B I O G R A P H Y
for I Love Lucy Fans!
On August 6, 1911, Lucille Desiree Ball was born in Jamestown, NY.
THE BEGINNING :
Lucy’s mother enrolled her in a dramatic school at the age of 15, but after only a short time she was sent home saying she had - get this! - no talent as an actress. Lucy then returned to Jamestown, but couldn’t stay put. She returned to NY and settled for being a model and, later, an Earl Carroll showgirl... still hopeful of being discovered.
Her modeling job as the Chesterfield Cigarette poster girl led to her selection as a Goldwyn Girl, and off she went to Hollywood to make her first film appearance in Eddie Cantor's musical "Roman Scandals". After that, she moved on to Columbia and RKO to play minor roles in films such as "Roberta", "Follow the Fleet", and many others (see my 'Lucy Movies' page). She then began playing larger and more prominent roles, such as in "Stage Door" starring Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn, and "Room Service" with the Marx brothers. After RKO, she moved to Paramount, and Columbia and finally, with the introduction of color, Lucille died her hair red in 1944 for the MGM cameras and became known as "Technicolor Tessie", because with the extraordinary color of her hair, lighting and photographing her was such a chore.
LUCILLE BALL & DESI ARNAZ MEET :
In 1940, Lucille was cast as Connie Casey in a musical entitled "Too Many Girls" with a young, handsome Cuban named Desi Arnaz playing Manuelito, a football player/bodyguard. It was rumored that the pair did not hit it off at first, and Lucy considered Desi to be a flirt and no-talent. Well, we know from history that it was around that time that Lucy and Desi fell in love. They eloped on November 30, 1940.
LUCY & DESI ARNAZ: ROUGH ROAD AHEAD :
The newlyweds were apart most of the time... Desi was touring with his band and Lucy continued with her Hollywood success. This was a rough time for Lucy. She was often apart from Desi, and this frustration and despair was fueled by the flirtatious Desi and his rumored infidelities. In 1944 she filed for divorce. The day before the divorce, Desi met with her and she decided to drop her suit. On June 19, 1949 with their marriage going strong, Lucy and Desi were married once again in a Catholic ceremony.
LUCY & DESI BUILD AN EMPIRE :
In 1948, Lucille began doing a radio show sponsored by CBS called "My Favorite Husband", co-starring Richard Denning. Lucy portrayed Liz Cooper, a scatter-brained wife who's imagination got her into trouble, (sound familiar??). After three years of success in "My Favorite Husband", CBS was in the process of transferring all its hit radio series to a new medium... television. CBS was ready to transfer "My Favorite Husband" to television, but Lucy said she would be on the show only on one condition, that Desi play her husband. The CBS executives refused, saying the public just would not believe that she was married to Dsi, a Cuban. They just did not look like a couple! So in order to prove that the audiences would believe they were married and could work together as a team, Lucy and Desi set up a vaudeville tour that took them across the country. The the audiences loved them! CBS agreed to let Desi play her husband, and Phillip Morris became a sponsor... "I Love Lucy" was born!
CONTINUED SUCCESS :
"I Love Lucy" won a total of 5 Emmy Awards during it's original run, with over twenty nominations. It was the #1 show of the 1950's. It is now known as one of the most classic and successful shows in television history, with reruns still shown worldwide today! Desi was becoming too busy with his position as president of Desilu studios to keep up with a weekly "I Love Lucy" show, so "I Love Lucy" was taken off the air at the end of the 1957 season and replaced by 13 hourly specials entitled "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour", and continued until 1960.
END OF THE DREAM :
During this time, the fairytale life that Lucy and Desi built, complete with a sucessful marriage, a beautiful family, and individual success did not last forever. Amid continued rumors of indescretion, alcohol problems and eventually heading down two separate roads, the couple floundered. Business stress, coupled by personal problems, led to divorce... this time for good.
LIFE GOES ON/PICKING UP THE PIECES :
After the divorce, Lucy continued her film career, which had fallen somewhat by the wayside during her successful TV years. In the 1960's, she made a film with her frequent film co-star, Bob Hope, called "The Facts of Life". After that, she starred in a Broadway musical called "Wildcat", where she played Wildcat Jackson, a rough & tough gal hoping to strike it rich on oil. "Wildcat" was a big hit, (of course), but the show had to be closed on account of Lucy's fragile health. Lucy had fainted on stage, and was just too exhausted from the strenuous task of doing seven shows a week to go on.
LUCY ARNAZ MEETS GARY MORTON :
While Lucy was performing in New York, she was introduced to a nightclub comedian, Gary Morton. The two two fell in love. Lucy and Gary were married on November 19, 1961.
A RETURN TO TELEVISION :
In 1962 Lucy returned to television with a new color sitcom for CBS co-starring old pals Vivian Vance and Gale Gordon, called "The Lucy Show", which ran for six years. Everything Lucy touched seem to blossom and turn to gold. Also, in 1962 Lucy took Desi's place as president of Desilu studios and became the 1st woman president of a major Hollywood production company. Five years later, she sold a successful Desilu to Gulf + Western and formed her own production company, Lucille Ball productions, which produced her 1968 television series. The series, "Here's Lucy", ran for six years, and co-starred her real life children Lucie and Desi, Jr., (playing her TV children).
LATER IN LIFE :
Lucy retired from her weekly series in 1974 and made her last motion picture, "Mame", as well. From 1974 to 1985 Lucy kept herself busy with guest appearances and specials. In 1985 she made a dramatic made-for-TV movie, "Stone Pillow" where she played a homeless New York City bag lady. The movie earned her critical acclaim, but left her in frail health. The next year she tried again at a weekly series for ABC, entitled "Life with Lucy". The show was pulled after only two months because of low ratings. Later that year, Lucille was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the highest honor in entertainment.
THE LAUGHTER IS SILENCED :
In March of 1989, Lucy made her last public appearance at the Annual Academy Awards Telecast to a standing ovation from the crowd. Lucille died at the age of 77 on April 26, 1989 after open heart surgery at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
THE LAUGHTER LIVES ON :
Lucille's legacy has flourished. She is survived by a tremendous family of devoted Lucy fans, myself included, throughout the world. Lucy lives on in each and every laugh she continues to brings us from her 124 radio episodes of "My Favorite Husband", 179 episodes of "I Love Lucy", 13 "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours", 156 episodes of "The Lucy Show", 144 episodes of "Here's Lucy", and her 80 movies... in a career that has spanned 50+ years. We've laughed because of Lucy, and we'll continue to laugh forever more.
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