Which famous sci-fi franchise wouldn’t exist without Lucille Ball?
Which episode of “I Love Lucy” made television history? And who was Ball’s real soulmate? Keep
watching for some crazy cool facts about this talented and beautiful Hollywood icon.
Desiree Ball gave birth to Lucille Ball on August 6,
1911, in Jamestown, New York. Lucille's father, Henry, was an electrician.
Shortly after Lucille was born, the family moved to Montana so Henry could find work,
according to Biography. Then they relocated to Michigan for a job at the Michigan Bell Company.
In 1915, Lucille's father got typhoid fever and passed away. Lucille was not even 4 years old.
Some of Lucille's earliest memories took place during that time period.
After her father's death, the family moved back to Jamestown,
and her mother married a man named Ed Peterson, who didn't like children and didn't want to live
with them. As a result, Peterson and Desiree moved to Detroit, while Lucille moved in with
her stepfather's parents, and her brother lived with his maternal grandparents. Lucille's life
was threadbare as the Petersons couldn't even afford to pay for pencils for school.
Most people remember Lucille Ball as a gregarious,
outgoing personality, at least in the roles she played on television.
But Lucille wasn't an extrovert when she was just starting out in the business.
"I know you're not shy.”
“Yeah, that's it. I just found out. I'm very shy."
She moved back in with her mother at age 11
and by 15 persuaded Desiree Ball to permit her to apply to a New York City drama school.
Lucille said of the experience,
"I was a tongue-tied teenager spellbound by the school's star pupil, Bette Davis."
Davis, of course, became one of film's most notable stars. School administrators
eventually told Lucille's mother her daughter was, quote, "wasting her time and ours."
This did not deter Lucille, and instead of giving up her acting dreams, she stayed in the Big Apple.
Lucille got modeling gigs in the late 1920s for fashion designer Hattie
Carnegie and Chesterfield cigarettes. She then set her sights on Hollywood,
landing a role in "Stage Door" with Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.
Lucille Ball is synonymous with red hair, but she didn't always have ginger locks.
She was a natural brunette and even had blond hair before hair stylist Sydney Guilaroff
made the ingenious move to turn the actress into a redhead, according to Yahoo. And, no,
Ball didn't wear a wig. However, it was a challenge to maintain her hair style.
According to one of her stylists, Irma Kusely, Ball's hair was actually golden apricot, not red.
Kusely explained,
"I used regular hair dye [to color it], and then a henna rinse, which she was famous for.
She had a safe of [the henna] in my garage."
Ball discovered the best way to keep her red hair
in tip-top condition while spending time in Las Vegas, where she met a wealthy man
who offered to send her a large box of henna to make the process easier.
Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz, created Desilu Studios, which, during the late 1950s,
was the top television production company. From producing Ball's namesake show "I Love Lucy"
to other classics like "Mission: Impossible," "The Andy Griffith Show," and "The Dick Van
Dyke Show," Desilu Studios had a penchant for choosing projects that challenged cultural
and societal norms. It also incorporated the latest technology in its programming.
Ball bought Arnaz's interest in the production company in 1962,
which made her the first female to lead a major Hollywood studio. She was able to channel her
talent into the company during the 1960s when media was evolving. She also set the stage for
today's women in entertainment. Ball was a pioneer when she took over Desilu Studios,
and today's Hollywood stars can credit her for blazing the trail.
Lucille Ball appeared in several films in her younger years,
but her comedic skills didn't really make an impression until she landed a radio job.
The program, "My Favorite Husband," was broadcast on CBS Radio. Ball believed the radio show could
be converted into a television program, but not everyone was on board. So she and her husband,
Desi, created an act they took on the road. Arnaz played with his band, while Ball acted
out comedy routines. Their act became a hit, and it resulted in the series "I Love Lucy."
What people may not realize is that Ball was 40 years old when the show
first aired. Today, few TV programs are centered on women of that age,
and during the 1950s, it was unheard of. However, Ball's talent and vibrant on-screen persona
made up for the fact that she was older than her contemporaries.
And for Ball to achieve such success with her work "later" in life was groundbreaking.
If you've ever seen an episode of "I Love Lucy," you probably laughed at some point. Lucille Ball
was a riot in episodes like "Job Switching," when she and her friend Ethel worked in a
chocolate factory. It's hard to keep a straight face watching the pair stuff chocolate into
their mouths and clothes when the conveyor belt goes faster and faster. The "Vitameatavegamin"
episode was also hilarious, as Lucy got drunk tasting a health tonic for a commercial.
Interestingly, Ball didn't think she was funny.
She said as much to Rolling Stone in 1983, explaining,
"My writers were funny. My directors were funny. The situations were funny. [...] What
I am is brave. I have never been scared. Not when I did movies,
certainly not when I was a model and not when I did 'I Love Lucy.'"
While she didn't give her comedic skills much credit,
Ball was funny, especially in episodes such as
"Lucy's Italian Movie," in which she stomped grapes and got into a fight while doing so.
You may be surprised to learn that in 1936 Lucille Ball registered to vote as a member
of the Communist Party. Despite her political leanings, it did not affect her career.
Rena Vale, a former screenwriter and investigator for the House Un-American Activities Committee,
or HUAC, testified that a Communist Party meeting was hosted at the star's home
in 1937. Ball was not present at the meeting and claimed she didn't participate in any activities
related to the party. However, the FBI determined that she was a delegate for
the party's State Committee and took part in party-related radio broadcasts in 1940.
When pressed about her involvement with the Communist Party, Ball and her husband
Desi Arnaz claimed she registered only to please her socialist-leaning grandfather.
Arnaz also passionately defended his wife,
proclaiming she wasn't and never would be a Communist.
"I am innocent!"
Fortunately for her career, Ball was not blacklisted like so many others
in Hollywood were at the time, largely because she was such a beloved actress.
Lucille Ball was interested in buying a series so Desliu Studios would have a show to call its
own. While several TV programs were filmed by her company, it didn't own most of them. So,
when producer Herb Solow approached Ball with the sci-fi series "Star Trek," she saw an
opportunity. Since Ball and Desi Arnaz created the process of syndication or reruns, she had
the foresight to see that the same concept would work well with "Star Trek: The Original Series."
As Inverse details, while the original "Star Trek" only aired for three seasons,
it truly shined in reruns. Ball had nothing to do with the creative aspects of "Star Trek," but
she was instrumental in providing its financial backing. TV execs rejected the pilot episode,
but Ball was so confident in the show that she paid for a revamped pilot.
"I don't believe it."
This type of thing did not happen in 1965 and rarely occurs today. "Star Trek:
The Next Generation" actor Gates McFadden narrated the documentary "The Center Seat" and stated,
"Without the bravery and determination of Lucille Ball, who defined Hollywood and expectations,
well, Star Trek probably wouldn't exist at all."
Celebrity friendships can be fascinating, including the one between Lucille Ball
and Betty White, who's known for her roles on "The Golden Girls"
and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." The women met in the late 1950s and instantly fostered
a strong connection, with their friendship lasting over 30 years. The pair both worked
on radio and television and even owned production companies, a rarity during that era.
White talked to The Atlantic about her pal and noted that the redhead was always trying to
teach her backgammon. It never quite worked out because Ball wasn't the best teacher.
Still, the pair played the game frequently, and it was a lot of fun, according to White. But that's
just a small reason why the twosome remained friends for so many years. Ann Dusenberry,
who appeared on "Super Password" with White and "Life With Lucy" with Ball, told Closer,
"Their bond was their common accomplishment as business women in a male-dominated industry."
Ball's former co-star, Keith Thibodeaux, who played little Ricky on "I Love Lucy,"
claimed the pair were so close because Ball admired White's, quote, "fighting spirit."
In the early 1950s, the idea of seeing a pregnancy on television was unfathomable.
But that all changed with the December 8, 1952, airing of the "I Love Lucy"
episode "Lucy is Enceinte" on CBS. “Lucy has become a Hollywood legend.”
“Me, a Hollywood legend?”
In the episode, Lucy and Ricky learned they were going to be parents. For the first time
in history, a pregnant woman was portrayed on television, a groundbreaking moment for
Lucille Ball. However, the word "pregnant" was never uttered during the episode because it was
considered vulgar. At the time, the episode was a bit shocking because of its subject matter.
But it paid off in the long run: When little Ricky was born during an episode on January 19,
1953, 44 million viewers watched. To put that in perspective, the Number 1 show of the
first week of December 2021 was NFL Sunday night football with 18.5 million viewers.
Another way in which Ball broke TV boundaries was by insisting her Cuban-immigrant husband Desi play
her on-screen husband in "I Love Lucy." According to the Television Academy, TV execs feared viewers
wouldn't believe a white woman would have such a close relationship with a Hispanic man,
but Ball threatened to walk if Arnaz wasn't included. Arnaz helped audiences accept his
character because he was an excellent comedian and poked fun at himself.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz divorced after nearly two decades together, but the pair
reportedly remained soulmates the rest of their lives, according to sources. They had
two children but split up in 1960 due to Arnaz's alcoholism and womanizing ways, reports the The
Guardian. Author and playwright Lee Tannen was friends with Ball and told the publication,
"The day Desi died was the day she started dying. It was such a love
affair that unquestionably she loved him until the day she died. And I believe he loved her."
"The Queen of Tuesday: A Lucille Ball Story" author Darin Strauss told CBS News that Ball
and Arnaz were a perfect couple who loved each other very much,
but they couldn't live together. He believes Arnaz was unequivocally the love of Ball's life.
When Lucille Ball first set her sights on Hollywood, she appeared in several films
with heavy-hitter co-stars like Henry Fonda, Judy Garland, and Ginger Rogers. Early on in
her career, she appeared in quick succession in films such as "Roman Scandals," "Blood Money," and
Kid Millions." She gradually landed larger roles, including 1950s "Fancy Pants" alongside Bob Hope.
She starred in more than 80 films during her career. While she was making "I Love Lucy,"
she even appeared with husband Desi Arnaz in a few comedies, such as 1954's "The Long, Long Trailer."
After Ball divorced Arnaz in 1960, she returned to the small screen with "The Lucy Show,"
which aired from 1962 to 1968, and followed it up with "Here's Lucy," which aired from 1968 to 1974.
Her last TV program, "Life with Lucy," was unfortunately a failure and only stayed on
air for two months in 1986. Neither critics nor viewers liked the show,
and it was Ball's last role before she died at the age of 77. Fortunately, Ball's legacy
is connected to her most beloved sitcom, "I Love Lucy," one of TV's most iconic shows of all time.
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