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Lucille Ball, 1911-1989: She Was the Funniest Woman on Television |
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She was said to have invented the "situation comedy"
with "I Love Lucy."Transcript of radio broadcast: |
VOICE
ONE:
This is
Mary Tillotson.
VOICE
TWO:
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Lucille Ball |
And
this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Program PEOPLE IN
AMERICA. Today, we tell about the much-loved performer Lucille
Ball. Her famous television series, “I Love Lucy,” was first broadcast in
nineteen fifty-one.
(SOUND)
VOICE
ONE:
The “I
Love Lucy” show was a huge success. It was the most popular television
show of the nineteen fifties. The kind of television program Miz Ball
helped develop is called a situation comedy. Some television
experts give her credit for inventing this kind of series. Today, some of
the most popular television programs in America are situation comedies.
VOICE
TWO:
One
reason for the great popularity of “I Love Lucy” may have been its real-life
connection with Miz Ball’s family. On the show, she was Lucy, the wife of
Ricky Ricardo, a Cuban musician. Ricky was played by band leader Desi
Arnaz, who was Lucille Ball’s husband in real life. The show combined
issues common to the life of married people living in the city with musical
performances and comic theater.
Often,
a show would include a part with Mister Arnaz acting seriously while Miz Ball
added a funny element. In the following piece, Mister Arnaz tries to sing
normally and Miz Ball adds the comedy:
(MUSIC:
"By the Waters of the Minnetonka")
VOICE
ONE:
Also on
the “I Love Lucy” show were Vivian Vance and William Frawley. Miz Vance
played Ethel Mertz and Mister Frawley played Ethel’s husband, Fred Mertz.
On the show, the Mertzes were friends of the Ricardos and owned the building in
which they all lived.
Fred
Mertz loved baseball, which was America’s most popular sport at the time.
“I Love Lucy” often showed Fred Mertz intensely watching baseball or some other
sport like boxing while Ethel added her own funny comments.
(SOUND:
“Seeing a baseball game is fun”)
VOICE
TWO:
A
well-known story about the “I Love Lucy Show” concerns the birth of the Arnaz’s
son, Desi Junior. Officials of the broadcasting company wondered what to
do when Miz Ball became pregnant in nineteen fifty-two. Miz Ball explains
that her husband, Desi, came up with a solution:
(SOUND:
“Why don’t we have it on the show?”)
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Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz |
VOICE
ONE:
Miz
Ball’s pregnancy was made part of the show. In fact, critics say the show
in which Lucy Ricardo tells Ricky that she is pregnant is one of the
best. In it, Lucy goes to the entertainment place where Ricky’s band is
playing to tell him that they are going to have a baby. Ricky suddenly
understands that he is going to be a father after Lucy secretly requests the song,
“We’re Having a Baby:”
(MUSIC:
“We’re Having a Baby”)
VOICE
ONE:
Miz
Ball gave birth to her second child on the same day that Lucy Ricardo gave
birth. In fact, Desi Junior’s birth date was planned to happen on the
same day as the broadcast.
The
show in which Lucy gave birth was one of the most popular television programs
ever broadcast in America. In fact, the story is that Desi Junior’s birth
replaced reports about Dwight Eisenhower’s first presidential ceremony on the
front pages of America’s newspapers.
(MUSIC)
VOICE
TWO:
The
success of the “I Love Lucy” show did not come early in Lucille Ball’s life, or
easily. Instead, it was the result of years of hard work.
Miz
Ball was born near Jamestown, New York, in nineteen eleven. She tried to
get into show business at an early age. Early on, she went to the same
acting school as the famous actress Bette Davis. However, she left when
she was told that she did not have enough acting ability.
In the
early nineteen thirties, she moved to Hollywood. She appeared in a number
of movies, but was not well known.
VOICE
ONE:
In
nineteen forty, she met the leader of a musical group who had been born in
Cuba. His full name was Desiderio Alberto Arnaz de Acha the Third.
They worked together in a movie and married soon after they met. For the
next ten years, she appeared in movies and on radio. He traveled a lot
with his band.
In
nineteen fifty, the broadcasting company, CBS, decided to make a television
program based on the radio show, “My Favorite Husband.” Lucille Ball was
the star of the radio show. She wanted Mister Arnaz to play the part of
her husband on the television show. CBS rejected the idea. But she
refused to give up. She and Desi traveled around the country performing
in a show together to prove that they would do well on television. Their
show was a success. CBS offered them both jobs.
VOICE
TWO:
Miz
Ball had another demand. She wanted her show to be a production of the
best quality. Early television pictures were not of good quality.
Miz Ball wanted her program to be filmed, which would improve the picture, and
then broadcast later. Yet she wanted people to watch the program as it
was being filmed so the sound of their reactions could be captured.
Miz
Ball also wanted to film the shows in Hollywood. CBS did not want the
extra costs. So, Miz Ball and Mister Arnaz agreed to work for less
pay. In exchange, CBS let them own the program. That agreement made
them owners of what would become one of the most successful programs on
television.
VOICE
ONE:
During
the fifties, Miz Ball won almost every honor there was for television actors
including several Emmy Awards. Yet, even the most popular performers
could not escape the political realities of the time. Conservative
lawmakers accused Lucille Ball of being a communist. The Federal Bureau
of Investigation kept a secret record of information about her, just as it did
about many Hollywood actors at that time.
VOICE
TWO:
Mister
Arnaz supervised their company, Desilu Productions. The company produced
sixteen different television programs and ran three production centers, called
studios.
In
nineteen sixty, Lucille Ball and Mister Arnaz legally ended their
marriage. Mister Arnaz sold his part of the company to his ex-wife.
Miz Ball became the first woman to head a major production company. It
was one of the biggest in Hollywood.
Miz
Ball also was the star of several other shows of her own. “The Lucy Show”
was broadcast from nineteen sixty-two to nineteen sixty-eight. “Here’s
Lucy” followed until nineteen seventy-four. Miz Ball later sold her
production company to Paramount Studios.
VOICE
ONE:
“I Love
Lucy” showed Miz Ball at her best. Mister Arnaz added something that was
unusual for American television at the time. Many of the songs on the
show were in Spanish. One song, “Babalu,” is popularly connected with “I
Love Lucy”. Its words are Spanish and its sound is Latin American.
It is this mixture along with the excellent performances that made the show
special:
(MUSIC: “Babalu”)
VOICE
TWO:
Miz Ball
died in nineteen eighty-nine after a heart operation. Yet, she still
makes people laugh. Her programs are rebroadcast on television and there
are hundreds of Internet sites about her. After all these years, everyone
still loves Lucy.
(MUSIC:
“I Love Lucy”)
VOICE
ONE:
This
Special English program was written by Mario Ritter and produced by Caty
Weaver. I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE
TWO:
And I’m
Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA
program on the Voice of America.