History Creator / LucilleBall

At present, with the exception of ''Here's Lucy'', CBS owns the rights to all series starring Ball, having acquired the rights to ''I Love Lucy'' (and by extension, ''The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour'') when it purchased Desilu's pre-1960 library in 1960, and inherited the rights to ''The Lucy Show'' and ''Life with Lucy'' from Creator/{{Paramount}} (who had inherited the former from Desilu, and the latter from [[Creator/AaronSpelling Spelling Entertainment and its distribution arm, Worldvision Enterprises]]).

In 1940 she met and eloped with bandleader Desi Arnaz. 1948 saw her cast in a successful radio program called ''My Favorite Husband'' which Creator/{{CBS}} soon decided to develop for television. She insisted that Arnaz be cast as her husband on the show and, after a [[{{Vaudeville}} vaudeville]] tour to prove that the pairing worked, CBS agreed. ''Series/ILoveLucy'' ensued. It was followed by two more successful sitcoms which extended her television career through 1974. During this time she continued to appear occasionally in movies and on Broadway. She also co-founded Creator/DesiluStudios with Desi. Attempts at a television come-back in the [[TheEighties 1980s]] failed.

* IAmNotSpock: In the second half of her life she never really broke away from the "Lucy" character she portrayed on ''Series/ILoveLucy'' and her subsequent series, but there's considerable evidence this was at least partly self-inflicted. She generally avoided making appearances out of character during the run of ''I Love Lucy'' ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOXw-Px-X-8 her ad with Desi promoting the 1954 March of Dimes campaign]] was a ''very'' rare exception) and, after she stopped appearing in regular series television with the end of ''Here's Lucy'' in 1974, studiously avoided making any other TV appearances unless she was playing "Lucy" again (as in the one-off special ''Lucy Meets the President'' and the short-lived misfire ''Life with Lucy''). The one time she attempted to break away from the "Lucy" character was the 1985 TV movie ''Stone Pillow'', where she played a homeless bag lady living on the streets of New York. She approached the producers of ''Cheers'', a show she admired, with an eye for playing the mother of Diane Chambers, but backed out at the last minute because she felt audiences wouldn't accept her playing anyone other than "Lucy". Once ''Life with Lucy'' failed she seemed to realize that she wasn't bound to that character and was to play the lead in ''Wicked Stepmother'' after Creator/BetteDavis quit... only for her failing health to prevent it.

Along with her late brother Fred, Lucille spent most of her childhood in or near Jamestown, New York. She became involved in show business by performing as a chorus girl in a [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats Shriners]] show at age 12. After attending drama school she found work as a fashion model and actress in New York City. In the 1930s she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in small movie roles. Eventually she moved up to starring in [[BMovie B-movies]], so many in fact that she came to be known as "Queen of the B's." Among her better known films are ''Film/StageDoor'' and ''Film/FiveCameBack''. She also worked in the theater and in radio.

* DyeHard: Although she was initially a brunette, Ball dyed her hair blonde while an in-house model in 1928. She began dyeing her hair red for her role in ''Du Barry Was a Lady'', and it remained that way for the rest of her life.

* {{Elopement}}: How she married Desi Arnaz.
* HollywoodToneDeaf: She worked a lot in theater, so her singing voice was tolerable, if not stellar, but she could at least carry a tune, totally unlike Lucy Ricardo's wailing screech. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNhvqPPDyI0 Take a listen.]]
* {{Improv}}: Very much averted. Ball rehearsed each scene until it was perfect and stuck to the script. One of the few instances where a scene went sideways and stayed in the final cut was when her fake nose caught on fire and was extinguished by dunking it in a glass of water.
* ISophagus: Was the originator of a myth that filled teeth can pick up radio signals. She claimed in an interview that she once started hearing music when she drove past a radio station, despite the car's radio not being on, and discovered that her fillings were picking up the transmission. Needless to say, radios don't work that way.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Essentially a real life example with Arnaz, though Ball herself quipped, "It wasn't love at first sight. It took a full five minutes." This relationship didn't stay strong, however, due to Desi's lack of time with Lucy and his infidelity.
* OpinionChangingDream: She'd had reservations about bringing ''My Favorite Husband'' to the new and untested medium of television until, by her own account, the ghost of her dead friend Creator/CaroleLombard appeared to her in a dream and told her to "give it a whirl". The rest is history.
* RaisedByGrandparents: After her father died, the family moved in with her grandparents. Later, after her mother remarried, Ball lived for a time with her step-grandparents.
* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: Claimed to be three years younger than she really was while Arnaz added three years to his age, possibly to defray any social stigma around an older woman marrying a younger man.
* ShesGotLegs: Hell yes.
* SlapstickKnowsNoGender
* StageNames: For a time she called herself Diane Belmont.

She spent most of her childhood in or near Jamestown, New York. She became involved in show business by performing as a chorus girl in a [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats Shriners]] show at age 12. After attending drama school she found work as a fashion model and actress in New York City. In the 1930s she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in small movie roles. Eventually she moved up to starring in [[BMovie B-movies]], so many in fact that she came to be known as "Queen of the B's." Among her better known films are ''Film/StageDoor'' and ''Film/FiveCameBack''. She also worked in the theater and in radio.

Lucille Désirée Ball Arnaz (August 6, 1911 - April 26, 1989) was an American comedienne, actress, model, and film and television executive. She appeared on stage, screen and radio, but is primarily known as one of the most popular and influential television stars of all time.

!!Her career provides examples of:

* InsistentTerminology: Lucille Ball denied being a comedian, but rather a ''comedic actress''. She openly stated she did not write her own material, and stuck to the scripts when she got them. As she said, "I don't walk around with a bunch of jokes in my back pocket."

'''Lucille Désirée Ball Arnaz''' (August 6, 1911 - April 26, 1989) was an American comedienne, actress, model, and film and television executive. She appeared on stage, screen and radio, but is primarily known as one of the most popular and influential television stars of all time.

* NiceCharacterMeanActor: In a way. While Lucy Ricardo was a kind and kooky woman, Lucille Ball was a consummate professional who could perform comedy brilliantly, [[FunnyCharacterBoringActor but wasn't "funny" in real life]]. She was also a bit temperamental and reportedly had a need to be dominated to really thrive.

She did, however, take the time to mentor an up-and-coming [[CarolBurnett young actress]] who went on to achieve success in her own right.

* NiceCharacterMeanActor: In a way. While Lucy Ricardo was a kind and kooky woman, Lucille Ball was a consummate professional who could perform comedy brilliantly, but wasn't "funny" in real life. She was also a bit temperamental and reportedly had a need to be dominated to really thrive.

* LoveAtFirstSight: Essentially a real life example with Arnaz, though Ball herself quipped, "It wasn't love at first sight. It took a full five minutes."

* InsistentTerminology: Lucille Ball was a ''comedic actress,'' not a comedian. She openly stated she did not write her own material, and stuck to the scripts when she got them. As she said, "I don't walk around with a bunch of jokes in my back pocket."

* StageNames: For a time she called herself Diane Belmont.
* WrittenInInfirmity: Her second pregnancy.

* HideYourPregnancy: While filming the ''Series/ILoveLucy'' pilot.

* DyeHard: Born brunette, turned blonde and finally dyed her hair her signature red after a request from MGM.

* HideYourPregnancy: While filming the ''ILoveLucy'' pilot.

Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedienne, actress, model, and film and television executive. She appeared on stage, screen and radio, but is primarily known as one of the most popular and influential television stars of all time.

Born August 6, 1911, she spent most of her childhood in or near Jamestown, New York. She became involved in show business by performing as a chorus girl in a [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats Shriners]] show at age 12. After attending drama school she found work as a fashion model and actress in New York City. In the 1930s she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in small movie roles. Eventually she moved up to starring in [[BMovie B-movies]], so many in fact that she came to be known as "Queen of the B's." Among her better known films are ''Film/StageDoor'' and ''Film/FiveCameBack''. She also worked in the theater and in radio.

In 1940 she met and eloped with bandleader Desi Arnaz. 1948 saw her cast in a successful radio program called ''My Favorite Husband'' which Creator/{{CBS}} soon decided to develop for television. She insisted that Arnaz be cast as her husband on the show and, after a [[{{Vaudeville}} vaudeville]] tour to prove that the pairing worked, CBS agreed. ''Series/ILoveLucy'' ensued. It was followed by two more successful sitcoms which extended her television career through 1974. During this time she continued to appear occasionally in movies and on Broadway. She also co-founded Creator/DesiluStudios with Desi.

Attempts at a television come-back in the [[TheEighties 1980s]] failed. She died on April 26, 1989 at the age of 77.

Born August 6, 1911, she spent most of her childhood in or near Jamestown, New York. She became involved in show business by performing as a chorus girl in a [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats Shriners]] show at age 12. After attending drama school she found work as a fashion model and actress in New York City. In the 1930s she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in small movie roles. Eventually she moved up to starring in [[BMovie B-movies]], so many in fact that she came to be known as "Queen of the B's." She also worked in the theater and in radio.

Attempts at a television come-back in the [[TheEighties 1980s]] failed. She died on April 26, 1989.