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Lucille Ball

Object Details

Exhibition Label
Born Jamestown, New York
Best known for delighting television audiences with her hilarious antics, comedienne Lucille Ball had hoped to make her mark as an actress on the big screen. From 1929 to 1950, she appeared in more than seventy films, but Hollywood stardom remained elusive. Weary of roles that offered steady work but little satisfaction, Ball was delighted when CBS offered her the chance in 1950 to star in a new television show based on her radio program, My Favorite Husband. When she proposed casting her husband, Desi Arnaz, as her costar, CBS balked at the idea of pairing Ball with the Cuban-born bandleader. The network relented after the couple agreed to pay for and produce the show’s pilot through their own newly formed company, Desilu Productions. A huge hit with the public when it debuted on CBS in October 1951, I Love Lucy proved to be the perfect showcase for Ball’s comedic talents.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Artist
Harry Warnecke, 1900 - 1984
Robert F. Cranston, 26 Jul 1897 - 1978
Sitter
Lucille Ball, 6 Aug 1911 - 26 Apr 1989
Date
1944
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Elsie M. Warnecke
Medium
Color carbro print
Dimensions
Image: 40.9 x 33.2 cm (16 1/8 x 13 1/16")
Sheet: 41.2 x 33.5 cm (16 1/4 x 13 3/16")
Mount: 50.6 x 37.8 cm (19 15/16 x 14 7/8")
Mat: 71.1 x 55.9 cm (28 x 22")
Type
Photograph

Featured In

  • Entertaining Women: American Women on Stage and Screen
  • Let's Go to the Movies
  • Let's Go to the Movies:Golden Age of Hollywood
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
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