close cropped black hair and tightly wound silver turban. If you wonder why Mame couldn’t be, like Lucy, a redhead. Lucy says a lot of thought went into the color, which will be used in the early scenes. Before the 20 years of Maine’s life are finished she will also be seen as a blonde, redhead and finally, blue-tinted, silver-haired lady. Told that it’s hard to get used to her with dark hair, Lucy smiled and said, “I can’t get used to me, either."
Lucy will have about 45 costume changes in the musical, which delights her and should please the ladies.
Robert Fryer, who is co-producer of "Mame,” said they needed an actress for the role who was “chic, humorous, warm and loving,” and Lucy mugged her way through that.
Lucy said she was delighted to do “Mame” because it is “a four-letter word and so is love, so is care and so is hope.” She added that so many films today lack these qualities. “Also, they don’t give us anything to hum unless you want to come out of the theater humming a manure pile.”
Lucy introduced costars Robert Preston, Bea Arthur (who played Vera on Broadway and will recreate it here), Jane Connell, the original Agnes Gooch, and darling Kirby Furlong; who will turn 10 during production.
Kirby, who is very small for his age, was wearing a tuxedo and director Gene Saks said, “Kirby always dresses that way. He gets up in the morning and jumps into his tux.” Kirby laughed.
Meanwhile, in other papers, Mame’s casting was reported, concentrating on adult Patrick, played by Bruce Davison. The release incorrectly lists Madeline Kahn, who was initially cast as Gooch, but left the production, reportedly due to a conflict with Lucille Ball.
-
LLOYD BRIDGES
January 15, 1913
Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. was
born in San Leandro, California. His parents were both natives of Kansas, and of English ancestry. Bridges graduated from Petaluma High School in 1930. He then studied political science at UCLA.
He starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films.
He made his screen debut with an uncredited role in Warner Bros.’ Freshman Love in 1936.
For Columbia Pictures he appeared in films such as Sahara (1943), A Walk in the Sun (1945), Little Big Horn (1951) and High Noon (1952).
He made his television debut in June 1951 with an episode of “Bigelow Theatre” titled “Man’s First Debt.”
On television, he starred in “Sea Hunt” from 1958 to 1961,
a series about a scuba diver which featured extensive underwater filming, so much so that his name become synonymous with underwater adventures. Bridges was seen in all 155 episodes of the CBS series.
In this context he is mentioned in “Lucy and Viv Put In a Shower” (TLS S1;E18). When the water in the shower begins rising to shoulder level, Lucy says “Where’s Lloyd Bridges when you need him?”
He was also mentioned in the same context in “Lucy Buys a Boat” (TLS S1;E30).
Lucy says she bought the boat with the hull in the water so she didn’t notice the poor shape it was in. She adds that she didn’t have Lloyd Bridges with her at the time!
In November 1959, he appeared on a “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” episode titled “Lepke” produced and introduced by Desi Arnaz.
When Lucy Carter (and Lucille Ball) broke a leg in 1972, Bridges played a doctor on the Season 5 opener of “Here’s Lucy.”
By the end of his career, he had re-invented himself and demonstrated a comedic talent in such parody films as Airplane! (1980), Hot Shots! (1991), and Jane Austen’s Mafia! (1998).
In December 1984, Bridges (above left) was present for “All-Star Party for Lucille Ball”. Bridges did not speak, but he was prominently featured on screen. The following year, Bridges and Ball were two of the 100 stars in “Night of 100 Stars II” at Radio City Music Hall. Bridges was also in attendance for Lucille Ball’s final screen appearance, at “The 61st Annual Academy Awards” in March 1989.
Bridges final screen appearance (although not his last filmed) was Meeting Daddy, released in 2000. His final film, the comedy film Mafia! (1998), was dedicated to his memory.
Among other honors, Bridges was a two-time Emmy Award nominee. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 1, 1994.
He was the father of four children, including the actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges.
On March 10, 1998, Bridges died of natural causes at the age of 85.
-
PIANO & VIOLIN LESSONS
January 14, 1949
“Piano and Violin Lessons” (aka “Professor
Krausmeyer’s Talent Scouts”) is episode #26 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on January 14, 1949 on the Armed Forces Radio Network.Synopsis ~ Liz takes up the piano to win a radio talent contest. To get even, George starts playing the violin. Who will win?
“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.
REGULAR 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 as 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.
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.
Announcer Bob LeMond is not heard in this episode as it is part of the American Forces Network and has a different announcer.
Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) and Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) had not yet joined the cast as regular characters.
GUEST CAST
Hans Conried (Professor Krausemeyer) 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. He died in 1982 at age 64.
Conried uses a German accent for the role. Professor Krausmeyer is likely the inspiration for Professor Gitterman on “The Lucy Show.”
A character named Esther Weiss, a young cymbal player, makes a brief appearance voiced by an uncredited performer.
EPISODE
George is in the attic looking for his decoy ducks and has found a stack of old National Geographic magazines.
National Geographic magazine started publishing in 1888 and became one of the most widely-read magazines of all time. They specialized in science, geography, history, and world culture. The magazine is known for its distinctive appearance: a thick square-bound glossy format with a yellow rectangular border and its use of dramatic photography. It was not uncommon for readers to collect and store them, as George has.
George finds the magazines fascinating, but Liz is bored, except for the car ads from 20 years ago.
LIZ (reading): “New Cadillac: $1,100.”
The Cadillac Automobile Company was established in 1902, named after French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701. The brand became associated with luxury cars, a reputation it still has today. On a 1954 episode of “I Love Lucy” Fred Mertz bought a rundown 1923 Cadillac convertible for the gang’s trip to California, much to the dismay of the other passengers. Even though he only paid $300, Fred was swindled!
George admires the features of the cars in the ad, rhapsodizing about the isinglass windows, the retractable top, tires that took 60lbs of pressure, but all Liz can think of is the rumble seat!
A rumble seat was an additional padded passenger seat that popped up from the rear of the vehicle, usually just big enough for two. This led it to becoming synonymous with romantic trysts! Liz definitely has that in mind.
Liz reveals that the decoy ducks George was originally searching for were used for target practice at the charity bazaar shooting gallery. Liz wants to throw away George’s workout equipment, like his barbells. George can’t even lift them off the floor! George insists she sell her old piano. Liz plays him a few bars, but George reveals that she is using the player piano, not playing it herself.
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano, containing a mechanism that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in the late 19th and early 20th century. Sales peaked in 1924, then declined due to the advent of phonograph recordings and radio. The stock market crash of 1929 virtually wiped out production
Liz insists that she can also play all by herself and offers to play “Glow Worm” although George wants to hear “The Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor”. Liz starts to play and all that comes out is an out-of-tune rendition of “Glow Worm.”
“The Glow-Worm” is a song from Paul Lincke’s 1902 operetta Lysistrata. The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875. On “I Love Lucy”, Lucy Ricardo found her old saxophone in the attic, much the way Liz finds her old piano. Like Liz, all Lucy can play is “Glow Worm” even when asked to play something else!
Liz has the piano moved down to the living room, and asks Katie the Maid to clean it up. Liz tells her she has arranged to take piano lessons to prove something to George. Although it has just been tuned, Liz’s rendition of “Glow Worm” is just as out-of-key as ever!
Liz is waiting for her childhood piano instructor, Professor Krausmeyer (Hans Conried), to arrive. When he gets there they reminisce about how all she could ever play was “Glow Worm.” Even back then, Liz claimed the piano was out-of-tune.
PROFESSOR: “Nobody is hopeless. I can teach anybody to play the piano who has only three qualifications: a left hand, a right hand, and five dollars an hour.”
The Professor entices her to take five lessons a week so that she can appear on his radio talent contest. Liz agrees!
Three days later, Liz is practicing “Swannee River” for the talent show. George and Katie lament her non-stop practicing. Katie claims they even got a telegram asking her to stop, signed “The Friends of Stephen Foster”!
“Swanee River” aka “Old Folks at Home” was written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Lucille Ball attempts to play “Swanee River” on the banjo in “Carol + 2″ in 1966. In “World’s Greatest Grandma” (1986), an un-aired episode of “Life With Lucy” Lucy Barker’s son-in-law Ted sings “Swanee River” while Lucy does a few clumsy shuffle steps.
George tries to get her to stop, but she refuses. George goes to see Professor Krausmeyer. George is no sooner in the door when the Professor says he has the hands of an artists. When George says he used to play the violin a little, the Professor urges him to try playing the one in his studio, declaring him to be the next Jascha Heifitz.
Jascha Heifetz (1901-87, inset photo) is considered to be the greatest violinist of all time. In “Lucy and Jack Benny’s Biography” (HL S3;E11) in 1970, Lucy plays Jack Benny’s mother, getting a call from Jascha Heifetz’s mother, about their sons’ violin playing!
The Professor enters George in the contest as well, just to teach Liz a lesson. At home, it is George’s violin versus Liz’s piano, with a defensive Katie playing the harmonica in retaliation. George tells Liz that he’s also going to be in the contest. Liz bets him $100 that she will win.
To foil him, Liz glues his strings together. Before bedtime, Liz puts on her protective gloves, but George has filled them with quick drying glue! Laying out their clothes for the contest, George hides her new dress – as well as the rest of her clothing. Liz locks him in the bathroom and tries to find something to wear to the contest.
At the radio station, Liz shows up wearing one of George’s suits. Professor Krausmeyer doesn’t recognize her. George suddenly arrives wearing one of Liz’s sun dresses. They argue about who will play first and end up playing simultaneously: Liz’s “Swanee River” on the piano at the same time as George’s “Humoresques” on the violin.
In “Bullfight Dance” (ILL S4;E23), Ricky proposes he and Lucy do a counterpoint of “Humoresques”, a piano composition by Antonín Dvořák written in 1894 and “Swanee River”. Ricky decides Lucy can’t handle the complexity of the piece and decides to switch the act to a matador routine.
The Professor declares that they both have won for best duet! The prize is six months lessons with Professor Krausmeyer!
In bed that night, Liz wakes up George angrily to chide him for smooching Betty Grable in her dream. He says that he was dreaming, too! In his dream she was dancing with Gregory Peck – while he was smooching with Betty Grable!
Betty Grable (1916-73) was one of Hollywood’s biggest starlets. At the time of this episode, her film When My Baby Smiles at Me was in cinemas. She would appear with her second husband Harry James on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” In 1958. Gregory Peck (1916-2003) was one of Hollywood’s most distinguished leading men. His film Yellow Sky had premiered just three weeks earlier.
Liz smacks him hard and says “Goodnight, George!”
-
LIZ TEACHES IRIS TO DRIVE
January 13, 1950
“Liz Teaches Iris To Drive” is episode #71 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on January 13, 1950.
Synopsis ~
The Atterburys have bought a new car but Rudolph refuses to teach Iris how to drive. Liz readily volunteers to be Iris’s driving instructor.
This was the 20th episode of the second season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND, the second of the new year and of the new decade (1950). There were 43 new episodes, with the season ending on June 25, 1950.
This episode served as the basis for
“Lucy Learns To Drive” (ILL S4;E12), filmed October 28, 1954, and first aired on January 3, 1955.
“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 (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, 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
Frank Nelson (Mr. Rogers, Insurance Adjuster) 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.
EPISODE
ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers, it’s early evening and they’ve just finished dinner.”
George tells Liz that Mr. Atterbury has bought a new car and is coming over to take them for a drive. Liz laments that they can’t afford a new car, too. George insists the they have a perfectly good car already.LIZ: “It needs fixing. The isinglass curtains are all shot and we need new wicks in the headlamps.”
Liz is facetiously describing early automobiles (and previous to that, horse-drawn carriages) that were fitted with clear celluloid side curtains that acted as windows, although they were not actually made of isinglass, as purported. Headlamps were battery operated, not candle powered, as Liz suggests.
Liz says that because the battery is always going dead, she has to hang out of the car and push it like a scooter!
LIZ: “I’ve got a right leg like Betty Grable and a left leg like Gorgeous George.”
GEORGE: “You’re being ridiculous. Your leg is nothing like Betty Grable’s.”
Betty Grable (1916-73) made two films with Lucille Ball when they were both at RKO in the mid-1930s. A pin-up girl, she was famous for her platinum blonde hair and shapely legs. In the late 1940s, 20th Century Fox insured her legs with Lloyd’s of London for a quarter of a million dollars. George Raymond Wagner (1915-63) was a professional wrestler known by his ring name Gorgeous George. He was famous for his platinum blonde hair and muscular legs. In the 1950′s his name was mentioned on several episodes of “I Love Lucy.”
A car horn sounds and Rudolph and Iris Atterbury pull up in their brand new car. Iris wanted a canary yellow car with leopard skin upholstery, but because Rudolph is a bank president, they always get black.
IRIS: “I feel like I’m riding in a hearse. One day we accidentally cut through a funeral and half the cars followed us home.”
RUDOLPH: “Lotus Bud, keep that up and the cars won’t be following you accidentally.”While the boys are looking at the car, Liz and Iris conspire to ask Rudolph if he will teach Iris to drive. Rudolph flatly says no.
RUDOLPH: “I couldn’t have it on my conscious that I put another woman driver on the streets.”
Liz steps up to volunteer to teach Iris to drive. George forbids her to do it and Rudolph makes Iris promise not to let her!
Followers of the series will remember that George taught Liz to drive on November 13, 1948 when they were still named the Cugats.
In “Lucy Learns To Drive” (ILL S4;E12), Lucy Ricardo has just one lesson from Ricky before she’s volunteering to teach Ethel to drive.
Next day, Liz picks up Iris for her first driving lesson. They notice the Atterbury’s new car in the driveway and Liz reasons they should do the lesson in her new car, rather than hers.
After adjusting the seat to fit Iris’s girth, Liz attempts to guide her student through the pedals. She finally finds the starter, which is on the dashboard, not the floor like it is in Liz’s car. After a few lurches, they are motoring down the street – weaving all over the road. Liz calls Iris’s attention to the rear-view mirror.
LIZ: “That’s so you can put on lipstick while you’re driving and still keep one hand on the wheel.”
Liz teaches Iris how to turn a corner using hand signals.LIZ: “They’re all the same, you just stick your hand out the window and wave it.”
IRIS: “How can they tell what you’re going to do?”
LIZ: “They can’t, but when they see it’s a woman’s hand, they just stop and let you do it!”
Although now a relic of the past, hand signals were a common part of driver education in the early part of the 20th century. In the late ‘30s, Joseph Bell patented the first electrical device that flashed – and in 1939, Buick introduced turn signals as a standard feature. Still, electrical turn signals didn’t become widespread until the early to mid-1950s.
Liz tells Iris it is time for her to ‘solo’ by driving around the block alone. Iris is terrified but does it. While she is gone, Liz tells Katie the Maid about her driving lesson with Iris when suddenly…
…Iris smashes headlong into the back of Liz’s car! They realize they will have to explain this to George and Rudolph!
End of Part One
Bob LeMond does a live commercial and gives a recipe for a Jell-O salad with pineapple and dates.
ANNOUNCER: “On a quiet side street in Sheridan Falls stands a monument to womanhood: two cars smashed together. And on the curb surveying the wreckage are Iris Atterbury, the smasher, and Liz Cooper, the smashee.”
Liz, Katie, and Iris try to get the cars apart by jumping up and down on the bumpers.
IRIS: “What’s supposed to happen, Liz?”
LIZ: “I dunno, but this is what men always do!”
IRIS: “Are you sure you’re not leaving out anything?”
LIZ: “Oh, I forgot! Iris, you stand down there and swear.”
In “Lucy Learns To Drive” (ILL S4;E12), the Cadillac and the Pontiac also get hooked together, and Lucy and Ethel try jumping up and down on the bumpers to separate them. When Lucy remembers the part about swearing, she does it in Spanish, to imitate Ricky, her Cuban hothead husband.
They don’t come unhooked, so Liz suggests they drive the cars down to Bill Fisher’s Beauty Shop, a ‘front’ for a secret garage in the back that specializes in ladies fenders.
LIZ: “I get all my work done there!”
On the road to the shop, people are staring and honking. Iris notices someone trying to pass. It is a car just like Iris’s new one. Iris notices that there’s nobody driving! It is her new car, come unhooked, and passing them on the highway! As they start to go up a hill, the new car loses power and rolls back down the hill backing into the front of the Cooper’s car! They try to think of what to say to their husbands, and agree to tell them the cars where stolen and they don’t anything about it. Playing along gamely, Iris innocently replies “What cars?”
This same scene is featured on “I Love Lucy” with the same line, this time spoken by Ethel.
Next day at the bank, Rudolph and George are talking to Mr. Rogers (Frank Nelson), the insurance adjustor, about the cars. The plan is to tell Liz that Iris ratted on her and hope Liz will squeal and reveal the truth.
RUDOLPH: “What’s good enough for Humphrey Bogart is good enough for me.”
Rudolph is referencing the film Tokyo Joe starring Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957), which was released in November 1949.
When Liz enters the office, she overhears Mr. Atterbury on a deliberately staged phone conversation with Iris in which she confesses and is forgiven. Angry at the betrayal, Liz cracks like an egg, but as she spills the real story, Iris rushes in! She reveals that Rudolph tried to trick her and Liz admits she fell for it! Thankfully nobody believed the real story! So Liz launches into a tall tale about an 80 foot tall giant with a purple beard and three eyes who picked up the cars….
End of Episode
In the live Jell-O commercial, Lucille Ball and Bob LeMond visit deepest darkest Africa. Bob is an explorer, Lucille is his number one girl-boy. Native drums are beating. Lucille compares them to a primitive pay telephone talking about Jell-O. They suddenly stop.
BOB / EXPLORER: “Why did they stop?”
LUCILLE / #1 GIRL-BOY: “They went to get change. They have to deposit five cocoanuts for the next three minutes.”<plunk plunk plunk> Drums continue and so does the message about Jell-O. The Jell-O singers adapt their jingle for the African setting as cannibals:
“Oh, tonight well have for dinner a great big family.
Oh, tonight well have for dinner a great big family.
Explorers! Yum! Yum! Yum!
Missionaries! Yum! Yum! Yum!
And a red-haired number one for yes-siree!” -
THE CUCKOO CLOCK CONSPIRACY
January 13, 1951
“The Cuckoo Clock Conspiracy” (aka ”The Cuckoo Clock”) is episode #114 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on January 13, 1951.
This was the 16th episode of the third season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 31 new episodes, with the season ending on March 31, 1951.
Synopsis ~ Liz bought George’s Christmas present, a cuckoo clock, with a rubber check, and now she needs to figure out a way to make good on it so the store owner won’t repossess the clock.
Parts of this script concerning the cuckoo clock where later used in “The Kleptomaniac” (ILL S1;E27), filmed on March 7, 1952, and first aired on April 14, 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 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.
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, 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.
Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) does not appear in this episode, but his character is mentioned.
GUEST CAST
Hans Conried (Mr. Haskell, the Jeweler) 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.
GeGe Pearson (Mrs. Haskell, the Jeweler’s Wife / Miss Russell, George’s Secretary) did two other episodes of “My Favorite Husband.” She will play a New York City tourist in “Lucy Visits Grauman’s” (ILL S5;E1) in 1955. She did the episode with her husband, Hal Gerard. The two actors were married in real-life. In 1956 the couple returned to CBS to appear in the same episode of “Damon Runyon Theatre.” She is perhaps best remembered as the voice of Crusader Rabbit. The couple died just a year apart in 1975 and 1976.
June Foray (Marie, the Beautician) was born June Lucille Forer in 1917 and was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Cindy Lou Who, Witch Hazel in the Bugs Bunny cartoons, Granny in the Tweety Bird cartoons, and many, many others. She provided the bark of Fred the dog on Season 6 of “I Love Lucy.”
Ken Christy (Police Officer) later played the detective investigating the new tenants in “Oil Wells” (S3;E18) and will play the dock agent who directs Lucy to the helicopter that lowers her onto the deck of the S.S. Constitution
in “Bon Voyage” (S5;E13). Christy was also featured on the TV series “Meet Corliss Archer” on CBS.
THE EPISODE
ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Cooper’s, it’s morning. George is at breakfast. Liz is in the kitchen talking to Katie the Maid.”
Liz compliments Katie with the goal of getting a loan of $14.95. She explains that she bought George a cuckoo clock for Christmas using a check with no money in the account. To prevent George from finding out, Liz wrote the check on an account at another bank – one where she hasn’t got an account – and could face jail.In the dining room, Liz cuddles up to George with the same compliments she used on Katie! They smooch. George realizes that Liz is buttering him up for money. Liz directly asks George for a loan of $15 but banker George reminds her that borrowing money is a slippery slope into debt.LIZ: “Look, Dale Carnegie, I need the money.”
Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) was the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills. He was the author of the best-sellers How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948), as well as several other books.
George reminds Liz that she made a New Year’s resolution to pay him $25 if she went over budget, so in giving her the loan, she would actually owe him $40! Liz tells him to forget the whole deal – she will find the money elsewhere.
At the beauty salon, Liz asks beautician Marie (Gege Pearson) where to find Iris Atterbury. Iris is having a mud pack which cracks upon hearing Liz wants a loan. She was just getting ready to ask Liz for a loan, too. It seems that Rudolph and George stated the new year on an economy wave.
LIZ: “I guess it’s in the air. Darn those Russians, anyway.”
In 1950 and well into early 1951, the US Government committed to what was known as an ‘economy wave’ in order to save money that might be used for civil defense and bolstering European strength during the cold war with Russia. This economy wave extended to all facets of American business, including Hollywood, so it would have been a topic familiar to the writers of “My Favorite Husband” in early January 1951.
Liz explains her dilemma to Iris, who suggests she phone the jeweler and ask him to hold the check a few days. Liz thinks it is worth a try and calls Mr. Haskell (Hans Conried), who declines to hold the check a moment longer. Liz turns on the tears. Mrs. Haskell (Gege Pearson) gets on the line – she’s unsympathetic to tears. Liz and Iris rush off to get the clock out of George’s office before it is repossessed!
Wilbur Hatch’s play-off music is “As Time Goes By” written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. It became famous when it was featured in the 1942 Warner Brothers film Casablanca performed by Dooley Wilson as Sam (”Play it again, Sam.”) The song was likely chosen to tie-in with the episode’s clock theme.
End of Part One
Announcer Bob LeMond does a live commercial, giving a recipe for a quick dessert using Jell-O.
Part Two
ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers once again, Liz is speeding to George’s office to make off with the cuckoo clock before Mr. Haskell, the jeweler, arrives to repossess it. Meanwhile, George Cooper in his office is just going out to lunch.”
George asks his secretary, Miss Russell (Gege Pearson), to wind the cuckoo clock while he is out. After George leaves, she tries, but overwinds it. She takes it to Haskell’s to be fixed while George is out to lunch.
Liz and Iris arrive and can’t find George, Miss Russell, or the cuckoo clock. They assume that Mr. Haskell has gotten there first and repossessed the clock! They head towards Mr. Haskell’s Jewelry Shop.
There they see the clock in the window! Mr. Haskell explains that the clock in the window isn’t hers, but one just like it. He is a nervous wreck, thanks to a busy Christmas season. Liz still thinks that the window clock is hers, but Mr. Haskell insists it isn’t and won’t give it to her unless she pays for it. She and Iris leave in a huff.
Outside they scheme to get what they think is their clock back. Liz will divert Mr. Haskell while Iris sneaks the clock out of the store. Iris is scared, but reluctantly agrees. A whistle will be the signal that Mr. Haskell isn’t looking.
Liz tells him she is shopping for Mr. Atterbury, who wants to buy his wife a present. Deciding on a diamond, a clueless Liz guesses that she wants 200 carats! When Mr. Haskell whistles at the high carat-count, Iris mistakes it for the signal and tries to come in! Liz blocks the door! When Haskell goes to the back room for a diamond, Liz suddenly realizes she doesn’t known how to whistle, so calls to the back room asking him to repeat it for her! Iris gets in and out just as…
MR. HASKELL (returning to the shop): “Would you like me to whistle a chorus of “Come to the Stable, Mabel”?
LIZ: “No, thanks! Well, I’ll be running along now! Bye!”
Liz dashes out of the shop and hides the cuckoo clock under her coat!At the bank, Liz is greeted by Miss Russell, who tells her George isn’t back from lunch yet. They are shocked to discover that the cuckoo clock is back on the wall. They realize they have stolen Mr. Haskell’s new clock and must return it before he notices it is gone.
They arrive at the Haskell’s and find a Policeman (Ken Christy) there. Liz quickly hides the clock under her coat, but it continually ‘cuckoos’ loudly in the presence of the officer! Just as she’s about to be arrested for theft, Liz settles the matter by writing Mr. Haskell a post-dated check for January 20th – 1953!
Lucille Ball could not have known it at the time, but one day earlier, on January 19, 1953, she gave birth to her son, Desi Jr. and on the same evening, Lucy Ricardo gave birth to Little Ricky. On January 20, 1953, headlines like the one above dominated the nation’s newspapers.
End of Episode!
Bob LeMond does another live Jell-O commercial and reminds listeners to look for their ads in leading January magazines.
[Oops! While announcing the episode’s credits, Bob LeMond mistakenly says “Hans Conried played by Mr. Haskell” instead of the other way around. There is background laughter by the other cast members and LeMond starts to laugh a bit while finishing his announcements.]
ANNOUNCER: “Be sure to watch for Lucille Ball as a would-be cosmetics dealer in her latest picture ‘The Fuller Brush Girl’.”
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Papermoon Loves Lucy 