Todd Purdom

She had worked steadily, but she'd never really broken through as a major A-list star, and she was beginning to be known as the Queen of the Bees, the second-tier movies that rounded out double features.

Yes, what happened was she was in the last gasp of really big network radio. It was a sitcom about a zany wife and her fifth vice president of a bank husband called My Favorite Husband. And CBS realized that television was catching on and the Lucy show had been successful. So they wanted to transfer to TV. And the only way she was willing to do it is if Desi played her husband.

Yes, what happened was she was in the last gasp of really big network radio. It was a sitcom about a zany wife and her fifth vice president of a bank husband called My Favorite Husband. And CBS realized that television was catching on and the Lucy show had been successful. So they wanted to transfer to TV. And the only way she was willing to do it is if Desi played her husband.

Yes, what happened was she was in the last gasp of really big network radio. It was a sitcom about a zany wife and her fifth vice president of a bank husband called My Favorite Husband. And CBS realized that television was catching on and the Lucy show had been successful. So they wanted to transfer to TV. And the only way she was willing to do it is if Desi played her husband.

But he himself realized he could not plausibly be the fifth vice president of a bank. Richard Denning, who was the actor who played her husband on the air, was a blonde, waspy, jut-jawed kind of actor. So they were struggling to have a different concept and one that CBS, which was running My Favorite Husband, would accept. Finally, Desi said, I have an idea. We'll go on a vaudeville tour.

But he himself realized he could not plausibly be the fifth vice president of a bank. Richard Denning, who was the actor who played her husband on the air, was a blonde, waspy, jut-jawed kind of actor. So they were struggling to have a different concept and one that CBS, which was running My Favorite Husband, would accept. Finally, Desi said, I have an idea. We'll go on a vaudeville tour.

But he himself realized he could not plausibly be the fifth vice president of a bank. Richard Denning, who was the actor who played her husband on the air, was a blonde, waspy, jut-jawed kind of actor. So they were struggling to have a different concept and one that CBS, which was running My Favorite Husband, would accept. Finally, Desi said, I have an idea. We'll go on a vaudeville tour.

We'll take my band on a tour of movie houses around the country in big cities. And you can perform comedy and we'll perform comedy and music together and prove to the suits at the network that the public will accept us as a team. And in the summer of 1950, that's what they did. And it was a spectacular success all over the country. And finally, CBS and the sponsor, Philip Morris, agreed.

We'll take my band on a tour of movie houses around the country in big cities. And you can perform comedy and we'll perform comedy and music together and prove to the suits at the network that the public will accept us as a team. And in the summer of 1950, that's what they did. And it was a spectacular success all over the country. And finally, CBS and the sponsor, Philip Morris, agreed.

We'll take my band on a tour of movie houses around the country in big cities. And you can perform comedy and we'll perform comedy and music together and prove to the suits at the network that the public will accept us as a team. And in the summer of 1950, that's what they did. And it was a spectacular success all over the country. And finally, CBS and the sponsor, Philip Morris, agreed.

No, they were these charming little animated stick figures drawn by the Hanna-Barbera animation team, the people who created Tom and Jerry, the cat and mouse. And Lucy and Desi were frolicking on top of a package of cigarettes and dancing around as the show began. And the velvety-looking heart logo only came later in reruns.

No, they were these charming little animated stick figures drawn by the Hanna-Barbera animation team, the people who created Tom and Jerry, the cat and mouse. And Lucy and Desi were frolicking on top of a package of cigarettes and dancing around as the show began. And the velvety-looking heart logo only came later in reruns.

No, they were these charming little animated stick figures drawn by the Hanna-Barbera animation team, the people who created Tom and Jerry, the cat and mouse. And Lucy and Desi were frolicking on top of a package of cigarettes and dancing around as the show began. And the velvety-looking heart logo only came later in reruns.

Well, in 1950-51, television was almost completely a live medium, and it was centered almost completely in New York because it was dominated by the advertising agencies who were there. The challenge for broadcasting across the whole country was it wasn't yet possible to beam a television signal all the way from New York to California.

Well, in 1950-51, television was almost completely a live medium, and it was centered almost completely in New York because it was dominated by the advertising agencies who were there. The challenge for broadcasting across the whole country was it wasn't yet possible to beam a television signal all the way from New York to California.

Well, in 1950-51, television was almost completely a live medium, and it was centered almost completely in New York because it was dominated by the advertising agencies who were there. The challenge for broadcasting across the whole country was it wasn't yet possible to beam a television signal all the way from New York to California.

So if a show was produced in New York, it was seen live in the eastern two-thirds or so of the country to around maybe St. Louis, Kansas City, something like that. And then in order to broadcast it in the West Coast, they had to film using 16 millimeter film off a television monitor. And they produced a very poor duplicate called a kinescope that videotape had not yet been invented.

So if a show was produced in New York, it was seen live in the eastern two-thirds or so of the country to around maybe St. Louis, Kansas City, something like that. And then in order to broadcast it in the West Coast, they had to film using 16 millimeter film off a television monitor. And they produced a very poor duplicate called a kinescope that videotape had not yet been invented.

So if a show was produced in New York, it was seen live in the eastern two-thirds or so of the country to around maybe St. Louis, Kansas City, something like that. And then in order to broadcast it in the West Coast, they had to film using 16 millimeter film off a television monitor. And they produced a very poor duplicate called a kinescope that videotape had not yet been invented.

So the problem was shows that were produced in one place and shown in another had a very poor visual quality. One of the challenges that you can't, even now you'll notice probably sometimes if you watch a movie and a television screen appears in the background, it vibrates and has a kind of a jiggly moiré quality. Because the speed of film is different from the speed of the video image.