The days of “Leave it to Beaver” and “The Lone Ranger” are long gone. But there still remains one television show that has maintained its prominence long after TV’s golden age was over, and that’s “I Love Lucy.” The peppy redhead wore her heart on her sleeve and strongly impacted America during her time and many future generations to come.
Her role and influence on television had an effect on a wide number of viewers and set high standards for the entertainment industry that has since hardly come close to comparison. While we all came to know and love her television self, did we know the real Lucille Ball? Lucille wasn’t just gimmicks and cued laughter. But, while she did experience a series of highs and lows, her story has a happy ending, giving America exactly what they wanted and what Lucy wanted to give them.
She Was Born With a 'Pep in Her Step'
Lucille Ball was born on August 6, 1911, in Jamestown, New York to Henry Durrell Ball and Desiree "Dede" Evelyn Ball. They had two children, Lucille and Frederick. In later years, Lucille had often claimed to be born in Butte, Montana, where her grandparents resided. Her father eventually moved her family to Montana for his work. Lucy came from poor, humble beginnings. Her father was a hard-working electrician for Bell telephone company. In her early years, Lucille saw herself as more of a tomboy figure and didn't care for typical girly and frilly things like ribbons. She was a daddy's girl who loved to roughhouse with her father. Her close relationship with her father fostered her rowdy and mischievous side.
Lucille had a lot of energy as a young girl and her mother often didn't know what to do with her. In order to keep her close by while she was doing laundry, her mother would wrap a leash around her. Although it appeased her mother, Lucille was completely humiliated and would beg her mother to release her when strangers passed by. Lucille was good with crowds before she even turned four!
Her First Performance Was on the Butcher's Counter
Lucille had a huge imagination when she was a child. Coupled with her abundance of energy, she would often stray from home by herself, causing her parents a lot of nerves and fright. In order to attempt to control her daughter, her mother made a deal with the local butcher for Ball to run up and down the street between his shop and their home. It was in his shop that Lucille first made her entertainment debut.
In her autobiography, Ball shares details of her first performance on the butcher's counter. She would exuberantly take to the stage and perform for the customers coming into the shop to buy meat. Lucille loved to dance and twirl for them, but there was one thing she loved doing more than that and that was giving her rendition of a jumping frog. She would stick her tongue out and croak. Her fans couldn't get enough of it and would give her some pennies or a sweet treat. Those lucky customers got a 2 for one- meat and a concert. And to think, that little girl would later be a star!
Her Father Died When She Was Young
In the winter of 1916, when Ball was just five-years-old, and her mother was pregnant with their second child, her father got sick with a bad case of the flu. It had started storming and her father, who worked as a telephone lineman, went out to fix the damaged telephone wires from the storm. He did what was required of him, however, this time it came with a consequence. After he came home from work, her father got into bed with a high fever. However, his fever did not go down and he only got sicker. His illness eventually turned into typhoid. He died shortly after. Ball recalled those days very clearly with a painful heart.
Lucille didn't remember much about the day he died, but she did remember a bird getting trapped in their home. Since the incident, she couldn't stand to look at pictures of birds and even refused to stay in hotel rooms showing birds.
Her Step-father Was Tolerable, But Not Paternal
Time went on and life continued. Following her father's death, her mother returned to New York from Montana and Lucy and her brother were raised by their mother and grandparents. Four years later, when Lucille was 11-years-old, her mother remarried to a Swedish-American man named Edward Peterson. He became Lucille's stepfather. While Ball was happy to introduce a father figure back into her life, her new step-father wasn't as happy with the idea. He seemed to have no intention of becoming a father and insisted that Ball call him Ed. In her autobiography, Lucille talks about her step-father, sharing “Ed was never mean or abusive,” she recalled in her autobiography. “But his presence in the house was shadowy.”
As Lucille grew older, she discovered her passion in life, acting, thanks to her step-father offering her to audition for his organization's choir. After turning 15, she convinced her mother to sign her up in a New York City drama school. Her mother was very supportive of her passions and helped fuel her career. Lucille was lucky to have such an encouraging mother. It was clear from her days performing in the butcher shop, that this girl was meant to be a star. However, stardom definitely did not come easy to her.