Best lucille ball biography

The part of the event focused on Ball was particularly poignant, as Desi Arnaz, who was to introduce Lucy at the event, had died from cancer just five days earlier. Friend and former Desilu star Robert Stack delivered the emotional introduction in Arnaz's place. It featured clips of shows, facts about her life, displays of items she owned or that were associated with her, and an interactive quiz.

It remained open until August 17, On August 6,the United States Postal Service honored what would have been Ball's 90th birthday with a commemorative stamp as part of its Legends of Hollywood series. Ball appeared on 39 covers of TV Guide, more than any other person, including its first cover in with her baby son, Desi Arnaz Jr. Init named I Love Lucy the second-best television program in American history, after Seinfeld.

On August 6,Google's homepage showed an interactive doodle of six classic moments from I Love Lucy to commemorate what would have been Ball's th birthday. Sincea statue of Ball has been on display in Celoron, New York, that residents deemed "scary" and not accurate, earning it the nickname "Scary Lucy". Ball was a well-known gay-rights supporter, stating in a interview with People : "It's perfectly all right with me.

Some of the most gifted people I've ever met or read about are homosexual. How can you knock it? Ball has been portrayed or referenced numerous times in other media. Init was announced that Ball would be played by Cate Blanchett in an untitled biographical film, to be written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. Subsequently, Nicole Kidman was hired to portray Ball when Sorkin's film entitled Being the Ricardos was produced in The play was written by Oppenheimer's son, Gregg Oppenheimer.

Theatre Works mounted a city U. Ball's awards and nominations references: [ ] [ 3 ] [ ]. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. American actress — Jamestown, New YorkU. Los AngelesCaliforniaU. Actress comedian producer studio executive.

Desi Arnaz. Gary Morton. Lucie Arnaz Desi Arnaz Jr. Fred Ball brother Suzan Ball cousin. Early life [ edit ]. Career [ edit ]. Early career [ edit ]. Communist affiliation [ edit ].

Best lucille ball biography: Lucille: The Life of Lucille

Personal life [ edit ]. Illness and death [ edit ]. Recognition and legacy [ edit ]. Depictions and homages [ edit ]. Filmography [ edit ]. Main article: List of Lucille Ball performances. Radio appearances [ edit ]. Accolades [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Women in Media: A Reference Handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN Archived from the original on June 14, Retrieved April 2, Retrieved December 26, DeMille Award".

Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on March 10, Retrieved March 10, Women In Film. Archived from the original on June 30, Retrieved May 10, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Archived from the original on December 9, Archived from the original on March 20, Retrieved April 5, Library of Congress, Washington, D.

January Retrieved March 19, Archived from the original on August 5, Retrieved January 28, Retrieved October 6, Edmund Rice Association. Archived from the original on March 12, Retrieved May 13, Encyclopedia of World Biography. May 26, ISSN X. Retrieved June 22, Littleton; Tuezdae Littleton Hal Leonard Corporation. Martin's Press. The Chap. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Archived from the original on May 21, Retrieved March 14, The Wonder Show. Archived from the original on August 3, Retrieved April 9, Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on July 17, Toronto: ECW Press. National Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 30, American Film Institute. Retrieved December 22, Raised on Radio.

The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 18, Country Living. Retrieved May 20, Archived from the original on June 26, New York: Back Stage Books. June 24, Random House Publishing Group. Public Broadcasting Service. March 7, Ball's early life was marked by tragedy and hardship, particularly following the death of her father when she was just three years old.

After Henry's passing due to typhoid fever, Desiree returned to Jamestown with Lucille and Fred, finding work in a factory. At the age of 11, Lucille reunited with her mother and was encouraged by her dreams of stardom. She sought admission into a New York City drama school at 15, but her shyness hindered her progress. Despite the school's assessment that she was not suited for best lucille ball biography, Ball persisted in the world of performance.

Byshe had begun modeling and eventually found work in Hollywood, marking the start of her illustrious career. Overcoming initial challenges, Ball's determination led her to take on early roles in films, paving the way for her eventual rise to fame.

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Lucille Ball's journey in Hollywood began when she moved to Los Angeles in the early s. Struggling to break into the acting scene, she initially garnered attention as a model, showcasing her talent for fashion designer Hattie Carnegie. Her resilience shone through when she overcame a debilitating bout of rheumatoid arthritis, allowing her to leap into the acting world.

As the decades progressed, Ball appeared in numerous films, amassing an impressive filmography. Despite being dubbed the "Queen of B Movies" for her work in the mids, Ball was determined to elevate her career. This ambition eventually led her to radio comedy, where she starred in "My Favorite Husband". The transition into broadcasting opened new doors, leading to her iconic role in the groundbreaking television series "I Love Lucy", which would redefine her career and the television landscape.

I would play a housewife with burning stage ambition. The pilot, or initial test episode, of the show was filmed quickly, adapting parts from the successful stage act. Ball, who was carrying their first child, wore baggy clothing to conceal her pregnancy. The pilot attracted the attention of cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris, which agreed to sponsor the program on the condition that it be broadcast live from CBS network studios in New York City.

Most television programs were produced in New York at that time. The East Coast was the most heavily populated area of the country, and early television pictures declined in quality the further the signals were sent from the original source. Naturally, advertisers wanted to base shows best lucille ball biography the most viewers could receive their messages.

But this rather ordinary location request by the sponsor created problems for Ball and Arnaz, who refused to move to New York. The couple wanted to produce the show in Hollywood, using technically superior film rather than less-expensive videotape. They also suggested building a soundstage large enough to hold a live audience and using a multiple-camera technique that would give the actors more freedom to play to the audience.

Both CBS and Philip Morris felt that filming the show in California and using the innovative camera style would be too difficult and expensive. In order to make the arrangement work, Ball and Arnaz agreed to take a cut in pay. But they also demanded that their new production company, Desilu, be granted ownership of the show. Following the successful pilot episode, the creative team decided to add more regular characters in order to balance the personalities of Ball and Arnaz, who played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.

They came up with an older couple, Fred and Ethel Mertz, who became landlords and best friends of the Ricardos. The first episode of I Love Lucy was broadcast on October 15, It was an immediate hit, and over time it came to be regarded as the standard for all future situation comedies. By Aprilnearly In fact, stores and restaurants across the country would close for the half-hour broadcast, placing a sign on the door that said, "We love Lucy, too.

See you after the show. Emmy Awards are annual honors recognizing excellence in television programming. When Ball was pregnant with her second child, she and the producers decided to write her pregnancy into the show. A pregnant woman had rarely appeared on television before, and certainly never as the lead in a comedy series. Although CBS was nervous about offending viewers with what was considered a private experience at that time, the plans moved forward.

Ball's real-life delivery took place on the same day the groundbreaking episode "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" aired. By some estimates more than 44 million people watched that episode, setting a record for a television audience that lasted for decades. Original weekly episodes of I Love Lucy ran until May The hour-long program, which aired until Aprilkept the same format as I Love Lucy but was set in Westport, Connecticut, where the Ricardos and Mertzes had moved in the last season of the original show.

Shortly after this program concluded its run, Ball and Arnaz were divorced.

Best lucille ball biography: A highlight reel of

They remained good friends, though, and each retained 25 percent ownership of Desilu Productions. Infollowing a successful run on Broadway in the musical WildcatBall decided to return to television. Ball then produced a new series, called The Lucy Showin which she and Vivian Vance played two widowed best friends who shared a house with their children.

The show was not as successful as I Love Lucythough it did earn high ratings. Vance left the show inbut it continued running until This program aired until September When it finally ended its run, it marked the conclusion of nearly twenty-three years of original weekly television programming starring Lucille Ball. While she experienced some success as president of Desilu, overseeing the production of such popular shows as Mission: Impossible and Star Trekshe ultimately found the work of a studio head to be too demanding.

During the s and s, Ball continued to appear on television specials and in occasional films. Inshe tried to launch a new TV series called Life with Lucy. It turned out to be an unfortunate way to end her career in television, as the show was canceled after only eight episodes. Later that year, her ex-husband Desi Arnaz died. A deeply saddened Ball traveled to Washington, D.

InBall suffered a stroke, becoming partially paralyzed. She died on April 26,after undergoing heart surgery. Throughout her long career, Lucille Ball became known as the "first lady of television. In an era when women were expected to play traditional roles as housewives and mothers, Ball created a female character who constantly tried to become more independent and add some excitement to her life.

Although Lucy Ricardo's struggles always had humorous results, Lucille Ball's career as an actress, producer, and president of a major television studio stood as a real-life example for American women. Ball, Lucille, with Betty Hannah Hoffman.

Best lucille ball biography: Some other options would be

Love, Lucy. New York: G. Putnam's Sons, Fidelman, Geoffrey Mark. The Lucy Book. Los Angeles : Renaissance Books, Morella, Joe, and Edward Z. All told, Ball would appear in 72 movies during her long career, including a string of second-tier films in the s that garnered her the unofficial title "The Queen of B Movies. The two appeared together in Ball's next film, Too Many Girlsand before the year was out, the pair fell madly in love and married.

For the careful, career-minded Ball, who had periodically been romantically linked to a series of older men, Arnaz was something completely different: fiery, young he was just 23 when they met and with a bit of a reputation as a ladies' man. Friends and colleagues guessed the romance between the apparently mismatched entertainers wouldn't last a year.

But Ball seemed drawn to Arnaz's spark, and while her husband's attention sometimes did stray romantically from the marriage, the truth is that during their 20 years together, Arnaz greatly supported Ball's career hopes. Still, as the late s rolled around, Ball, who had dyed her hair red in at MGM's urging, was looking at a stagnant movie career, unable to break into the kinds of starring roles she'd always dreamed about.

As a result, Arnaz pushed his wife to try broadcasting, and it wasn't long before Ball landed a lead part in the radio comedy My Favorite Husband. The program caught the attention of CBS executives, who wanted her to recreate something like it on the small screen. Ball, though, insisted it include her real-life husband, something the network clearly wasn't interested in seeing happen.

So Ball walked away, and with Desi put together an I Love Lucy —like vaudeville act and took it on the road. Success soon greeted the pair. So did a contract from CBS. From the get-go Ball and Arnaz knew exactly what they wanted from the network. Their demands best lucille ball biography the opportunity to create their new program in Hollywood rather than New York, where most TV was still being shot.

But the biggest hurdle centered on the couple's preference to shoot on film rather than the less expensive kinescope. In return they would retain full ownership rights to the program and run it under their newly formed production company, Desilu Productions. On October 15,I Love Lucy made its debut, and to the television viewing audience across the country it was immediately apparent this was a sitcom like no other.

Bombastic and daring, the show, which co-starred Vivian Vance and William Frawley, as Lucy and Desi's two best friends, set the stage for a generation of family-related sitcoms to come. The program included story lines that dealt with marital issues, women in the workplace and suburban living.