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papermoonloveslucy · 4 years

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THE PORTRAIT ARTIST

August 6, 1948

"The Portrait Artist” aka “The Portrait Painter” aka “The Portrait” is episode #3 of the radio program MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on August 6, 1948 on the CBS Radio Network.

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

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cugat) 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 Cugat) 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, a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), was 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.

GUEST CAST

John Hiestand (Cory Cartwright) served as the announcer for the radio show “Let George Do It” from 1946 to 1950. In 1955 he did an episode of “Our Miss Brooks” opposite Gale Gordon in which he once again had the surname Cartwright.

The role of Cory Cartwright was originated by Hal March but Hiestand very quickly replaced him. March did, however, stay with the show and appears from time time as various characters.

Jeff Chandler (Damon Welch) was known for his prematurely gray hair and striking good looks as a young man. On radio, he was on “Our Miss Brooks” as Mr. Boynton with Eve Arden. When the series moved to television in 1952, Chandler was replaced by Robert Rockwell. Chandler died at age 42 from blood poisoning after an operation.

William Johnstone (Doctor) is best known for his voice work as the title character on “The Shadow” from 1938 to 1943, replacing Lucille Ball’s friend Orson Welles. He played John Jacob Astor in the 1953 film Titanic.

Mary Shipp (Nurse Mary Ann McCarthy) was a radio and TV actress and the second wife of CBS Executive Harry Ackerman. Shipp played a recurring character on CBS’s “My Friend Irma” (1954-55) which featured Gale Gordon’s mother Gloria and Hal March, who was the first actor to play Cory Cartwright.

“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 on July 23, 1948. 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.

This episode aired on Lucille Ball’s 37th birthday, August 6, 1948.

At this point in the series, George and Liz are still named Cugat. Their surname will be changed to Cooper in 1949 to avoid confusion with a famous Latin bandleader. No, not Desi Arnaz - Xavier Cugat! Also, the show had yet to introduce Iris and Rudolph Atterbury, the secondary characters, similar to Fred and Ethel on “I Love Lucy.” The character of Cory Cartwright, a handsome bachelor friend of the couple, will shortly be phased out. He was initially played by Hal March, but here played by John Hiestand.

Marital jealousy and painting were also the subjects of “My Favorite Husband” the CBS television show on November 29, 1955.

THE EPISODE

Announcer Bob LeMond sets up the premise of the series:

Ten years ago the town’s most eligible bachelor, George Cugat, married socially prominent Elizabeth Elliott. The lavish wedding kept the society columns all over the country in copy for weeks. The New Yorker said:

“The bride and groom were dressed with the nth degree of smartness. The best man was a polo pony.”

The Hearst Papers said:

“The bride and groom were dressed handsomely and attracted comments from guest Douglas MacArthur.”

And The Reader’s Digest said:

“The bride and groom were dressed.”

The joke lies in the brevity of the Digest’s comments. The Reader’s Digest was known for their publication of abridged novels, short stories, and articles that could be read in one sitting. Ricky was seen reading the Digest in “Lucy Writes a Novel” in 1954. That same year, a biography of Ball by Eleanor Harris was included in the Digest - condensed, naturally. Ball appeared on the covers in 1990 and 2003.

Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) was a five-star general and Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s. He played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. At the time of broadcast, he was running for President of the United States, but was defeated in the primaries by Dewey, who was narrowly defeated in the election by Harry S. Truman. In “Lucy and the Submarine” (1966) Mr. Mooney(Gale Gordon) tells Lucy he’s going on a two-week training, but warns her (in his best deep-voiced, measure tones) that “I shall return!” These were the immortal words spoken by MacArthur when he escaped the Philippines after being surrounded by the Japanese in March 1942.

It is morning at the Cugat home and while George is having breakfast, Katie the maid is trying to help Liz fit into a tight-fitting and slinky evening gown in preparation for having her portrait painted. Katie suggests wearing a different dress for the portrait, but Liz is worried that they might move to Boston one day, and she doesn’t want her portrait banned!

"Banned in Boston" was a phrase employed from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, to describe a literary work, song, motion picture, or play which had been prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts. During this period, Boston officials had wide authority to ban works featuring "objectionable" content, and often banned works with sexual content or foul language. In 1944, just a few years before this broadcast, Boston banned the book Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor, which was referred to on “I Love Lucy” as Forever Ember.

Liz goes down to breakfast in her slinky evening gown and tells George that she is having her portrait painted by noted artist Damon Welch.

LIZ: “They say he’s very big and strong and muscular like, uh...who’s that rugged tall actor in the movies? The one with the big arms and broad shoulders?” GEORGE: “Marjorie Main.” LIZ: “No, Victor Mature.”

Marjorie Main (1890-1975) was a character actress who just a few months before this broadcast earned an Oscar nomination for The Egg and I. In 1954 she was a supporting player in Lucy and Desi’s The Long, Long Trailer (1953).

Victor Mature (1913-99) was a stage, film, and television actor who starred in several movies during the 1950s, and was known for his dark hair and smile. Mature and Lucille Ball acted together in Seven Days Leave (1942) and Easy Living (1949).

Bachelor Cory Cartwright (John Hiestand) visits the Cugats with exciting news about his date last night:

CORY: “She had a smile like Lana Turner, a voice like Dinah Shore, she kissed like Paulette Goddard.” LIZ: “Do you date her or buy tickets to her?”

Lana Turner (1921-55) achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and one of MGM) biggest stars. In 1943, she did a cameo in Lucille Ball’s Du Barry Was a Lady. Turner was mentioned in three episodes of “I Love Lucy.”

Dinah Shore (1916-94) was a singer, actress and television personality, as well as a top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She achieved even greater success on television, mainly as hostess of a series of variety and talk programs, although she guest starred on “Here’s Lucy” in 1971. Ball made numerous appearances on Shore’s talk shows as well.

Paulette Goddard (1910-90) was major star of Paramount Pictures in the 1940s. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in So Proudly We Hail! (1943). She did three films with Lucille Ball between 1933 and 1934: Roman Scandals, The Bowery, and The Kid.

George comes home from work and asks Liz about progress on the portrait. Liz was impressed by Welch’s world experience. George feels inadequate. He makes her tell him how much she loves him.

LIZ: “Hold me tighter. Make believe I’m a tube of toothpaste and pop my cap off!”

Dejected that Liz wants him to take up painting like Damon Welch, George goes to bed without his supper.

The second act begins with George deciding to stay home, pretending to be sick in order to keep an eye on Liz and Welch. Katie admits Damon for their sitting. Welch doesn’t believe George is sick.

DAMON: “You should get out-of-doors; do some exercises. Run the mile, do some chin-ups, push-ups, chop some wood, mow the lawn, pull some weights...” LIZ: “Tote that barge, lift that bale!”

Liz chimes in with lyrics from the song “Old Man River” by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern, written for the 1927 musical Show Boat. A revival of the musical ran on Broadway in 1946. There was a radio adaptation in 1944. In “Never Do Business With Friends” (1953), Lucy Ricardo analogizes her housework without an electric washing machine to that of the slaves who sing “Old Man River”:

LUCY: “Carrying this heavy basket - up and down, up and down. My muscles straining, body all aching and racked with pain. Fold those shirts, lift those sheets.” RICKY: “Now, look, Old Man River, will you dry up?”

The doctor arrives and examines George, finding nothing whatever the matter with him. His diagnosis is extreme jealousy-itis. He summons his new nurse, Mary Ann McCarthy (Mary Shipp), whose beauty stops George in his tracks.

Downstairs, Liz is still being painted by Damon, but not nearly fast enough for her liking. She complains that he still hasn’t painted her hair! She doesn’t like seeing herself bald!

LIZ: “I look like my mother was frightened by Guy Kibbee!” MONTY: “I’ll paint in your hair when I see fit, and not a second sooner. Until that time you’ll remain an egg-head and like it!”

Guy Kibbee (1882-1956) was a stage and film actor. In the 1935 film Mary Jane's Pa, Kibbee prepares a breakfast dish which consists of a hole cut out of the center of a slice of bread, and an egg cracked into it, all of which is fried in a skillet. It became known as Guy Kibbee Eggs but is also known as eggs in a basket. Liz is no doubt comparing her bald head on the canvas with the eggs. I didn’t hurt the comparison that Kibbee was also bald! Kibbee appeared with Lucille Ball in Don’t Tell The Wife (1937) and Joy of Living (1938).

George hears Damon and Liz laughing and comes downstairs to confront them but Damon sends him back upstairs. Liz wonders if George is jealous just as George is heard laughing upstairs with Nurse McCarthy. Liz goes upstairs to confront her husband! George says he’s had a relapse!

GEORGE: “I accidentally plugged my electric heating pad into the radio and H.V. Kaltenborn got into bed with me!”

Hans von Kaltenborn (1878-1965) was a radio commentator who was heard regularly on the radio for over 30 years, beginning in 1928. He was known for his highly precise diction, his ability to ad-lib, and his knowledge of world affairs. In 1948, Kaltenborn played himself in The Babe Ruth Story which co-starred William Frawley (Fred Mertz).

George, still suspicious of Liz and Damon, goes downstairs to discover that Liz has dismissed the painter so George wouldn’t be sick and Miss McCarthy would go.

After a message from the announcer about participation in community projects (a post-war endeavor), George and Liz engage in some bedtime repartee before they kiss and say goodnight. End of episode!

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renaroo · 7 years

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Wednesday Roundup

We have an interesting week! Not the least of which because of Saga’s newest volume release which I have been highly anticipating for months. There’s a lot of storylines beginning, ending, and everything in between this week, and we’ve got a spread between DC, Marvel and Indie. So let’s see how it plays out!

Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, DC’s Detective Comics, Image’s Saga, DC’s Titans, DC’s Wonder Woman

Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man: Renew You Vows (2016- ) #6 Gerry Conway, Ryan Stegman, Jesus Aburtov

We’ve officially gone into territories that I honestly hadn’t expected for this series to take, that being the confirmation as of this issue that this is a parallel universe where the Superhero Registration Act and Civil War never happened. But... oddly enough it seems to also be a world where Conway is happily ignoring Slott’s miniseries that started Renew Your Vows because the X-Men, including ones we very much saw were dead in the mini, are well and alive and running the Xavier institute just fine.

And just to add to weirdness, everyone’s in their 90s uniforms but Jean is married to Logan and they have an adorable daughter. How’s that supposed to work with my perception of reality? I have absolutely no idea, but Annie gets a possible future friend in little baby mutant so I think I can consider myself happy.

It’s interesting to see Gerry Conway, who in many ways as I revisit the various comics of the past (as you may have noticed through my liveblogging here) really is fundamental for me personally in how I perceive Peter, MJ, and their relationship, is writing the first book I’ve been able to read in a long time that feels like them. And it’s not perfect marital bliss -- there’s conflict, opposition, and a sense of flaws that both of them bring to the table.

Basically all the things that Slott and co. whined and bemoaned were gone simply because Peter and MJ tied the knot. y’know. Thirty years ago.

Still enjoying the book, but I’m extra curious/worried where our cliffhanger leaves us. Also wow, poor Beast.

DC’s Detective Comics (2016- ) #954 James Tynion IV, Marcio Takara, Marcelo Maiolo

*long heralding sigh and a wistful look into the distance*

We’re smack in the middle of this storyline and I’m sure there’s a lot of things that will be better once it’s fully played out, but I’m running out of ways to defend Tynion’s run on ‘Tec. Mostly because for all the frustration that I have with people being way too critical of this run -- which there more than has been -- I’m getting less and less out of Tynion’s work that fills me with the joy and exuberance that helps me want to defend his comics to begin with.

Probably because I have always said his pacing is awful, his reveals have almost no setup, he repeatedly robs us of emotional catharsis, his views of morality are about as black-and-white as someone can get out of a high school creative writing class, and just structurally I’ve never enjoyed his arcs.

What I do like from Tynion and have defended again and again is his understanding of the main team’s characters. The Belfry team, as written by him, have so many amazing character moments that they far outshine his stories and villains time and time again. He understands why people love these characters and he wants to share why he loves them, and that enthusiasm has repeatedly been a saving grace on issues that had everything else working against them during his run.

Soooooo This issue is completely devoid of those good things. Because our only goodguy left standing is Bruce. I continue to be... less than apathetic toward the Colony and the assassination of Jacob Kane’s character, or Ulysseus’ gamer-brat return. Bruce continues to be an IDIOT about this League of Shadows thing to the point that my brain breaks trying to figure out why in Detective Comics it seems like the World’s Greatest Detective can’t get a clue. And it all just blehhhhssss toward the middle.

Now for the controversy. Because god forbid we not have controversy every week ‘Tec comes out. Cass’ reentry in the last two pages is awesome for the first page and stupid on the giant splash page. yes, she’s going to be the one to take down the League of Shadows, and she’ll probably FINALLY get to say one of her famous lines herself for once (IMAGINE). but Tynion or Takara one dropped the ball on that last page by having Cass holding bloody katanas and make it look like she had actually killed Shiva’s ninjas. If this was a mistake, DC is... itself again and we’ll have to ignore it. If it’s meant to make us doubt Cass and that she’s taken Shiva’s words to heart it’s a cheap cliffhanger and we know better. If if if, doesn’t matter, it’s not what it seems and it annoys me.

I was annoyed by this issue and outside of Takara’s continued excellent work in the art department this is going to be lost in the overall storyline of this arc like every single other middle issue Tynion has written for this run. Nothing was gained for this experience.

Well, it gave me the energy to rant. And I know that’s what some of you come to this blog for, so it gave you that much.

Image’s Saga (2012- ) Volume 7 Brian K. Vaughn, Fiona Staples

Few comics hit the milestones and accolades which Saga have without stumbling across bumps in the path, and that goes nearly triple when it comes to pushing the envelope with themes of interracial relationships, multiethnic found families, clashing cultures, war, sexual politics, and discussions of sexuality and gender all at once.

But somehow, amazingly, Saga not only continues to maintain this path and always manages to find new and impressive ways to surprise me -- someone who I’d consider to be a pretty hardened veteran of nearly all forms of storytelling in comics at this point -- but it manages to make each punch still feel like a direct hit to my gut.

There is so much anguish in the trials of our space opera family for this adventure, so much loss that it’s hard to pin down what hit me harder -- the loss of a long time friend, the sanity of a former dignitary, the home of a beloved survivor, the respect of a former mentor, or -- as Hazel herself so eloquently put it in the last pages of this volume -- the loss of things that never were, the missing energy of what could have been.

There’s a lot throughout this, and as always Saga delivers. We continue to have one of the most badass trans women I’ve seen in comics to date, the fall from grace of Marko’s professed pacifism, and the fear of Sophie’s inevitable manipulations at the hand of The Will, something that will break my heart a thousand times more.

Fiona Staples’ art is next level comic storytelling, but I also need to emphasize just what a fantastic writer Brian K. Vaughn truly is. As someone very aware and concerned about portrayal and voices of women in comics, I have to say that Vaughn is up there with Rucka as some of the few male writers that write female characters in a way that truly speak to me on a fundamental level.

DC’s Titans (2016- ) #10 Dan Abnett, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse

Our fight with the Fearsom Five comes to quite the stunning end, really utilizing all of our characters and their strengths as well as their weaknesses. But what really captured my attention here was just how well the comic did when it came to showing off how truly formidable the Five were, with maybe only Gizmo not getting a real moment to shine out of the entire lot.

The Titans were believably taken down, but not without showing off their prowess first and foremost, an that’s really all I ask for in a story where our heroes ultimately don’t win -- that their strengths are still on display and it’s believable how the battles’ outcome got to where it was.

Perhaps our Seventh Ranger’s late entry with Bumblebee really showing off her powers and surprising us all does seem like a cheap way to end a battle the Titans mostly lost, but I think that was softened by showing that, in return, Karen has lost something that we have spent many issues building up as being highly important to her: her family and the memories and love she holds for them.

That plus the reintroduction of H.I.V.E. and Deathstroke has me very curious about just how the “Lazarus Contract” is going to play out here, especially with its title’s obvious signifiers.

Very good issue through and through, really enjoyable.

DC’s Wonder Woman (2016- ) #20 Greg Rucka, Bilquis Evely, Romulo Fajardo Jr.

I have been incredibly curious to see what is Veronica Cale’s motivations in all of this and why she wants to get to Themyscira so badly, and it seems as though our past and present storylines have finally come to a head, proving my suspicions correct that the two Doberman that Cale has with her are the twins -- though I thought they were common disguise and not binding of them thanks to a revamp of Circe.

Now, of course, if you follow me long enough to know my Wondy opinions, you know that Circe is by far my favorite villain in Diana’s rogues gallery, and so I have been very excited about her turn to come into Rucka’s reimagining. And it didn’t disappoint, I rather like her modern redux.

And in all honesty, Rucka’s second time around with Veronica Cale has been delightful to see take form -- moving her motivations to something more powerful and more relatable than “women be jealous of other successful women” is just so much more engaging. There’s definitely been a lot learned since his last run of Wonder Woman and I appreciate it.

The art continues to be just beautiful for the past storylines, I mean beyond gorgeous and so colorful. Which just makes me dread the upcoming more dour, dark, and all around depressing take on the present.

And if that isn’t a culmination of my feelings about comic trends in general I don’t know what is.

If I didn’t think it’d be entirely unfair, I’d easily give this week to Saga which just continues to impress and amaze me every volume, but as I read it by volume rather than by monthlies, that seems completely unfair.

Usually my weeks are difficult because there’s more than a few standouts but this week I didn’t really have anything that really stuck out to me. But, ultimately I’m going to give my pick of the week to Wonder Woman. Rucka’s past storylines are just a joy over and over again.

#Rena Roundups #SPOILERS #Wednesday Spoilers #Saga #Detective Comics (2016 )#Amazing Spiderman: Renew Your Vows (2016 )#Titans (2016 )#Wonder Woman (2016 )

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