Lucille Ball Collection

Lucille Ball
(1911 – 1989)

Lucille Désirée Ball,
"The First Lady of Television,"
height 5'7, born 1911,
originally a brunette.

As a girl, Lucille was fired from her job at an ice cream parlor because she would continually forget to put bananas in the banana splits. Lucille grew up wanting to be an actress but did not realize her calling as a clown character until after she went away to drama school (a classmate of Bette Davis, Lucille was sent home because she was too shy).

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

She did some modeling work for Hattie Carnegie's in the 1930's. During these modeling days, she took on the measurements 33-22.5-34, and the name "Dianne Belmont. In 1933, she became one of the original "Goldwyn Girls, along with Betty Grable and Ann Dvorak. She appeared in one of her first films, "Roman Scandals, in 1933 as a slave girl. For her role in the film, she had to shave her eyebrows off. Unfortunately, they never grew back.

During the 1940s, she became known as the "Queen of B Movies. It was during this time that she fell in love withDesi Arnaz, a Cuban drum-beater six years her junior. They met on the set of the hit movie "Too Many Girls in 1940 and married soon after. Their marriage, however, was not ideal. They created the show "I Love Lucy (1951-1957) to try to save their failing marriage. Thus began Lucille's role as thye crazy red-head.She continued this role through "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-1960), "The Lucy Show (1962-1968), "Here's Lucy (1968-1974), "Life with Lucy (1986) and various television and radio appearances.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

Lucille was given the title "Queen of Comedy. Lucille, however, did not feel that she deserved the title. Rather, she felt, it should go to Carole Lombard, her idol. When trying to decide whether or not to do "I Love Lucy, she says that Carole Lombard came to her in a dream and told her to "give it a whirl. She did, and became an enormously successful and well-loved actress, as well as the first woman to possess her own film studio.

This collection of old time radio appearances contains many of her wonderful (and suprising and dramatic) roles in various old time radio series. The disk also contains a collection of great Lucy-Desi song excerpts as well as the only episode recorded for radio of I Love Lucy.

For more Lucille Ball shows, see The Jack Haley Wonder Show and My Favorite Husband.  See also: Female Comedians of the Golden Age of Radio.