Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was born on Sunday, the 6th of August 1911, at 69 Stewart Avenue in Jamestown, New York. Her father Henry Durrell Ball worked as a lineman for Bell Telephone and moved the family frequently during her early years. They lived first in Anaconda, Montana, then Trenton, New Jersey. On the 28th of February 1915, while living in Wyandotte, Michigan, Lucy's father died of typhoid fever aged 27. Lucille was only three years old when he passed away. Her mother DeDe was pregnant with her second child Fred at that time. Lucille recalled little from the day her father died except a bird getting trapped in the house which caused her lifelong ornithophobia. Her mother returned to New York where maternal grandparents helped raise Lucy and her brother Fred in Celoron, a summer resort village on Chautauqua Lake. Their home was located at 59 West 8th Street later renamed Lucy Lane.
In 1925, Ball started dating Johnny DeVita who was 21 years old while she was only 14. Her mother hoped the romance would burn out but could not influence it. Despite meager finances, she enrolled Ball in the John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts in 1926. Bette Davis was a fellow student there. Ball later said about that time: All I learned in drama school was how to be frightened. Her instructors felt she would not be successful and stated this directly to her. She returned to New York City in 1928 and began working for Hattie Carnegie as an in-house model. Carnegie ordered Ball to bleach her brown hair blond. Of this time Ball said: Hattie taught me how to slouch properly in a $1,000 hand-sewn sequin dress. Her acting career stalled when she became ill with rheumatic fever and was unable to work for two years. In 1932 she moved back to New York City to resume her pursuit of an acting career where she supported herself by again working for Carnegie and as the Chesterfield cigarette girl.
Ball moved permanently to Hollywood to appear in films after an uncredited stint as a Goldwyn Girl in Roman Scandals in 1933. She had many small movie roles in the 1930s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures including a two-reel comedy short with The Three Stooges called Three Little Pigkins released in 1934. Her first credited role came in Chatterbox in 1936. She also appeared in several Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers RKO musicals such as Roberta and Top Hat both from 1935. During her time at MGM in the 1940s silent film star Buster Keaton and director Edward Sedgwick became her friends and comedic mentors. Ball signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but never achieved major stardom there. She was known in Hollywood circles as Queen of the Bs or B-movies starring in a number of B-movies such as Five Came Back released in 1939. In 1942 she starred opposite Henry Fonda in The Big Street that same year she also appeared in the acclaimed Western Valley of the Sun opposite James Craig.
I Love Lucy ran on CBS from the 15th of October 1951 to the 6th of May 1957 and dominated U.S. ratings for most of its run. For the production Ball and Arnaz wanted to remain in Los Angeles but prime time in the western time zone was too late to air a major network series live in other time zones. Instead Arnaz and Ball offered to take a pay cut to remain in Hollywood and they would finance the filming themselves on better-quality 35 mm film. They secured rights to each episode after it aired which CBS agreed to relinquish not realizing they were giving up a valuable asset. Desi Arnaz correctly reasoned that I Love Lucy episodes could be sold and resold as more TV stations sprang up across America. In 1957 CBS bought back the rights for $1,000,000 financing Ball and Arnaz's down payment for the purchase of the former RKO Radio Pictures studios which they turned into Desilu Studios. A scene in which Lucy and Ricky practice the tango evoked the longest recorded studio audience laugh in the history of the show so long that the sound editor had to cut that section of the soundtrack in half.
When Ball registered to vote in 1936 she listed her party affiliation as Communist as did her brother and mother. To sponsor the Communist Party's 1936 candidate for the California State Assembly's 57th District Ball signed a certificate stating: I am registered as affiliated with the Communist Party. The same year the Communist Party of California appointed her to the state's Central Committee according to records of the Secretary of State of California. On the 4th of September 1953 Ball met voluntarily with HUAC investigator William A. Wheeler in Hollywood and gave him sealed testimony. She stated that she had registered to vote as a Communist or intended to vote the Communist Party ticket in 1936 at her socialist grandfather's insistence. Ball explained: In those days that was not a big terrible thing to do. It was almost as terrible to be a Republican in those days. She stated she at no time intended to vote as a Communist. Her testimony was forwarded to J. Edgar Hoover in an FBI memorandum.
In 1940 Ball met Cuban-born bandleader Desi Arnaz while filming Too Many Girls. After months of dating they eloped at the Byram River Beagle Club in Greenwich Connecticut on the 30th of November 1940. During the production of Valley of the Sun Ball discovered she was pregnant but suffered a miscarriage several weeks later in 1942. Ball suffered a few more miscarriages before she gave birth to daughter Lucie Désirée Arnaz a few weeks prior to her 40th birthday on the 17th of July 1951. A year and a half later she gave birth to Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV known as Desi Arnaz Jr. Before he was born I Love Lucy was a solid ratings hit and Ball and Arnaz wrote the pregnancy into the show. The episode aired on the evening of the 19th of January 1953 with 44 million viewers watching Lucy Ricardo welcome little Ricky while in real life Ball delivered her second child Desi Jr. that same day in Los Angeles. On the 3rd of March 1960 Ball filed papers in Santa Monica Superior Court claiming married life with Desi was a nightmare. They divorced on the 4th of May 1960.
In 1986 Ball starred in Life with Lucy which costarred Gale Gordon and co-produced by Ball Gary Morton and Aaron Spelling. It was canceled less than two months into its run by ABC. In February 1988 Ball was named the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year. On the 18th of April 1989 Ball was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after experiencing chest pains. She was diagnosed with a dissecting aortic aneurysm near her heart and underwent a 7-hour surgery to repair her aorta. On Wednesday April 26 while still in the hospital Ball awoke with severe back pain then lost consciousness and died at 5:47 a.m. PDT. Doctors determined she had succumbed to a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. Three memorial services were held for Ball. She was cremated and the ashes were originally interred at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles where her mother was also buried. In 2002 Ball's and her mother's remains were re-interred at the Hunt family plot at Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown New York.
On the 8th of February 1960 Ball was given two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame one for motion pictures and another for television. In 1976 CBS paid tribute to Ball with the two-hour special CBS Salutes Lucy The First 25 Years. Both Ball and Arnaz appeared on the screen for the special which is the first time they appeared together in 16 years since their divorce. Posthumously Ball received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H.W. Bush on the 6th of July 1989. The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum Center for Comedy is in Ball's hometown of Jamestown New York. The street she was born on was renamed Lucy Lane. On the 6th of August 2011 Google's homepage showed an interactive doodle of six classic moments from I Love Lucy to commemorate what would have been Ball's 100th birthday. On the same day 915 Ball look-alikes converged on Jamestown to celebrate the birthday and set a new world record for such a gathering. Since 2009 a statue of Ball has been on display in Celoron New York that residents deemed scary earning it the nickname Scary Lucy.
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Common questions
When was Lucille Ball born and where did she grow up?
Lucille Désirée Ball was born on the 6th of August 1911 in Jamestown, New York. Her family moved frequently during her early years to locations including Anaconda, Montana, Trenton, New Jersey, and Wyandotte, Michigan before settling in Celoron, New York.
What happened to Lucille Ball's father when she was three years old?
Her father Henry Durrell Ball died of typhoid fever on the 28th of February 1915 at the age of 27 while the family lived in Wyandotte, Michigan. Lucille recalled little from that day except a bird getting trapped in the house which caused her lifelong ornithophobia.
How long did I Love Lucy run and what were its ratings like?
I Love Lucy ran on CBS from the 15th of October 1951 to the 6th of May 1957 and dominated U.S. ratings for most of its run. The show achieved massive success with one episode airing on the evening of the 19th of January 1953 watched by 44 million viewers.
Why did Lucille Ball register as a Communist in 1936?
Ball registered to vote as a Communist in 1936 at her socialist grandfather's insistence and stated she never intended to vote as a Communist. She voluntarily met with HUAC investigator William A. Wheeler on the 4th of September 1953 to explain her registration and give sealed testimony.
When did Lucille Ball die and what was the cause of death?
Lucille Ball died at 5:47 a.m. PDT on Wednesday the 26th of April 1989 after losing consciousness following severe back pain. Doctors determined she had succumbed to a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm following a 7-hour surgery to repair her aorta.