The classic television show I Love Lucy was partially based on a radio show called My Favorite Husband (1948-1951) starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning as Liz and George Cooper. Denning was eager to continue his role in the TV version, but Ball insisted on casting her real-life husband, Cuban-born musician Desi Arnaz. Although the studio heads were initially resistant to the idea, fearing audiences wouldn't find the "mixed marriage" believable, they eventually relented after Ball and Arnaz put together a successful vaudeville act featuring themselves as a married couple.