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Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, model, film-studio executive, and producer. She was the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy.[2]
Ball's career began in 1929 when she landed work as a model. Shortly thereafter, she began her performing career on Broadway using the stage names Diane Belmont and Dianne Belmont. She later appeared in several minor film roles in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, being cast as a chorus girl or in similar roles. During this time, she met Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, and the two eloped in November 1940. In the 1950s, Ball ventured into television. In 1951, she and Arnaz created the sitcom I Love Lucy, a series that became one of the most beloved programs in television history. The same year, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Arnaz,[3] followed by Desi Arnaz Jr. in 1953.[4] Ball and Arnaz divorced in May 1960, and she married comedian Gary Morton in 1961.[5]
In 1962, Ball became the first woman to run a major television studio, Desilu Productions, which produced many popular television series, including Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.[6] Ball did not back away from acting completely. She appeared in film and television roles for the rest of her career until her death in April 1989 from an abdominal aortic dissection at the age of 77.[7]
Ball was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning four times.[8] In 1977, Ball was among the first recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Award.[9]
She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979,[10] inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1984, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986,[11] and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1989.[12]
~1488123:PO3 Brad Smith] Lt Col Scott ShuttleworthSGT Gregory Lawritson SGT Jim Arnold SSgt Brian BrakkeCMSgt (Join to see) LTC (Join to see) MSG Frederick Otero SFC Pete Kain SSG David Andrews SCPO Morris Ramsey PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SGT (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. LTC Greg Henning PO2 Rick Fox SGT John " Mac " McConnell Lt Col Charlie Brown Sgt Albert Castro
Ball's career began in 1929 when she landed work as a model. Shortly thereafter, she began her performing career on Broadway using the stage names Diane Belmont and Dianne Belmont. She later appeared in several minor film roles in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, being cast as a chorus girl or in similar roles. During this time, she met Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, and the two eloped in November 1940. In the 1950s, Ball ventured into television. In 1951, she and Arnaz created the sitcom I Love Lucy, a series that became one of the most beloved programs in television history. The same year, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Arnaz,[3] followed by Desi Arnaz Jr. in 1953.[4] Ball and Arnaz divorced in May 1960, and she married comedian Gary Morton in 1961.[5]
In 1962, Ball became the first woman to run a major television studio, Desilu Productions, which produced many popular television series, including Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.[6] Ball did not back away from acting completely. She appeared in film and television roles for the rest of her career until her death in April 1989 from an abdominal aortic dissection at the age of 77.[7]
Ball was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning four times.[8] In 1977, Ball was among the first recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Award.[9]
She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979,[10] inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1984, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986,[11] and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1989.[12]
~1488123:PO3 Brad Smith] Lt Col Scott ShuttleworthSGT Gregory Lawritson SGT Jim Arnold SSgt Brian BrakkeCMSgt (Join to see) LTC (Join to see) MSG Frederick Otero SFC Pete Kain SSG David Andrews SCPO Morris Ramsey PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SGT (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. LTC Greg Henning PO2 Rick Fox SGT John " Mac " McConnell Lt Col Charlie Brown Sgt Albert Castro
Lucille Ball - Wikipedia
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RARE 1984 Lucille Ball INTERVIEW About Carol Burnett!!
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American television and film actress, comedienne, model, film-studio executive, and producer. S...
Thank you my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that August 6 is the anniversary of the birth of American actress, comedian, model, film-studio executive, and producer
Lucille Désirée Ball who was the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy.
I grew up with a mom who loved to watch I Love Lucy,
Background from imdb.com/name/nm0000840/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
" Biography
Overview | Mini Bio | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (4) | Trivia (92) | Personal Quotes (44) | Salary (19)
Overview
Born August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York, USA
Died April 26, 1989 in Beverly Hills, California, USA (acute aortic aneurysm)
Birth Name Lucille Désirée Ball
Nicknames Technicolor Tessie; Queen of the B movies; The First Lady of Television; Lucy; The Queen of Comedy
Height 5' 6½" (1.69 m)
Mini Bio )
The woman who will always be remembered as the crazy, accident-prone, lovable Lucy Ricardo was born Lucille Desiree Ball on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. Her father died before she was four, and her mother worked several jobs, so she and her younger brother were raised by their grandparents. Always willing to take responsibility for her brother and young cousins, she was a restless teenager who yearned to "make some noise". She entered a dramatic school in New York City, but while her classmate Bette Davis received all the raves, she was sent home; "too shy". She found some work modeling for Hattie Carnegie's and, in 1933, she was chosen to be a "Goldwyn Girl" and appear in the film Roman Scandals (1933).
She was put under contract to RKO Radio Pictures and several small roles, including one in Top Hat (1935), followed. Eventually, she received starring roles in B-pictures and, occasionally, a good role in an A-picture, like in Stage Door (1937) or The Big Street (1942). While filming Too Many Girls (1940), she met and fell madly in love with a young Cuban actor-musician named Desi Arnaz. Despite different personalities, lifestyles, religions and ages (he was six years younger), he fell hard, too, and after a passionate romance, they eloped and were married in November 1940. Lucy soon switched to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she got better roles in films such as Du Barry Was a Lady (1943); Best Foot Forward (1943) and the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy vehicle Without Love (1945). In 1948, she took a starring role in the radio comedy "My Favorite Husband", in which she played the scatterbrained wife of a Midwestern banker. In 1950, CBS came knocking with the offer of turning it into a television series. After convincing the network brass to let Desi play her husband and to sign over the rights to and creative control over the series to them, work began on the most popular and universally beloved sitcom of all time.
With I Love Lucy (1951), she and Desi promoted the 3-camera technique now the standard in filming sitcoms using 35mm film (the earliest known example of the 3-camera technique is the first Russian feature film, "Defence of Sevastopol" in 1911). Desi syndicated I Love Lucy.
Lucille Desiree Ball was the first woman to own her own studio as the head of Desilu Productions.
Lucille Ball died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, age 77, of an acute aortic aneurysm on April 26, 1989 in Los Angeles, CA.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tommy Peter
Spouse (2)
Gary Morton (19 November 1961 - 26 April 1989) ( her death)
Desi Arnaz (30 November 1940 - 4 May 1960) ( divorced) ( 2 children)
Trade Mark (4)
Red hair and blue eyes
Famous for her fake wailing when something bad happens to her
Husky voice
Her trademark 'spider face' when something goes wrong for her, accompanied by an "eugh" sound.
Trivia (92)
1. Received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award posthumously in 1990.
2. Originally interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, CA, Columbarium of Radiant Dawn, Court of Remembrance. In 2003, she was re-interred in the Ball family plot in Lake View Cemetery, Jamestown, NY.
3. A comment from a member of the preview audience of Follow the Fleet (1936) about bit-player Ball: "You might give the tall gum-chewing blonde more parts and see if she can't make the grade--a good gamble".
4. She and Barbara Pepper met early in their careers when they were both in The Goldwyn Girls and remained lifelong friends.
5. Mother of Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr..
6. During a Barbara Walters interview, Jane Fonda claimed that her father, Henry Fonda, was deeply in love with 'Lucy and that the two were "very close" during the filming of Yours, Mine and Ours (1968).
7. Was the first woman to own her own film studio when she became the head of Desilu Productions.
8. Was awarded two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6436 Hollywood Blvd. and for Television at 6100 Hollywood Blvd.
9. She signed her first promotional agreement with Max Factor in 1935 and again in 1942. Of all the stars, she had the longest association with the Max Factor company.
10. Once registered as a voter for the Communist party as a favor to her grandfather Frederick Charles Hunt (July 24, 1865-January 9, 1944).
11. Lucy and her son, Desi Arnaz Jr., appeared together on the very first cover of "TV Guide" magazine in 1953.
12. Died the morning of April 26, 1989, the 56th birthday of her friend Carol Burnett. That afternoon Burnett received the flowers that Ball had ordered for her birthday.
13. During the filming of Roman Scandals (1933), Lucy--playing a slave girl--needed to have her eyebrows entirely shaved off. They never grew back.
14. Before her movie career she was a model at Hattie Carnegie's in New York. She mainly modeled heavy fur coats, because she was startlingly thin as a young lady.
15. She and Desi Arnaz began I Love Lucy (1951) in the hopes of saving their crumbling marriage.
16. She was fired from working at an ice cream store because she kept forgetting to put bananas in banana splits.
17. She put her Chesterfield cigarettes in a Philip Morris package to please her sponsor (of the I Love Lucy (1951) show).
18. "TV Guide" picked her as the greatest TV star of all time.
19. Was one of 20 original The Goldwyn Girls. Among the others were Virginia Bruce; Ann Dvorak; Paulette Goddard and Betty Grable.
20. Born at 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time zone.
21. Second cousin of Suzan Ball.
22. For many years during their marriage, she and Desi Arnaz hid the fact that she was six years older than he by splitting the difference in their ages. She (born in 1911) said she was born in 1914 and he (born in 1917) also said he was born in 1914.
23. Was known for a while as Dianne Belmont back when she was a model.
24. Pictured on a 34¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued 6 August 2001.
25. Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.
26. Her favorite of her films was The Big Street (1942). To her dying day she resented the Motion Picture Academy for not recognizing her performance in the movie by nominating her for an Academy Award.
27. One of her last television appearances was in 1989 on the 62nd Academy Awards, with Bob Hope, announcing the nominations and winner of Best Picture.
28. Stricken by rheumatoid arthritis early in her modeling career, she spent two years re-learning how to walk.
29. Filed for a divorce from husband Desi Arnaz, the day following the last day of filming The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957). [March 1960]
30. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. pg. 35-37. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN [login to see] .
31. Felt that she did not deserve the title of "Queen of Comedy" and felt that it belonged to her idol, Carole Lombard.
32. While still contemplating whether to do the I Love Lucy (1951) shows, she claimed that in her dream, Carole Lombard came to her and told her to "Give it a whirl".
33. Was Frank Sinatra's first choice for the role of Laurence Harvey's mother in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He was only dissuaded when John Frankenheimer took him to see Angela Lansbury in a play.
34. Disliked any false form of a bird, she preferred to see them in person so she banned all pictures of birds from her house and any hotel room she was staying in.
35. Had a superstition about the letters A and R, which is why her character was named Lucy RicARdo in I Love Lucy (1951); Lucy CARmichael in The Lucy Show (1962); Lucy CARter in Here's Lucy (1968) and Lucy BARker in Life with Lucy (1986) (she was also married to 'Desi ARnaz'). She believed she didn't have luck in her career until she changed her name to Arnaz.
36. First cousin of Cleo Morgan, though they were raised as sisters.
37. Related by marriage to Sid Gould.
38. Related by marriage to Vanda Barra.
39. Was of Irish, Scottish, French, and English descent.
40. Suffered three miscarriages with husband Desi Arnaz. First miscarriage was in 1942. Second miscarriage was in 1949. Third and last miscarriage was in 1950.
41. John Belushi was a fan of hers and knew every detail of her life and career.
42. She was proud of her family and heritage. Her genealogy can be traced back to the earliest settlers in the colonies. One direct ancestor, William Sprague (1609-75), left England on the ship "Lyon's Whelp" for Plymouth/Salem, MA. They were from Upwey, Dorsetshire, England. William, along with his two brothers, helped to found the city of Charlestown, MA. Other Sprague relatives became soldiers in the Revolutionary War and two of them became governors of the state of Rhode Island.
43. She and Desi Arnaz were married a second time in 1946 in a church because his mother believed that the reason they didn't have children yet was because they were never married in the Catholic Church (they were first married in 1940 at the Byram River Beagle Club in Connecticut).
44. Lucy and Desi Arnaz were married at the Byram River Beagle Club in Connecticut in 1940.
45. She filed for divorce from Desi Arnaz in the 1940s but didn't go through with it because they reconciled.
46. Not long after the Arnazes bought their house on 1000 North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, CA, it was first featured in I Love Lucy: The Tour (1955). Richard Widmark guest-starred and she climbs over the fence to pick a grapefruit from his backyard.
47. She named herself Diane Belmont after the Belmont racetrack in New York.
48. The day she first met Desi Arnaz, she had a black eye and a torn dress from filming a fight scene for Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) and he didn't find her at all attractive until they met again later in the day when she had changed into her own clothes and makeup. His oft-quoted first impression of her extraordinary beauty was "That's a hunk o' woman".
49. The original Desilu was her and Desi Arnaz's ranch in Chatsworth, CA. They used the same method of naming it that Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford's did when they named their estate "Pickfair".
50. Was once known as the "Chesterfield Girl" because she was the spokesmodel for Chesterfield cigarettes.
51. Was tutored in comedy by Buster Keaton.
52. When they were first married in 1940, Desi Arnaz had to give her a ring from a drugstore because all jewelry stores were closed. She wore it for the rest of their marriage.
53. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 63-66. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
54. Her younger brother, Fred Ball (1915-2007), moved from their hometown of Jamestown, NY to join her in Hollywood in the 1930s. Fred often accompanied Desi Arnaz's band on tour during the 1940s and 1950s, and was also on the Board of Directors of Desilu Productions. In later years Fred and his wife Zo operated a motel in Cottonwood, AZ, where he died. Fred also shared the same birthday as his niece Lucie Arnaz.
55. In Italy, her films were often dubbed by Lydia Simoneschi or Wanda Tettoni, notably in the hilarious The Long, Long Trailer (1954). She was occasionally dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta, Dhia Cristiani, Rina Morelli and Renata Marini (in Stage Door (1937)).
56. Was in frail health following a heart attack in May 1988.
57. In 1966 it was reported in an annual stockholder's meeting that her salary as President of Desilu Productions (1962-67) was $100,000. Her acting fees for 1966 were $130,172.
58. In 1968 she was reported to be the richest woman in television, having earned an estimated $30 million.
59. In 1962 she purchased Desi Arnaz's holdings in Desilu holdings for $3 million, as he wanted to retire to his horse ranch in Corona, CA, and lead a more stress-free life.
60. In July 1967 she sold Desilu Productions, consisting of 36 sound stages, 2000 employees and 62 acres adjacent to Paramount, to Gulf+Western Industries for $17 million. She received $10 million in Gulf+Western stock for her 60% of Desilu, the remaining $7 million being distributed to 3878 stockholders.
61. Profiled in "Killer Tomatoes: Fifteen Tough Film Dames" by Ray Hagen and Laura Wagner (McFarland, 2004).
62. When her subsequent series The Lucy Show (1962) and Here's Lucy (1968) became popular, Jess Oppenheimer, a co-creator of I Love Lucy (1951) alleged that her character Lucy Carmichael/Carter was in fact Lucy Ricardo re-named and threatened to sue. Rather than go to court, she settled for $220,000.
63. Her 1960 divorce from Desi Arnaz was quite amicable. They divided their $20-million television empire equally, each retaining 25% Desilu stock (282,800 shares), she got the homes in Beverly Hills and Rancho Mirage, and Desi got the beach house in Del Mar, CA, and his horse ranch in Corona, CA. In addition, they agreed to joint custody of their children, with him paying $450/month child support.
64. In 1958 in order to raise funds for their various investments, she and Desi Arnaz took Desilu public on the NYSE at $10 per share. They each retained 25% of the company, with each selling 25%. She took her $2.5-million windfall, paid $600,000 in capital gains taxes and, always frugal, invested the remainder in bonds and securities.
65. When she and Desi Arnaz moved to 1000 North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, CA, Jack Benny, was their next-door neighbor, residing at 1002 North Roxbury Drive.
66. Was offered the role of Angel in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), but was forced to turn it down due to pregnancy. Gloria Grahame was later cast instead.
67. Appears on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Early Television Memories issue with Vivian Vance, as Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz, in a scene from I Love Lucy: Job Switching (1952). The stamp was issued 11 August 2009.
68. Profiled in by Stephen M. Silverman's 1999 book "Funny Ladies: 100 Years of Great Comediannes".
69. Though starring in many successful 1940s musical comedies for MGM, her contract allowed her to honor her prior commitments. She starred in two film classics, The Dark Corner (1946) for 20th Century-Fox and the independently produced Lured (1947).
70. She launched the film producing career of David Winters, one of the stars of West Side Story (1961), whose first producer job was to co-produce and choreograph her television special Lucy in London (1966).
71. There are two stamps with her name on them" a 34-cent stamp in 2001 and a 44-cent stamp, in 2009.
72. Suffered from ornithophobia, the fear of birds.
73. She had a bungalow office suite east of the main Desilu Production offices located on Gower St. (main reception entrance on Gower St.). Cleo Morgan, her first cousin, was her secretary, responsible for scheduling meetings, dealing with clients and agents for Lucy in her capacity as CEO of Desilu. Cleo remained with the Desilu management team the entire period of operation. Bud Brooks was in charge of the Desilu Productions Art department, located in the top floor of the main entrance building.
74. In the early part of her career she said she was born in Butte, MT, where her father died. Because of that she was nicknamed "Montana".
75. It was at the urging of Roman Scandals (1933) dance director Busby Berkeley that Samuel Goldwyn had her put under contract. The producer initially nixed the idea.
76. Gave birth to her first child, Lucie Desiree Arnaz (Lucie Arnaz) at age 39 on July 17, 1951.
77. Gave birth to her second child, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (Desi Arnaz Jr.) at age 41 on January 19, 1953.
78. Was a Girl Scout.
79. Was the mentor of her protégé Carole Cook and to her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr..
80. Best remembered by the public for her starring roles as the title characters in each of her 3 series: I Love Lucy (1951), The Lucy Show (1962) and Here's Lucy (1968).
81. Was an acting mentor to Ruth Buzzi and Carol Burnett.
82. Her acting mentors were Buster Keaton and Red Skelton.
83. She "discovered" actor/dancer Ken Berry.
84. Delivered her children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. via Caesarean section.
85. She and Broderick Crawford announced their engagement in 1936. They never got as far as the altar. It was claimed that RKO fronted this story to cover her affair with studio producer Pandro S. Berman, who was married.
86. Was six years older than first husband Desi Arnaz and 13 years older than second husband Gary Morton.
87. Her company, Desilu Productions, produced The Untouchables (1959), Mission: Impossible (1966) and Star Trek (1966), among other series.
88. Contrary to their respective I Love Lucy (1951) personas, in real life Lucy was the frugal one while Desi Arnaz was the spendthrift.
89. Lucy and Desi are mentioned, along with many other celebrities, in Bette Midler's list song, "Samedi et Vendredi", on her 1976 album, "Songs for the New Depression".
90. Few people recognize her role in the dawn of Star Trek. As head of Desilu, she decided to go ahead with the project against the advice of her advisers. They told her the project would bankrupt her, and -- in the end -- they were right. The cost of Star Trek was a major reason she was forced to sell the company.
91. Author Mike Sims wrote a series of books called the Vickie Audiobook: English (2017) series. In interviews was asked who inspired his Vickie character and he has stated; "I was inspired by a number of powerful ladies and one that stands out is Lucille Ball. She is smart, tough and if it was not for her resolve we would have missed out on Star Trek and a number of TV shows.".
92. Died three months before her 78th birthday on August 6, 1989.
Personal Quotes (44)
1. I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that's good taste.
2. One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore faith in yourself.
3. I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't.
4. The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.
5. I'm not funny. What I am is brave.
6. Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead.
7. I'd rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.
8. A man who correctly guesses a woman's age may be smart, but he's not very bright.
9. In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by.
10. [About her meeting Desi Arnaz for the first time]: It wasn't love at first sight. It took a full five minutes.
11. Desi (Desi Arnaz) was the great love of my life. I will miss him until the day I die.
12. [About Edith Head]: Edie knew the truth about all of us. She knew who had flat fannies and who didn't -- but she never told.
13. [on Liza Minnelli] She's a great trouper, Liza, I wish I had her talent. If anybody's going to take over from me, it's her. She's got a mind like a trip hammer and huge vitality. She's great.
14. [on Bob Hope] You spell Bob Hope C-L-A-S-S.
15. [on Audrey Hepburn] She's a tomboy and a fine comedienne. You'd never think of her being able to do my type of comedy. But she can. She has great energy, frail as she looks. But, well, she's so beautiful, so ethereal, it would be sacrilege to put her through it.
16. You were taken in charge and trained. They have none of that today any place. I regret the passing of the studio system. I was very appreciative of it because I had no talent. Believe me. What could I do? I couldn't dance. I couldn't sing. I could talk. I could barely walk. I had no flair. I wasn't a beauty, that's for sure.
17. [on Julie Andrews] I mean, you in Britain have some of the best comediennes. Julie Andrews is a comedienne -- oh yes she is!
18. [on Buster Keaton] He taught me most of what I know about timing, how to fall and how to handle props and animals.
19. [Defending her "singing" performance in the film Mame (1974)] Mame stayed up all night and drank champagne! What did you expect her to sound like? Julie Andrews?
20. I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line.
21. [About her friend Maureen O'Hara] Maureen O'Hara is one of the people I love the most out all the people I know.
22. Give yourself first and everything else will fall into line.
23. [on Vivian Vance] I find that now I usually spend my time looking at Viv. Viv was sensational. And back then, there were things I had to do-I was in the projection room for some reason, and I just couldn't concentrate on it. But now I can. And I enjoy every move that Viv made. She was something.
24. Life takes guts.
25. I died my hair this crazy red to bid for attention. It has become a trademark and I've got to keep it this way.
26. [About her drama school experience in 1926] I was a tongue-tied teenager spellbound by the schools star pupil - Bette Davis.
27. I'm grateful for what motion pictures did for me even though, except for on or two pictures, I've never done any I liked.
28. [on Arnold Schwarzenegger] I take full credit for this man. He's going to become a big star.
29. [on Hollywood] When they say no, you hear yes. Someone says we can't do this movie, hug them and say thank you for believing in me.
30. In many ways, marrying Desi was one of the boldest things I ever did. I had always gone with older men. I had also achieved some kind of stability in Hollywood, and Desi with his beautiful girls and good times seemed headed in another direction.
31. Yet I sensed in Desi a great need. Beneath the dazzling charm was a homeless boy who had no one to care for him, worry about him, love him. And I wanted him and only him as the father of my children.
32. It's so hard to believe he is gone. I'm the only one left now. I remember the very last time I spoke with him. It was November 30th, our anniversary and he was in Del Mar with Lucie. He was very weak. Lucie held the phone up to his ear, and we said I love you over and over again to each other. On December 2nd, 1986 I was in the car coming home from taping an episode of Password when I heard Desi died. I could not stop crying. I felt lost, and like my own life had come to some kind of end. Lucie arranged the funeral and Danny Thomas gave the eulogy. It was funny and touching, but so very hard for me to sit through. With Desi's passing I lost my youth, my great success and the only man I ever wanted to be father of my children. Besides Dede, Fred & Cleo, he was the one person who had been in my life the longest and made the greatest impact. I didn't want to even consider what my life would've been without him.
33. I hate failure. And that divorce was the number one failure in my eyes. It was the worst period of my life. Neither Desi nor I have been the same since physically or mentally.
34. If you don't believe he's a great producer, I got two little Arnaz's at home to prove it.
35. I knew there was nobody in the world for me but Desi. We may have our ups and downs just as many people have. I would rather quarrel and make up with him more than anyone else in the world.
36. [on Desi Arnaz] Life with Desi is crazy and exciting, but our love is deep and changeless.
37. I'm not sure that I want to be without some lack of confidence. If you are too sure of yourself, you don't grow. You may feel confident in some things, but other fields come up as a challenge. And if you don't anticipate trouble, you will be in trouble.
38. [on Desi Arnaz] He did make me happy, and I really want people to know that.
39. The best time of my marriage was when I was pregnant. That was the kind of marriage that I've always hoped for.
40. After the short ceremony, we ate our wedding breakfast in front of a bright fire in the club's lounge. Outside a fresh mantel of snow hung on the pine trees. After all the indecision we'd been through, Desi and I were dazed with happiness. We kissed each other and the marriage certificate again and again. It still has my lipstick marks on it. I'm going to keep this forever and ever. I told Desi. Clutching it to my black wool covered bosom. This marriage had to work. I would do anything, sacrifice anything to make Desi happy.
41. We had it all, Desi and I we had it all.
42. Desi was singing. His dark eyes were shining, his face radiant, but his hands I noticed were shaking. In Greenwhich, we spent a harried two hours seeing a judge about waving the five day wedding period and getting the necessary health examination. Desi had planned to marry me at the office of Justice of the Peace John J. O'Brien. He had forgotten only one thing, a wedding ring. Desi's business manager ran into Woolworth's and bought me a brass one. Although, Desi later gave me a platinum ring, that little discolored brass ring rest among the diamonds and emeralds in my jewel case for years.
43. There would be no Lucy without Desi.
44. I had never met a Latin before. In fact, up to this time, I hadn't had much fun. I'd gone out with lots of guys and it had been in the papers, that I was engaged to this one and that one, but now I think back on it, they all seem pretty ordinary. But this I can say for myself and this is the truth. I never wanted to marry anybody until I met Desi.
Salary (19)
1. Top Hat (1935) $50 /week
2. Don't Tell the Wife (1937) $2,000 /week
3. Go Chase Yourself (1938) $2,000 /week
4. Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) $3,500 /week
5. Too Many Girls (1940) $1,500 /week
6. A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob (1941) $12,500
7. The Big Street (1942) $3,500 /week
8. Two Smart People (1946) $1,750 /week
9. I Love Lucy (1951) $2,000 /episode + 50% profits for the first 39 shows as well as ownership of the negatives to all future shows (1951-52)
10. I Love Lucy (1951) $3,500 per episode
11. The Magic Carpet (1951) $85,000
12. The Long, Long Trailer (1954) $125,000 + $150,000 (profits bonus)
13. The Lucy Show (1962) $384,000 (1967-68)
14. The Lucy Show (1962) $1,100,000 (1968) deferred compensation
15. The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball (1962) $100,000
16. A Guide for the Married Man (1967) $10,000 for two days work.
17. Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) 50% of the net profits (co-producer)
18. Mame (1974) $250,000 +10% net profits
19. Life with Lucy (1986) $150,000 /episode"
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American television and film actress, comedienne, model, film-studio executive, and producer. She was best known as the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2hhzRuST-A
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown Maj Marty Hogan MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT (Join to see) SSG David Andrews
Lucille Désirée Ball who was the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy.
I grew up with a mom who loved to watch I Love Lucy,
Background from imdb.com/name/nm0000840/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
" Biography
Overview | Mini Bio | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (4) | Trivia (92) | Personal Quotes (44) | Salary (19)
Overview
Born August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York, USA
Died April 26, 1989 in Beverly Hills, California, USA (acute aortic aneurysm)
Birth Name Lucille Désirée Ball
Nicknames Technicolor Tessie; Queen of the B movies; The First Lady of Television; Lucy; The Queen of Comedy
Height 5' 6½" (1.69 m)
Mini Bio )
The woman who will always be remembered as the crazy, accident-prone, lovable Lucy Ricardo was born Lucille Desiree Ball on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. Her father died before she was four, and her mother worked several jobs, so she and her younger brother were raised by their grandparents. Always willing to take responsibility for her brother and young cousins, she was a restless teenager who yearned to "make some noise". She entered a dramatic school in New York City, but while her classmate Bette Davis received all the raves, she was sent home; "too shy". She found some work modeling for Hattie Carnegie's and, in 1933, she was chosen to be a "Goldwyn Girl" and appear in the film Roman Scandals (1933).
She was put under contract to RKO Radio Pictures and several small roles, including one in Top Hat (1935), followed. Eventually, she received starring roles in B-pictures and, occasionally, a good role in an A-picture, like in Stage Door (1937) or The Big Street (1942). While filming Too Many Girls (1940), she met and fell madly in love with a young Cuban actor-musician named Desi Arnaz. Despite different personalities, lifestyles, religions and ages (he was six years younger), he fell hard, too, and after a passionate romance, they eloped and were married in November 1940. Lucy soon switched to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she got better roles in films such as Du Barry Was a Lady (1943); Best Foot Forward (1943) and the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy vehicle Without Love (1945). In 1948, she took a starring role in the radio comedy "My Favorite Husband", in which she played the scatterbrained wife of a Midwestern banker. In 1950, CBS came knocking with the offer of turning it into a television series. After convincing the network brass to let Desi play her husband and to sign over the rights to and creative control over the series to them, work began on the most popular and universally beloved sitcom of all time.
With I Love Lucy (1951), she and Desi promoted the 3-camera technique now the standard in filming sitcoms using 35mm film (the earliest known example of the 3-camera technique is the first Russian feature film, "Defence of Sevastopol" in 1911). Desi syndicated I Love Lucy.
Lucille Desiree Ball was the first woman to own her own studio as the head of Desilu Productions.
Lucille Ball died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, age 77, of an acute aortic aneurysm on April 26, 1989 in Los Angeles, CA.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tommy Peter
Spouse (2)
Gary Morton (19 November 1961 - 26 April 1989) ( her death)
Desi Arnaz (30 November 1940 - 4 May 1960) ( divorced) ( 2 children)
Trade Mark (4)
Red hair and blue eyes
Famous for her fake wailing when something bad happens to her
Husky voice
Her trademark 'spider face' when something goes wrong for her, accompanied by an "eugh" sound.
Trivia (92)
1. Received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award posthumously in 1990.
2. Originally interred at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, CA, Columbarium of Radiant Dawn, Court of Remembrance. In 2003, she was re-interred in the Ball family plot in Lake View Cemetery, Jamestown, NY.
3. A comment from a member of the preview audience of Follow the Fleet (1936) about bit-player Ball: "You might give the tall gum-chewing blonde more parts and see if she can't make the grade--a good gamble".
4. She and Barbara Pepper met early in their careers when they were both in The Goldwyn Girls and remained lifelong friends.
5. Mother of Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr..
6. During a Barbara Walters interview, Jane Fonda claimed that her father, Henry Fonda, was deeply in love with 'Lucy and that the two were "very close" during the filming of Yours, Mine and Ours (1968).
7. Was the first woman to own her own film studio when she became the head of Desilu Productions.
8. Was awarded two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6436 Hollywood Blvd. and for Television at 6100 Hollywood Blvd.
9. She signed her first promotional agreement with Max Factor in 1935 and again in 1942. Of all the stars, she had the longest association with the Max Factor company.
10. Once registered as a voter for the Communist party as a favor to her grandfather Frederick Charles Hunt (July 24, 1865-January 9, 1944).
11. Lucy and her son, Desi Arnaz Jr., appeared together on the very first cover of "TV Guide" magazine in 1953.
12. Died the morning of April 26, 1989, the 56th birthday of her friend Carol Burnett. That afternoon Burnett received the flowers that Ball had ordered for her birthday.
13. During the filming of Roman Scandals (1933), Lucy--playing a slave girl--needed to have her eyebrows entirely shaved off. They never grew back.
14. Before her movie career she was a model at Hattie Carnegie's in New York. She mainly modeled heavy fur coats, because she was startlingly thin as a young lady.
15. She and Desi Arnaz began I Love Lucy (1951) in the hopes of saving their crumbling marriage.
16. She was fired from working at an ice cream store because she kept forgetting to put bananas in banana splits.
17. She put her Chesterfield cigarettes in a Philip Morris package to please her sponsor (of the I Love Lucy (1951) show).
18. "TV Guide" picked her as the greatest TV star of all time.
19. Was one of 20 original The Goldwyn Girls. Among the others were Virginia Bruce; Ann Dvorak; Paulette Goddard and Betty Grable.
20. Born at 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time zone.
21. Second cousin of Suzan Ball.
22. For many years during their marriage, she and Desi Arnaz hid the fact that she was six years older than he by splitting the difference in their ages. She (born in 1911) said she was born in 1914 and he (born in 1917) also said he was born in 1914.
23. Was known for a while as Dianne Belmont back when she was a model.
24. Pictured on a 34¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued 6 August 2001.
25. Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.
26. Her favorite of her films was The Big Street (1942). To her dying day she resented the Motion Picture Academy for not recognizing her performance in the movie by nominating her for an Academy Award.
27. One of her last television appearances was in 1989 on the 62nd Academy Awards, with Bob Hope, announcing the nominations and winner of Best Picture.
28. Stricken by rheumatoid arthritis early in her modeling career, she spent two years re-learning how to walk.
29. Filed for a divorce from husband Desi Arnaz, the day following the last day of filming The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957). [March 1960]
30. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. pg. 35-37. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN [login to see] .
31. Felt that she did not deserve the title of "Queen of Comedy" and felt that it belonged to her idol, Carole Lombard.
32. While still contemplating whether to do the I Love Lucy (1951) shows, she claimed that in her dream, Carole Lombard came to her and told her to "Give it a whirl".
33. Was Frank Sinatra's first choice for the role of Laurence Harvey's mother in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He was only dissuaded when John Frankenheimer took him to see Angela Lansbury in a play.
34. Disliked any false form of a bird, she preferred to see them in person so she banned all pictures of birds from her house and any hotel room she was staying in.
35. Had a superstition about the letters A and R, which is why her character was named Lucy RicARdo in I Love Lucy (1951); Lucy CARmichael in The Lucy Show (1962); Lucy CARter in Here's Lucy (1968) and Lucy BARker in Life with Lucy (1986) (she was also married to 'Desi ARnaz'). She believed she didn't have luck in her career until she changed her name to Arnaz.
36. First cousin of Cleo Morgan, though they were raised as sisters.
37. Related by marriage to Sid Gould.
38. Related by marriage to Vanda Barra.
39. Was of Irish, Scottish, French, and English descent.
40. Suffered three miscarriages with husband Desi Arnaz. First miscarriage was in 1942. Second miscarriage was in 1949. Third and last miscarriage was in 1950.
41. John Belushi was a fan of hers and knew every detail of her life and career.
42. She was proud of her family and heritage. Her genealogy can be traced back to the earliest settlers in the colonies. One direct ancestor, William Sprague (1609-75), left England on the ship "Lyon's Whelp" for Plymouth/Salem, MA. They were from Upwey, Dorsetshire, England. William, along with his two brothers, helped to found the city of Charlestown, MA. Other Sprague relatives became soldiers in the Revolutionary War and two of them became governors of the state of Rhode Island.
43. She and Desi Arnaz were married a second time in 1946 in a church because his mother believed that the reason they didn't have children yet was because they were never married in the Catholic Church (they were first married in 1940 at the Byram River Beagle Club in Connecticut).
44. Lucy and Desi Arnaz were married at the Byram River Beagle Club in Connecticut in 1940.
45. She filed for divorce from Desi Arnaz in the 1940s but didn't go through with it because they reconciled.
46. Not long after the Arnazes bought their house on 1000 North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, CA, it was first featured in I Love Lucy: The Tour (1955). Richard Widmark guest-starred and she climbs over the fence to pick a grapefruit from his backyard.
47. She named herself Diane Belmont after the Belmont racetrack in New York.
48. The day she first met Desi Arnaz, she had a black eye and a torn dress from filming a fight scene for Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) and he didn't find her at all attractive until they met again later in the day when she had changed into her own clothes and makeup. His oft-quoted first impression of her extraordinary beauty was "That's a hunk o' woman".
49. The original Desilu was her and Desi Arnaz's ranch in Chatsworth, CA. They used the same method of naming it that Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford's did when they named their estate "Pickfair".
50. Was once known as the "Chesterfield Girl" because she was the spokesmodel for Chesterfield cigarettes.
51. Was tutored in comedy by Buster Keaton.
52. When they were first married in 1940, Desi Arnaz had to give her a ring from a drugstore because all jewelry stores were closed. She wore it for the rest of their marriage.
53. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 63-66. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
54. Her younger brother, Fred Ball (1915-2007), moved from their hometown of Jamestown, NY to join her in Hollywood in the 1930s. Fred often accompanied Desi Arnaz's band on tour during the 1940s and 1950s, and was also on the Board of Directors of Desilu Productions. In later years Fred and his wife Zo operated a motel in Cottonwood, AZ, where he died. Fred also shared the same birthday as his niece Lucie Arnaz.
55. In Italy, her films were often dubbed by Lydia Simoneschi or Wanda Tettoni, notably in the hilarious The Long, Long Trailer (1954). She was occasionally dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta, Dhia Cristiani, Rina Morelli and Renata Marini (in Stage Door (1937)).
56. Was in frail health following a heart attack in May 1988.
57. In 1966 it was reported in an annual stockholder's meeting that her salary as President of Desilu Productions (1962-67) was $100,000. Her acting fees for 1966 were $130,172.
58. In 1968 she was reported to be the richest woman in television, having earned an estimated $30 million.
59. In 1962 she purchased Desi Arnaz's holdings in Desilu holdings for $3 million, as he wanted to retire to his horse ranch in Corona, CA, and lead a more stress-free life.
60. In July 1967 she sold Desilu Productions, consisting of 36 sound stages, 2000 employees and 62 acres adjacent to Paramount, to Gulf+Western Industries for $17 million. She received $10 million in Gulf+Western stock for her 60% of Desilu, the remaining $7 million being distributed to 3878 stockholders.
61. Profiled in "Killer Tomatoes: Fifteen Tough Film Dames" by Ray Hagen and Laura Wagner (McFarland, 2004).
62. When her subsequent series The Lucy Show (1962) and Here's Lucy (1968) became popular, Jess Oppenheimer, a co-creator of I Love Lucy (1951) alleged that her character Lucy Carmichael/Carter was in fact Lucy Ricardo re-named and threatened to sue. Rather than go to court, she settled for $220,000.
63. Her 1960 divorce from Desi Arnaz was quite amicable. They divided their $20-million television empire equally, each retaining 25% Desilu stock (282,800 shares), she got the homes in Beverly Hills and Rancho Mirage, and Desi got the beach house in Del Mar, CA, and his horse ranch in Corona, CA. In addition, they agreed to joint custody of their children, with him paying $450/month child support.
64. In 1958 in order to raise funds for their various investments, she and Desi Arnaz took Desilu public on the NYSE at $10 per share. They each retained 25% of the company, with each selling 25%. She took her $2.5-million windfall, paid $600,000 in capital gains taxes and, always frugal, invested the remainder in bonds and securities.
65. When she and Desi Arnaz moved to 1000 North Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, CA, Jack Benny, was their next-door neighbor, residing at 1002 North Roxbury Drive.
66. Was offered the role of Angel in The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), but was forced to turn it down due to pregnancy. Gloria Grahame was later cast instead.
67. Appears on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Early Television Memories issue with Vivian Vance, as Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz, in a scene from I Love Lucy: Job Switching (1952). The stamp was issued 11 August 2009.
68. Profiled in by Stephen M. Silverman's 1999 book "Funny Ladies: 100 Years of Great Comediannes".
69. Though starring in many successful 1940s musical comedies for MGM, her contract allowed her to honor her prior commitments. She starred in two film classics, The Dark Corner (1946) for 20th Century-Fox and the independently produced Lured (1947).
70. She launched the film producing career of David Winters, one of the stars of West Side Story (1961), whose first producer job was to co-produce and choreograph her television special Lucy in London (1966).
71. There are two stamps with her name on them" a 34-cent stamp in 2001 and a 44-cent stamp, in 2009.
72. Suffered from ornithophobia, the fear of birds.
73. She had a bungalow office suite east of the main Desilu Production offices located on Gower St. (main reception entrance on Gower St.). Cleo Morgan, her first cousin, was her secretary, responsible for scheduling meetings, dealing with clients and agents for Lucy in her capacity as CEO of Desilu. Cleo remained with the Desilu management team the entire period of operation. Bud Brooks was in charge of the Desilu Productions Art department, located in the top floor of the main entrance building.
74. In the early part of her career she said she was born in Butte, MT, where her father died. Because of that she was nicknamed "Montana".
75. It was at the urging of Roman Scandals (1933) dance director Busby Berkeley that Samuel Goldwyn had her put under contract. The producer initially nixed the idea.
76. Gave birth to her first child, Lucie Desiree Arnaz (Lucie Arnaz) at age 39 on July 17, 1951.
77. Gave birth to her second child, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (Desi Arnaz Jr.) at age 41 on January 19, 1953.
78. Was a Girl Scout.
79. Was the mentor of her protégé Carole Cook and to her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr..
80. Best remembered by the public for her starring roles as the title characters in each of her 3 series: I Love Lucy (1951), The Lucy Show (1962) and Here's Lucy (1968).
81. Was an acting mentor to Ruth Buzzi and Carol Burnett.
82. Her acting mentors were Buster Keaton and Red Skelton.
83. She "discovered" actor/dancer Ken Berry.
84. Delivered her children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. via Caesarean section.
85. She and Broderick Crawford announced their engagement in 1936. They never got as far as the altar. It was claimed that RKO fronted this story to cover her affair with studio producer Pandro S. Berman, who was married.
86. Was six years older than first husband Desi Arnaz and 13 years older than second husband Gary Morton.
87. Her company, Desilu Productions, produced The Untouchables (1959), Mission: Impossible (1966) and Star Trek (1966), among other series.
88. Contrary to their respective I Love Lucy (1951) personas, in real life Lucy was the frugal one while Desi Arnaz was the spendthrift.
89. Lucy and Desi are mentioned, along with many other celebrities, in Bette Midler's list song, "Samedi et Vendredi", on her 1976 album, "Songs for the New Depression".
90. Few people recognize her role in the dawn of Star Trek. As head of Desilu, she decided to go ahead with the project against the advice of her advisers. They told her the project would bankrupt her, and -- in the end -- they were right. The cost of Star Trek was a major reason she was forced to sell the company.
91. Author Mike Sims wrote a series of books called the Vickie Audiobook: English (2017) series. In interviews was asked who inspired his Vickie character and he has stated; "I was inspired by a number of powerful ladies and one that stands out is Lucille Ball. She is smart, tough and if it was not for her resolve we would have missed out on Star Trek and a number of TV shows.".
92. Died three months before her 78th birthday on August 6, 1989.
Personal Quotes (44)
1. I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that's good taste.
2. One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore faith in yourself.
3. I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't.
4. The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.
5. I'm not funny. What I am is brave.
6. Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead.
7. I'd rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.
8. A man who correctly guesses a woman's age may be smart, but he's not very bright.
9. In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by.
10. [About her meeting Desi Arnaz for the first time]: It wasn't love at first sight. It took a full five minutes.
11. Desi (Desi Arnaz) was the great love of my life. I will miss him until the day I die.
12. [About Edith Head]: Edie knew the truth about all of us. She knew who had flat fannies and who didn't -- but she never told.
13. [on Liza Minnelli] She's a great trouper, Liza, I wish I had her talent. If anybody's going to take over from me, it's her. She's got a mind like a trip hammer and huge vitality. She's great.
14. [on Bob Hope] You spell Bob Hope C-L-A-S-S.
15. [on Audrey Hepburn] She's a tomboy and a fine comedienne. You'd never think of her being able to do my type of comedy. But she can. She has great energy, frail as she looks. But, well, she's so beautiful, so ethereal, it would be sacrilege to put her through it.
16. You were taken in charge and trained. They have none of that today any place. I regret the passing of the studio system. I was very appreciative of it because I had no talent. Believe me. What could I do? I couldn't dance. I couldn't sing. I could talk. I could barely walk. I had no flair. I wasn't a beauty, that's for sure.
17. [on Julie Andrews] I mean, you in Britain have some of the best comediennes. Julie Andrews is a comedienne -- oh yes she is!
18. [on Buster Keaton] He taught me most of what I know about timing, how to fall and how to handle props and animals.
19. [Defending her "singing" performance in the film Mame (1974)] Mame stayed up all night and drank champagne! What did you expect her to sound like? Julie Andrews?
20. I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line.
21. [About her friend Maureen O'Hara] Maureen O'Hara is one of the people I love the most out all the people I know.
22. Give yourself first and everything else will fall into line.
23. [on Vivian Vance] I find that now I usually spend my time looking at Viv. Viv was sensational. And back then, there were things I had to do-I was in the projection room for some reason, and I just couldn't concentrate on it. But now I can. And I enjoy every move that Viv made. She was something.
24. Life takes guts.
25. I died my hair this crazy red to bid for attention. It has become a trademark and I've got to keep it this way.
26. [About her drama school experience in 1926] I was a tongue-tied teenager spellbound by the schools star pupil - Bette Davis.
27. I'm grateful for what motion pictures did for me even though, except for on or two pictures, I've never done any I liked.
28. [on Arnold Schwarzenegger] I take full credit for this man. He's going to become a big star.
29. [on Hollywood] When they say no, you hear yes. Someone says we can't do this movie, hug them and say thank you for believing in me.
30. In many ways, marrying Desi was one of the boldest things I ever did. I had always gone with older men. I had also achieved some kind of stability in Hollywood, and Desi with his beautiful girls and good times seemed headed in another direction.
31. Yet I sensed in Desi a great need. Beneath the dazzling charm was a homeless boy who had no one to care for him, worry about him, love him. And I wanted him and only him as the father of my children.
32. It's so hard to believe he is gone. I'm the only one left now. I remember the very last time I spoke with him. It was November 30th, our anniversary and he was in Del Mar with Lucie. He was very weak. Lucie held the phone up to his ear, and we said I love you over and over again to each other. On December 2nd, 1986 I was in the car coming home from taping an episode of Password when I heard Desi died. I could not stop crying. I felt lost, and like my own life had come to some kind of end. Lucie arranged the funeral and Danny Thomas gave the eulogy. It was funny and touching, but so very hard for me to sit through. With Desi's passing I lost my youth, my great success and the only man I ever wanted to be father of my children. Besides Dede, Fred & Cleo, he was the one person who had been in my life the longest and made the greatest impact. I didn't want to even consider what my life would've been without him.
33. I hate failure. And that divorce was the number one failure in my eyes. It was the worst period of my life. Neither Desi nor I have been the same since physically or mentally.
34. If you don't believe he's a great producer, I got two little Arnaz's at home to prove it.
35. I knew there was nobody in the world for me but Desi. We may have our ups and downs just as many people have. I would rather quarrel and make up with him more than anyone else in the world.
36. [on Desi Arnaz] Life with Desi is crazy and exciting, but our love is deep and changeless.
37. I'm not sure that I want to be without some lack of confidence. If you are too sure of yourself, you don't grow. You may feel confident in some things, but other fields come up as a challenge. And if you don't anticipate trouble, you will be in trouble.
38. [on Desi Arnaz] He did make me happy, and I really want people to know that.
39. The best time of my marriage was when I was pregnant. That was the kind of marriage that I've always hoped for.
40. After the short ceremony, we ate our wedding breakfast in front of a bright fire in the club's lounge. Outside a fresh mantel of snow hung on the pine trees. After all the indecision we'd been through, Desi and I were dazed with happiness. We kissed each other and the marriage certificate again and again. It still has my lipstick marks on it. I'm going to keep this forever and ever. I told Desi. Clutching it to my black wool covered bosom. This marriage had to work. I would do anything, sacrifice anything to make Desi happy.
41. We had it all, Desi and I we had it all.
42. Desi was singing. His dark eyes were shining, his face radiant, but his hands I noticed were shaking. In Greenwhich, we spent a harried two hours seeing a judge about waving the five day wedding period and getting the necessary health examination. Desi had planned to marry me at the office of Justice of the Peace John J. O'Brien. He had forgotten only one thing, a wedding ring. Desi's business manager ran into Woolworth's and bought me a brass one. Although, Desi later gave me a platinum ring, that little discolored brass ring rest among the diamonds and emeralds in my jewel case for years.
43. There would be no Lucy without Desi.
44. I had never met a Latin before. In fact, up to this time, I hadn't had much fun. I'd gone out with lots of guys and it had been in the papers, that I was engaged to this one and that one, but now I think back on it, they all seem pretty ordinary. But this I can say for myself and this is the truth. I never wanted to marry anybody until I met Desi.
Salary (19)
1. Top Hat (1935) $50 /week
2. Don't Tell the Wife (1937) $2,000 /week
3. Go Chase Yourself (1938) $2,000 /week
4. Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) $3,500 /week
5. Too Many Girls (1940) $1,500 /week
6. A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob (1941) $12,500
7. The Big Street (1942) $3,500 /week
8. Two Smart People (1946) $1,750 /week
9. I Love Lucy (1951) $2,000 /episode + 50% profits for the first 39 shows as well as ownership of the negatives to all future shows (1951-52)
10. I Love Lucy (1951) $3,500 per episode
11. The Magic Carpet (1951) $85,000
12. The Long, Long Trailer (1954) $125,000 + $150,000 (profits bonus)
13. The Lucy Show (1962) $384,000 (1967-68)
14. The Lucy Show (1962) $1,100,000 (1968) deferred compensation
15. The Danny Kaye Show with Lucille Ball (1962) $100,000
16. A Guide for the Married Man (1967) $10,000 for two days work.
17. Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) 50% of the net profits (co-producer)
18. Mame (1974) $250,000 +10% net profits
19. Life with Lucy (1986) $150,000 /episode"
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American television and film actress, comedienne, model, film-studio executive, and producer. She was best known as the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, and Life with Lucy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2hhzRuST-A
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown Maj Marty Hogan MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT (Join to see) SSG David Andrews
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