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INTRODUCTION |
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HER
STORY |
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QUOTES |
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TRIVIA |
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NICKNAME |
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GALLERY |
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CURIOS |
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VOX
POPULI |
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SHOP |

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According to Ann
Miller, after her first night with Desi, Lucy reported, "It was the
best sex I've ever had in my life, and probably will be the best sex I
will ever have." |
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In the days following
Lucy's death, thousands of admirers flocked to Hollywood Boulevard to
sign a memorial scroll that extended a full block from her designated
star on the Walk of Fame. |
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Gary Morton, Lucy's
second husband, was often referred to as "Mr. Balls" or "the man who
lights Lucy's cigarettes." |
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Lucy hated the family
label of "Grandma" and insisted on being known as "Nana," which took
years off her ego if not her appearance. |
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Cuban-born Desi Arnaz
had a blue-blooded pedigree. His father, Desiderio II, belonged to a
rich landowning family and also served in the government. Desi's
mother, the former Dolores de Acha, was a belle of high society, the
daughter of one of the founders of the company that made world-famous
Bacardi rum. |
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Lucy was obsessed
with the game of backgammon. She had a backgammon table in nearly
every room of her home and several around the swimming pool in the
backyard. |
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Lucy completed
twenty-three years on network television, an industry record. She made
492 regularly scheduled programs, including 179 episodes of I Love
Lucy, thirteen of The Lucy and Desi Comedy hour, 156 of
The Lucy Show, and 144 of Here's Lucy. If shown nonstop
around the clock, the total viewing time would be nearly eleven days. |
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When the Rolling
Stones used an unflattering portrait of her in the gallery of women on
the cover of their Some Girls album, Lucille Ball threatened to
sue. |
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Her family nicknamed
her "Lucyball," but she preferred to be known as Lucille; her mother
told her that the name was French in origin and meant "shining light."
She disliked the short form "Lucy" and successfully avoided it for
forty years. But after a certain television series debuted in 1951,
she was rarely called anything but Lucy. |
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During the first
years of her marriage, Lucy always wore a gold slave bracelet that her
husband gave her with the following inscription inside: "My name is
Lucille Ball Arnaz. If lost, return me to my master-- Desi." |
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Her favorite flowers
were red and white carnations. |
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One of her trademarks
was the blazing red hair. What she would have looked like if she
stopped dyeing her hair is anybody's guess, but there seemed slight
chance of that happening. To protect herself from running out, she had
pounds of henna stored in a disaster-proof safe, enough to last her to
age 110 at least. The dye was imported from Egypt and reputed to be
manufactured from the same formula that
Cleopatra used in ancient times.. |
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Philip Morris was the
first sponsor of I Love Lucy. Amusingly, in real life, Lucy had
been a chain smoker of a competing brand since her modeling days as a
Chesterfield Girl. When the chairman of Philip Morris found out, he
was furious and made Desi promise that if Lucy must continue smoking
Chesterfields, she should at least carry them inside Philip Morris
packages. Desi soon tired of making the changeover every morning, so
he refrained one day just to see if Lucy would notice the difference.
When she didn't, Desi stopped switching, but Lucy went on believing
that she was puffing Chesterfields. |
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Asked to compare her
two husbands, Lucy once said, "Gary is more home-oriented, truly
concerned with the welfare of his family. Desi talked a lot
about the value of the family, but he did nothing about it. He gave us
many houses to live in, but he was never home to share them with us." |
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Lucy often said that
her deceased friend Carole Lombard kept turning up in her dreams to
offer marvelous advice. |
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For Lucy's
twenty-ninth birthday, Desi gifted her with a diamond-encrusted
heart-shaped lapel watch. It eventually served as the model for the
logo used in the opening titles of I Love Lucy. |
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In
the late 1920s, she became seriously ill. Some accounts list the
ailment as severe fatigue and malnutrition; another rendition had
her the victim of an auto accident; yet another suggested the
possibility that she may have had an abortion that went bad or even
given birth to a child. |
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A
television network employee who worked with the legend described her
thus, "If she doesn't know you, she's cold as ice. Naturally, you
feel you know her, and you love her, as a result of the Lucy
shows. But it's a shock to realize she's not the childlike Lucy
character she plays. She's diamond-hard, extremely bright, and
extremely cautious with people." |
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By
the time of The Lucy Show, Ball was increasingly dictatorial
on the studio set. Sometimes she was brutal to guest stars, even to
such legendary figures as
Joan
Crawford, who appeared on the teleseries in February 1968. Joan
was rehearsing a Charleston number for the episode. A displeased
Ball stalked over to Crawford and growled, "You got into the
movies as a Charleston dancer and you can't dance. I can't believe
it. We'll try this one more time and if it doesn't work, it's
out!" She then ordered the Oscar winner, "Come on, let's
do it again." Still dissatisfied, Lucy Snarled, "This
number is out!" A shattered Crawford retreated to her dressing
room, where she collapsed on the floor in tears.. |
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Appeared
on the cover of TV Guide a record 34 times, She shared the cover of
the very first issue of TV Guide with her newborn, Desiderio Alberto
Arnaz VI. A pristine copy of this rare April 3, 1953 issue can
cost upward of $ 2,000. |
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She
was superstitious about birds and wouldn't buy anything with a print
of a bird, nor would she stay in a hotel room with bird pictures or
bird wallpaper. |
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Her
grandmother Flora was one of five sets of twins. |
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In
1951-1952 "I Love Lucy" changed the Monday-night habits of
America. Between 9:00 and 9:30 pm, taxis disappeared from the
streets of New York. Telephone calls across the nation dropped
sharply during that half hour, as well as the water flush rate, as
whole families sat glued to their seats. |
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Her
mother wanted her to be a concert pianist. |
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In
the late twenties she was fired from a Broadway musical for being a clumsy
dancer. |
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In
the early 30's she turned to modeling but this career was
short-lived as she got severely ill and spent nearly two years
recuperating. |
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In
1942 luck was on her side when she was moved to the lofty MGM
Studios where MGM transformed her into a glamorous red-head
and showcased her in "Du Barry was a Lady." |
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In
December 1991 a full-size statue of Lucille was unveiled at the
Television Academy's Hall of Fame Court in North Hollywood. |
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In
2001 the United States Postal Service issued a solo Lucille Ball
Stamp as part of its "Legends of Hollywood Series." |
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She
signed her first promotional agreement with Max Factor in 1935, and again
in 1942. Of all the stars, she had the longest association with the Factor
company. |
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Had
it stipulated in her "I Love Lucy" contract that Vivian
Vance, her co-star who played Ethel Mertz, be 20 pounds heavier than
her at all times so she would look good. |
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Married
Desi Arnaz twice. |
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Was
the first woman to own her own film studio. |
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She
entered a dramatic school in New York, but while her classmate
Bette
Davis received all the raves, she was sent home. |
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Henry
Fonda was deeply in love with her. The two were "very close"
during the filming of "Yours, Mine and Ours (1968)". |
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