Lucille Ball & I Love Lucy

A BLOG COMPLETELY DEDICATED TO;

- LUCILLE BALL

A film, television, stage and radio actress. Comedienne, model, film executive and first woman to ever run a studio. Still holds the title as the Queen of comedy and is also known as the first lady of television. Her face has been seen by more people, more times than the face of any other human being who ever lived. Identifiable by just her first name: Lucy.

- I LOVE LUCY

First television show filmed in a movie studio in front of a live audience, first sitcom to use three film cameras to capture all the action simultaneously, first comedy show to use guest stars on a continuing basis and the first program to feature a pregnant woman.





Lucille Ball photographed on the set of Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968)

Lucille Ball photographed on the set of Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968)

(Source: heckyeahlucilleballilovelucy)


Lucille Ball photographed for RKO, 1941

Lucille Ball photographed for RKO, 1941

(Source: heckyeahlucilleballilovelucy)



Lucille Ball on the set of Meet The People, 1944 

Lucille Ball on the set of Meet The People, 1944 

(Source: heckyeahlucilleballilovelucy)


Lucille Ball was not one to turn down any work, especially in the early years of her career. There were two reasons. First, that attitude could get you more work, and second, in taking a job you might not necessarily want, you could meet someone who, down the line, would be of great help to you or your career. Both philosophies served her well. On her first picture, 1933’s Roman Scandals, she agreed to do some slapstick that none of the other Goldwyn Girls would do; Eddie Cantor, the star of the movie, remembered her and gave her more bits to do as a result. Lucy’s career is full of instances in which she met someone early on who ended up being a great influence on her career or life some time later (Ed Sedgwick, Buster Keaton, and Karl Freund, to name a few). As a result of all she learned, coupled with her vast experience, Lucy eventually became a hard-nosed perfectionist, a trait not beloved by all of her guest stars. Regarding her insistence on perfection, close friend and hairstylist Irma Kusely told Emmy archivist Karen Herman, “Yes, she was always there [practicing routines] over and over and over, she wanted it absolutely right. And that was why the show was a success; let’s face it. It came off with perfection.”- Lucy A-Z by Michael Karol  

Lucille Ball was not one to turn down any work, especially in the early years of her career. There were two reasons. First, that attitude could get you more work, and second, in taking a job you might not necessarily want, you could meet someone who, down the line, would be of great help to you or your career. Both philosophies served her well. On her first picture, 1933’s Roman Scandals, she agreed to do some slapstick that none of the other Goldwyn Girls would do; Eddie Cantor, the star of the movie, remembered her and gave her more bits to do as a result. Lucy’s career is full of instances in which she met someone early on who ended up being a great influence on her career or life some time later (Ed Sedgwick, Buster Keaton, and Karl Freund, to name a few). As a result of all she learned, coupled with her vast experience, Lucy eventually became a hard-nosed perfectionist, a trait not beloved by all of her guest stars. Regarding her insistence on perfection, close friend and hairstylist Irma Kusely told Emmy archivist Karen Herman, “Yes, she was always there [practicing routines] over and over and over, she wanted it absolutely right. And that was why the show was a success; let’s face it. It came off with perfection.”
- Lucy A-Z by Michael Karol  

(Source: heckyeahlucilleballilovelucy)




Born a brunette, Lucille Ball was turned into a platinum blonde by Hattie Carnegie, the New York designer for whom Lucille Ball modeled in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Carnegie thought Lucy resembled (then-blonde) actress Joan Bennett, a Carnegie client. Her hair remained blonde and became gradually darker (brownish) until she arrived at MGM in the 1940s. It was there that famous hair designer Sydney Guilaroff created the flaming red-orange shade with which Lucy became forever identified. Lucy herself said her career was basically blah until she became a redhead, and then things took off. 

In her book, The Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural Study, Victoria Sherrow writes that, “Red hair became more popular in the twentieth century both in Europe and the United States. Some historians say that color films and television [i.e, Lucy?] played a key role, since blond and red shades show up well in those media. Other analysts point out that red hair was often associated with a passionate personality type.” This begs the fascinating question: which came first: Lucy Ricardo’s red hair or her passionate desire to get out of the house and into show business?
- Lucy A to Z by Michael Karol 
(Here shown in Du Barry Was a Lady, 1943) 

(Source: heckyeahlucilleballilovelucy)