Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball – Behind the Scenes of I Love Lucy
Lucille Desiree Ball was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. Little did anyone know then that this tiny baby would one day become both the face of television and one of the most beloved stars EVER.
Lucille Ball is one of those stars (and lifelong personal favorites) that, when I’m writing about her, I truly struggle to find words. Words are some of my closest friends and, yet, when talking about Lucille Ball, they all but abandon me.
I think one of the things is, in many ways, she seems almost like family. After all, she was in our living room for as long as I can remember and is, to this day, a very frequent guest in our den and kitchen. Heck she’s even shown up in the bathroom a time or two.
When you have favorite stars who have been with you all of your life, you realize that they’ve “seen you” through everything you’ve been through – good or bad.
- When I was in school, I had to miss a lot of days each school year due to my bronchial asthma. It was like clockwork, each October, I would get a terrible bout of bronchitis and end up in the hospital, followed by a week or more of recovering at home. Episodes of I Love Lucy were my constant companion and laughing at them gave me consistency my lungs robbed me of.
- When I got married, Lucy, Ricky, Ethel, and Fred came along on our honeymoon.
- When my husband and I moved out of state and I was homesick for my mom, dad, cat, dog, and hometown… Lucy came to my rescue again.
- When my daughters came into the picture, it was their time to grow up with a familiar hilarious redhead as a frequent houseguest!
- After losing my dad and, then, years later, my mom – episodes of I Love Lucy truly helped me hold it all together when it really didn’t seem possible.
Good times, bad times, great times, horrific times… she has been a constant. If that sounds normal to you.. then you, too, have a star (or possibly even an athlete) that means an awful lot to you.
She was extraordinary in every way and, truth be told, I don’t just love Lucy… I adore her.
Happy Heavenly birthday and thank you so much for all you’ve meant and MEAN to me!
Lucille Ball