Had to highlight one of my favorite Actors & 11 Things you might not know about Lucille Ball: Most interesting facts for me:
On August 6, 1911, Lucille Desiree Ball, one of America’s most famous redheads and beloved comic actresses, is born near Jamestown, New York.
From 1947 to 1951, Ball starred as a ditzy wife on the radio program My Favorite Husband. When CBS decided to launch the popular series on the relatively new medium of TV, Lucy insisted that Arnaz be cast as her husband in the TV version. Network executives initially argued against the idea, arguing that no one would believe the couple were married. However, Ball and Arnaz were eventually cast as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy, which aired from 1951 to 1957 and became one of the most popular TV sitcoms in history. According to Ball’s obituary in The New York Times: “It was a major national event when, on Jan. 19, 1953, Lucy Ricardo gave birth to Little Ricky on the air the same night Lucille Ball gave birth to her second child, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha 4th. The audience for the episode was estimated at 44 million, a record at the time, and CBS said 1 million viewers responded with congratulatory telephone calls, telegrams, letters or gifts.”
The success of I Love Lucy turned the couple’s production company, Desilu, into a multimillion-dollar business. Ball and Arnaz divorced in 1960, and their professional collaboration also ended. Arnaz died in 1986. Ball also starred in several other “Lucy” programs, including The Lucy Show, which debuted in 1962 and ran for six seasons, and Here’s Lucy, in which she starred with her two children; the show was cancelled in 1974. A later show, Life with Lucy, featuring Lucy as a grandmother, was cancelled after only eight episodes in 1986.
Ball died at age 77 on April 26, 1989. In 2001, the U.S. Postal Service honored her with a commemorative stamp.
1. At 12, she auditioned for her first role. After being encouraged by her stepfather, Lucille auditioned for a spot in the chorus line of a local stage production. Naturally, she won the role, and that experience led her to seek a career in showbiz.
2. She was the first female to run a major Hollywood studio.
Desilu Productions — named for its founders, Lucille and Desi — was formed in 1950. And until its reincorporation into Paramount Television in 1967, it not only produced I Love Lucy, but it also brought Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and The Untouchables to the small screen.
3. She celebrated her 40th birthday before I Love Lucy began airing.
In an industry where women are all too often tossed to the side after 35, Lucy got her biggest break when she was already 40 years old.
4. Desi and Lucy were TV's first interracial couple. Before her show began production, Lucy insisted that her then-husband, Cuban-American actor Desi Arnaz, be cast as her onscreen husband.
5. Her natural hair color was brown. Before she made a big splash in the comedy world, Lucy appeared as a brunette in her earlier head shots.
6. ...And it wasn't actually all that red on I Love Lucy. Lucy originally dyed her locks for a role in Du Barry Was a Lady, then kept it that way for I Love Lucy. But rather than the vibrant red we all envisioned it to be, her hairstylist Irma Kusely described it as more of a "golden apricot" shade.
7. She was an avid gardener.
8. She nearly drowned during the famous grape-stomping scene. Apparently, the other actress involved didn't speak English and some direction was lost in translation, so one actually held Lucy's head underneath the grape juice.
9. Lucy was the first pregnant actress to play a pregnant woman on television. When Lucy was expecting her second child, son Desi Arnaz, Jr., writers wrote the pregnancy into the show instead of hiding it. Of course, they used the word "expecting" rather than "pregnant" to keep everyone happy.
10. She actually had both of her children later in life. Her first baby, daughter Lucie Désirée Arnaz, was born when she was 40. And her second was born when she was nearly 42. And clearly, she and Desi were so inspired by their own names that they gave them to their children, too.
11. She kept her trademark hair color for more than four decades. Some prefer to go gray as they get older, but Lucy kept her stunning hue all the way until 1989.
Photo's by Getty. Article by: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a33783/lucille-ball-facts-trivia/
- She was the first female to run a major Hollywood Studio
- She celebrated her 40th birthday before I Love Lucy began airing.
On August 6, 1911, Lucille Desiree Ball, one of America’s most famous redheads and beloved comic actresses, is born near Jamestown, New York.
At age 15, Ball went to New York City to attend drama school and become an actress. However, she received little encouragement and was rejected multiple times from Broadway chorus lines. After waitressing and working as a hat model, Ball was hired in 1933 as the Chesterfield Cigarette Girl. Around this time, she began playing bit parts in Hollywood movies. She went on to leading roles in dozens of B-movies in the late 1930s and 1940s. In 1940, Ball met the Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz while shooting Too Many Girls and the couple soon eloped.
The success of I Love Lucy turned the couple’s production company, Desilu, into a multimillion-dollar business. Ball and Arnaz divorced in 1960, and their professional collaboration also ended. Arnaz died in 1986. Ball also starred in several other “Lucy” programs, including The Lucy Show, which debuted in 1962 and ran for six seasons, and Here’s Lucy, in which she starred with her two children; the show was cancelled in 1974. A later show, Life with Lucy, featuring Lucy as a grandmother, was cancelled after only eight episodes in 1986.Ball died at age 77 on April 26, 1989. In 2001, the U.S. Postal Service honored her with a commemorative stamp.
11 Things You Didn't Know About Lucille Ball
1. At 12, she auditioned for her first role. After being encouraged by her stepfather, Lucille auditioned for a spot in the chorus line of a local stage production. Naturally, she won the role, and that experience led her to seek a career in showbiz.2. She was the first female to run a major Hollywood studio.
Desilu Productions — named for its founders, Lucille and Desi — was formed in 1950. And until its reincorporation into Paramount Television in 1967, it not only produced I Love Lucy, but it also brought Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and The Untouchables to the small screen.
3. She celebrated her 40th birthday before I Love Lucy began airing.
In an industry where women are all too often tossed to the side after 35, Lucy got her biggest break when she was already 40 years old.
4. Desi and Lucy were TV's first interracial couple. Before her show began production, Lucy insisted that her then-husband, Cuban-American actor Desi Arnaz, be cast as her onscreen husband.
6. ...And it wasn't actually all that red on I Love Lucy. Lucy originally dyed her locks for a role in Du Barry Was a Lady, then kept it that way for I Love Lucy. But rather than the vibrant red we all envisioned it to be, her hairstylist Irma Kusely described it as more of a "golden apricot" shade.
7. She was an avid gardener.8. She nearly drowned during the famous grape-stomping scene. Apparently, the other actress involved didn't speak English and some direction was lost in translation, so one actually held Lucy's head underneath the grape juice.
10. She actually had both of her children later in life. Her first baby, daughter Lucie Désirée Arnaz, was born when she was 40. And her second was born when she was nearly 42. And clearly, she and Desi were so inspired by their own names that they gave them to their children, too.
11. She kept her trademark hair color for more than four decades. Some prefer to go gray as they get older, but Lucy kept her stunning hue all the way until 1989.
Photo's by Getty. Article by: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a33783/lucille-ball-facts-trivia/
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