women's history month

Women in Film & Television History: Meet Lucille Ball, Actor, Comedian, Producer

By Kathryn O’Kane

Most people are familiar with the extensive body of work that made Lucille Ball (1911 – 1989) famous. I Love Lucy is one of the most popular television shows of the 1950s, and she co-starred with her husband, Desi Arnaz, for 10 years. But did you know that Ball was also a savvy business woman?

After her marriage broke up, Ball eventually bought Arnaz’s shares in their company, Desilu Productions, making her the first woman to run a major television production company. Desilu developed and launched the beloved series franchises Star Trek and Mission Impossible before being bought by Gulf+Western for $14 million. It was rebranded as the television arm of Paramount Pictures.

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(via biography.com)

Learn more about Lucille Ball as the original TV Boss Lady at The Heroine Collective.

Published by

BusyK

Kathryn O’Kane is an award-winning director and producer with over fifteen years of experience in television, advertising, and web media. Recently, she was the show runner of the James Beard award-winning Netflix series "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" and a director for "Death Row Stories." She is honored to serve on the NYWIFT Board of Directors, which supports the careers of women in the Entertainment Industry. www.busyk.com

2 thoughts on “Women in Film & Television History: Meet Lucille Ball, Actor, Comedian, Producer”

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