Lucille Désirée Ball Morton (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, model, film-studio executive, and producer. She was best known as the star of the self-produced sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, and Here's Lucy.[2] Ball's career began in 1929 when she landed work as a model. Shortly thereafter, she began her performing career on Broadway using the stage names Diane Belmont and Dianne Belmont. She later appeared in several minor film roles in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, being cast as a chorus girl or in similar roles. During this time, she met Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, and the two eloped in November 1940. In the 1950s, Ball ventured into television. In 1951, she and Arnaz created the sitcom I Love Lucy, a series that became one of the most beloved programs in television history. The same year, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Arnaz,[3] followed by Desi Arnaz, Jr.
Desi Arnaz, Jr. in 1953.[4] Ball and Arnaz divorced in May 1960, and she married comedian Gary Morton in 1961.[5] In 1962, Ball became the first woman to run a major television studio, Desilu Productions, which produced many popular television series, including Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.[6] Ball did not back away from acting completely, appearing in film and television roles for the rest of her career until her death in April 1989 from an abdominal aortic dissection at the age of 77.[7] Ball was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning four times.[8] In 1977, Ball was among the first recipients of the Women in Film Crystal Award.[9] She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award
Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979,[10] inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1984, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors
Kennedy Center Honors in 1986,[11] and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1989.[12]

Contents

1 Early life 2 Career

2.1 Teenage years and early career 2.2 Hollywood 2.3 I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy and Desilu

3 Later career 4 Testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities 5 Personal life

5.1 Marriage, children, and divorce

6 Illness and death 7 Recognition and legacy 8 Filmography and television work 9 Radio appearances 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links

Early life[edit] Born at 69 Stewart Avenue, Jamestown, New York,[13] Lucille Désirée Ball was the daughter of Henry Durrell Ball (1887–1915) and Désirée "DeDe" Evelyn Ball (née Hunt; 1892–1977). Her family lived in Wyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte, Michigan for a time.[14] When she was three years old, her 27-year-old father died of typhoid fever. She sometimes later claimed that she had been born in Butte, Montana where her grandparents had lived.[15] A number of magazines reported inaccurately that she had decided that Montana was a more romantic place to be born than New York and repeated a fantasy of a "western childhood". In fact, her father had moved the family to Anaconda, Montana, where they lived briefly, among other places, for work.[16] Her family was Baptist, and her ancestry was mostly English, and included small amounts of Scottish, French, and Irish.[17][18] Some of her genealogy leads to the earliest settlers in the colonies, including Elder John Crandall of Westerly, Rhode Island, and Edmund Rice, an early emigrant from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[19][20] Her father was a lineman for Bell Telephone Company
Bell Telephone Company and was frequently transferred because of his occupation. Within three years of her birth, Lucille had moved with her parents from Jamestown to Anaconda, Montana, and later to Trenton, New Jersey.[21] While DeDe Ball was pregnant with her second child, Frederick, Henry Ball contracted typhoid fever and died in February 1915.[22] Ball recalled little from the day her father died, but remembered a bird getting trapped in the house. From that day forward, she suffered from ornithophobia.[23] After Ball's father died, her mother returned to New York. Ball and her brother, Fred Henry Ball (1915–2007), were raised by their mother and maternal grandparents in Celoron, New York, a summer resort village on Lake Chautauqua, just 2.5 miles west of downtown Jamestown.[24] Lucy loved Celoron Park, one of the best amusement areas in the United States at that time. Its boardwalk had a ramp to the lake that served as a children's slide, the Pier Ballroom, a roller-coaster, a bandstand, and a stage where vaudeville concerts and regular theatrical shows were presented which made Celoron Park an entertainment destination.[16] Four years after Henry Ball's death, DeDe Ball married Edward Peterson. While her mother and stepfather looked for work in another city, Lucy's stepfather’s parents cared for her brother and her. Ball's new guardians were a puritanical Swedish couple who banished all mirrors from the house except for one over the bathroom sink. When the young Ball was caught admiring herself in it, she was severely chastised for being vain. This period of time affected Ball so deeply that, in later life, she claimed that it lasted seven or eight years.[25] Peterson was a Shriner. When his organization needed female entertainers for the chorus line of their next show, he encouraged his 12-year-old stepdaughter to audition.[26] While Ball was onstage, she realized performing was a great way to gain praise and recognition. Her appetite for recognition had thus been awakened at an early age.[27] In 1927, her family suffered misfortune. Their house and furnishings were lost to settle a financial legal judgment after a neighborhood boy was accidentally shot and paralyzed by someone target shooting in their yard under the supervision of Ball's grandfather. The family subsequently moved into a small apartment in Jamestown.[28] Career[edit] Teenage years and early career[edit] In 1925, Ball, then only 14, started dating Johnny DeVita, a 21-year-old local hoodlum. DeDe was unhappy with the relationship, but was unable to influence her daughter to end it. She expected the romance to burn out in a few weeks, but that did not happen. After about a year, DeDe tried to separate them by using Lucille's desire to be in show business. Despite the family's meager finances, she arranged for Lucille to go to the John Murray Anderson
John Murray Anderson School for the Dramatic Arts in New York City,[29][30] where Bette Davis
Bette Davis was a fellow student. Ball later said about that time in her life, "All I learned in drama school was how to be frightened."[31] Ball's instructors felt that she would not be successful in the entertainment business, and were not afraid to say this in front of her, a criticism which Ball did not enjoy hearing. Ball was determined to prove her teachers wrong and returned to New York City in 1928. Among her other jobs, in 1928 she began working for Hattie Carnegie
Hattie Carnegie as an in-house model. Carnegie ordered Ball to dye her then brown hair blonde and Ball complied. Of this time in her life Ball said, "Hattie taught me how to slouch properly in a $1,000 hand-sewn sequin dress and how to wear a $40,000 sable coat as casually as rabbit."[32][33] Ball's career was thriving when she became ill with rheumatoid arthritis, and was unable to work for two years.[34] She moved back to New York City
New York City in 1932 to resume her pursuit of a career as an actress and supported herself by again working for Carnegie[35] and as the Chesterfield cigarette girl. Using the name Diane (sometimes spelled Dianne) Belmont, she started getting some chorus work on Broadway,[36] but the work was not lasting. Ball was hired – but then quickly fired – by theatre impresario Earl Carroll, from his Vanities, and by Florenz Ziegfeld, from a touring company of Rio Rita.[37] Hollywood[edit] After an uncredited stint as a Goldwyn Girl in Roman Scandals
Roman Scandals (1933), starring Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor and Gloria Stuart, Ball moved permanently to Hollywood to appear in films. She appeared in many small movie roles in the 1930s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures, including a two-reel comedy short with the Three Stooges
Three Stooges (Three Little Pigskins, 1934) and a movie with the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers (Room Service, 1938). She can also be seen as one of the featured models in the Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers film Roberta (1935), briefly as the flower girl in Top Hat (1935), and in a brief supporting role at the beginning of Follow the Fleet (1936),[38] another Astaire-Rogers film. Ball and Ginger Rogers, who were distant maternal cousins, played aspiring actresses in the film Stage Door
Stage Door (1937).[39] In 1936, she landed the role she hoped would lead her to Broadway, in the Bartlett Cormack
Bartlett Cormack play Hey Diddle Diddle, a comedy set in a duplex apartment in Hollywood. The play premiered in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 21, 1937, with Ball playing the part of Julie Tucker, "one of three roommates coping with neurotic directors, confused executives, and grasping stars who interfere with the girls' ability to get ahead".[40] The play received good reviews, but problems existed, chiefly with its star, Conway Tearle, who was in poor health. Cormack wanted to replace him, but the producer, Anne Nichols, said the fault lay with the character and insisted that the part needed to be reshaped and rewritten. The two were unable to agree on a solution. The play was scheduled to open on Broadway at the Vanderbilt Theatre, but closed after one week in Washington, DC, when Tearle suddenly became gravely ill.[41] Ball once considered and auditioned for the role of Scarlett O'Hara for Gone with the Wind (1939), but Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh got the part, winning an Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress for her role. Ball signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s, but never achieved major stardom from her appearance in the studio's films.[42] She was known in many Hollywood circles as "Queen of the B's"[citation needed] – a title previously held by Fay Wray – starring in a number of B-movies, such as Five Came Back
Five Came Back (1939). Like many budding actresses, Ball picked up radio work to earn side income, as well as gain exposure. In 1937, she appeared regularly on The Phil Baker Show. When that completed its run in 1938, Ball joined the cast of The Wonder Show starring Jack Haley
Jack Haley (best remembered as the Tin Woodman
Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz, 1939). Here she began her 50-year professional relationship with Gale Gordon, who served as show announcer. The Wonder Show lasted one season, with the final episode airing on April 7, 1939.[43] MGM producer Arthur Freed purchased the Broadway hit musical play DuBarry Was a Lady (1943) especially for Ann Sothern, but when Sothern turned down the part, the choice role was awarded to Ball, who in real life was Sothern's best friend. In 1946, Ball starred in Lover Come Back. In 1947, she appeared in the murder mystery Lured
Lured as Sandra Carpenter, a Taxi dancer
Taxi dancer in London.[39] I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy and Desilu[edit]

A scene from the I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy episode "Lucy Goes to Scotland", 1956

With John Wayne
John Wayne in I Love Lucy, 1955

In 1948, Ball was cast as Liz Cugat (later "Cooper"), a wacky wife, in My Favorite Husband, a radio program for CBS Radio.[39] The program was successful, and CBS asked her to develop it for television. She agreed, but insisted on working with her real-life husband, Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz. CBS executives were reluctant, thinking the public would not accept an All-American redhead and a Cuban as a couple. CBS was initially not impressed with the pilot episode produced by the couple's Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions company, so the couple toured the road in a vaudeville act with Lucy as the zany housewife wanting to get in Arnaz's show. The tour was a great success, and CBS put I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy into their lineup.[44] I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy was not only a star vehicle for Lucille Ball, but also a way for her to try to salvage her marriage to Arnaz, which had become badly strained, in part because both had hectic performing schedules which often kept them apart but mostly due to Desi's attraction to other women.[citation needed] Along the way, she created a television dynasty and reached several "firsts". Ball was the first woman in television to be head of a production company: Desilu, the company that Arnaz and she formed. After their divorce, Ball bought out Arnaz's share of the studio, and she proceeded to function as a very active studio head.[45] Desilu and I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy pioneered a number of methods still in use in television production today such as filming before a live studio audience with a number of cameras, and distinct sets adjacent to each other.[39] During this time, Ball taught a 32-week comedy workshop at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute. Ball was quoted as saying, "You cannot teach someone comedy; either they have it or they don't."[46] Ball and Arnaz wanted to remain in their Los Angeles
Los Angeles home, but the time zone logistics made that broadcast norm impossible. Prime time in L.A. was too late at night on the East Coast to air a major network series, meaning the majority of the TV audience would be seeing not only the inferior picture of kinescopes, but seeing them at least a day later.[47] Sponsor Philip Morris did not want to show day-old kinescopes to the major markets on the East Coast, yet neither did they want to pay for the extra cost that filming, processing, and editing would require, pressuring Ball and Arnaz to relocate to New York City. Ball and Arnaz offered to take a pay cut to finance filming, on the condition that their company, Desilu, would retain the rights to that film once it was aired. CBS relinquished the show rights to Desilu after initial broadcast, not realizing they were giving away a valuable and durable asset. In 1957, CBS bought the rights back for $1,000,000 ($8.71 million in today's terms), which provided Ball and Arnaz the down payment for the purchase of the former RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures studios, which became Desilu Studios.[48] I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy dominated the ratings in the United States for most of its run. (An attempt was made to adapt the show for radio; the cast and writers adapted the memorable "Breaking the Lease" episode – in which the Ricardos and Mertzes fall out over an argument, the Ricardos threaten to move, but they are stuck in a firm lease – for a radio audition disc that never aired, but has survived.)[49] A scene in which Lucy and Ricky practice the tango, in the episode "Lucy Does The Tango", evoked the longest recorded studio audience laugh in the history of the show; it was so long, the sound editor had to cut that particular part of the soundtrack in half.[50] During the show's production breaks, Lucy and Desi starred together in two feature films: The Long, Long Trailer
The Long, Long Trailer (1954) and Forever, Darling (1956). After I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy ended its run in 1957, the main cast continued to appear in occasional hour-long specials under the title The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour until 1960.[citation needed] Desilu produced several other popular shows, such as The Untouchables, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible. The studio was eventually sold for $17,000,000 ($125 million in today's terms) and merged into Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures in 1967.[51] Later career[edit] The 1960 Broadway musical Wildcat ended its run early when Ball became too ill [clarification needed] to continue in the show.[52] The show was the source of the song she made famous, "Hey, Look Me Over", which she performed with Paula Stewart
Paula Stewart on The Ed Sullivan Show. Ball hosted a CBS Radio
CBS Radio talk show entitled Let's Talk
Talk to Lucy in 1964–65. She also made a few more movies including Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968), and the musical Mame (1974), and two more successful long-running sitcoms for CBS: The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show (1962–68), which costarred Vivian Vance and Gale Gordon, and Here's Lucy
Here's Lucy (1968–74), which also featured Gordon, as well as Lucy's real-life children, Lucie Arnaz
Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr.
Desi Arnaz, Jr. She appeared on the Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett show in 1974 and spoke of her history and life with Arnaz.[citation needed] Ball's close friends in the business included perennial co-star Vivian Vance and film stars Judy Garland, Ann Sothern, and Ginger Rogers, and comedic television performers Jack Benny, Barbara Pepper, Mary Wickes and Mary Jane Croft; all except Garland appeared at least once on her various series. Former Broadway co-stars Keith Andes
Keith Andes and Paula Stewart also appeared at least once on her later sitcoms, as did Joan Blondell, Rich Little
Rich Little and Ann-Margret. Ball mentored actress and singer Carole Cook, and befriended Barbara Eden, when Eden appeared on an episode of I Love Lucy.[citation needed] In 1966, Ball became a friend and mentor to Carol Burnett. After having guested on Burnett's highly successful CBS-TV special Carol + 2 and having the younger performer reciprocate by appearing on The Lucy Show, Ball reportedly offered Burnett her own sitcom called Here's Agnes, to be produced by Desilu Productions. Burnett declined the offer, not wanting to commit herself to a weekly series. The two remained close friends until Ball's death in 1989. Ball sent flowers every year on Burnett's birthday. When Burnett awoke on the day of her 56th birthday in 1989, she discovered via the morning news that Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball had died. Later that afternoon, flowers arrived at Burnett's house with a note reading, "Happy Birthday, Kid. Love, Lucy."[53] Ball was originally considered by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra for the role of Mrs. Iselin in the Cold War thriller The Manchurian Candidate. Director/producer John Frankenheimer, however, had worked with Angela Lansbury in a mother role in All Fall Down and insisted on having her for the part.[54]

Ball at her last public appearance at the 61st Academy Awards
61st Academy Awards in 1989, four weeks before her death: Ball's husband Gary Morton can be seen on the left side of the photograph.

During the mid-1980s, Ball attempted to resurrect her television career. In 1982, she hosted a two-part Three's Company
Three's Company retrospective, showing clips from the show's first five seasons, summarizing memorable plotlines, and commenting on her love of the show.[55] A 1985 dramatic made-for-TV film about an elderly homeless woman, Stone Pillow, received mixed reviews. Her 1986 sitcom comeback Life with Lucy, costarring her longtime foil Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon and co-produced by Ball, Gary Morton, and prolific producer/former actor Aaron Spelling was cancelled less than two months into its run by ABC.[56] In February 1988, Ball was named the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year.[57] In May 1988, Ball was hospitalized after suffering a mild heart attack.[58] Her last public appearance, just one month before her death, was at the 1989 Academy Awards
Academy Awards telecast in which she and fellow presenter Bob Hope
Bob Hope were given a standing ovation.[39] Testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities[edit] When Ball registered to vote in 1936, she listed her party affiliation as Communist.[59] (She was registered as a Communist in 1938 as well.)[60] To sponsor the Communist Party's 1936 candidate for the California State Assembly's 57th District, Ball signed a certificate stating, "I am registered as affiliated with the Communist Party."[61] The same year, she was appointed to the State Central Committee of the Communist Party of California, according to records of the California Secretary of State. In 1937, Hollywood writer Rena Vale, a self-identified former Communist, attended a Communist Party new members' class at Ball's home, according to Vale's testimony before the United States House of Representatives' Special
Special House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), on July 22, 1940.[62] Two years later, Vale affirmed this testimony in a sworn deposition:

Within a few days after my third application to join the Communist Party was made, I received a notice to attend a meeting on North Ogden Drive, Hollywood; although it was a typed, unsigned note, merely requesting my presence at the address at 8 o'clock in the evening on a given day, I knew it was the long-awaited notice to attend Communist Party new members classes ... on arrival at this address I found several others present; an elderly man informed us that we were the guests of the screen actress, Lucille Ball, and showed us various pictures, books and other objects to establish that fact, and stated she was glad to loan her home for a Communist Party new members class. — Affidavit of Rena M. Vale, November 23, 1942. Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities in California.

In a 1944 British Pathé
British Pathé newsreel, titled Fund Raising for Roosevelt, Ball was featured prominently among several stage and film stars at events in support of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fundraising campaign for the March of Dimes.[63] She stated that in the 1952 US Presidential Election, she voted for Republican Dwight Eisenhower.[64] On September 4, 1953, Ball met privately with HUAC investigator William A. Wheeler in Hollywood and gave him sealed testimony. She stated that she had registered to vote as a Communist "or intended to vote the Communist Party ticket" in 1936 at her socialist grandfather's insistence.[65] She stated she "at no time intended to vote as a Communist",

Ball stated she has never been a member of the Communist Party "to her knowledge" ... [She] did not know whether or not any meetings were ever held at her home at 1344 North Ogden Drive; stated... [that if she had been appointed] as a delegate to the State Central Committee of the Communist Party of California in 1936 it was done without her knowledge or consent; [and stated that she] did not recall signing the document sponsoring EMIL FREED for the Communist Party nomination to the office of member of the assembly for the 57th District ... A review of the subject's file reflects no activity that would warrant her inclusion on the Security Index.[66]

Immediately before the filming of episode 68 ("The Girls Go Into Business") of I Love Lucy, Desi Arnaz, instead of his usual audience warm-up, told the audience about Lucy and her grandfather. Reusing the line he had first given to Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper in an interview, he quipped: "The only thing red about Lucy is her hair, and even that is not legitimate."[67] Personal life[edit] Marriage, children, and divorce[edit] In 1940, Ball met Cuban-born bandleader Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz while filming the Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart stage hit Too Many Girls. When they met again on the second day, the two connected immediately and eloped the same year. Although Arnaz was drafted into the Army in 1942, he ended up being classified for limited service due to a knee injury.[68] As a result, Arnaz stayed in Los Angeles, organizing and performing USO
USO shows for wounded GIs being brought back from the Pacific. Ball filed for divorce in 1944, going so far as obtaining an interlocutory decree; however, she and Arnaz reconciled, which precluded the entry of a final decree.[citation needed]

Ball with husband Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz in 1950s

On July 17, 1951, one month before her 40th birthday, Ball gave birth to daughter Lucie Désirée Arnaz.[3] A year and a half later, Ball gave birth to her second child, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, known as Desi Arnaz, Jr.[4] Before he was born, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy was a solid ratings hit, and Ball and Arnaz wrote the pregnancy into the show. (Ball's necessary and planned caesarean section in real life was scheduled for the same date that her television character gave birth.)[4] Several demands were made by CBS, insisting that a pregnant woman could not be shown on television, nor could the word "pregnant" be spoken on-air. After approval from several religious figures[69] the network allowed the pregnancy storyline, but insisted that the word "expecting" be used instead of "pregnant". (Arnaz garnered laughs when he deliberately mispronounced it as "'spectin'".)[70] The episode's official title was "Lucy Is Enceinte", borrowing the French word for pregnant;[21] however, episode titles never appeared on the show. The episode aired on the evening of January 19, 1953, with 44 million viewers watching Lucy Ricardo
Lucy Ricardo welcome little Ricky, while in real life Ball delivered her second child, Desi Jr., that same day in Los Angeles. The birth made the cover of the first issue of TV Guide
TV Guide for the week of April 3–9, 1953.[citation needed] In October 1956, Ball, Arnaz, Vance, and William Frawley
William Frawley all appeared on a Bob Hope
Bob Hope special on NBC, including a spoof of I Love Lucy, the only time all four stars were together on a color telecast. By the end of the 1950s, Desilu had become a large company, causing a good deal of stress for both Ball and Arnaz.[citation needed] On March 3, 1960, a day after Desi's 43rd birthday (and one day after the filming of Lucy and Desi's last episode together), Ball filed papers in Santa Monica Superior Court, claiming married life with Desi was "a nightmare" and nothing at all as it appeared on I Love Lucy.[71] On May 4, 1960, just two months after filming that episode (the final episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour), the couple divorced. Until his death in 1986, however, Arnaz and Ball remained friends and often spoke very fondly of each other. Her real-life divorce indirectly found its way into her later television series, as she was always cast as an unmarried woman.[72][73] The following year, Ball starred in the Broadway musical Wildcat, which co-starred Keith Andes
Keith Andes and Paula Stewart. It marked the beginning of a 30-year friendship between Lucy and Stewart, who introduced Lucy to second husband, Gary Morton, a Borscht Belt
Borscht Belt comic who was 13 years her junior.[5] According to Ball, Morton claimed he had never seen an episode of I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy due to his hectic work schedule. Ball immediately installed Morton in her production company, teaching him the television business and eventually promoting him to producer. Morton played occasional bit parts on Ball's various series.[74] Ball was outspoken against the relationship her son had with actress Patty Duke. Later, commenting on when her son dated Liza Minnelli, she was quoted as saying, "I miss Liza, but you cannot domesticate Liza."[75] Illness and death[edit] On April 18, 1989, Ball was at her home in Beverly Hills when she complained of chest pains. An ambulance was called and she was rushed to the emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was diagnosed with dissecting aortic aneurysm and underwent heart surgery for nearly eight hours, including the transplant of a new aorta. The surgery appeared to have been successful, and Ball began recovering very quickly, even walking around her room with little assistance. She received a flurry of get-well wishes from Hollywood, and across the street from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the Hard Rock Café
Hard Rock Café erected a sign reading "Hard Rock Loves Lucy". However, shortly after dawn on April 26, Ball awoke with severe back pains and soon lost consciousness.[76][77] Attempts to revive her proved unsuccessful and she died at 5:47 a.m. PDT. Doctors determined that Ball, who was 77 years old, had succumbed to a second aortic rupture, this time in the abdominal area, and that it was not directly related to her surgery the previous week.[78] Her body was cremated and the ashes were initially interred in Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. However, in 2002, her children moved her remains to the Hunt family plot at Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown, New York, where her parents, Henry and Desirée (Hunt) Ball, and her grandparents are buried.[1] Recognition and legacy[edit]

The Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Little Theatre in Ball's hometown of Jamestown, New York

On February 8, 1960, Ball was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one at 6436 Hollywood Boulevard for contributions to motion pictures, and one at 6100 Hollywood Boulevard for television.[79] Ball received many prestigious awards throughout her career, including some posthumously such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush on July 6, 1989,[80] and The Women's International Center's 'Living Legacy Award'.[81] A Lucille Ball- Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz Center museum is in Lucy's hometown of Jamestown, New York. The Little Theatre was renamed the Lucille Ball Little Theatre in her honor.[82] Ball was among Time magazine's "100 Most Important People of the Century".[83] On June 7, 1990, Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida opened a walk-through attraction dedicated to Ball, Lucy - A Tribute, which featured clips of shows, as well as various pieces of trivia about her, along with items owned by or associated with Lucille, and an interactive quiz for guests. The attraction was permanently closed on August 17, 2015.[84][85] On August 6, 2001, which would have been her 90th birthday, the United States Postal Service honored her with a commemorative postage stamp as part of its Legends of Hollywood series.[86] Ball appeared on the cover of TV Guide
TV Guide more than any other person; she appeared on 39 covers, including the first cover in 1953 with her baby son, Desi Arnaz, Jr.[87] TV Guide
TV Guide voted Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball as the 'Greatest TV Star of All Time' and it later commemorated the 50th anniversary of I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy with eight collector covers celebrating memorable scenes from the show. In another instance it named I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy the second-best television program in American history, after Seinfeld.[88] Due to her support for the Women's Movement, Ball was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame in 2001.[89]

Ball's Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame star for her television work

The Friars Club named a room in its New York clubhouse for Lucille Ball (the Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Room).[90] She was posthumously awarded the 'Legacy of Laughter' award at the fifth Annual TV Land Awards
TV Land Awards in 2007.[91] In November 2007, Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball was chosen as number two on a list of the '50 Greatest TV Icons'; a public poll, however, chose her as number one.[92] On August 6, 2011, which would have been her 100th birthday, Google honored Ball with an interactive doodle on their homepage, which displayed six classic moments from I Love Lucy.[93] On the same day, a total of 915 Ball look-alikes converged on Jamestown to celebrate the birthday and set a new world record for such a gathering.[94] Since 2009, a statue of Ball has been on display in Celoron, New York. Residents deemed that statue "scary" and not accurate, earning it the nickname "Scary Lucy".[95] On August 1, 2016, it was announced that a new statue of Ball would replace it. The new statue replaced the old one on August 6, 2016.[96] However, since the old statue became a local tourist attraction after receiving media attention, it was placed 75 yards from its original location so visitors could visit both statues.[97] In 2015, it was announced that Ball would be played by Cate Blanchett in an untitled biographical film, to be written by Aaron Sorkin.[98] Ball was portrayed by Gillian Anderson, as her character Lucy Ricardo, in the American Gods episode "The Secret of Spoons" (2017).[99] I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom, a comedy about how Ball and Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz battled to get their sitcom on the air, will have its world premiere in Los Angeles
Los Angeles on July 12-15, 2018. The play, from Gregg Oppenheimer (son of I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy creator-producer-head writer Jess Oppenheimer), will be recorded in front of a live audience for radio broadcast and online distribution. [100] Filmography and television work[edit] Main article: Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball performances Radio appearances[edit]

Year Program Episode/source

1944 Suspense "Dime a Dance"[101]

1944 Suspense "The Ten Grand"[102]

1944 Lux Radio Theatre "Lucky Partners"

1945 Suspense "A Shroud for Sarah"[103]

1947 Suspense "Taxi Dancer"

1947 Lux Radio Theatre "The Dark Corner"

1951 Screen Directors Playhouse Bachelor Mother[104]

1948-51 My Favorite Husband 7/5/48 - 3/24/51

See also[edit]

United States portal Biography portal Television portal Film portal

References[edit]

^ a b Staff. "Lucille Ball's Ashes Moved to Jamestown, New York". Lisa Burks. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.  ^ " Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Biography". Retrieved January 2, 2017.  ^ a b " Lucie Arnaz
Lucie Arnaz Filmography". Fandango. Archived from the original on March 20, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2008.  ^ a b c " Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Timeline and Biography". twoop.com. Retrieved April 5, 2008. Ball gives birth to her children  ^ a b Sanders & Gilbert 1993, p. 216. ^ "Arnaz Quits Presidency Of Desilu; Former Wife, Lucille Ball, Gets Post", Wall Street Journal, November 9, 1962, p. 18. ^ "Lucille Ball". Morbid Curiosity. Retrieved April 6, 2008. Lucille Ball is recovering and dies  ^ "Lucille Ball: Biography". punoftheday.com. Retrieved April 2, 2008. Ball wins four Emmys and nominated for a total of 13  ^ "Past Recipients: Crystal Award". Women In Film. Archived from the original on June 30, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.  ^ "The Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille Award". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.  ^ "List of Kennedy Center Honorees". Kennedy-center.org. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2012.  ^ "Hall of Fame Archives: Inductees". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2012.  ^ https://www.fentonhistorycenter.org/special-features/lucille-ball/the-many-names-of-lucy-and-family/ ^ Patch, Jason Alley, [1], patch.com, August 7, 2011. ^ " Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett Interview". The Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett Interview (1974). Archived from the original on 1974. Retrieved April 2, 2008About Lucille Ball's relatives  ^ a b Higham, C. (1986). Lucy: The life of Lucille Ball, New York: St. Martin's Press. ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 10. ^ Ball 1997, pp. 168–69. ^ "Some Ancestral Remains of Lucille Ball". Rootsweb.com. Retrieved October 6, 2012.  ^ "Isaac Ball (1747-?)". Edmund Rice (1638)
Edmund Rice (1638) Association. Lucille Desiree Ball (1911–1989) was a descendant of Edmund Rice as follows: Edmund Rice (1594–1663); Henry Rice (1617–1711); Elizabeth Rice (1648–1740); Mary Brewer (1680–?); Isaac Ball (? –1789); Isaac Ball (1747–1790); Isaac Ball (1787–1865); Clinton Manross Ball (1817–1893); Jasper Clinton Ball (1852–933); Henry Durell Ball (1887–1915) and Lucille Désirée Ball (1911–1989). Retrieved May 13, 2012.  ^ a b Interview with Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball on the Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett Show, 1974 on YouTube ^ Herringshaw 2011, pp. 17–19. ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 12. ^ " Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Biography". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved April 5, 2008.  ^ Harris 1991, pp. 23-24. ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 16. ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 20. ^ Ball 1996, p. 41. ^ Brady 2001, p. 20. ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 24. ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 205. ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 30. ^ Kanfer, Stefan (2007-12-18). Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307424914.  ^ " Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Trivia". NetGlimse. Archived from the original on May 21, 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2012.  ^ Brady 2001, p. 33. ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 28. ^ Darryl J. Littleton; Tuezdae Littleton (2012). Comediennes: Laugh Be a Lady - "Lucille Ball". Hal Leonard Corporation. p. (eBook)(Chapter 5). ISBN 9781480329744. Retrieved April 5, 2016.  ^ "Lucille Ball". Everything2.com. Retrieved April 5, 2008. Ball and Rogers are lifelong friends  ^ a b c d e Karol, Michael (2004). Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia. iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-29761-7.  ^ Brady, Kathleen (2001). Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-8230-8913-0. Retrieved December 26, 2012.  ^ Brady 2001, pp. 73–74. ^ Crouse, Richard J. (2003). The 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 196. ISBN 1-55022-590-1. "Stage Door" gives Ball her big break  ^ ""The Wonder Show" – 1938 Radio Series – Starring Jack Haley, with Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball & Gale Gordon". The Wonder Show. Retrieved April 9, 2008. Lucy and The Wonder Show  ^ Silver, Allison (July 16, 2009). "Sotomayor: More 'Splainin' to Do". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 18, 2010. CBS executives originally did not want Ball, a sassy redhead, married to a Latino on the program  ^ "American Masters "Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy"". PBS. Retrieved April 2, 2008. Ball first woman to head a major studio  ^ Karol 2004, p. 201. ^ Gehring, Wes (2001). ""I Love Lucy" Turns 50 – Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, background info on influential, groundbreaking TV comedy". USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education). Archived from the original on June 26, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2008. Arnaz did not want kinescope  ^ Cushman, Marc; These Are the Voyages, Vol. 1; Jacobs/Brown Press; San Diego, CA, USA; 2013; p. 27 ^ [2](mp3) – archive.org ^ Hofstede, David (2006). 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD 2007. New York: Back Stage Books. p. 149. ISBN 0-8230-8456-6. Longest laugh in television history  ^ Cushman, Marc; These Are the Voyages, Vol. 2; Jacobs/Brown Press; San Diego, CA, USA; 2014; p. 307 ^ Kanfer 2003, p. 220. ^ Fink, Mitchell (2007). The Last Days of Dead Celebrities. New York City: Miramax Books. ISBN 978-1401360252.  ^ Frankenheimer's DVD audio commentary. ^ "TV Land March 2007 –To Be Continued Free Fridays; Three's Company 30th Anniversary – Sitcoms Online Message Boards". TV Land. Retrieved April 6, 2008. Ball hosts Three's Company
Three's Company reflective  ^ "Life With Lucy". TV Party. Retrieved April 6, 2008. "Life With Lucy" turns out to be a flop  ^ " Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at Hasty Pudding". Ten O'Clock News, WGBH. February 19, 1988.  ^ "Local News in Brief: Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Recovering". Los Angeles
Los Angeles Times. June 1, 1988.  ^ "Index to Register of Voters". Ancestry.com. 1936. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2012Copy of document from Los Angeles
Los Angeles City Precinct No. 1598, Los Angeles
Los Angeles County, CA  ^ Ancestry.com (January 30, 2008). "New California Voter Registrations Reveal Celebrity Party Lines". Ancestry.com. Retrieved March 14, 2012.  ^ Testimony of Lucille Désirée Ball Arnaz, September 4, 1953, Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, 83d Cong., 1st sess., Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los Angeles Area – Part 7, September 4, 1953 (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1953), p. 2567 (PDF p. 14) ^ FBI file, pp. 10–13: FBI memorandum: D.M. Ladd to Hoover, Subject: Lucille Ball, Dezi [sic] Arnaz, September 17, 1953. ^ Fundraising for Roosevelt (video newsreel film). Washington, DC: British Pathé. Retrieved June 14, 2011.  ^ "Ball, Lucille". FunTrivia.com. Retrieved June 14, 2011.  ^ Ball explained, "In those days, that was not a big, terrible thing to do. It was almost as terrible to be a Republican in those days." Testimony of Lucille Désirée Ball Arnaz, September 4, 1953, Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, 83d Cong., 1st sess., Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los Angeles Area – Part 7, September 4, 1953 (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1953), p. 2571 (PDF p. 18) ^ FBI file, p. 24: FBI memorandum: SAC Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Hoover, Subject: Lucille Ball, was., December 16, 1953. Cf. Sanders & Gilbert 2001, pp. 77–78. ^ Brioux, Bill (2007). Truth and Rumors: The Reality Behind Tv's Most Famous Myths. Greenwood Publishing Company. p. 37. Retrieved July 4, 2012.  ^ "Arnaz, Desi". tcm.com. Retrieved July 17, 2014.  ^ "Radio: Birth of a Memo". Time. January 26, 1953. Retrieved June 14, 2011.  ^ "Celebrity Commercials in TV's Golden Age". Teletronic. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2008.  ^ Andrews, Bart` (1976). Lucy and Ricky and Fred and Ethel. Toronto and Vancouver: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited. p. 166.  ^ "Powell's Books – Review-a-Day – Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball by Stefan Kanfer". The New Republic Online. Archived from the original on October 3, 2003. Retrieved April 5, 2008. Ball's real life divorce makes it into her new shows ... showing her as a single woman  ^ Kanfer 2003, pp. 72–84. "Ball and Arnaz remain friends". ^ Kanfer 2003, pp. 94, 103. ^ Kanfer 2003, pp. 35–37. ^ "Article: Lucille Ball, Pioneer of Television Comedy, Dies at 77". Retrieved August 31, 2009.  ^ Ball, Lucille (April 27, 1989). "Ball dies of ruptured aorta". L.A. Times. Retrieved May 12, 2013.  ^ Ball, Lucille (April 27, 1989). "Lucy dies". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 12, 2013.  ^ "Walk of Fame: Lucille Ball". Retrieved December 22, 2017.  ^ "NATION: Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Gets Medal of Freedom". Los Angeles
Los Angeles Times. July 6, 1989. Retrieved May 22, 2011.  ^ "Welcome to Women's International Center". Women's International Center. Retrieved April 9, 2008. Living Legacy Award  ^ "The Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Little Theater of Jamestown, Inc". Designsmiths. Archived from the original on February 19, 2004. Retrieved April 9, 2008. Renaming of the 'Little Theater' in Jamestown, New York  ^ "TIME 100 – People of the Century". Time Magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2008.  ^ "Lucy - A Tribute". Universal Studios Orlando. Retrieved July 8, 2015.  ^ "Universal: Lucy attraction out, Hello Kitty in". Orlando Sentinel. August 17, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.  ^ "USPS – Stamp Release No. 01-057 – Legendary Hollywood Star Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Honored on U.S. Postage Stamp". US Post Office. Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008. Ball honored on a Postage Stamp  ^ "Lucille Ball – Photos, Bio and News for Lucille Ball". TV Guide. Retrieved April 9, 2008. Lucy appears on thirty-nine covers of TV guide  ^ "TiVo Community Forums Archives – TV Guide's 50 Best Shows of All Time". TV Guide. Archived from the original on June 6, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008. TV Guide's second greatest or most influential show of all time  ^ "National Women's Hall of Fame". Great Women Organization. Retrieved April 9, 2008. Ball inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame  ^ " Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Room". The Friars Club. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2013.  ^ "TV Land loves Lucy". Los Angeles
Los Angeles Times. April 15, 2007. Retrieved May 10, 2007.  ^ Associated Press (November 16, 2007). "Carson tops list of 50 greatest TV icons". MSNBC. Retrieved March 19, 2008.  ^ Nancy Blair (August 6, 2011). " Google
Google Doodle pays charming tribute to Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball on her 100th". USA Today. Retrieved August 6, 2011.  ^ "915 Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball look-alikes set record", upi.com; accessed December 8, 2014. ^ Hunter, Marnie (April 7, 2015). "Mayor rejects artist's offer to fix 'Scary Lucy' statue". CNN. Retrieved April 8, 2015.  ^ Kimble, Lindsay. "Lucille Ball's 'Scary Lucy' replacement statue unveiled". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 6, 2016.  ^ Stack, Liam (9 August 2016). "Here's Lucy! 'Scary' Statue Is Replaced With One That Looks Like Her". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 May 2017.  ^ McNary, Dave (September 2, 2015). " Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett to star in Lucille Ball biopic from Aaron Sorkin". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2015.  ^ " Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson dishes on her Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball moment", Entertainment Weekly, May 7, 2017; retrieved July 30, 2017. ^ Hetrick, Adam (July 6, 2017). "The Behind-the-Scenes Story of Beloved Sitcom I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy Heads to the Stage". Playbill. Retrieved April 5, 2018.  ^ "Escape and Suspense!: Suspense - Dime a Dance". Escape-suspense.com. November 16, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2017.  ^ Blackstone Audio programme note 2015 ^ "Escape and Suspense!: Suspense - A Shroud for Sarah". Escape-suspense.com. February 5, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2017.  ^ "Those Were The Days". Nostalgia Digest. 39 (2): 32–39. Spring 2013. 

Citations – books

Ball, Lucille (1996). Hoffman, Betty Hannah, ed. Love, Lucy. New York: Putnam. ISBN 978-0-399-14205-5. OCLC 231698725. 

Ball, Lucille (1997). Hoffman, Betty Hannah, ed. Love, Lucy. New York: Berkly. ISBN 978-0-425-17731-0. OCLC 52255505. 

Brady, Kathleen (2001). Lucille: the life of Lucille Ball. New York: Billboard Books. p. 20. ISBN 0-8230-8913-4.  Harris, Warren C. (1991). Lucy and Desi: the legendary love story of television’s most famous couple. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-74709-1.  Herringshaw, DeAnn (2011). Lucille Ball: Actress & Comedienne. Edina, MN: ABDO. ISBN 978-1-61787-664-6.  Kanfer, Stefan (2003). Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-41315-4.  Karol, Michael A. (2004). The Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball Quiz Book. United States: iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-31857-5.  Sanders, Coyne Steven; Gilbert, Thomas W. (1993). Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-688-13514-0. 

Sanders, Coyne Steven; Gilbert, Thomas W. (2001). Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. New York: HarperEntertainment. ISBN 0-688-13514-5. OCLC 48543617. 

Further reading[edit]

Karol, Michael (2003). Lucy in Print; ISBN 0-595-29321-2 Karol, Michael (2005). The Comic DNA of Lucille Ball: Interpreting the Icon; ISBN 0-595-37951-6 McClay, Michael (1995). I Love Lucy: The Complete Picture History of the Most Popular TV Show Ever; ISBN 0-446-51750-X (hardcover) Meeks, Eric G. (2011). P.S. I Love Lucy: The Story of Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball in Palm Springs. Horotio Limburger Oglethorpe. p. 45. ISBN 978-1468098549.  Pugh Davis, Madelyn; with Carroll Jr., Bob (2005). Laughing With Lucy: My Life With America's Leading Lady of Comedy; ISBN 978-1-57860-247-6 Sheridan, James & Barry Monush (2011). Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball FAQ: Everything Left to Know About America's Favorite Redhead; ISBN 978-1-61774-082-4 Young, Jordan R. (1999). The Laugh Crafters: Comedy Writing in Radio & TV's Golden Age. Beverly Hills: Past Times Publishing; ISBN 0-940410-37-0

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lucille Ball.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lucille Ball

Official website Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at the Internet Broadway Database
Internet Broadway Database Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball on IMDb Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at the TCM Movie Database Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at AllMovie Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at TVGuide.com Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at the Museum of Broadcast Communications Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at Encyclopædia Britannica Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at Biography.com Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at Find a Grave FBI Records: The Vault - Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at vault.fbi.gov Flint, Peter B. (April 27, 1989). "Lucille Ball, Spirited Doyenne Of TV Comedies, Dies at 77". Obituary. The New York Times.  "Celebrating Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball at 100: Unpublished Photos". Sideshow. LIFE.  "Lucille Ball". Doodle. Google.  Norwood, Arlisha. "Lucille Ball", National Women's History Museum. 2017. "Orson Welles Radio Almanac". Internet Archive. Recordings. 1944. Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball and several other actors participate  "Wanda Clark". Interview. Oral history project. Voices of Oklahoma. August 5, 2015. About her long-time, 25 years, employer Lucille Ball  Jamestown, Ball's hometown

Articles related to Lucille Ball

v t e

Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille Award

Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille (1952) Walt Disney
Walt Disney (1953) Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck (1954) Jean Hersholt
Jean Hersholt (1955) Jack L. Warner
Jack L. Warner (1956) Mervyn LeRoy
Mervyn LeRoy (1957) Buddy Adler (1958) Maurice Chevalier
Maurice Chevalier (1959) Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby (1960) Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (1961) Judy Garland
Judy Garland (1962) Bob Hope
Bob Hope (1963) Joseph E. Levine
Joseph E. Levine (1964) James Stewart
James Stewart (1965) John Wayne
John Wayne (1966) Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (1967) Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas (1968) Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck (1969) Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (1970) Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra (1971) Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock (1972) Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn (1973) Bette Davis
Bette Davis (1974) Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis (1975) Walter Mirisch (1977) Red Skelton
Red Skelton (1978) Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball (1979) Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda (1980) Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly (1981) Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier (1982) Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier (1983) Paul Newman
Paul Newman (1984) Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor (1985) Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (1986) Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn (1987) Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood (1988) Doris Day
Doris Day (1989) Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn (1990) Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon (1991) Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum (1992) Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall (1993) Robert Redford
Robert Redford (1994) Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren (1995) Sean Connery
Sean Connery (1996) Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman (1997) Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine (1998) Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson (1999) Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand (2000) Al Pacino
Al Pacino (2001) Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (2002) Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman (2003) Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas (2004) Robin Williams
Robin Williams (2005) Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins (2006) Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty (2007) Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg (2009) Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese (2010) Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro (2011) Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman (2012) Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster (2013) Woody Allen
Woody Allen (2014) George Clooney
George Clooney (2015) Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington (2016) Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep (2017) Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey (2018)

v t e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Gertrude Berg
Gertrude Berg (1950) Imogene Coca
Imogene Coca (1951) Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball (1952) Eve Arden
Eve Arden (1953) Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball (1955) Nanette Fabray
Nanette Fabray (1956) Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt (1957) Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt (1959) Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt (1960) Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (1961) Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth (1962) Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth (1963) Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (1964) No Award (1965) Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (1966) Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball (1967) Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball (1968) Hope Lange
Hope Lange (1969) Hope Lange
Hope Lange (1970) Jean Stapleton
Jean Stapleton (1971) Jean Stapleton
Jean Stapleton (1972) Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (1973) Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (1974) Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper (1975) Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (1976) Bea Arthur
Bea Arthur (1977) Jean Stapleton
Jean Stapleton (1978) Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon (1979) Cathryn Damon
Cathryn Damon (1980) Isabel Sanford
Isabel Sanford (1981) Carol Kane
Carol Kane (1982) Shelley Long
Shelley Long (1983) Jane Curtin
Jane Curtin (1984) Jane Curtin
Jane Curtin (1985) Betty White
Betty White (1986) Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan (1987) Bea Arthur
Bea Arthur (1988) Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen (1989) Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen (1990) Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley (1991) Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen (1992) Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr (1993) Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen (1994) Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen (1995) Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt (1996) Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt (1997) Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt (1998) Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt (1999) Patricia Heaton
Patricia Heaton (2000) Patricia Heaton
Patricia Heaton (2001) Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston (2002) Debra Messing
Debra Messing (2003) Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker (2004) Felicity Huffman
Felicity Huffman (2005) Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2006) America Ferrera
America Ferrera (2007) Tina Fey
Tina Fey (2008) Toni Collette
Toni Collette (2009) Edie Falco
Edie Falco (2010) Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy (2011) Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2012) Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2013) Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2014) Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2015) Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2016) Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2017)

v t e

Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year

1951–1975

Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (1951) Barbara Bel Geddes
Barbara Bel Geddes (1952) Mamie Eisenhower
Mamie Eisenhower (1953) Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth (1954) Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds (1955) Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner (1956) Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker (1957) Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn (1958) Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward (1959) Carol Lawrence
Carol Lawrence (1960) Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda (1961) Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie (1962) Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine (1963) Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell (1964) Lee Remick
Lee Remick (1965) Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (1966) Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall (1967) Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury (1968) Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett (1969) Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick (1970) Carol Channing
Carol Channing (1971) Ruby Keeler
Ruby Keeler (1972) Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli (1973) Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway (1974) Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper (1975)

1976–2000

Bette Midler
Bette Midler (1976) Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor (1977) Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills (1978) Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen (1979) Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep (1980) Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (1981) Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald (1982) Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews (1983) Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers (1984) Cher
Cher (1985) Sally Field
Sally Field (1986) Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters (1987) Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball (1988) Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner (1989) Glenn Close
Glenn Close (1990) Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (1991) Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster (1992) Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg (1993) Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan (1994) Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer (1995) Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon (1996) Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts (1997) Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver (1998) Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn (1999) Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (2000)

2001–present

Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore (2001) Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker (2002) Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston (2003) Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock (2004) Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones (2005) Halle Berry
Halle Berry (2006) Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson (2007) Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron (2008) Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger (2009) Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway (2010) Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore (2011) Claire Danes
Claire Danes (2012) Marion Cotillard
Marion Cotillard (2013) Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren (2014) Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler (2015) Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington (2016) Octavia Spencer
Octavia Spencer (2017) Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis (2018)

v t e

Kennedy Center Honorees (1980s)

1980

Leonard Bernstein James Cagney Agnes de Mille Lynn Fontanne Leontyne Price

1981

Count Basie Cary Grant Helen Hayes Jerome Robbins Rudolf Serkin

1982

George Abbott Lillian Gish Benny Goodman Gene Kelly Eugene Ormandy

1983

Katherine Dunham Elia Kazan Frank Sinatra James Stewart Virgil Thomson

1984

Lena Horne Danny Kaye Gian Carlo Menotti Arthur Miller Isaac Stern

1985

Merce Cunningham Irene Dunne Bob Hope Alan Jay Lerner
Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe Beverly Sills

1986

Lucille Ball Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn & Jessica Tandy Yehudi Menuhin Antony Tudor Ray Charles

1987

Perry Como Bette Davis Sammy Davis Jr. Nathan Milstein Alwin Nikolais

1988

Alvin Ailey George Burns Myrna Loy Alexander Schneider Roger L. Stevens

1989

Harry Belafonte Claudette Colbert Alexandra Danilova Mary Martin William Schuman

Complete list 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

v t e

TCA Career Achievement Award

Grant Tinker
Grant Tinker (1985) Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite (1986) Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues (1987) David Brinkley
David Brinkley (1988) Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball (1989) Jim Henson
Jim Henson (1990) Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff (1991) Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson (1992) Bob Hope
Bob Hope (1993) Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt (1994) Ted Turner
Ted Turner (1995) Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury (1996) Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers (1997) Roone Arledge (1998) Norman Lear
Norman Lear (1999) Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke (2000) Sid Caesar
Sid Caesar (2001) Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby (2002) Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner (2003) Don Hewitt
Don Hewitt (2004) Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart (2005) Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett (2006) Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore (2007) Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels (2008) Betty White
Betty White (2009) James Garner
James Garner (2010) Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey (2011) David Letterman
David Letterman (2012) Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters (2013) James Burrows (2014) James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks (2015) Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin (2016) Ken Burns
Ken Burns (2017)

v t e

Television Hall of Fame Class of 1984

Lucille Ball Milton Berle Paddy Chayefsky Norman Lear Edward R. Murrow William S. Paley David Sarnoff

v t e

Inductees to the National Women's Hall of Fame

1970–1979

1973

Jane Addams Marian Anderson Susan B. Anthony Clara Barton Mary McLeod Bethune Elizabeth Blackwell Pearl S. Buck Rachel Carson Mary Cassatt Emily Dickinson Amelia Earhart Alice Hamilton Helen Hayes Helen Keller Eleanor Roosevelt Florence Sabin Margaret Chase Smith Elizabeth Cady Stanton Helen Brooke Taussig Harriet Tubman

1976

Abigail Adams Margaret Mead Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias

1979

Dorothea Dix Juliette Gordon Low Alice Paul Elizabeth Bayley Seton

1980–1989

1981

Margaret Sanger Sojourner Truth

1982

Carrie Chapman Catt Frances Perkins

1983

Belva Lockwood Lucretia Mott

1984

Mary "Mother" Harris Jones Bessie Smith

1986

Barbara McClintock Lucy Stone Harriet Beecher Stowe

1988

Gwendolyn Brooks Willa Cather Sally Ride Ida B. Wells-Barnett

1990–1999

1990

Margaret Bourke-White Barbara Jordan Billie Jean King Florence B. Seibert

1991

Gertrude Belle Elion

1993

Ethel Percy Andrus Antoinette Blackwell Emily Blackwell Shirley Chisholm Jacqueline Cochran Ruth Colvin Marian Wright Edelman Alice Evans Betty Friedan Ella Grasso Martha Wright Griffiths Fannie Lou Hamer Dorothy Height Dolores Huerta Mary Jacobi Mae Jemison Mary Lyon Mary Mahoney Wilma Mankiller Constance Baker Motley Georgia O'Keeffe Annie Oakley Rosa Parks Esther Peterson Jeannette Rankin Ellen Swallow Richards Elaine Roulet Katherine Siva Saubel Gloria Steinem Helen Stephens Lillian Wald Madam C. J. Walker Faye Wattleton Rosalyn S. Yalow Gloria Yerkovich

1994

Bella Abzug Ella Baker Myra Bradwell Annie Jump Cannon Jane Cunningham Croly Catherine East Geraldine Ferraro Charlotte Perkins Gilman Grace Hopper Helen LaKelly Hunt Zora Neale Hurston Anne Hutchinson Frances Wisebart Jacobs Susette La Flesche Louise McManus Maria Mitchell Antonia Novello Linda Richards Wilma Rudolph Betty Bone Schiess Muriel Siebert Nettie Stevens Oprah Winfrey Sarah Winnemucca Fanny Wright

1995

Virginia Apgar Ann Bancroft Amelia Bloomer Mary Breckinridge Eileen Collins Elizabeth Hanford Dole Anne Dallas Dudley Mary Baker Eddy Ella Fitzgerald Margaret Fuller Matilda Joslyn Gage Lillian Moller Gilbreth Nannerl O. Keohane Maggie Kuhn Sandra Day O'Connor Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin Pat Schroeder Hannah Greenebaum Solomon

1996

Louisa May Alcott Charlotte Anne Bunch Frances Xavier Cabrini Mary A. Hallaren Oveta Culp Hobby Wilhelmina Cole Holladay Anne Morrow Lindbergh Maria Goeppert-Mayer Ernestine Louise Potowski Rose Maria Tallchief Edith Wharton

1998

Madeleine Albright Maya Angelou Nellie Bly Lydia Moss Bradley Mary Steichen Calderone Mary Ann Shadd
Mary Ann Shadd Cary Joan Ganz Cooney Gerty Cori Sarah Grimké Julia Ward Howe Shirley Ann Jackson Shannon Lucid Katharine Dexter McCormick Rozanne L. Ridgway Edith Nourse Rogers Felice Schwartz Eunice Kennedy Shriver Beverly Sills Florence Wald Angelina Grimké
Angelina Grimké Weld Chien-Shiung Wu

2000–2009

2000

Faye Glenn Abdellah Emma Smith DeVoe Marjory Stoneman Douglas Mary Dyer Sylvia A. Earle Crystal Eastman Jeanne Holm Leontine T. Kelly Frances Oldham Kelsey Kate Mullany Janet Reno Anna Howard Shaw Sophia Smith Ida Tarbell Wilma L. Vaught Mary Edwards Walker Annie Dodge Wauneka Eudora Welty Frances E. Willard

2001

Dorothy H. Andersen Lucille Ball Rosalynn Carter Lydia Maria Child Bessie Coleman Dorothy Day Marian de Forest Althea Gibson Beatrice A. Hicks Barbara Holdridge Harriet Williams Russell Strong Emily Howell Warner Victoria Woodhull

2002

Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis Ruth Bader Ginsburg Katharine Graham Bertha Holt Mary Engle Pennington Mercy Otis Warren

2003

Linda G. Alvarado Donna de Varona Gertrude Ederle Martha Matilda Harper Patricia Roberts Harris Stephanie L. Kwolek Dorothea Lange Mildred Robbins Leet Patsy Takemoto Mink Sacagawea Anne Sullivan Sheila E. Widnall

2005

Florence Ellinwood Allen Ruth Fulton Benedict Betty Bumpers Hillary Clinton Rita Rossi Colwell Mother Marianne Cope Maya Y. Lin Patricia A. Locke Blanche Stuart Scott Mary Burnett Talbert

2007

Eleanor K. Baum Julia Child Martha Coffin Pelham Wright Swanee Hunt Winona LaDuke Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Judith L. Pipher Catherine Filene Shouse Henrietta Szold

2009

Louise Bourgeois Mildred Cohn Karen DeCrow Susan Kelly-Dreiss Allie B. Latimer Emma Lazarus Ruth Patrick Rebecca Talbot Perkins Susan Solomon Kate Stoneman

2010–2019

2011

St. Katharine Drexel Dorothy Harrison Eustis Loretta C. Ford Abby Kelley
Abby Kelley Foster Helen Murray Free Billie Holiday Coretta Scott King Lilly Ledbetter Barbara A. Mikulski Donna E. Shalala Kathrine Switzer

2013

Betty Ford Ina May Gaskin Julie Krone Kate Millett Nancy Pelosi Mary Joseph Rogers Bernice Sandler Anna Schwartz Emma Willard

2015

Tenley Albright Nancy Brinker Martha Graham Marcia Greenberger Barbara Iglewski Jean Kilbourne Carlotta Walls LaNier Philippa Marrack Mary Harriman Rumsey Eleanor Smeal

2017

Matilda Cuomo Temple Grandin Lorraine Hansberry Victoria Jackson Sherry Lansing Clare Boothe Luce Aimee Mullins Carol Mutter Janet Rowley Alice Waters

Authority control

WorldCat Identities VIAF: 34646030 LCCN: n80043347 ISNI: 0000 0003 6851 5409 GND: 11928622X SELIBR: 258369 SUDOC: 070665281 BNF: cb139299575 (data) MusicBrainz: 939570c2-2083-4898-be1f-1d913781cf6d BNE: XX1627194 SN