Lucille Ball Biography

She sat there and dreamed about a day that she would see characters on television who portrayed the same life that she herself was living, hoping that one day people would stop presenting television characters who represented the ideal or perfect person, but would one day favor reality. Lucille Ball found an urge to perform at a young age, starting with attending a New York City drama school at age fifteen. This would lead her to make great changes to the world of entertainment from the 1950s to 1960s, especially through her hit T.V. show “I Love Lucy” (“Lucille Ball Biography”). Lucille Ball was innovative to American entertainment because she exposed the industry and country to new ideas of comedy and demonstrated that women could be just …show more content…
She helped to eliminate racial barriers withholding producers from allowing interracial marriages to appear on T.V. “Lucy insisted that her husband, Desi Arnaz, co-star in her show. When producers refused, saying he was ‘too ethnic’ for American viewers, she wouldn't take no for an answer. She and Desi took the show on the road, creating a huge fan base for him. Before long, he became her leading man on TV too” (Conway). Although Ball was originally told “no” she knew that there was no legitimate reason that her marriage could not be presented on T.V. so she fought for what she believed in, allowing her and Arnaz to work together for several years. Not only had her fan base been increasing, but his began to multiply too. The pair was then known to be a married couple both on and off the screen, Ball’s and Arnaz’s marriage was at the beginning of multiethnic relationships that would be displayed on T.V. for years to come. Along with breaking racial barriers, Ball also taught the world that it is as acceptable to show a pregnancy on screen, as it is for a pregnant woman to stand face-to-face with someone. “Women had to hide their pregnancies on TV. They also worried they wouldn't be allowed to continue their careers and be moms at the same time. Lucy broke that mold by incorporating her pregnancy and her son into the show. She compromised with producers, promising not to use the word …show more content…
Ball headed hers and her husband’s production company Desilu together. “The unexpectedly large profits that came from the show's [My Favorite Husband] syndication, foreign rights, and reruns enabled the couple to form their own production company, Desilu, which eventually produced such hit shows as Our Miss Brooks (1952-1956), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966), and The Untouchables (1959-1963)” (“Lucille Ball”). Just after convincing production companies to allow her husband to air as her television husband, Ball found that the show was succeeding and making great amounts of money, bringing her, a woman of the 1950’s to start a production company with her husband. Not only were they successful in creating their own production studio, but they were together able to produce multiple prosperous television series. Ball was a woman who was prepared to take the initiative to make and maintain her famous production company. “After divorcing Arnaz in 1960 and buying out his share of Desilu, Ball became the first woman to control her own television production studio. During the 1960s she produced and starred in The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-1960), The Lucy Show (1962-1968), and Here's Lucy (1968-1974)” (“Lucille Ball”). Lucille Ball did not let the production company diminish after her divorce. Instead she took advantage of the opportunity to rise to even greater

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