Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball was a pioneer of comedy. She was a hero for this reason; she led the way to comedy. When she was a little girl, she wanted to make people laugh from the start. Also her T.V. show, I Love Lucy, ran for six seasons and left a legacy! She acted as Lucy Ricardo until she passed away.

Lucille Ball had some important events when she was a little girl. She was born in the western part of Jamestown, New York. Lucille was born on August 6th, 1911. Her parents were Desiree (Dede) and Henry Ball. In high school, Lucille played a lead role, directed the play, cast it, sold the tickets, and hauled furniture into the school! Soon after that, she was making plans to become an actress. As you can see, she was already starting to become an actress.

Lucille had some problems on her way to acting. One was when she was about four years old; her father caught typhoid fever and became so sick that he could no longer work. When Lucille’s father’s boss heard about this, Henry Ball lost his job. A few days later, February 15th, Henry Ball passed away. Her family was very sad. A couple years later, she began modeling in an acting business. She wasn’t used to her work. “I don’t think I’ll fit in with all the other glamorous models!” Lucille said. All of a sudden Lucille quit modeling and started a show with her soon to be husband, Desi Arnaz. When they got married, their marriage was very difficult because she and Desi were far apart. Also it was harder to work together. Soon, they got divorced. Desi and Lucille were very depressed after their divorce. Lucille’s acting career took her mind off the divorce. Did you know Lucille was in a car accident? She broke her legs and had to wear crutches! You can see that Lucille had pretty hard problems to figure out.

Lucille had a great number of contributions. Lucille worked as a part-time secretary and department store clerk. When she was in the acting business, her stage name was Diane Belmont. Having her stage name, Diane Belmont, she packed her bags for Hollywood. Later in Hollywood, she was in a MGM musical called Roman Scandals starring comedian and singer, Eddie Cantor. While she was in the musical, she earned a salary of $150.00 a week! After that, she left MGM studios and went on at Columbia Pictures. A couple years passed by and the studio had financial problems, so the owner had to fire all of the workers including Lucille! After that horrible thing in 1935, Lucille showed in a film “Roberta”, she played a model in a fashion show. After she performed, the head of RKO studios, Pandro Berman, offered Lucille a seven year contract with RKO studios! Lucille took the deal and performed in a 1940 film, Too Many Girls. Lucille played a spoiled heiress, Connie Casey. Her onscreen bodyguard was to change her life. His name is Desi Arnaz who came from Cuba. When Lucille and Desi saw each other, it was love at first sight. Six months later, Lucille and Desi decided to get married. In 1946, Lucille began working on a CBS radio comedy, My Favorite Husband, she played a klutzy homemaker. Years passed, Desi and Lucille decided to create a musical (comedy) called “Desi Arnaz and Band with Lucille Ball”. They went on a twelve week tour! In 1988, they made their 74th film TV movie, Stone Pillow. She played a homeless woman. On April 26th the doctors found out that she had a damaged heart and a couple days later Lucille had passed away. As you can see, she had many contributions.

Lucille had many awards and recognitions. When Lucille was in the acting business, she got inducted into the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame! She made a very big change in her appearance in MGM studios. One person she met on her journey was the Three Stooges! (When she met them, one of them sprayed Lucille with seltzer water!) Later the head of RKO studios, Pandro Berman, offered Lucille a seven year contract with RKO studios! In the early 1940s, Lucille appeared in a variety of films. Both of the films she showed in were comedy and drama. She made more than forty films on her credit! Later in 1953, I love Lucy received two Emmy Awards named “Best Comedian and Show Best Comedy”. You can tell that Lucille had some awards and recognitions.

Lucille has some character traits. She was very entertaining. She was hilarious because she created a whole world out of nothing, making people laugh and cry. Also almost all day, she clowned with everyone on set, she even charmed the director! She was hard-working too. She was hard-working because when she went back to her hometown (after not making the modeling business); she wanted to try harder and get back to New York City. She was never ready to give up on showbiz. When Lucille was on her I Love Lucy show, she took charge of creating and ending the show. Lucille was very popular. She was popular because her face was soon shown on billboards all over New York City! Also the head of RKO studios offered Lucille a seven-year contract! The day Lucille died; her fans placed roses on her star in Hollywood’s Wall of Fame. Now you know what character traits Lucille Ball had.

In conclusion, you can see why Lucille Ball was a pioneer of comedy. The good thing is that the people in heaven will have a good laugh! ☺