by Ann Marie Dwyer

Created on: December 15, 2007

Lucille Desiree Ball, best known for her 23 year television series stardom, was one of the most influential woman of the 20th century. She personified persistence and perseverance. Her ambition brought her from a high school drop out to an entertainment mogul.

On August 6, 1911, Desiree and Henry Ball brought Lucille Desiree Ball into the world in Jamestown, New York. A precocious child, Lucy enjoyed make believe and acting. Henry Ball, an electrician, would never see his daughter's success. He died when Lucy was only three years old.

At age 15, Lucy left high school to enroll in John Murray Anderson-Robert Milton Dramatic School. Desiree blessed her daughter's decision to move to New York City. Lucy met with little success in snaring acting roles, as her auditions ending in declarations of "no talent".

Nonplussed by the rebuff from the few roles available to women in New York, Lucy supported herself by modeling under the pseudonyms Lucy Montana and Diane Belmont. She became a showgirl for Earl Carrol and soon was modeling for fashion designer Hattie Carnegie.

Carnegie would choose the dyed blonde Lucy to be the Chesterfield Cigarettes Girl in 1933, in an American ad campaign. This national exposure snared Lucille Ball her role in "Roman Scandals", a 1933 Eddie Cantor musical. As one of twelve slave girls in the movie, Lucy found herself in the glamorous Hollywood.

Over the next 20 years, Lucille Ball would earn the name of "Queen of the B Movies". She was willing to take parts that other actresses spurned. Lucy parlayed each role into one of bigger stature. By the end of her career she would have over 80 movie appearances to her credit.

Buster Keaton, one of the foremost silent clowns, saw in Lucille Ball the elasticity of her face and her comic prowess. As a consultant at MGM, he mentored Lucy on stunts. She showed off these talents in such movies as "DuBarry was a Lady" (Red Skelton, 1943) and "Fancy Pants" (Bob Hope, 1940). These detours from her dancing did not break Lucille into the upper echelon of comediennes.

When Technicolor was introduced at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942, Lucy became a redhead, her mark of distinction. She stood out in the presence of the Hollywood legends of Bob Hope, Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden, Ethel Merman, Ann Miller Groucho Marx, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Red Skelton and Katharine Hepburn. Playing parts beside some of the greatest actors and actresses of the age, Lucille Ball became a star.

"Too Many Girls" (RKO Studios, 1940) starred

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