Lucille ball biography husband watches

American actress (1911–1989)

Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by Time in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for her work in all four of these areas. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She earned many honors, including the Women in Film Crystal Award, an induction into the Television Hall of Fame, a Kennedy Center Honor, and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

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 name Diane (or Dianne) Belmont. She later appeared in films in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, being cast as a chorus girl or in similar roles, with lead roles in B-pictures and supporting roles in A-pictures. During this time, she met Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, and they eloped in November 1940. In the 1950s, Ball ventured into television, where she and Arnaz created the sitcom I Love Lucy. She gave birth to their first child, Lucie, in 1951, followed by Desi Arnaz Jr. in 1953. They divorced in March 1960, and she married comedian Gary Morton in 1961.

Ball produced and starred in the Broadway musical Wildcat from 1960 to 1961. In 1962, she became the first woman to run a major television studio, Desilu Productions, which produced many popular television series, including Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. After Wildcat, she reunited with I Love Lucy co-star Vivian Vance for The Lucy Show, which Vance left in 1965. The sho

• Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz relied on 'I Love Lucy' to save their marriage.
• The two split shortly after the show wrapped.
• They, however, remained friends after their split.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were a serious it couple in the 1950s, and they’re in the spotlight again in the new Amazon Prime Video documentary, Lucy and Desi.

The documentary, directed by Amy Poehler, follows the couple’s love story, features archival footage and recordings from each of them.

But who were Lucy and Desi, exactly, and what was their love story like? Here’s what you need to know.

They met in 1940 on a movie set.

The two first crossed paths on the RKO movie, Too Many Girls. Desi was a bandleader whose family had moved to the U.S. from Cuba and Lucy was a studio contract player. They eloped by the end of the year, according to Biography.

Their marriage was rocky.

Lucy filed for divorce in 1944, over issues with Desi’s heavy drinking and cheating, according to People. Desi was also gone a lot on tour and, when he was home, he would be out late while Lucy had to be up early for work.

The two eventually decided to work things out. And it helped that when Lucy got the opportunity to star in I Love Lucy—which, at the time, was a radio show making the jump to television, Lucy reportedly insisted Desi play her husband.

They were co-stars and real-life lovers.

Lucy and Desi ended up starring as a married couple on the iconic sitcom I Love Lucy in the 1950s. Lucy played Lucy Ricardo, the goofy wife of bandleader Ricky Ricardo, who was trying to make it big in show business in New York.

“They did the show so they could be together because my dad was always on the road and they never saw each other,” the couple’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz told People. “So my parents thought, 'Well, this is going to save our marriage, and we can have a fa

By the late 1940s, Lucille Ball was at a crossroads in her professional and personal lives.

After 15 mostly successful years in Hollywood, she was beginning to lose ground to younger, fresher actresses who didn't command her hefty asking price for feature film roles. Furthermore, she longed to stabilize her oft-tempestuous relationship with her actor and musician husband Desi Arnaz, then spending much of his time on the road with his band.

A turn to radio in 1948 with CBS' My Favorite Husband, co-starring Richard Denning, gave her career a jolt by capitalizing on her comedic talents. And while her next move seemingly provided the solution to her personal yearnings, it also yielded the unintentional result of changing the course of TV history.

READ MORE: Inside Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's 'Fantastic Romance' and 'Successful Divorce'

Ball and Arnaz created a touring act to show they could work together

As told in Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, CBS sought to build on the success of My Favorite Husband by adapting it for the small screen. Ball informed the network that she would be happy to do a televised version, provided her real-life husband was signed to play the part of the fictional one.

This was a no-go for CBS executives, who insisted that the viewing public would never accept the screen pairing of the "all-American" Ball with the Cuba-born, accented Arnaz.

Sticking to their guns, Ball and Arnaz elected to launch a touring vaudeville act to showcase their performing chemistry under the banner of a new production company, Arnaz taking the role of president and Ball signing on as vice president. They titled their venture "Desilu," an amalgamation of their names that had already been assigned to their five-acre ranch and other jointly owned possessions.

Their summer 1950 tour was a hit, leaving critics raving about the song-and-dance rou