LUCYlibrary Profile: Richard Denning - Lucy's "Favorite Husband"

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LUCYlibrary Profile:
Richard Denning
Lucy's "Favorite Husband"

Richard Denning starred with Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband from 1948 to 1951


	Denning and Ball rehearse their radio roles as "George and Liz Cooper." click to enlarge

RICHARD DENNING, who co-starred with Lucille Ball in her first sitcom, "My Favorite Husband," was perhaps best known for his final role, as the Governor of Hawaii, which he played for 12 years on TV's "Hawaii Five-O."
A tall blond with a chiseled jaw, Denning appeared in some 50 films between 1937 and 1942 when he enlisted in the Navy's submarine service. After his tour of duty in the South Pacific he returned to Hollywood, appearing in such films as The Creature from the Black Lagoon" and "An Affair to Remember," in which he played Deborah Kerr's fiancee.
On My Favorite Husband (CBS Radio, 1948-51) Denning played midwestern banker "George Cooper" to Lucy's "Liz", a scatterbrained housewife bearing more than a passing resemblance to Lucille Ball's later TV character, Lucy Ricardo. The series was such a success that CBS execs offered Lucy a TV deal with Denning, but she balked, insisting on husband Desi Arnaz as her TV co-star. Denning went on to star in the TV series "Mr. & Mrs. North," and later as detective "Michael Shayne."

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