Lucille Ball

Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian and star of I Love Lucy. A 'B-grade' movie star of the 1930s and 1940s, she became one of the best and most popular stars in American history.

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August 6 - 1911 - April 26 - 1989 - American - Actress - Comedian - I Love Lucy - Movie star - 1930s - 1940s

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She was born in Jamestown, New York to Henry Durrell Ball and Desiree Evelyn Hunt. After her father died, Ball was raised by her working mother and grandparents. In 1925, after a romance with a local bad boy (Johnny DeVita), Ball decided to enroll in the

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Jamestown, New York - 1925

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John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts. There, the shy girl was outshined by another pupil ? Bette Davis. Ball went home a few weeks later when drama coaches told her that she "had no future at all as a performer." Two years later, she witnessed the accidental shooting of a friend of her brother's, Warner Erikson, who had gotten in the way of a .22 caliber rifle's path. Erikson's spinal cord was severed. Her grandfather was sued and prosecuted. Right then, Ball decided that she needed to escape her home environment.

Related Topics:
John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts - Bette Davis

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She moved back to New York City in 1930 to become an actress and had some success as a fashion model for designer Hattie Carnegie and as the Chesterfield cigarettes girl. She moved to Hollywood in 1933 to appear in films. She appeared in many small movie roles in the 1930s as a contract player for RKO. She switched to MGM (after little success at RKO) in the 1940s, but never achieved great success in films. She was known in many Hollywood circles as "the B-Movie queen," sharing the "royalty" honor with Macdonald Carey, who was designated as her "king."

Related Topics:
New York City - 1930 - Hattie Carnegie - Chesterfield cigarettes - Hollywood - 1933 - RKO - MGM - 1940s - Macdonald Carey

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In 1940, Ball met Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz while filming the film version of the Rodgers and Hart stage hit Too Many Girls (Arnaz had starred in the stage version). The two hit it off immediately and eloped the same year to much press attention. However, Arnaz's philandering and drinking caused problems right from the start. When he was drafted to the Army in 1942, Ball was crushed. Arnaz ended up being classified for limited service due to a knee injury. As a result, Arnaz stayed in Los Angeles, organizing and performing USO shows for wounded GIs being brought back from the Pacific. Ball, disgusted at Desi's "screwing everyone in Birmingham Hospital," filed for a divorce in 1944. However, shortly after Ball obtained an interlocutory decree, she got together with Desi again. In the days before no-fault divorce, if the parties reconciled and consummated relations between the period of the interlocutory and final decrees, the petition was automatically nullified.

Related Topics:
1940 - Desi Arnaz - Rodgers and Hart - Too Many Girls - Army - 1942 - USO - No-fault divorce

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In 1948, Lucille was cast as Liz Cugat (later "Cooper"), a wacky wife, in My Favorite Husband, a radio program for CBS. The program was successful, and CBS asked her to develop it as a television program. She agreed, but insisted on working with Arnaz. This show eventually became I Love Lucy. CBS was initially not impressed with the pilot episode produced by the couple's Desilu Productions company, so the Arnazes toured the road in a vaudeville act with Lucille as the zany housewife wanting to get in Arnaz's show. The tour was a smash, and CBS put the show on their lineup.

Related Topics:
1948 - My Favorite Husband - CBS - Desilu Productions - Vaudeville

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In 1953, she was subpoenaed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, due to her having registered to vote in the Communist party in 1936 at her grandfather's insistence (per FBI FOIA-released documents).

Related Topics:
1953 - House Committee on Un-American Activities - Communist - FBI - FOIA

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