I Love Lucy Too

Lucille Ball was born 100 years ago today

Lucille Ball was born a century ago today, long before the medium that made her a household name. Ball was born August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She died at the age of 77 on April 26, 1989.

And in between, what a life she led. Her mother allowed Ball to pursue show business only as a distraction from a boyfriend who was a known gangster's son. She was hired and fired by many of the big names on Broadway, including Earl Carroll and Florenz Ziegfeld. In Hollywood, Ball was known as "Queen of the B's," for her many small roles in "B" pictures. Still, she persevered.

She eloped with Cuban musician Desi Arnaz after a first marriage ended in divorce, thus setting the stage for I Love Lucy and the production company Desilu.

Zany Lucy Ricardo became for many Americans a representation of Lucille Ball. And while Ball certainly had that side to her, she was more brainy than zany. She and Arnaz wisely retained ownership of I Love Lucy, and the show has been aired on television -- to this day -- without ever going off the air. Even after their marriage dissolved, and I Love Lucy ended, the company was responsible for shows such as Our Miss Brooks , The Untouchables, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible. A number of other hits, including  My Three Sons, Make Room for Daddy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and I Spy, were filmed at Desilu Studios.

Ball received numerous honors during her lifetime and after her death, in 1989, after heart surgery.

What I admire about Ball is her savvy business sense coupled with a gift for comedy that endures. During this long, snowy winter, I rediscovered I Love Lucy. I was looking for something to watch that was both appropriate for the whole family and entertaining to a wide span of ages. I pulled out some videos, an impulse buy at last year's Prospect Church rummage sale. For the whole family, Lucy fit the bill.

Ball worked hard on her comedy, and practiced those signature goofy expressions in the mirror for hours at a time. And almost everyone I know has a favorite "Lucy," whether the grape-stomping, the chocolate factory, or one of her many forays into show business. For me, the episode that brings tears to my eyes is a trip home from Europe, when Lucy disguises a cheese as a baby. Remember that? 

The laughter lasts, a hundred years after Lucille Ball was born. Still today, in 2011, I love Lucy.