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A woman once said,
“A man who correctly guesses a woman’s age may be smart, but he’s not very bright.” And that endearing, silly & accident-prone woman would be Lucy Ricardo born Lucille Desiree Ball.
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Lucille Ball was one of the most popular
comediennes in the history of American television. She gained fame as the wacky heroine of the comedy series "I Love Lucy" that ran from 1951 to 1957.
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Her show was so popular that
it caused stores to close across the country. At its climax, this show's popularity eclipsed that of any series today. Believe it or not, on regular basis, there were even department stores that closed to coincide with the show's broadcast. There have also been speculations that reports had shown drops in the water and telephone usage whenever it was shown.
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And guess what else?
As far as ratings go, her show even beat a presidential inauguration once. If I'm not mistaken, I think it was during Ike Eisenhower's swearing-in ceremony. He had about 67% of the TV-owning public watching and the night before, I Love Lucy had about 71%.
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Aside from being so well-liked,
Lucille had many firsts. In 1950, together she and her then-husband Desi Arnaz founded Desilu Productions. This allowed her to become the first woman to run a major Hollywood studio. Before the reincorporation into Paramount Television, not only was I Love Lucy produced but also Star Trek & Mission Impossible.
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When it comes to show business,
women were often considered "expired" after the age of 35. That was definitely not the case for Lucille. She actually got her big break at the age of 40! From there her career skyrocketed. Both she and Desi successfully went on to be television's first interracial couple. Even though CBS executives were hesitant on how the audience would respond during these times, they were relieved and surprised to find how accepting their fans were. This really shows how different viewpoints have changed for the better.
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All good things must come to an end.
Unknowingly to the public, Lucy created I Love Lucy in order to help save her marriage with Desi that was in turmoil. She did not succeed. One show, two kids and a divorce later, she and Desi were no longer together. Luckily, Lucy continued on with showbiz and created more successful sitcoms like The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy, Life with Lucy & The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
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Her achievements were recognized and
On February 8, 1960, she was awarded not one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for contributions to motion pictures, and one for television.
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On April 18, 1989 while in her Beverly Hills home she complained of chest pains.
An ambulance rushed her to the ER. She had a progressive tear in her aorta and underwent heart surgery for nearly 8 hours, including the transplant of a new aorta.
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Surgery seemed successful.
She was recovering rather quickly and even moved about with minimal assistance. However, shortly after dawn on April 26, she awoke with severe back pains and soon lost consciousness. They could not revive her. She suffered from abdominal aortic aneurysm that was unrelated to the previous diagnosis and surgery.
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Even till this day
there are still reruns of I Love Lucy almost 67 years later.
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A woman once said,,
“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” And that endearing, silly & accident-prone woman was Lucille Desiree Ball.
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