Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball, my favourite entertainer, was the "first lady" of
television. In the 1950's almost all of America tuned in to watch the crazy
red-head,  Lucille Ball, and her Cuban husband, Desi Arnaz, laugh
together, cry together and keep everyone smiling.

Lucille Desiree Ball was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, a small town
in Chataugua County, New York. Her family was of English, Irish, Scottish,
and French descent. Her parents were Desiree (Hunt) Ball and Henry Durell
Ball. Within a year, Lucille (known as Lucy), and her family moved from
Celoron, near Jamestown, to Anaconda, Montana and then to Wyandotte,
Michigan. From Michigan the Lucy, Desiree, and Lucy's newborn brother named
Freddie, moved back to Celoron. Lucy's father died a short time before that
of typhoid fever.

In the late 1920's and the early 30's Lucy left her family, now located in
Jamestown, to New York City to pursue an acting career. She enrolled at the
Anderson - Milton Acting School in N.Y.C. After only 6 weeks at the school
Mr. Anderson telephoned Desiree and told her that she was wasting her money
by sending Lucy to that school for she didn't have any talent.

Detirmined Lucy got a job in the chorus of the Broadway play entitled RIO
RITA. She was fired from that because singing and dancing were never her
forte. She then landed a job as a model for the fashion designer Hattie
Carnegie. She was a good model and was paid well, but Lucy has to quit
because she caught rhumatic fever and lost her ability to walk for three
years.

When she regained her walking ability, a recruiter from Goldwyn Studios
recruited her for a job in the chorus for a movie called ROMAN SCANDALS
starring the then superstar Eddie Cantor. Lucy left N.Y.C. for Hollywood
and never looked back.

When her acting career took off with such movies as STAGE DOOR, THE AFFAIRS
OF ANNABEL, and Damon Runyon's THE BIG STREET, Lucy sent for her entire
family to come live with her in California.

In 1940 Lucy started work in the movie called TOO MANY GIRLS. She played
rich socialite Connie Casey. On the movie set, she met an actor named Desi
Arnaz. They instantly fell in love and they were married later that year.

After their marriage, and after the movie finished filming, Lucy's movie
career sky rocketed, but Cuban Desi's dwindled. As soon as he got his U.S.
citizenship papers he left to join the Army. Lucy and desi were separated
untill 1945. When he came back he left again to tour with his newly formed
band. Being separated all the time is not the easiest way to have children,
which Lucy desperately wanted.

Lucy was then given a part in the radio comedy MY FAVOURITE HUSBAND. Lucy
played Liz Cooper and her husband George Cooper was played by Richard
Denning. This programme led to television. Lucy agreed to go on television,
but only if Desi could play her husband. C.B.S. was sceptical that America
wouldn't accept "an all American gal married to a Cuban." C.B.S.
reluctantly agreed.

The show now called I LOVE LUCY aired on November, 15, 1951. It was an
instant success. It stared Lucy and Desi as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo and
William Frawley and Vivian Vance as Fred and Ethel Mertz, Lucy and Ricky's
friends and landlords. One of the greatest moments of the show was when
Lucy gave birth to her real son Desi IV the same day as her television
character gave birth to her son Ricky Jr. That episode had and still has
the record of the highest rating of any television show. I LOVE LUCY went
off the air in 1960.

In that same year, Lucy and Desi divorced. Desi re-married Edith Hirsch and
Lucy re-married comedian Gary Morton. Morton died on March 29, 1999. Lucy
met Gary while Lucy was appearing in the Broadway musical WILDCAT in N.Y.C.

1962 led to Lucy's return to television in THE LUCY SHOW. That led to
HERE'S LUCY and later to LIFE WITH LUCY. After LIFE WITH LUCY, Lucy's
health deteriorated. She died on April 26, 1989 of a ruptured aeorta. The
world mourned.


I think the most fitting tribute to Lucy was on the sign of an Los Angeles
acting school. It read: "They needed a laugh in heaven. Goodbye Lucy."