show that she would work and rework gags, often to the consternation of her colleagues. According to Arnaz, Ball often said she wasn’t really funny; she was just brave. “If somebody told her she was influential, she would have been flattered beyond belief,” says Arnaz. “It would have been very meaningful to her if she thought that was true. As she got older and she was receiving awards and tributes from the Kennedy Center and the Paley Center, she had to have accepted that she did good.” Throughout her career, Ball celebrated the depth and fun of female LUCILLE BALL: INDUSTRY TRAILBLAZER CONTINUED
friendship on her shows and in her life. Vivian Vance, who played Ethel to her Lucy, was featured on every show Ball starred in — including The Lucy Show , the follow-up to I Love Lucy , in which she co-starred as the first divorced female character on television. Ball offered early support to rising comedy stars, including Bette Midler and Carol Burnett. For 70 years, her influence has been seen on television comedies featuring funny, independent women from Mary and Rhoda to Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. “Lucille was a committed artist who was trying not to be confined by the times or the people around her,” says Nicole Kidman. “She is mining her skill set to the best of her ability. She wants
to create a home and family at the same time she is committed to her journey as an actress. And she didn’t have another woman to stand as an example. She had to figure it all out herself.” Ball received countless awards and tributes during her career, including five Emmy ® Awards, and was the first female inductee into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2001 , received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1986 and was posthumously honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George Bush in 1989 . She had become one of Hollywood’s most powerful players, the unusual woman who could do anything she wanted — exactly what Lucy Ricardo longed to be.
HER RADIO SHOW was called My Favorite Husband , but when it moved to television, Ball refused to do it without her real husband.
SERIOUS ABOUT COMEDY. Known as a perfectionist, Ball would rework gags until they met her high standards.
MEET THE NEW BOSS. After Arnaz resigned as president of Desilu, Ball became the first female studio chief.
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