Lucille Ball

Acting · 2.3 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

Yours, Mine and Ours

19686.9

Top Hat

19357.3

Dance, Girl, Dance

19406.4

Television: The First Fifty Years

1999

Mame

19745.9

Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood

19876.0

Lured

19476.3

That's Entertainment! III

19947.0

Stone Pillow

19856.9

A Guide for the Married Man

19675.9

Night of 100 Stars II

19856.8

Stage Door

19377.1

Carol + 2

196610.0

Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution

20246.2

Room Service

19386.5

Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored

20112.0

The Long, Long Trailer

19547.0

Lucy and Desi

20227.1

That's Dancing!

19856.9

My Darling Vivian

20207.1

The Fuller Brush Girl

19506.1

Ziegfeld Follies

19456.0

Her Husband's Affairs

19475.6

Du Barry Was a Lady

19436.5

Pioneers of Primetime

2005

A Grammy Celebration of Latin Music

20255.0

The Big Street

19425.8

The Jack Benny Birthday Special

19699.0

Broadway Bill

19346.0

Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration

201510.0

The Dark Corner

19466.6

Bob Hope's World of Comedy

1976

Fancy Pants

19505.8

A Star Is Born World Premiere

19548.0

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood

19455.8

The Whole Town's Talking

19356.9

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

19837.0

The Fabulous Allan Carr

20174.5

Follow the Fleet

19366.9

Without Love

19457.0

NBC: The First Fifty Years

1976

The Big Parade of Comedy

19647.2

Critic's Choice

19635.6

Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story

20236.4

Roman Scandals

19335.9

Dummy Ache

19365.5

Miss Grant Takes Richmond

19495.3

The Dean Martin Christmas Show

19687.6

The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

19975.1

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years

20045.3

The Affairs of Cellini

19345.2

All Star Party for Lucille Ball

19846.0

Bob Hope's Love Affair with Lucy

19899.0

Forever, Darling

19566.9

The Bowery

19335.4

Roberta

19357.1

Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

19852.0

The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts

19986.5

This Is Bob Hope...

20178.0

Lucy Gets Lucky

19754.5

All Star Party for Clint Eastwood

19866.0

Swing Out, Sweet Land

19705.7

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

19606.0

Go Chase Yourself

19385.7

Swing It

19364.7

A Woman of Distinction

19507.0

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed

20235.7

Lucy Calls the President

19777.5

Happy Anniversary and Goodbye

19745.2

Judy Garland: By Myself

20048.3

Shirley MacLaine: Gypsy in My Soul

1976

Murder at the Vanities

19345.6

The Three Musketeers

19356.9

I Dream Too Much

19355.4

Salute to Stan Laurel

19658.0

You Can't Fool Your Wife

19405.5

Showbiz Goes to War

198210.0

Fugitive Lady

19348.0

Joy of Living

19385.9

Jealousy

19345.8

Carnival

19358.0

The Magic Carpet

19516.0

Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy

20007.0

Panama Lady

19396.3

Winterset

19366.0

Easy to Wed

19466.4

Sorrowful Jones

19496.6

Thousands Cheer

19436.4

So and Sew

19368.0

Too Many Girls

19405.9

I'll Love You Always

19355.0

Old Man Rhythm

19357.0

Women I Love: Beautiful But Funny

198210.0

Muss 'em Up

19366.2

Kid Millions

19346.7

CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years

19767.3

That's Right – You're Wrong

19396.3

Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back

19345.6

Look Who's Laughing

19416.7

Meet the People

19445.8

Five Came Back

19396.3

Best Foot Forward

19436.8

Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie

19938.2

Three Little Pigskins

19347.1

The Lucille Ball Comedy Hour

19647.3

The Facts of Life

19605.3

Having Wonderful Time

19384.9

Easy Living

19495.7

Ellis in Freedomland

1952

The Affairs of Annabel

19385.4

The Time Element

2026

A Beverly Hills Christmas

19873.5

Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television

1975

Men of the Night

19344.5

Hold That Girl

19349.0

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

19886.0

Valley of the Sun

19426.3

Next Time I Marry

19387.2

Seven Days' Leave

19427.3

A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob

19415.5

A Night at the Biltmore Bowl

19358.0

Broadway Thru a Keyhole

19336.3

Blood Money

19337.1

That Girl from Paris

19366.9

Chatterbox

19367.0

Bottoms Up

19345.2

Cher... and Other Fantasies

197910.0

Lucy Moves to NBC

19803.3

Lucy's Really Lost Moments

19566.5

The Farmer in the Dell

19367.0

What Now, Catherine Curtis?

19768.5

Bunker Bean

19365.3

Lover Come Back

19467.1

Twelve Crowded Hours

19395.7

I Love Lucy Christmas Special

201610.0

One Live Ghost

19366.7

Two Smart People

19466.6

Perfectly Mismated

19347.0

Don't Tell the Wife

19376.0

General Foods Opening Night

1963

Carnival Nights

19687.0

The Bob Hope Chevy Show

1956

The Best Of Danny Kaye - The Television Years

1993

Annabel Takes a Tour

19385.7

Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special

19707.0

Three for Two

19754.3

Lucy in London

19666.5

G.I. Journal

1944

Ann-Margret: From Hollywood with Love

1969

I Love Lucy: The Movie

19537.7

The Marines Fly High

19405.3

Hooray for Love

19355.8

Moulin Rouge

19347.0

Behind the Evidence

19355.5

A Love Letter to Jack Benny

1981

The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special

2026

Biography: Bob Hope: America's Entertainer

2003

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

2001

Beauty for the Asking

19395.7

The Funny World of Lucy, Volume 1

19978.5

Nana

19346.0

Foolish Hearts

1935

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

2001

His Old Flame

19357.0

A Tribute to Lucy

1989