My Favorite Husband

FORMAT: (1) MP3 CD

My Favorite Husband began as a radio sitcom on CBS Radio, with Lucille Ball and Richard Denning as Liz and George Cooper (Cugat in a very few early episodes, until bandleader Xavier Cugat was said to be edgy about the radio couple sharing the name). The couple lived at 321 Bundy Drive in the fictitious city of Sheridan Falls, and were billed as "two people who live together and like it." The main sponsor was Jell-O, and an average of three "plugs" for Jell-O were made in each episode, including Lucille Ball's usual sign-on, "Jell-O, everybody!" It would start as:(1948 radio version)

The program initially portrayed the couple as being a well-to-do banker and his socially prominent wife, but three new writers — Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and Jess Oppenheimer — took over the writing, changed the couple's name to Cooper, and remade them into a middle-class couple, believing average listeners would find them more accessible.

Lucille Ball was asked to do a television version of the show (with Jell-O remaining as sponsor) and CBS insisted on Richard Denning continuing as her co-star, but Ball refused to do a husband-and-wife television show without real-life husband Desi Arnaz playing her on-screen husband. The network reluctantly agreed, reworking the concept into I Love Lucy after Ball and Arnaz took a show on the road to convince the network audiences would respond. But Jell-O dropped out of the show in favor of Philip Morris for television.

Carroll, Pugh, and Oppenheimer agreed to do the switch to I Love Lucy. They subsequently reworked a few My Favorite Husband episodes into I Love Lucy episodes, especially early in the TV show's run. For example, the 1948 radio episode entitled "Giveaway Program" inspired the I Love Lucy episode called "Redecorating," with some lines being exactly the same. Many of the actors who had done My Favorite Husband radio show also appeared on I Love Lucy, sometimes in episodes where they reprised their roles using a reworked Husband script.

Episode List For This Collection

The Cugat's Tenth Wedding Aud Anniversary
Literary Club's Speaker Comes to Dinner
Mothers Surprise
The Portrait Artist
The Charity Bazaar Kissing Booth
Liz Teaches the Samba
Liz's Mother Has Second Thoughts
Liz Has Her Fortune Told
Liz and the General
Knitting Baby Booties
Young Matron League Tryouts
George's Old Flame
Young Matrons League Game
Liz Sells Dresses
The Quiz Show
Katy and Roscoe
Learning to Drive
George Attends a Teen-Age Dance
Is There a Baby in the House
Be Your Husband's Best Friend
Liz's New Dress
Numerology
Young Matrons League Tryouts
Over Budget - Beans
Piano and Violin Lessons
Marriage License Error
The Absolute Truth
Speech for Civic Organization
Valentine's Day
Secretarial School
Absentmindedness
Mother-In-Law
Charity Review
April Fool's Day
Gum Machine - Demand Your Rights
Horseback Riding
Time Budgeting
Vacation Time
Overweight
Anniversary Presents
Getting Old
Liz in the Hospital
Hair Dyed
Television
Liz Changes Her Mind
Reminiscing
The Elves
Baseball
The Attic
Woman's Club Election
George Tries for a Raise
Television
Superstition
Halloween Surprise Party
Mother-In-Law
Baby Sitting
Katy and Mr Negley
The Quiz Show
College Homecoming
The French Lessons
George's Christmas Presents
The Sleigh Ride
Liz and George Are Handcuffed
Is There Another Woman
Liz Teaches Iris to Drive
Liz and the Green Wig
Liz Writes a Song
The Country Club Dance
Mrs Coopers Boyfriend
Liz Teaches the Samba
Liz Redecorates the House
Women's Rights Part 1
Women's Rights Part 2
The Wills
Liz's Radio Script
Hobbies
Anniversary
The Friendship Award
Spring Cleaning
Numerology
Mrs Cooper Thinks Liz Is Pregnant
Selling Dresses
George Is Messy
Liz Learns to Swim
Be a Pal
Dancing Lessons
Old Clothes Sold to the Junkman
Gossip
Liz Changes Her Mind
Liz Becomes a Sculptress
Liz Cooks Dinner for Twelve
Safety Drive
The Football Game
The Two Mrs Coopers
Liz Goes to Night School
Liz's Birthday
Trying to Marry off Peggy Martin
Trying to Cash the Prize Check
Christmas Card Pictures
The Christmas Stag
Liz Has the Flimjabs
Liz Substitutes at a Club Play
The Cuckoo Clock
Liz Stretches the Truth
George Is Drafted - Liz's Baby
Liz Develops Inferiority Complex
The Misunderstanding of the Black Eye
The Two Mothers-In-Law
The Passports
The Surprise Party
Iris and Liz's Easter