| On August 11,
1911, Lucille Desiree Ball was born to Desiree (DeDe) and Henry (Had)
Ball. Lucille was born in Jamestown, New York, but lived her first three
years in Montana and Michigan where her father worked as a telephone
company lineman. At 15, Lucille quit high school to enroll in the Robert
Minton - John Murray Anderson School of Drama. This school did not work
out for Lucille. After a short time at the school, John Murray Anderson
told Lucille that she was wasting her money. For the next several years,
Lucille went back and forth from Jamestown to New York City working on and
off as a model for dress designer Hattie Carnegie. |
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Lucille got her first
break when she became a Goldwyn Girl for an Eddie Cantor musical called Roman
Scandals. The job didn't offer fame or security, but it did give her a
ticket to Hollywood. Lucille went from Goldwyn Girl to contract player for
Columbia. She eventually switched to RKO where she appeared in 31 movies
between 1935 and 1942. In 1942, Lucille sold her contract to MGM. MGM was
starting to doubt that Lucille could become a star. In 1948, Lucille
turned to radio and finally had a hit. The show was called My Favorite
Husband. Lucille then based a TV show on My Favorite Husband
called "I Love Lucy". In subsequent series, Lucy Ricardo became
Lucy Carmichael and then Lucy Carter. Lucille Ball loved to perform and
made millions laugh. Lucille Ball made 73 movies, appeared in 51 TV
specials, and starred on 4 TV shows during her career that lasted over 50
years. In 1989, Lucille Ball died of a ruptured aorta right after open -
heart surgery at the age of 78. Lucille Ball still provides laughter to
many of us, just by turning on the television. |
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