Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball (1911-1989), American motion-picture and television actor and comedian, famous for portraying the character Lucy Ricardo in the popular television program “I Love Lucy” (1951-1957). Born Lucille Desiree Ball in Jamestown, New York, she began acting at the age of 15. After moving to Hollywood, California, in 1933, she appeared in dozens of motion pictures, including Stage Door (1937), Five Came Back (1939), Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), and The Big Street (1942), and in such musical films as Thousands Cheer (1943) and Ziegfeld Follies (1946). She also had roles in motion pictures with popular American comedians such as the Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, and Red Skelton.

The success of Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” (1948-1951), led to what would become her best-known work, the situation comedy 'I Love Lucy,' in which she costarred with her husband, Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz. In this series Ball and Arnaz played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, a married couple living in New York City. The program focuses on the everyday life of their family, especially Lucy’s repeated attempts to become a stage performer and the efforts by Ricky, a bandleader, to prevent her. The format allowed Ball to use her talents for comedy, especially physical comedy, to the fullest. The production of “I Love Lucy” was novel: Whereas other comedy programs were televised live, Arnaz devised a plan for filming “I Love Lucy” with multiple cameras, which allowed the program to be edited before being broadcast. Additionally, the high-quality film prints of the program could be broadcast again, helping lead to the show’s extensive syndication in later years. (Other shows before this innovation were also rerun, but using kinescope images of lower visual quality.)

In 1957 Ball bought the production studio Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO), which she renamed Desilu. Under Ball’s ownership the studio produced some of the most successful series in television history, including “The Untouchables” (1959-1963). Ball and Arnaz divorced in 1960, and Ball later starred in the television series “The Lucy Show” (1962-1968) and “Here’s Lucy” (1968-1974). Her last starring role in a motion picture was as the title character in Mame (1974). During her career Ball won an Emmy Award for best comedienne (1952) and three Emmy Awards for best actress (1955, 1967, 1968). Her autobiography, Love, Lucy, was discovered after her death and published in 1996.