Lucille Ball was not always a Queen of comedy; she was first deemed as Queen of the B’s, a title given to her by the once famous RKO Radio Pictures (now defunct). This was largely because she was cast in so many B-films.
Lucy first began her career in the limelight as a model; she was at one point very successful having been made the official Chesterfield cigarette.
In 1940, she met and married Desi Arnaz. This would be a marriage that would prove to change each of their lives forever.
Lucy’s niche was slowly coming to light as she was cast in more comedic roles. Among her first was an appearance in a short from “The Three Stooges.” She ultimately found success doing a radio show called “My Favorite Husband” with her good friend co-star Gale Gordon.
Lucy and Desi pitched a situation comedy that was ultimately a star vehicle for her. This was to feature them as a married couple on coast-to-coast television; an idea CBS was not keen with. They did not believe that the American public would buy a program that featured an American girl married to Cuban band leader. This theory was of course proven very wrong.
I Love Lucy debuted on October 15, 1951. Needless to say, the show was the dictionary definition of successful.
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