Lucille Ball

Acting · 2.1 popularity

Age

115

Movies

165

Born: August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989
From: 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.

Works

165 films

Television: The First Fifty Years

1999

Yours, Mine and Ours

19686.9

Top Hat

19357.3

Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood

19876.0

That's Entertainment! III

19947.0

Mame

19745.9

Dance, Girl, Dance

19406.4

A Guide for the Married Man

19675.9

Lured

19476.3

Stage Door

19377.1

A Grammy Celebration of Latin Music

20255.0

Stone Pillow

19856.9

Night of 100 Stars II

19856.8

The Jack Benny Birthday Special

19699.0

Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution

20246.2

Lucy and Desi

20227.1

Ziegfeld Follies

19456.0

The Long, Long Trailer

19547.0

That's Dancing!

19856.9

My Darling Vivian

20207.1

Room Service

19386.5

Carol + 2

196610.0

Fancy Pants

19505.8

Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored

20112.0

The Fabulous Allan Carr

20174.5

Du Barry Was a Lady

19436.5

Pioneers of Primetime

2005

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

19837.0

The Dean Martin Christmas Show

19687.6

Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration

201510.0

Bob Hope's World of Comedy

1976

All Star Party for Lucille Ball

19846.0

Her Husband's Affairs

19475.6

The Big Parade of Comedy

19647.2

Judy Garland: By Myself

20048.3

The Whole Town's Talking

19356.9

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed

20235.7

Dummy Ache

19365.5

NBC: The First Fifty Years

1976

The Dark Corner

19466.6

Happy Anniversary and Goodbye

19745.2

Broadway Bill

19346.0

This Is Bob Hope...

20178.0

The Fuller Brush Girl

19506.1

Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

19852.0

Roman Scandals

19335.9

Shirley MacLaine: Gypsy in My Soul

1976

All Star Party for Clint Eastwood

19866.0

A Star Is Born World Premiere

19548.0

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years

20045.3

Go Chase Yourself

19385.7

Forever, Darling

19566.9

Fugitive Lady

19348.0

The Big Street

19425.8

Without Love

19457.0

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood

19455.8

Winterset

19366.0

Follow the Fleet

19366.9

A Woman of Distinction

19507.0

Lucy Gets Lucky

19754.5

Roberta

19357.1

The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

19986.5

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

19975.1

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

19606.0

Bob Hope's Love Affair with Lucy

19899.0

Swing It

19364.7

Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie

19938.2

Swing Out, Sweet Land

19705.7

Showbiz Goes to War

198210.0

Women I Love: Beautiful But Funny

198210.0

You Can't Fool Your Wife

19405.5

The Facts of Life

19605.3

Ellis in Freedomland

1952

Critic's Choice

19635.6

Lucy Calls the President

19777.5

Easy to Wed

19466.4

So and Sew

19368.0

Kid Millions

19346.7

Easy Living

19495.7

Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy

20007.0

Men of the Night

19344.5

The Three Musketeers

19356.9

Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television

1975

Salute to Stan Laurel

19658.0

Sorrowful Jones

19496.6

Joy of Living

19385.9

The Time Element

2026

Miss Grant Takes Richmond

19495.3

Best Foot Forward

19436.8

The Affairs of Cellini

19345.2

Murder at the Vanities

19345.6

Meet the People

19445.8

Thousands Cheer

19436.4

Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC

19886.0

Five Came Back

19396.3

CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

19767.3

I Dream Too Much

19355.4

The Bowery

19335.4

I'll Love You Always

19355.0

Valley of the Sun

19426.3

Too Many Girls

19405.9

That Girl from Paris

19366.9

Next Time I Marry

19387.2

Blood Money

19337.1

Old Man Rhythm

19357.0

Chatterbox

19367.0

That's Right – You're Wrong

19396.3

Muss 'em Up

19366.2

Seven Days' Leave

19427.3

I Love Lucy Christmas Special

201610.0

Three Little Pigskins

19347.1

The Affairs of Annabel

19385.4

Lucy's Really Lost Moments

19566.5

Broadway Thru a Keyhole

19336.3

Hold That Girl

19349.0

Bottoms Up

19345.2

Jealousy

19345.8

Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

20236.4

Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back

19345.6

Panama Lady

19396.3

The Lucille Ball Comedy Hour

19647.3

General Foods Opening Night

1963

A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob

19415.5

I Love Lucy: The Movie

19537.7

A Beverly Hills Christmas

19873.5

The Magic Carpet

19516.0

Annabel Takes a Tour

19385.7

Bunker Bean

19365.3

Carnival

19358.0

Cher... and Other Fantasies

197910.0

Hooray for Love

19355.8

G.I. Journal

1944

A Night at the Biltmore Bowl

19358.0

Two Smart People

19466.6

Lucy Moves to NBC

19803.3

The Farmer in the Dell

19367.0

Ann-Margret: From Hollywood with Love

1969

The Bob Hope Chevy Show

1956

Lover Come Back

19467.1

What Now, Catherine Curtis?

19768.5

Carnival Nights

19687.0

The Marines Fly High

19405.3

Having Wonderful Time

19384.9

Don't Tell the Wife

19376.0

Nana

19346.0

Twelve Crowded Hours

19395.7

One Live Ghost

19366.7

Look Who's Laughing

19416.7

Moulin Rouge

19347.0

The Best Of Danny Kaye - The Television Years

1993

The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 1

2001

Biography: Bob Hope: America's Entertainer

2003

The Funny World of Lucy, Volume 1

19978.5

Three for Two

19754.3

Lucy in London

19666.5

Behind the Evidence

19355.5

Perfectly Mismated

19347.0

Beauty for the Asking

19395.7

Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special

19707.0

The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 2

2001

Foolish Hearts

1935

A Love Letter to Jack Benny

1981

The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special

2026

His Old Flame

19357.0

A Tribute to Lucy

1989