About Lucille Ball.
Didn’t you love those old television shows with Lucille Ball?
She was one of the most popular actresses of her day and won just about every professional award you can imagine.
I thought that today I’d get together a few facts and tidbits about her fascinating career and her life.
Her career was long and varied but no-one doubted her genius or her business acumen. Although she was best known as a comedienne, her talents were much more far-reaching.
And she always claimed that she wasn’t good looking and maintained that she envied actresses who got the parts that required look. I think she was wrong – she was a stunning woman with a great figure.
So let’s start with a few beauty tips.
Lucille Ball trivia
In an interview, she revealed that her mother-in-law provided her with a special Cuban oil that made her eyelashes long and lustrous. She could get hold of it all the time, I guess mom smuggled it into the country, but she said that castor oil did the trick too.
Although she was known for her red hair, it wasn’t natural. She had rather nondescript brown hair. She called it a shade of ‘nothing-brown’. She claimed to use henna to colour it rather than the harsh chemicals used in those days.
Her name and that of her husband, Desi Arnaz, are invariably linked because of the TV shows they made together. The couple were married for twenty years. Lucille was married to her second husband for twenty eight years (until her death).
She was almost forty – just a month shy – when she had her first child. When she had her second baby,the event was written into the fictional TV show. This was very controversial for the time. The television network insisted that the word ‘pregnant’ should not be used on air.
Her second husband was a stand up comedian by the name ofGary Morton. He was very unlike Desi Arnaz – he was Jewish and thirteen years younger than Lucille. When they met, he said he had never seen her TV show because he worked in clubs in the evenings.
When she proposed the idea of the I Love Lucy show to the network, she only agreed to do it if Desi Arnaz was cast as her husband. The network was very dubious about a show featuring an all-American girl and a Cuban.
Even in old age she was famed for her fabulous complexion. She said that she used soap and water for cleansing plus her once monthly facial treatment. “I put honey on straight from the jar and it closes my pores for a month” she explained.
She was a great believer in nutrition. She said that if meals were planned to be nutritious, then there was no need to follow any special diet and that children who were brought up eating that way wouldn’t have weight problems in adult life..
Her last public appearance was at the sixty first Academy Awards in 1989. This was only a month before she died of heart complications. She and Bob Hope were the joint presenters of the awards show.
She died eight days after she had had a heart operation. Her first words after the operation – said to her daughter – were:
‘Wouldn’t you know – this is the day I was going to get my hair done”.
See a famous scene fromI Love Lucy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jackie Jackson, also known online as BritFlorida, is a highly experienced designer and writer. British born and now living in the USA, she specialises in lifestyle issues, design and quirky stories. You can see a wide range of articles here, or visit her website Tastes Magazine. See The Writer’s Door for more information.
FAQs
Lucille had an estimated net worth of $60 million at the time of her death at age 77 in 1989, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Who gets the money from I Love Lucy reruns? ›
Arnaz's unprecedented arrangement is widely considered to be one of the shrewdest deals in television history. As a result of his foresight, Desilu reaped the profits from all reruns of the series.
What was Lucille Ball's cause of death? ›
Lucille Ball died April 26, 1989 of a ruptured aortic aneurism at the age of 77. She was in 113 movies and famously stared, with her then husband Desi Arnaz in the TV show “I love Lucy” from 1951-1957.
How rich was Desi Arnaz when he died? ›
Desi Arnaz was worth $20 million before his death, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Lucille Ball—whom he divorced in 1960—was worth $40 million (equal to about $80 million today), according to the Gazette Review.
Who inherited Lucy's money? ›
This was the case with Lucille Ball. When she died in 1989, she split her estate between her two children, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz Jr., and her second husband, Gary Morton.
How much older was Lucille Ball to Desi Arnaz? ›
Lucille Ball was 28 when she met Desi Arnaz, 23, on the set of 'Too Many Girls,' in 1940. The two quickly hit it off and were married by year's end on Nov. 30. Despite their whirlwind romance, Lucy and Desi's marriage was not without faults, having struggled with infidelity, alcohol abuse and miscarriages.
How much did Vivian Vance and William Frawley make on I Love Lucy? ›
For The Lucy Show, Vance made $8,000 per week plus bonuses. William Frawley (Fred Mertz) started off making $450 a week on I Love Lucy, and by 1957 he was making $7,500 per week. Desilu Productions was founded and co-owned by Desi and Luci.
How much did Lucille Ball make during I Love Lucy? ›
According to Bart Andrews' 1985 book, The I Love Lucy Book, Ball and Arnaz were paid a joint salary of $4,000 per episode ($2,000 each) for I Love Lucy. The book reports that the couple originally asked for $5,000 per episode, but CBS and Arnaz agreed to $4,000 for complete rights to the show. Was this worth your time?
How old were Lucy and Ethel? ›
In 1954, Ethel celebrated somewhere between her 40th and her 50th birthday. Lucy Ricardo turned 33 in 1953 (said in episode #72), so Lucy had to turn 34 in 1954, which also almost matches up with her given birthyear of 1921.
How many biological children did Lucille Ball have? ›
On July 17, 1951, less than three weeks prior to her 40th birthday, Ball gave birth to daughter Lucie Désirée Arnaz. A year and a half later, she gave birth to Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, known as Desi Arnaz, Jr.
Arnaz listed his height as 5'11” in most official biographies, but those who worked with him knew that in reality he was 5'9” and wore four-inch lifts in his shoes. Lucille Ball stood 5'7” in her stocking feet, and when she wore heels she seemed to tower over her husband. Desi Arnaz Jr.
Why did Lucy and Desi divorce? ›
Lucy filed for divorce in 1944, over issues with Desi's heavy drinking and cheating, according to People. Desi was also gone a lot on tour and, when he was home, he would be out late while Lucy had to be up early for work.
Did Desi Arnaz have a child at 15? ›
Personal life. Arnaz has a daughter, Julia Arnaz, from a relationship with model Susan Callahan-Howe in 1968 when they were both 15 years old; Julia's relationship to Desi Jr. was proven by a paternity test in 1991. "I can call any of them on the phone any time I want to ...
Does Desilu Ranch still exist? ›
Lucy and Desi left Chatsworth in 1956 and Desilu Ranch was finally torn down for suburbs in 1976. But some holdouts from the celebrity ranch glory days remain. Scattered amid the sprawl of the Los Angeles area, a few historic Hollywood estates survive in one form or another—and can be visited on vacation.
Why did Desi Arnaz died? ›
He made his last screen appearance in the 1982 film The Escape Artist. Four years later Arnaz passed away from lung cancer. According to his daughter, he and Ball expressed their love for each other on a telephone call shortly before he died.
Who inherited Desi Arnaz' net worth? ›
After his father's death on December 2, 1986, Desi Jr. and Lucie inherited most of his father's estate. (Arnaz's mother, who was 91 years old at the time, was also left $250,000.) According to the Associated Press, Arnaz's will stated for his estate to be divided between Lucie and Desi Jr.
Where did Lucille Ball live when she died? ›
Ball lived in her Beverly Hills home until her death in 1989.
Did Lucille Ball have a funeral? ›
Three memorial services were held for Ball. After her death, the body was cremated. The ashes were originally inurned in a columbarium niche at Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, where her mother was also buried.
Didn’t you love those old television shows with Lucille Ball?
In an interview, she revealed that her mother-in-law provided her with a special Cuban oil that made her eyelashes long and lustrous. She could get hold of it all the time, I guess mom smuggled it into the country, but she said that castor oil did the trick too.
Although she was known for her red hair, it wasn’t natural. She had rather nondescript brown hair. She called it a shade of ‘nothing-brown’. She claimed to use henna to colour it rather than the harsh chemicals used in those days.
Her second husband was a stand up comedian by the name ofGary Morton. He was very unlike Desi Arnaz – he was Jewish and thirteen years younger than Lucille. When they met, he said he had never seen her TV show because he worked in clubs in the evenings.
Even in old age she was famed for her fabulous complexion. She said that she used soap and water for cleansing plus her once monthly facial treatment. “I put honey on straight from the jar and it closes my pores for a month” she explained.
She died eight days after she had had a heart operation. Her first words after the operation – said to her daughter – were:
