Lucille Ball
Acting
- Born:
- 1911-08-06
- Died:
- 1989-04-26
- Place of birth:
- Jamestown, New York, USA
Biography
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy. One of the most popular and influential stars in America during her lifetime, with one of Hollywood's longest careers, especially on television, Ball began acting in the 1930s, becoming both a radio actress and B-movie star in the 1940s, and then a television star during the 1950s. She was still making films in the 1960s and 1970s. Ball received thirteen Emmy Award nominations and four wins. In 1977 Ball was among the first recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Award. She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986 and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1989. In 1929, Ball landed work as a model and later began her performing career on Broadway using the stage name Dianne Belmont. She appeared in many small movie roles in the 1930s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures. Ball was labeled as the "Queen of the Bs" (referring to her many roles in B-films). In 1951, Ball was pivotal in the creation of the television series I Love Lucy. The show co-starred her then husband, Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo and Vivian Vance and William Frawley as Ethel and Fred Mertz, the Ricardos' landlords and friends. The show ended in 1957 after 180 episodes. They then changed the format a little - lengthening the time of the show from 30 minutes to 60 minutes (the first one went 75 mins), adding some characters, altering the storyline somewhat, and renaming the show from "I Love Lucy" to "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour", which ran for three seasons (1957–1960) and 13 episodes. Ball went on to star in two more successful television series: The Lucy Show, which ran on CBS from 1962 to 1968 (156 Episodes), and Here's Lucy from 1968 to 1974 (144 episodes). Her last attempt at a television series was a 1986 show called Life with Lucy - which failed miserably after 8 episodes aired although 13 were produced. Ball met and eloped with Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in 1940. On July 17, 1951, almost 40 years old, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Désirée Arnaz. A year and a half later, Ball gave birth to their second child, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, known as Desi Arnaz, Jr. Ball and Arnaz divorced on May 4, 1960. On April 26, 1989, Ball died of a dissecting aortic aneurysm at age 77. At the time of her death she had been married to her second husband, standup comedian and business partner Gary Morton, for twenty-eight years.
Known For
Filmography
A Grammy Celebration of Latin Music
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
Lucy and Desi
My Darling Vivian
This Is Bob Hope...
The Fabulous Allan Carr
I Love Lucy Christmas Special
Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration
Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored
Pioneers of Primetime
Judy Garland: By Myself
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Biography: Bob Hope: America's Entertainer
Cher: The Farewell Tour
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 1
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 2
Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy
Television: The First Fifty Years
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
The Funny World of Lucy, Volume 1
E! True Hollywood Story
That's Entertainment! III
Intimate Portrait
The Best Of Danny Kaye - The Television Years
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
Bob Hope's Love Affair with Lucy
A Tribute to Lucy
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
A Beverly Hills Christmas
The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
All Star Party for Clint Eastwood
Life with Lucy
Stone Pillow
Night of 100 Stars II
That's Dancing!
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
All Star Party for Lucille Ball
Body Language
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Showbiz Goes to War
Women I Love: Beautiful But Funny
Entertainment Tonight
A Love Letter to Jack Benny
Lucy Moves to NBC
Cher... and Other Fantasies
The Kennedy Center Honors
Lucy Calls the President
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
NBC: The First Fifty Years
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
What Now, Catherine Curtis?
The Practice
Donny & Marie
Shirley MacLaine: Gypsy in My Soul
Three for Two
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
Lucy Gets Lucky
Happy Anniversary and Goodbye
Dinah!
Mame
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
The Pearl Bailey Show
Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special
The Flip Wilson Show
Swing Out, Sweet Land
Ann-Margret: From Hollywood with Love
The Jack Benny Birthday Special
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
Here's Lucy
The Dick Cavett Show
Yours, Mine and Ours
Carnival Nights
Omnibus
The Carol Burnett Show
A Guide for the Married Man
Lucy in London
Carol + 2
Salute to Stan Laurel
The Big Parade of Comedy
The Lucille Ball Comedy Hour
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
The Danny Kaye Show
General Foods Opening Night
The Greatest Show on Earth
Critic's Choice
The Lucy Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Merv Griffin Show
The Mike Douglas Show
Password
Treffpunkt New York
The Facts of Life
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
NBC Sunday Showcase
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
The Ann Sothern Show
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
The Bob Hope Chevy Show
Forever, Darling
Lucy's Really Lost Moments
MGM Parade
A Star Is Born World Premiere
The Long, Long Trailer
I Love Lucy: The Movie
This Is Your Life
Ellis in Freedomland
The Magic Carpet
I Love Lucy
The Jack Benny Program
The Fuller Brush Girl
Fancy Pants
The Bob Hope Show
A Woman of Distinction
What's My Line?
Miss Grant Takes Richmond
Easy Living
The Ed Wynn Show
Sorrowful Jones
The Emmy Awards
The Ed Sullivan Show
Her Husband's Affairs
Lured
Easy to Wed
Lover Come Back
Two Smart People
The Dark Corner
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
Ziegfeld Follies
Without Love
G.I. Journal
Meet the People
Best Foot Forward
Thousands Cheer
Du Barry Was a Lady
Seven Days' Leave
The Big Street
Valley of the Sun
Look Who's Laughing
A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob
Too Many Girls
Dance, Girl, Dance
You Can't Fool Your Wife
The Marines Fly High
That's Right – You're Wrong
Five Came Back
Panama Lady
Beauty for the Asking
Twelve Crowded Hours
Next Time I Marry
Annabel Takes a Tour
Room Service
The Affairs of Annabel
Having Wonderful Time
Joy of Living
Go Chase Yourself
Stage Door
Don't Tell the Wife
That Girl from Paris
Winterset
One Live Ghost
So and Sew
Dummy Ache
Swing It
Bunker Bean
The Farmer in the Dell
Follow the Fleet
Muss 'em Up
Chatterbox
Foolish Hearts
I Dream Too Much
The Three Musketeers
Top Hat
Old Man Rhythm
A Night at the Biltmore Bowl
Hooray for Love
I'll Love You Always
Roberta
The Whole Town's Talking
Carnival
His Old Flame
Behind the Evidence
Fugitive Lady
Three Little Pigskins
Broadway Bill
Jealousy
Men of the Night
Perfectly Mismated
Kid Millions
The Affairs of Cellini
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
Murder at the Vanities
Bottoms Up
Hold That Girl
Nana
Moulin Rouge
Roman Scandals
Blood Money
Broadway Thru a Keyhole
The Bowery
The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special
The Time Element