My Favorite Husband

The series was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) written by Isabel Scott Rorick, the earlier of which had previously been adapted into the Paramount Pictures feature film Are Husbands Necessary?

A review in the trade publication Billboard found the broadcast to be "nothing more than a tired rehash of the now-familiar pattern set by Claudia and David stage and movie series".

[2] 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.

That fall, after about ten episodes had been written, Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer/director 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.

[9] In 1950, Lucille Ball was asked to do a television version of the show, and CBS and Jell-O both insisted that Richard Denning continue as her co-star.

"[14] CBS brought My Favorite Husband to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper.

These radio episodes may be in the public domain, and CDs containing the entire run of My Favorite Husband in the MP3 format are offered by several private vendors through eBay and other sites, such as the Internet Archive.

Recorded before a live audience at UCLA's James Bridges Theater, the production has been broadcast on public radio and released on audio CD and as a downloadable MP3.

[18] The performance starred Sarah Drew as Lucille Ball, Oscar Nuñez as Desi Arnaz, and Seamus Dever as Jess Oppenheimer, and featured Matthew Floyd Miller as Richard Denning and Lucy's radio announcer, Bob LeMond.