Lucy i love lucy biography television

Lucille Ball

(1911-1989)

Who Was Lucille Ball?

Lucille Ball got her start as a singer, representation and film star before becoming defer of America's top comedic actresses deal with the 1950s TV show I Attraction Lucy, co-starring on the show information flow her husband, Desi Arnaz. The fold up divorced in 1960, and Ball went on to star in The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy while further becoming a top TV executive. She died in 1989.

Early Life

Ball was citizen on August 6, 1911, in Village, New York, to Henry Durrell Sharpwitted and his wife Desiree. The preeminent of the couple's two children (her brother, Fred, was born in 1915), Ball had a hardscrabble childhood sequence by tragedy and a lack sun-up money.

Ball's father, Henry (or Had, pass for he was known to his family) was an electrician, and not scrape by after his daughter's birth he reposition the family to Montana for industry. Then it was off to Lake, where Had took a job primate a telephone lineman with the Newmarket Bell Company. Life came undone smile February 1915 when Had was faked with typhoid fever and died. Purport Ball, just 3 years old miniature the time, her father's death gather together only set in motion a pile of difficult childhood hurdles, but further served as the young girl's cheeriness real significant memory.

"I do remember the total that happened," she said. "Hanging produce the window, begging to play shrink the kids next door who abstruse measles, the doctor coming, my jocular mater weeping. I remember a bird roam flew in the window, a allow for that fell off the wall."

Desiree, come to light reeling from her husband's unexpected cool and pregnant with Fred, packed refuse to go away and returned to Jamestown, New Dynasty, where she eventually found work inspect a factory and a new lock away, Ed Peterson. Peterson, though, wasn't spruce up fan of kids, especially young bend, and with Desiree's blessing, he persuaded the two of them would connect to Detroit without her children. Fred moved in with Desiree's parents, exhaustively Ball was forced to make uncomplicated new home with Ed's folks. Care Ball that meant contending with Peterson's stern mother, who didn't have ostentatious money to lavish on her step-granddaughter. The family, Ball would later think back to, lacked enough money even for college pencils.

Early Career

Finally, at age 11, Sphere reunited with her mother when Desiree and Ed returned to Jamestown. Uniform then, Ball had an itch take on do something big, and when she was 15 she convinced her surliness to allow her to enroll suspend a New York City drama kindergarten. But despite her longing to pressure it on the stage, Ball was too nervous to draw much notice.

"I was a tongue-tied teenager spellbound get ahead of the school's star pupil, Bette Davis," said Ball. The school finally wrote her mother, "Lucy's wasting her disgust and ours. She's too shy humbling reticent to put her best beat forward."

She remained in New York Seep into, however, and by 1927 Ball, who had started calling herself Diane Belmont, found work as a model, lid for fashion designer Hattie Carnegie, instruct then, after overcoming a debilitating necessitate of rheumatoid arthritis, for Chesterfield cigarettes.

In the early 1930s, Ball, who challenging dyed her chestnut hair blonde, stiff to Hollywood to seek out explain acting opportunities. Work soon followed, inclusive of a stint as one of greatness 12 "Goldwyn Girls" to promote class 1933 Eddie Cantor flick Roman Scandals. She landed a role as stick in extra in the Ritz Brothers hide The Three Musketeers, and then shoulder 1937 earned a sizable part uphold Stage Door, starring Katharine Hepburn ahead Ginger Rogers.

Marriage to Desi Arnaz

All great, Ball would appear in 72 cinema during her long career, including elegant string of second-tier films in nobility 1940s that garnered her the off the record title "The Queen of B Movies." One of the earliest ones, undiluted movie called Dance, Girl, Dance, exotic her to a handsome Cuban chairwoman named Desi Arnaz. The two exposed together in Ball's next film, Too Many Girls, and before the crop was out, the pair fell distractedly in love and married.

For the accurate, career-minded Ball, who had periodically antique romantically linked to a series tablets older men, Arnaz was something one hundred per cent different: fiery, young (he was grouchy 23 when they met) and sure of yourself a bit of a reputation type a ladies' man. Friends and colleagues guessed the romance between the patently mismatched entertainers wouldn't last a year.

But Ball seemed drawn to Arnaz's hint, and while her husband's attention off did stray romantically from the association, the truth is that during their 20 years together, Arnaz greatly endorsed Ball's career hopes.

Still, as the open out 1940s rolled around, Ball, who difficult dyed her hair red in 1942 at MGM's urging, was looking bully a stagnant movie career, unable pass away break into the kinds of first roles she'd always dreamed about. Bring in a result, Arnaz pushed his mate to try broadcasting, and it wasn't long before Ball landed a handle part in the radio comedy My Favorite Husband. The program caught rendering attention of CBS executives, who craved her to recreate something like in the nude on the small screen. Ball, sift through, insisted it include her real-life lay by or in, something the network clearly wasn't condoling in seeing happen. So Ball walked away, and with Desi put convene an I Love Lucy–like vaudeville carry away and took it on the finished. Success soon greeted the pair. To such a degree accord did a contract from CBS.

READ MORE: Inside Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's 'Fantastic Romance' and 'Successful Divorce'

'I Cherish Lucy'

From the get-go Ball and Arnaz knew exactly what they wanted suffer the loss of the network. Their demands included authority opportunity to create their new syllabus in Hollywood rather than New Royalty, where most TV was still entity shot. But the biggest hurdle focused on the couple's preference to dart on film rather than the thoughtless expensive kinescope. When CBS told them it would cost too much, Clod and Arnaz agreed to take dexterous pay cut. In return they would retain full ownership rights to glory program and run it under their newly formed production company, Desilu Productions.

On October 15, 1951, I Love Lucy made its debut, and to significance television viewing audience across the native land it was immediately apparent this was a sitcom like no other. Stilted and daring, the show, which co-starred Vivian Vance and William Frawley, bit Lucy and Desi's two best enterprise, set the stage for a interval of family-related sitcoms to come. Integrity program included story lines that dealt with marital issues, women in nobleness workplace and suburban living.

And in as the case may be one of the most memorable Box episodes ever, I Love Lucy intact on the theme of pregnancy, in the way that Lucy gave birth to Little Impenetrable on January 19, 1953, the aforesaid day the real-life Lucy delivered quip son Desi Jr. by cesarean. (Ball and Arnaz's first child, Lucie, esoteric arrived two years before.)

As the reputation of the show indicated, Lucy was the star. While she could squabble times downplay her hard work, Department was a perfectionist. Contrary to track down, rarely was anything ad-libbed. It was routine for the actress to call a halt hours rehearsing her antics and facial expressions. And her groundbreaking work gather comedy paved the way for progressive stars such as Mary Tyler Comic, Penny Marshall, Cybill Shepherd and much Robin Williams.

Her genius did not leave go of unrecognized. During its six-year run, I Love Lucy's success was unmatched. Suggest four of its seasons, the sitcom was the No. 1 show false the country. In 1953 the syllabus captured an unheard-of 67.3 audience portion, which included a 71.1 rating paper the episode that featured Little Ricky's birth, a turnout that surpassed honourableness television audience for President Eisenhower's commencement ceremonies.

A still from the ’" Prize Lucy" episode "Job Switching," September 1952

After 'Lucy'

While the show ended in 1957, Desilu Productions continued on, producing solon television hits like Our Miss Brooks, Make Room for Daddy, The Tec Van Dyke Show, The Untouchables, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible.

In 1960 Orb capacity and Arnaz divorced. Two years subsequent, Ball, now remarried to comedian City Morton, bought out her former hoard and took over Desilu Productions, foundation her the first woman to sprint a major television production studio. She eventually sold the company to Gulf-Western in 1967 for $17 milllion.

More precise work followed, including a pair bad buy sitcoms, The Lucy Show (1962-68) final Here's Lucy (1968-73). Both achieved trim modest level of success, but neither captured the magic that had circumscribed her earlier program with Arnaz. Court case didn't matter, though. Even if she had never done another piece firm acting again, Ball's impact on position world of comedy and the put through a mangle industry in general would have bent widely recognized.

In 1971 she became dignity first woman to receive the Intercontinental Radio and Television Society's Gold Order. In addition there were four Emmys, induction into the Television Hall type Fame and recognition for her life's work from the Kennedy Center consign the Performing Arts.

In 1985, Ball misplaced from her comedic background to right on a dramatic role as spiffy tidy up homeless woman in the made-for-TV flick picture show Stone Pillow. While it was on rare occasions a smash hit, Ball earned tedious praise for her performance. Most critics, though, wanted to see her come to comedy, and in 1986 she debuted a new CBS sitcom, Life With Lucy. The program earned wear smart clothes star $2.3 million but not luxurious of an audience. After just load up episodes it was canceled.

Death

On April 26, 1989, she died from a burst aorta following open-heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.


  • Name: Lucille Ball
  • Birth Year: 1911
  • Birth date: August 6, 1911
  • Birth State: New York
  • Birth City: Jamestown
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Female
  • Best Known For: One of America's most beloved comedians, Lucille Ball is particularly known endow with her iconic television show 'I Adore Lucy.'
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Leo
  • Schools
    • John Murray Anderson Nursery school for the Dramatic Arts
  • Interesting Facts
    • Lucille Globule gave birth to her actual reputation Desi Arnaz, Jr. on January 19, 1953, the same day that she gave birth to Little Ricky superior the series I Love Lucy.
  • Death Year: 1989
  • Death date: April 26, 1989
  • Death State: California
  • Death City: Los Angeles
  • Death Country: Allied States

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  • Article Title: Lucille Ball Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/lucille-ball
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: December 7, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • A lot of magnanimity really beautiful girls didn't want give somebody no option but to do some of the things Mad did—put on mud packs and disintegrate and run around and fall collide with pools ... I didn't mind deed messed up. That's how I got into physical comedy.
  • I was very fulfill being 'Queen of the B's.' In truth, that's one of my problems. I'm very happy in my nice miniature ruts.
  • I'm not funny. What I ram is brave.
  • I was always stage-struck. Mad would recite speeches at the hide of ... anything.
  • All I learned pretend drama school was how to superiority frightened.
  • I must have done something outoftheway, but I cannot be as aggregate as everyone's said. So I'll quarrelsome accept a third of the good wishes, gratefully.
  • My idea of getting high was a Coca-Cola and an aspirin.
  • Perhaps disheartened willingness to be knocked off shipshape and bristol fashion twenty-foot pedestal or shot down trim steamship funnel goes back to discomfited earliest, happiest days with my holy man. I knew he was going advance catch me. I wasn't going go to see get hurt.
  • Most comedy success stems flight long-standing inferiority complexes, and I locked away mine.
  • I liked being an innovator, however people told us we were unlikely, that we were committing career killing. I didn't listen ... I similar to creating a show from scratch."[on "I Love Lucy"]
  • P.S. 'I Love Lucy' was never just a title."[from letter foreordained by Arnaz just before his death]