Lucille Ball's 100th Birthday is Today
Today marks 100 years to the day that a comedic legend was born. The "queen of comedy" has always been an important television archetype, and it's often the face of Lucille Ball that comes to mind when these words are uttered. Today, we celebrate her birthday.
Lucille Ball was not always a "queen of comedy." Originally, she was deemed "Queen of the B’s," a title given to her by the once famous RKO Radio Pictures. This was largely because she was cast in so many B-films.
Lucy first began her career in the limelight as a model. She was at one point very successful having been made the official model of the Chesterfield cigarette.
In 1940, she met and married Desi Arnaz. This would be a marriage that would prove to change each of their lives forever.
Lucy’s niche was slowly coming to light as she was cast in more comedic roles. Among her first was an appearance in a short from “The Three Stooges.” She ultimately found success doing a radio show called “My Favorite Husband” with her good friend, co-star Gale Gordon.
Lucy and Desi pitched a situation comedy that was ultimately a star vehicle for her. This was to feature them as a married couple on coast-to-coast television, an idea CBS was not keen with. They did not believe that the American public would buy a program that featured an American girl married to a Cuban band leader. This theory was, of course, proven very wrong.
"I Love Lucy" debuted on October 15, 1951. Needless to say, the show was the dictionary definition of successful.
During the show’s run, Lucy gave birth to their two children Lucie and Desi Jr. in 1951 and 1953. Lucie Arnaz has gone onto be a very successful actress and is currently touring across the country.
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