"You can't love on the phone": the dramatic fate of comedian Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball was an iconic figure in the film industry and still remains on the list of the best comedy actresses of the twentieth century. But fate has not always been kind to her…
The future famous actress was born on August 6, 1911 in London. When she was three years old, her father died of typhoid fever, which he caught presumably through infected ice cream. There was no cure for this disease then.
On the same day, Lucille saw that a bird had fallen into the trap, and since then she has suffered from ornithophobia — a fear of birds. Lucille and her pregnant mother were quarantined, and a sign appeared on the door of their apartment warning of the danger of infection.
A few months later, when they were already released, she had a brother, Frederick, with whom relations have always been good. It is believed that it was after the quarantine, when other children were not allowed to see Lucille, that she decided that she would make people laugh when she grew up.
Four years later, Lucille's mother remarried. The parents of the stepfather were engaged in the upbringing of the girl and her brother, while the young ones worked in another city. Lucille remembered those years with horror: the new family belonged to the Puritans, and there was only one small mirror in the house, which could not be looked at for more than a few seconds.
At the age of 12, Lucille was brought to an audition for a church choir. She liked the attention of the audience, and she decided to become an actress. But in The School of dramatic art told her that she would not have any success.
Nevertheless, Ball managed to convince everyone. She started acting in the theater, and then battled rheumatoid arthritis for two years. After remission, in 1932, she returned to the theater stage, and then went to conquer Hollywood. In 1939, she auditioned for the main role in Gone with the Wind, but lost to Vivien Leigh, and then worked for several years on the radio in parallel with the cinema, because they paid more there.
The marriage with the Cuban Desi Armaz, concluded in 1940, was initially happy, but due to the discrepancy in the schedules of tours and filming, they did not see each other very often:
Besides, Armaz cheated on her.
In 1949, Lucille came up with a show named after herself and called it "I love Lucy", insisting that her partner be played by Armaz. But this did not help either.
But it took another ten years before she decided to divorce. And he and Desi remained good friends until her death.
When Lucille became pregnant with a boy in 1952, later named Desi Armaz Jr., this joyful event was written into the plot of the series. The rules of filming were strict: it was impossible to say "pregnant" - only "expecting".
At that time, Lucille already had a daughter, Lucy, she was one and a half years old. The pregnancy of the son was at least the fourth. The actress had at least two miscarriages, and she always considered her children her best achievement:
Lucille and the children lived for many years under the gun of television cameras, because of which her son suffered most of all. At the age of 20, he became a drug addict, and started drinking even earlier. After several courses of rehabilitation, he was able to return to normal life.
In 1962, after her divorce from Armaz, Lucille became the manager of the television studio Desilu Productions. She produced both sitcoms and serious films, and Ball became even more respected. The actress continued to invent series as if about herself, although their success was far from "I love Lucy".
The actress has received many television awards. Although she retired in the last years of her life, Hollywood remembered and loved her. In March 1989, she appeared at the Academy Awards and the audience greeted her with an ovation.
A month later, she felt ill, and on examination at the hospital it turned out that she had a dissection of the aorta. After a long heart operation, the actress got better, but a few days later she died from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm — she was not found in time. One of the reasons for this could be smoking: the actress had been smoking for many years and was not going to stop.
The actress lived for 77 years and left only a good memory about herself.
Keywords: 20th century | Actress | Drama | Fate