A Guide To I Love Lucy
By 1949, Lucille Ball had finally found her niche, with a radio show called "My Favorite Husband". The show was a hit, but it came along a little too late in the era of radio. In the late 40s, radio was losing its mass audience to television. While radio programs weren't dead yet, it was clear that television was replacing them, and that the days of radio programs were numbered.
Many studios started converting radio shows into TV shows. By 1949, already radio programs such as "Arthur Godfrey And His Friends", "The Goldbergs", and "The Lone Ranger" had been converted into TV shows, and had become successful. So other radio shows tried to do the same thing. The producers of "My Favorite Husband" were approached by CBS. They wanted to make the radio show into a TV show, and they asked Lucy to repeat her role in it.
Lucy said that she would like to star in the TV version, but she had a condition. She figured that a TV show would be a great way to save her marriage with Desi. The reason that things weren't working out between them was that they weren't spending enough time together. Lucy figured that if they could work together, it would save their marriage. This meant more to her than starring in "My Favorite Husband". If she was going to do any TV series, not specifically "My Favorite Husband", but any TV series, it was important to have Desi be her co-star. She told CBS that she would star in the TV version of "My Favorite Husband" if Desi would take over Richard Denning's role, and play her husband on the show.
The producer of "My Favorite Husband", Jess Oppenheimer, thought that this was a good idea. He thought that it would work. But CBS balked. Desi Arnaz was a Cuban who spoke with a thick accent. They claimed that no television viewer would believe the concept of girl-next-door Lucy as having a Latin-American husband, even if Lucy and Desi were married in real life. It would be too weird. (Today, of course, people are more acceptable of ethnic mixing. But this was back in 1949. Back then, the average viewer was more racist, and more likely to believe that people in ethnic groups should be with their own kind.)
And besides, CBS went on, the TV show was based on a radio show that had many fans. Those fans would undoubtedly be the core of the audience who would tune in to see the TV show. For the first few episodes at least, most of the viewers who would tune in to see the TV show would be fans of the radio show. And those fans would expect the TV show to be just like the radio show, with the radio cast being part of the new format. If the TV show was too different from the radio show, they would stop tuning in.
But Lucy was adamant. No Desi, no Lucy. CBS thought that she was being obstinate. Jess Oppenheimer agreed with Lucy, but they couldn't convince either the network or the advertisers. So that was it. Lucy was dropped from consideration, and CBS had to make "My Favorite Husband", the TV series without her. (Eventually, the show was made. My Favorite Husband debuted in 1953 on CBS, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson in Lucy's and Desi's roles. It lasted two years.)
Next: They plan a TV show together
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight