Lucille Ball: The Struggles Of Life

Lucille Ball, a beloved Hollywood actress, overcame difficulties in childhood and adulthood, becoming a successful actress and studio head. She portrayed the relatable character “Lucy” in “I Love Lucy,” making her an American Icon. Lucille Ball, also known as Lucy, had a difficult childhood but discovered her gifts despite the hard challenges of life. When Lucille was four years old her dad, Henry Durrell Ball, died of Typhoid fever (Ball 55). Her Mother, or as Lucille called her, DeDe, was very depressed after Henry died. DeDe continued to get more depressed after Lucille’s brother, Fred or as most people called him, Freddy, was born. Having a newborn and an active four-year-old, DeDe struggled to be an attentive mother. In an attempt

And when she became a Hattie Carnegie model she changed her name back to Lucille Ball. It stayed that way from that time forward (Ball 43-45). After modeling for a time, her face became well-known and was seen on billboards all around New York city. A movie producer noticed and offered her a minor role in a movie called Roman Scandals. Lucille dyed her brown hair blond and moved to Hollywood, California, the place where dreams had come true for so many actors and actresses (Biography.com). The newspaper in Lucille’s hometown of Jamestown, New York made a big deal about her starring in this movie, writing big articles that everyone read. Lucille found herself becoming a “local celebrity” overnight (Ball 64). Her small role in Roman Scandals opened other doors, landing her other roles in other films. Her second big break came when Lucille got a role in the movie Roberta and got a contract for up to three years with the studio that produced the movie. This contract ended up stretching to seven years of steady work with the studio (Ball

She said, “It was not love at first sight… it took five minutes” (Ball 118). A little while after they met, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball enjoyed a meal at the restaurant El Morocco. The night before, Desi had gotten a negative comment in the newspaper, distressing him and Lucille. They were talking about this problem when a photographer came by and took a picture of them. That night they talked about their differences and decided that they never were going to marry. Once the dinner was over and they had both gone back to their apartments, Lucille got a telegram from Desi. It said “just wanted to say I love you, goodnight and be good. I think that I’ll say I love you again, in fact I will say it. I love you love you love you love you” (Ball 106-108). So they eloped just a week later, on November 30, 1940. They stayed married for four years before getting a divorce because of a rocky marriage. But they got back together again, re-married and created Desilu Productions to launch their vaudeville act. Later they produce their very own show I Love Lucy (Biography.com). Producing this television show made Lucille even more famous than she already was.
Lucille and Desi did the pilot of the I Love Lucy show when Lucille was four months pregnant with her second child. Her first born, Lucie, had been born two years before. They filmed the pilot and got a call right away from