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her final movie.

Lucille Ball made few guest appearances on television until she portrayed a homeless woman in the critically acclaimed made-for-TV ABC movie "Stone Pillows" in 1985. Revived by success, Lucy was ready to try television again.

"Life with Lucy" aired in 1986. Only eight of the 13 episodes shot would hit the airwaves. The show was unceremoniously canceled. At 75, Lucy no longer has the abilities of her youth, but she had introduced Lucie and Desi, Jr. to television.

In 1989, her final public appearance was at the Academy Awards. Lucille underwent open heart surgery in April. One week later, she suffered an aortic rupture and died on April 26, 1989, at the age of 77.

More than 50 years of entertaining had netted Lucille Ball 5 Emmy Awards and over 200 other awards. To add to her many accolades, Lucille Ball would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1989) and TVLand Legacy of Laughter Award (2007) posthumously.

The entertainment world lost a pioneer who saw television as the big screen at home, as intimate as the radio; a comedienne of the highest magnitude; a virtuoso of her craft and a beloved colleague.

References:
For the Love of Lucy, by Ric Wyman
The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center, Jamestown, New York
pbs.org
Time
museum.tv
fl.ess ortment.com

Learn more about this author, Ann Marie Dwyer.
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