Lucille Ball: Fame and Marriage
Author: Trudy Stroup
First, I want to clarify something; the term Goldwyn Girls. In the early years, movie studios hired a core staff to fill in the cast of characters. These actors were uncredited and paid a weekly wage to be on hand. Today, these parts are hired to work on one project at a time and paid once for all of the work done on the film. They are called "extras".
Lucille Ball, as well as many of our favorite stars of the time, started out on a core cast for MGM, RKO, Paramount, or Warner Brothers and a couple of other studios collectively called “The Big Eight”. If an actor felt like they were being under-used or if they felt their career wasn't progressing fast enough, they often cut ties with one studio and signed on with another to get better work. But you know the old saying "the grass is always greener..." and so it was common for actors to bounce back and forth trying to get their big chance at the leading role.
This is where we find ourselves in Lucy's story. In the early 30's, Lucy had signed on with MGM as a Goldwyn Girl, and had worked on several movies in the background. However, she wasn't happy being in the background. Even though she had been told by teachers that she should give up, she had the tenacity to keep pushing toward her goal. While working with MGM, Lucy was assigned to work in the background on the Eddie Cantor film "Roman Scandals". The director, Busby Berkeley, needed a girl to take a pie in the face. Lucy jumped at the chance. After the shot was captured, Berkeley said, "Get that girl's name. That's the one who will make it!"
But Lucy's big break remained elusive. She went to RKO Studios in search of her Blue Bird of Happiness and found herself once again on the core staff. She garnered favorable reviews in the press as "supporting staff" and her uncredited parts grew from background noise, to very minor speaking parts, to supporting actress. After a couple of years, she was going to get her chance as the lead in the Broadway musical "Hey Diddle Diddle", but the project was canceled and Lucy was once again waiting for her turn in the headlines. As the 30's progressed, Lucy played in several B movies, effectively taking the title of Queen of the B's from Fay Wray. Lucy's ladder of success seemed to crawl along the horizon instead of climbing into the clouds. The 40's, however, would bring big change for Lucy.
The name of the movie and how and where Lucy met Desi is reported in two different ways. In one version, Lucy was working on the movie "Dance Girl Dance" and the core cast went for drinks after a long day of filming. Desi Arnaz and his band was the headliner in the club. Lucy took one look at Desi and said, "Boy, I sure would like to meet him!" and it was love at first sight. The other version is they were both cast on the movie "Too Many Girls" and they met on the set and Lucy said, "Who's that?! Boy, I wouldn't mind meeting him!" and it was love at first sight. What isn't disputed is the fact that they saw each other and fell in love immediately. They eloped just a few months later, marrying on November 30, 1940. Lucy was 28 years old and Desi was only 23 years old. Quite a change from the older men she was known to favor.
Desi's work called for him to move around; playing in clubs around the states. Lucy's work required her to stay in Hollywood. Their first ten years of married life kept them separated most of the time. They briefly divorced in 1944 and then quickly remarried. And in the latter half of the 40's, Desi was in the Army, which meant a longer separation from Lucy. The separation took its toll and reports that Desi wasn't lonely while on the road placed a big strain on the couple's marriage. Neither of them was happy.
Lucy worked in all mediums of entertainment: stage, film, and radio. In 1947, a new radio show was being developed; a comedy called "My Favorite Husband". Lucy was tapped for the leading role of Liz Cugat. She suggested that the part of her husband, George, be played by her real life husband Desi Arnaz. However, the state of the country at the time was rife with racial equality fights and the producers didn't think that a mixed race husband and wife would go over very well. They cast Richard Denning in the role and the show hit the air in time for the 1948 season. Jell-O signed on as the sponsor and both the show and Jell-O became a big hit; well, Jell-O became a BIGGER hit. Lucy continued to work on her dream of being the lead actress on stage and screen while performing on radio in her hit show whose tag line was, "two people who live together and like it". In 1950, CBS wanted to take the show to the every-growing-more-popular medium of television. Once again, Lucy wanted Desi to play the role of the husband. The studio shut down the idea quickly, citing the same reasons the radio producers did. So Lucy and Desi borrowed $5000 and started Desi-Lu Productions in 1950. They filmed the first episode of "I Love Lucy" and took it to CBS. The network was not impressed. Lucy walked away from "My Favorite Husband". The television show, as well as the radio show, ended in 1951.
Lucy and Desi, convinced that spending more time together was the key to making their marriage work, decided to take their act on the road and prove to everyone that a Cuban born bandleader and an American born actress would be accepted by the public. Which they proved handily! Their vaudeville act was a big hit everywhere they went. Their storyline was a husband who was a band leader and his wife who wanted to be part of the show. Upon returning to Hollywood at the end of the summer, CBS picked up "I Love Lucy". The first episode aired in October 1951. Lucy and Desi took a cut in pay so that Desi-Lu could keep the rights to every episode. The only problem was the larger viewing market was on the east coast and a live show filmed on the west coast was broadcast too late for the east coast viewers. They didn't want the east coast to view a recording of last night’s episode, so they moved production to New York City. This same year, Lucie Desiree Arnaz was born on July 17th.
"I Love Lucy" was a hit from the start and remains one of the most watched sitcoms of all time. Lucy and Desi enjoyed a couple of years of routine life; filming their show daily and going home together. However, it didn't take long for Desi to get the itch to move around. That was what he was used to doing, and after all, this film thing was Lucy's dream. Desi was all about the music. They began arguing at home and on set. Their arguments were legendary. Desi was quoted as saying "Lucy and I would love furiously and fight furiously."
In 1952, Lucy found that she was once again pregnant and she and Desi wanted to incorporate the pregnancy into the show. No show had ever even talked about pregnancy and even Lucy and Ricky slept in separate beds. The producers were dead set against this storyline, citing the sensitivity of the viewing public. Lucy and Desi took their script to a Jewish Rabbi, a Catholic priest, and a Protestant minister. None of them found anything objectionable about the script and the producers had to give in, but they banned the couple from using the word “pregnant” in any form. So they used the word "expecting", which became a big part of the script due to Desi's accent. He said "spectin" and it became a running joke. "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" aired on January 19, 1953 and Little Ricky was born the same day as Desi Jr. The episode was the most watched program that night, overshadowing the inauguration of President Eisenhower.
Also in 1953, Lucy was called by Joseph McCarthy to testify in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. It seems that in 1936, Lucy was urged to register to vote by her grandfather. He also urged her to register as a Communist even though she has no affiliation with the party in the least, and never participated in any Communist activities. Lucy testified truthfully and disavowed any connection to the party. Desi quipped "The only thing red about Lucy is her hair and even that's not legitimate."
"I Love Lucy" ran for six years and remained at the top of the ratings for all six years. For four of those years, they held the number one spot for sitcoms. Sadly, their success and family was not enough to make them happy and the couple divorced again in 1960.
Up next: Life after Desi
Lucille-ball.info
bio.com
notablebiographies.com
pbs.org
time.com
lucy-desi.com
© 2015-2016 Trudy Stroup. All rights reserved.
Author: Trudy Stroup
First, I want to clarify something; the term Goldwyn Girls. In the early years, movie studios hired a core staff to fill in the cast of characters. These actors were uncredited and paid a weekly wage to be on hand. Today, these parts are hired to work on one project at a time and paid once for all of the work done on the film. They are called "extras".
Lucille Ball, as well as many of our favorite stars of the time, started out on a core cast for MGM, RKO, Paramount, or Warner Brothers and a couple of other studios collectively called “The Big Eight”. If an actor felt like they were being under-used or if they felt their career wasn't progressing fast enough, they often cut ties with one studio and signed on with another to get better work. But you know the old saying "the grass is always greener..." and so it was common for actors to bounce back and forth trying to get their big chance at the leading role.
This is where we find ourselves in Lucy's story. In the early 30's, Lucy had signed on with MGM as a Goldwyn Girl, and had worked on several movies in the background. However, she wasn't happy being in the background. Even though she had been told by teachers that she should give up, she had the tenacity to keep pushing toward her goal. While working with MGM, Lucy was assigned to work in the background on the Eddie Cantor film "Roman Scandals". The director, Busby Berkeley, needed a girl to take a pie in the face. Lucy jumped at the chance. After the shot was captured, Berkeley said, "Get that girl's name. That's the one who will make it!"
But Lucy's big break remained elusive. She went to RKO Studios in search of her Blue Bird of Happiness and found herself once again on the core staff. She garnered favorable reviews in the press as "supporting staff" and her uncredited parts grew from background noise, to very minor speaking parts, to supporting actress. After a couple of years, she was going to get her chance as the lead in the Broadway musical "Hey Diddle Diddle", but the project was canceled and Lucy was once again waiting for her turn in the headlines. As the 30's progressed, Lucy played in several B movies, effectively taking the title of Queen of the B's from Fay Wray. Lucy's ladder of success seemed to crawl along the horizon instead of climbing into the clouds. The 40's, however, would bring big change for Lucy.
The name of the movie and how and where Lucy met Desi is reported in two different ways. In one version, Lucy was working on the movie "Dance Girl Dance" and the core cast went for drinks after a long day of filming. Desi Arnaz and his band was the headliner in the club. Lucy took one look at Desi and said, "Boy, I sure would like to meet him!" and it was love at first sight. The other version is they were both cast on the movie "Too Many Girls" and they met on the set and Lucy said, "Who's that?! Boy, I wouldn't mind meeting him!" and it was love at first sight. What isn't disputed is the fact that they saw each other and fell in love immediately. They eloped just a few months later, marrying on November 30, 1940. Lucy was 28 years old and Desi was only 23 years old. Quite a change from the older men she was known to favor.
Desi's work called for him to move around; playing in clubs around the states. Lucy's work required her to stay in Hollywood. Their first ten years of married life kept them separated most of the time. They briefly divorced in 1944 and then quickly remarried. And in the latter half of the 40's, Desi was in the Army, which meant a longer separation from Lucy. The separation took its toll and reports that Desi wasn't lonely while on the road placed a big strain on the couple's marriage. Neither of them was happy.
Lucy worked in all mediums of entertainment: stage, film, and radio. In 1947, a new radio show was being developed; a comedy called "My Favorite Husband". Lucy was tapped for the leading role of Liz Cugat. She suggested that the part of her husband, George, be played by her real life husband Desi Arnaz. However, the state of the country at the time was rife with racial equality fights and the producers didn't think that a mixed race husband and wife would go over very well. They cast Richard Denning in the role and the show hit the air in time for the 1948 season. Jell-O signed on as the sponsor and both the show and Jell-O became a big hit; well, Jell-O became a BIGGER hit. Lucy continued to work on her dream of being the lead actress on stage and screen while performing on radio in her hit show whose tag line was, "two people who live together and like it". In 1950, CBS wanted to take the show to the every-growing-more-popular medium of television. Once again, Lucy wanted Desi to play the role of the husband. The studio shut down the idea quickly, citing the same reasons the radio producers did. So Lucy and Desi borrowed $5000 and started Desi-Lu Productions in 1950. They filmed the first episode of "I Love Lucy" and took it to CBS. The network was not impressed. Lucy walked away from "My Favorite Husband". The television show, as well as the radio show, ended in 1951.
Lucy and Desi, convinced that spending more time together was the key to making their marriage work, decided to take their act on the road and prove to everyone that a Cuban born bandleader and an American born actress would be accepted by the public. Which they proved handily! Their vaudeville act was a big hit everywhere they went. Their storyline was a husband who was a band leader and his wife who wanted to be part of the show. Upon returning to Hollywood at the end of the summer, CBS picked up "I Love Lucy". The first episode aired in October 1951. Lucy and Desi took a cut in pay so that Desi-Lu could keep the rights to every episode. The only problem was the larger viewing market was on the east coast and a live show filmed on the west coast was broadcast too late for the east coast viewers. They didn't want the east coast to view a recording of last night’s episode, so they moved production to New York City. This same year, Lucie Desiree Arnaz was born on July 17th.
"I Love Lucy" was a hit from the start and remains one of the most watched sitcoms of all time. Lucy and Desi enjoyed a couple of years of routine life; filming their show daily and going home together. However, it didn't take long for Desi to get the itch to move around. That was what he was used to doing, and after all, this film thing was Lucy's dream. Desi was all about the music. They began arguing at home and on set. Their arguments were legendary. Desi was quoted as saying "Lucy and I would love furiously and fight furiously."
In 1952, Lucy found that she was once again pregnant and she and Desi wanted to incorporate the pregnancy into the show. No show had ever even talked about pregnancy and even Lucy and Ricky slept in separate beds. The producers were dead set against this storyline, citing the sensitivity of the viewing public. Lucy and Desi took their script to a Jewish Rabbi, a Catholic priest, and a Protestant minister. None of them found anything objectionable about the script and the producers had to give in, but they banned the couple from using the word “pregnant” in any form. So they used the word "expecting", which became a big part of the script due to Desi's accent. He said "spectin" and it became a running joke. "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" aired on January 19, 1953 and Little Ricky was born the same day as Desi Jr. The episode was the most watched program that night, overshadowing the inauguration of President Eisenhower.
Also in 1953, Lucy was called by Joseph McCarthy to testify in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. It seems that in 1936, Lucy was urged to register to vote by her grandfather. He also urged her to register as a Communist even though she has no affiliation with the party in the least, and never participated in any Communist activities. Lucy testified truthfully and disavowed any connection to the party. Desi quipped "The only thing red about Lucy is her hair and even that's not legitimate."
"I Love Lucy" ran for six years and remained at the top of the ratings for all six years. For four of those years, they held the number one spot for sitcoms. Sadly, their success and family was not enough to make them happy and the couple divorced again in 1960.
Up next: Life after Desi
Lucille-ball.info
bio.com
notablebiographies.com
pbs.org
time.com
lucy-desi.com
© 2015-2016 Trudy Stroup. All rights reserved.