Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, in which he co-starred with his then-wife Lucille Ball. Arnaz and Ball are credited as the innovators of the syndicated rerun, which they pioneered with the I Love Lucy series.
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The series followed the life of Lucy Ricardo (Ball), a young, middle-class housewife living in New York City, who often concocted plans with her best friends, Ethel and Fred Mertz, to appear alongside her bandleader husband, Ricky Ricardo (Arnaz), in his nightclub. Lucy is depicted trying numerous schemes to mingle with and be a part of show business. After the series ended in 1957, a modified version of the show continued for three more seasons, with 13 one-hour specials, which ran from 1957 to 1960. It was first known as The Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Show, and later, in reruns, as The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.
William Clement Frawley was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom I Love Lucy and "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy series My Three Sons.
Desilu Productions was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. Until 1962, Desilu was the second-largest independent television production company in the United States, behind MCA's Revue Studios, until MCA bought Universal Pictures and Desilu became and remained the number-one independent production company, until being sold in 1968.
Vivian Vance was an American actress and singer. Vance was known for playing Ethel Mertz on the sitcom I Love Lucy (1951–1957), which won her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, among other accolades. In 1991, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Jessurun James Oppenheimer was an American radio and television writer, producer, and director. He was the producer and head writer of the CBS sitcom I Love Lucy.
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, known professionally as Desi Arnaz Jr., is an American actor and musician. He is the son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Lucie Désirée Arnaz is an American actress. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour is a collection of thirteen black-and-white one-hour specials airing occasionally from 1957 to 1960. The first five were shown as specials during the 1957–58 television season. The remaining eight were originally shown as part of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Its original network title was The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show for the first season, and Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Presents The Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Show for the following seasons. The successor to the classic comedy, I Love Lucy, the programs featured the same cast members: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, and Little Ricky. The production schedule avoided the grind of a regular weekly series.
I Love Lucy is a 1953 American comedy film that is a spin-off of the sitcom I Love Lucy. Except for one test screening in Bakersfield, California, the film was never theatrically released and was shelved.
The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, commonly known as the Lucy Desi Museum, is a museum at 2 West 3rd Street, Jamestown, New York. Affiliated with the nearby National Comedy Center, the museum is dedicated to the lives and careers of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The museum officially opened in 1996 "to preserve and celebrate the legacy of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and enrich the world through the healing powers of love and laughter". Lucille Ball was born in Jamestown on August 6, 1911.
Forever, Darling is a 1956 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall, written by Helen Deutsch, and starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and James Mason. In the film, Ball stars as a wife who tries to save her struggling marriage to a chemical engineer (Arnaz) with the help of her guardian angel (Mason). Louis Calhern and Natalie Schafer co-star in major supporting roles.
Lucy is a 2003 television film directed by Glenn Jordan. It is based on the life and career of actress and comedian Lucille Ball.
Frederick Henry Ball was an American movie studio executive and younger brother of Lucille Ball.
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on the Columbia Broadcasting System between 1958 and 1960. Three of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s television series The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables.
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American actress, comedienne, and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She earned many honors, including the Women in Film Crystal Award, an induction into the Television Hall of Fame, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Jamestown Downtown Historic District is a national historic district located at Jamestown in Chautauqua County, New York. The district encompasses 103 contributing buildings in the central business district of Jamestown. The district developed between about 1873 and 1956, and includes buildings in a variety of architectural styles including Italianate, Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Romanesque Revival, Classical Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Art Deco. Located in the district is the separately listed Wellman Building. Other notable buildings include the Arcade Building (1898), Odd Fellows Lodge (1914), Bank of Jamestown, Hotel Samuels (1910), Hotel Jamestown (1924), Chautauqua School of Nursing (1911), Jamestown Telephone Company (1930), Maddox Building (1933), First National Bank (1953), Pennsylvania Gas Company building, Chautauqua National Bank (1956), Palace Theatre, Allen's Opera House, and the former Broadhead Worsted Mills.
The National Comedy Center is an American museum dedicated to comedy. The Museum and archive are located in Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, New York, and documents the history of comedy and the artists, producers, writers, cartoonists, and other notable figures who have influenced its development in the US. It was designated as the United States' official cultural institution and museum dedicated to comedy by the United States Congress on February 26, 2019.
Reginald Alexander Lenna was an American Army officer and businessman. He was the Chief Executive Officer and chair of the Board of Blackstone Corporation from 1951 to 1985.
Being the Ricardos is a 2021 American biographical drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, about the relationship between I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as Ball and Arnaz, while J. K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, and Clark Gregg are featured in supporting roles.
