Was Richard Denning P.O.'d at Lucille Ball?

[NOVARick]

We all know the story of how CBS wanted Lucille Ball to bring My Favorite Husband to television, along with her MFH costar, Richard Denning. But Ball insisted she would only do the show with Desi Arnaz, not Denning. Of course, what evolved was I Love Lucy. But she managed to bring along to I Love Lucy, in one way or another, almost everyone who had been associated with MFH, except for Denning. She brought along her producer and writers (Jess, Bob and Madelyn), music director Wilbur Hatch, announcer Bob Lemond. She tried to bring along MFH costars Gale Gordon and Bea Benadaret to play the Mertzes, but their other obligations prevented them. Still they managed to show up on I Love Lucy in guest appearances. And the one other regular MFH co-star, Ruth Parrott, who had played the Coopers' maid, Katy, wound up making several guest appearances on I Love Lucy as well. Even such frequent MFH guest actors as Mary Jane Croft, Jerry Hausner, Frank Nelson, Doris Singleton, Hans Conreid, Sandra Gould, Shirley Mitchell, Richard Crenna, Bobby Jellison, Florence Halop, Elvia Allman, Jay Novello, Hal March, Joseph Kearns, Eleanor Audley, Herb Vigran, among others, turned up on I Love Lucy. Practically everybody associated with MFH turned up at one time or another on I Love Lucy except Denning. I'm sure he wasn't too thrilled about Lucy's refusal to have him as a co-star instead of her husband, though her reasons are perfectly understandable. Still it meant he was out of a job. I never heard Lucy talk about him in any interviews, not that I'm aware of him giving any interviews about her, either. I wonder if there was any bad blood?

[Madame X]

Interesting question, Rick. You made me wonder so I checked out Lucy's book. She just wanted to work with Desi, it wasn't really a snubbing of Richard Denning. Here are some exerpts, in Lucy's own words, from which we can draw some conclusions:

"But CBS turned a deaf ear to my proposal to team me up with Desi. So I finally relented and did a series with Richard Denning called My Favorite Husband, based on the Cugat book."

"And I kept urging my radio-television agent, Don Sharpe: Please find a way for Desi and me to do a television show together!"

It seems that it wasn't an issue of Richard being out, but of Desi being in. After seeing the success of ILL, I bet Richard must have thought "What if?" I am glad they went with Desi because the chemistry was perfect and adding a hot-blooded Latin to play off of Lucy's wackiness really made the show work.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Madame X

Interesting question, Rick. You made me wonder so I checked out Lucy's book. She just wanted to work with Desi, it wasn't really a snubbing of Richard Denning. Here are some exerpts, in Lucy's own words, from which we can draw some conclusions:

"But CBS turned a deaf ear to my proposal to team me up with Desi. So I finally relented and did a series with Richard Denning called My Favorite Husband, based on the Cugat book."

"And I kept urging my radio-television agent, Don Sharpe: Please find a way for Desi and me to do a television show together!"

It seems that it wasn't an issue of Richard being out, but of Desi being in. After seeing the success of ILL, I bet Richard must have thought "What if?" I am glad they went with Desi because the chemistry was perfect and adding a hot-blooded Latin to play off of Lucy's wackiness really made the show work.

No, I understand Lucy wasn't trying to snub Richard Denning. I'm just trying to see this from his perspective. Imagine you've been working at a company where they have had you and a colleague, Bob, running a small division for a couple years. You've both done a great job and the division has been a success. Now the company decides it wants to close down that division and start a new division involving a new technology it feels it needs to pursue. They ask you and your partner to move over and head this new division. It sounds like it could be a good move because this new technology really seems to be catching on. A competing company has done really well in this new technology with their Milton Berle brand, so now here's your chance to succeed with your own brand. But then your partner tells the company heads he will only take the position running the new division if they allow him to run it with his wife, Mary, who has no experience in this industry at all, instead of you, and you do have experience and are well qualified. You think, how could he do that? Bring his wife in and let her have this great opportunity instead of you? This is pure nepotism, plain and simple. The company hems and haws, then ultimately decides to let Bob have his way and run the new division with his wife, instead of you. And consequently they have no place left in the organization for you. So you, the experienced employee, is not only missing out on this great new opportunity, but out of a job altogether. Meanwhile Bob's inexperienced wife, Mary, who has done absolutely nothing to earn that position is brought in to take a job that should have been yours. Now that you are jobless, are you not more than a little bit annoyed? I would be. And I have to wonder how Richard Denning felt.

Jerry Hausner was very vocal about his anger towards Lucy and Desi because he had been promised his role would have been bigger than it turned out to be. He was bitter about it until the end of his life. But at least he was given something to do on the show. Richard Denning was left with nothing. I just wonder, since everyone else involved in My Favorite Husband was given something to do at one time or another on I Love Lucy, was he ever offered a guest shot? If so, did he tell them to go $#@% off. If he wasn't ever asked, was it because they already knew he had hard feelings?

[Madame X]

Yes, I thought about the fact that he was the only one not to appear on ILL. The Arnazes were so good and loyal to their friends and many of them appeared on the show. The fact that Richard didn't leads me to believe that there was more to it. I wonder if there were contractual issues.

Rick, do you know anything about Richard Denning's career after "My Favorite Husband?" I've never really heard about him too much.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Madame X

Yes, I thought about the fact that he was the only one not to appear on ILL. The Arnazes were so good and loyal to their friends and many of them appeared on the show. The fact that Richard didn't leads me to believe that there was more to it. I wonder if there were contractual issues.

Rick, do you know anything about Richard Denning's career after "My Favorite Husband?" I've never really heard about him too much.

All I know is what's on imdb.com: http://imdb.com/name/nm0219396/ It looks like he appeared in a lot of movies in the '40s, then after that did a lot of television work. He starred in a TV series in 1959 called The Flying Doctor, but it only lasted one season. And he had a recurring role on Hawaii Five-0 as the governor. He passed away in 1998 in Escondido, CA. I was just there today. It was hit fairly hard this week by the wildfires.

[Mr. Television]

Here's a page dedicated to Richard Denning. He did star on Mr. and Mrs. North for two seasons on CBS during the time I Love Lucy was on the air.

http://www.lucyfan.com/richarddenning.html

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Walking Tall

Here's a page dedicated to Richard Denning. He did star on Mr. and Mrs. North for two seasons on CBS during the time I Love Lucy was on the air.

http://www.lucyfan.com/richarddenning.html

Thanks for posting that. It does not sound like he was bitter: "She said it would help her marriage," Denning recalled later, "Also the show...And, of course, she was right."

I was at the convention the year they did that My Favorite Husband recreation. I seem to recall that they got Dwayne Hickman to play Denning's role. It would have been cool to see him, though. I do remember Sandra Gould participate in that recreation, and they had the announcer Bob LeMond on hand. But I forget who else was in it.

[Lodee]

I'm sure he had some hard feelings. Especially when he saw how successful they became. How could you not?

[SPLAIN]

Originally Posted by Lodee

I'm sure he had some hard feelings. Especially when he saw how successful they became. How could you not?

Yeah, i agree with that, missing out on a role on the greatest tv show of all time was a bitter pill to swallow. Not to mention the millions he could have made being associated with her. I found it ironic that he presented the award for best supporting actress to Viv in '54 at the Emmy awards, as seen on the new boxed set.