Liz and George used the surname Cooper after My Favorite Husband changed it from Cugat.
The program began with Lucille Ball and her husband character, George Cugat, reflecting the surname of the novels that inspired the series. During the radio run, writers changed the couple’s name to Cooper. The new name accompanied a broader adjustment in the show’s identity: Liz and George became a more accessible middle-class couple rather than the especially wealthy, socially prominent Cugats.
This change is easy to confuse with later sitcom surnames. Mertz belongs to Fred and Ethel on I Love Lucy, while Ricardo identifies Lucy and Ricky. Atterbury was not the couple’s surname either; Rudolph Atterbury was George’s boss, and Iris Atterbury was his wife.
The Cooper version starred Lucille Ball as Liz and Richard Denning as George. The radio series ran for 124 episodes from July 23, 1948, through March 31, 1951, and its characters, writers and comic situations helped lead directly to I Love Lucy.