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Lucille Ball

Name: Lucille Desiree BallLucille-Ball-Biography
Born: August 6, 1911 Jamestown, New York
Died: April 26, 1989 Cedars Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, California (Cardiac Arrest)
Parents: Desiree Hunt Ball, Henry D. Ball
Married: Desiderio Alberto (Desi) Arnaz, November 30, 1940; Divorced: May 4, 1960
Married: Gary Morton, November 19, 1961
Children: Daughter: Lucie Desiree Arnaz
Son: Desiderio Alberto (Desi) Arnaz, Jr.
Education: Chautauqua Institute of Music, John Murray Anderson-Robert Milton Dramatic School, NYC

Film Appearances:

Debut: Roman Scandals (Goldwyn, 1933)

Lucille Ball was the first woman to head a major Hollywood studio, Desilu, which produced -- among its many shows -- Star Trek, Our Miss Brooks, Mission Impossible, The Untouchables, The Andy Griffith Show, My Favorite Martian, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Make Room for Daddy.

Shorts: Three Little Pigskins (Columbia, 1934)
Perfectly Mismatched (Columbia, 1934)
One Live Ghost (Columbia, 1936)
So and Sew (RKO, 1936)
See also Lucy Movies

Stage Appearances:

Wildcat (1961)
Alvin Theater, New York

Tours:

United States: Hey Diddle Diddle (1937)
United States: Dream Girl (1947-48)
United States: vaudeville tour with Desi Arnaz (1950)

Principal Radio Appearances:

"The Jack Haley Show" (1938)
"My Favorite Husband" (CBS Radio, 1948-51)

Principal Television Appearances:

"I Love Lucy" (CBS, 1951-57)
"The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" (CBS, 1957-60)
"The Lucy Show" (CBS, 1962-68)
"Here's Lucy" (CBS, 1968-74)
"Life with Lucy" (ABC, 1986)

Awards:

Motion Picture Daily Awards:
Most Promising New Star, 1951;
Best Performer, 1952;
Best Comedy Team (with Desi Arnaz), 1954;
Best Comedienne, 1955, 1957

Emmy Awards:
Best Comedienne, 1952
Best Actress in a Continuing Performance, 1955 ("I Love Lucy")
Outstanding Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series, 1967, 1968 ("The Lucy Show")

Named “Woman of the Year” by B’nai B’rith in 1953 – the first actress ever to receive the award

International Radio and Television Society: Gold Medal, 1971

Hollywood Women's Press Club Golden Apple Award:  Star of the Year, 1973

Ruby Award, 1974

Entertainer of the Year Award, 1975

Friar's Club Life Achievement Award, 1977
Hollywood Foreign Press Association: Cecil B. De Mille Award, 1978

Television Academy Hall of Fame Inductee, 1984 Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: Lifetime Achievement Citation, 1986

Hasty Pudding Award: Woman of the Year, 1988

Television Critics Association Annual Career Achievement Award, 1989

Presidential Medal of Freedom (posthumously), 1989

Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award (posthumously), 1990

Named by Ladies Home Journal Books as one of the “100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century,” 1998

Recognized as one of the Most Influential Western New Yorkers of the 20th Century by Buffalo television, 1999

Selected by Newsweek as the Top Female Entertainer of the 20th Century Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, 2001

In August, 2005, the “Q score,” a survey that broadcasters and advertisers consult to measure a personality’s popularity, found Lucille Ball to be America’s most beloved deceased star.  Others ranked among the top ten included Bob Hope, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Red Skelton, Johnny Carson and John Ritter.

TVLand Legacy of Laughter Award (posthumously), 2007

Their legacy of laughter