A Guide To I Love Lucy
During the first three seasons of I Love Lucy, a recurring character on the show was Jerry, Ricky's agent. He was played by a radio voice man named Jerry Hausner.
Jerry Hausner was born James Bernard Hausner on May 20, 1909, in Cleveland, Ohio. He appeared in vaudeville for a time, and he often appeared on radio. He played the role of Robespierre, Baby Snooks' little brother on the radio show "Baby Snooks", and he became a minor celebrity from it. He also did some voices on "My Favorite Husband" with Lucille Ball. He was a good voice man.
From 1949 to 1959, he provided the voice of Waldo, Magoos' nephew, in a series of "Mr. Magoo" theatrical cartoon shorts. Hausner was present at recording sessions for all the "Mr. Magoo" cartoons, whether or not his voice was used, so that Jim Backus (the voice of Mr. Magoo) would have someone to play off during the sessions.
It was during this time that he played his best-remembered role, that of Jerry the agent on I Love Lucy. When Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were making their own TV series in 1951, Hausner was cast in the supporting role of Jerry, Ricky's agent. He was originally intended to be a regular character, in the supporting role of "Ricky's best friend". But then the producers decided to create a different "best friend" role for the show. Although Jerry was dropped as a regular character, he did appear as a recurring character during the first three seasons.
In addition to playing Jerry the agent, Hausner also played a couple of other guest roles on I Love Lucy. In the episode "No Children Allowed" and "Lucy Hires A Maid", he appeared off-camera as the voice of Little Ricky. He would make noises that sounded like a baby's crying. He had learned how to make this sound when he was a teenager.
Hausner left the series under bad circumstances. It was during the filming of the episode "Fan Magazine Interview", in the show's third season. At one point in the episode, the script had Ricky talking to Jerry on the phone. The sets in which both men would be speaking were across the stage from each other, and during rehearsals neither actor could hear what the other man was saying. So how would either man know the right time to say his lines? There were two ways to fix this problem: either the actors would have to use cues in order to say their lines at the right time, or the phones would have to actually be connected. During the rehearsals, the phones weren't connected, so the actors had to use cues. Sources disagree on what happened next. Hausner is reported as saying that Desi assured him that the phones would be connected by the time of the filming. Other sources say that Desi refused to connect the phones, and wanted to rely on cues instead.
In any case, when it came time to film the episode, the phones were still not connected. During the filming, neither actor could hear each other, and they had to guess when it was time to say their lines. As a result, the audience was laughing in all the wrong places. The scene needed several retakes. When the scene finished filming, Desi angrily yelled at Hausner in fowl language. Hausner says "Desi stormed across the stage, and cursed me out in front of the entire cast and crew and audience. I couldn't believe it. In all my professional career, I had never been treated so badly."
(Personally, this author can guess what might really have happened. I think Desi
always intended to use cues, and never intended to connect the phone. Somehow,
Desi and Hausner had a conversation that resulted in Hausner thinking
that Desi had assured him that the phones would be connected, when in truth,
Desi had done no such thing. Desi still intended to use cues, and he thought
that Hausner knew that they were going to use cues during the filming. Then on
the night of the filming, Desi expected to use cues, and he expected Hausner to
do the same. But Hausner thought that the phones would be connected.
Then as the scene was filming, Desi was using cues, and he thought that Hausner
was also using cues, and he couldn't understand why Hausner wasn't saying his
lines at the right time. After the scene finished filming, he thought that
Hausner had missed all of his cues and had messed up the filming. So he yelled
at Hausner for missing his cues and causing all these retakes. Hausner thought
that the phone would be connected, and Desi didn't know that Hausner thought
this. He just thought that Hausner had missed his cues. I think that's what
really happened. But that's just a guess. I could be wrong.
In any case,
that still doesn't excuse Arnaz for losing his temper and chewing out Hausner
and embarrassing him in front of everybody. He should have remained calm, and
asked Hausner what went wrong. Even if Desi did lose his temper and yell at
Hausner, the least he could have done was taken him backstage and talked to him
privately so that the audience wouldn't see it.)
Hausner still had another scene with Desi in that episode, and during that scene, he had a hard time looking Desi in the face. Hausner was so upset that he quit the show that very night. Producer Jess Oppenheimer understood. After that episode, the character of Jerry the agent would be referred to, but never again seen.
After leaving Lucy, Hausner provided the voice of Hemlock Holmes on the early 1960s cartoon series The Dick Tracy Show. Later he was a regular on the short-lived TV series Valentine's Day (1964-65).
During all this time, from the 1950s to the 1970s, Hausner appeared in movies and TV guest appearances. His last appearance was a supporting role in the 1985 TV movie Amos.
Hausner died on April 1, 1993.
Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Vivian Vance William Frawley Jerry Hausner
Elizabeth Patterson Doris Singleton Richard Keith Mary Jane Croft Frank Nelson