Tag: Lucille Ball
-
RED SCARE!
July 22, 1940 Being the Ricardos (2021) is built around several real-life events in the lives of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Perhaps the most critical is the accusation that Lucille Ball was a Communist. Pointedly, the Los Angeles Herald Express used red (the color of communism and Ball’s famous locks) ink for a rare…
-
VIVIAN VANCE
July 26, 1909 Vivian Vance was born Vivian Roberta Jones in Cherryvale, Kansas in 1909, although her family quickly moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she was raised. She had extensive theatre experience, co-starring on Broadway with Ethel Merman in Anything Goes. She was acting in a play in Southern California when she was spotted…
-
VERNA FELTON
July 20, 1890 Verna Felton (1890-1966) made her professional stage debut at the age of 10 as ‘Little Verna Felton,’ working extensively on stage. Felton was one of the most successful performers in radio, and soon went on to television. She played the persistent Mrs. Day (mother of Dennis) on “The Jack Benny Show” (1955-62). …
-
FANCY PANTS
July 19, 1950 Fancy Pants is based on the 1915 novel Ruggles of Red Gap by Harry Leon Wilson, which was adapted for the stage by Harrison Rhodes and opened on Broadway on December 25, 1915. It featured songs by Sigmund Romberg and Harold Atteridge and ran for 33 performances. It was first filmed in 1918 (starring Taylor Holmes…
-
HERE’S LUCIE!
July 17, 1951 Lucie Arnaz was born on July 17, 1951, the first child of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. She was raised and educated in Los Angeles, with a brief stay in New York City. Contrary to popular opinion, Lucie was never seen on her parents’ now iconic sitcom, “I Love Lucy,” although she…
-
HUMILIATED & UNHAPPY
July 16, 1960 TV Guide ~ July 16-22, 1960 (Vol.8, No.29 & Issue #381) Cover photo by Sherm Weisberg, Fashions by Sacks Fifth Avenue This was Lucille Ball’s tenth (of 39) TV Guide covers. “A VISIT WITH LUCILLE BALL” by Dan Jenkins On January 19, 1953, Desi Arnaz rushed exultantly into the Hollywood Brown Derby,…
-
BALL at the PEAK
July 15, 1967 After 15 consecutive years on television, Lucille Ball was still receiving acclaim for “The Lucy Show”. In 1967, Ball won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. “Bold and graphic day-glow like colors are on full display in this ‘Groovy’ work by one of America’s great post-war illustrators.…
-
KAYE BALLARD: THE SHOW GOES ON!
The documentary feature Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On! will feature her appearance in “Lucy and Harry’s Italian Bombshell” (HL S4;E3) in 1971. She died in 2019 at age 93.
-
MILTON BERLE
July 12, 1908 Milton Berle was born Milton (Mendel) Berlinger in New York City on July 12, 1908. He started performing at the age of five. He perfected his comedy in vaudeville, early silent films, and then on radio, before taking his act to the small screen, where he would be proclaimed “Mr. Television” and later…
Papermoon Loves Lucy 